Macho Man or Not The Sharpest Knife in the Drawer

My friend Fred of SLC said this post should be classified under the macho man category. You decide.

I was determined to go hiking today. In spite of traveling this week, I managed to work out on the treadmill twice and a good hike was going to keep the progression moving on my conditioning. I had planned a hike that would be quite a bit longer than last weeks.

Unfortunately, when I got up it was 40 degrees and the mountain was shrouded in clouds. I’m pretty much a wimp. I don’t like the idea of my hypothermia-ed dead body feeding the local coyotes, bears, and mountain lions. So I opted for a lower but still demanding trail, The Three Gun Spring Trail. This trail is about 2.5 miles long and has a vertical rise of around 1700 feet which is pretty friggin’ steep. But it can be done in an hour up and an hour back so it makes for a nice compact workout.

(For picture of mountain to south from trail go here - haven't figured out how to put an image in)

When I got in the car and started driving, I looked at the car thermometer and saw it was 31 degrees! I have a general rule, no hiking in less than 40 degree weather. Then I got to the intersection where Interstate 40 and Tramway intersect and you head east to get to the trail head and I saw flags and trees parallel to the ground. Hmmmm, not a good sign. However, if I have one trait it is stubbornness. And I wanted to hike.

I got the trail head and it was windy and cold. I had brought my Chicago stocking cap, the only warm one I have (thank you John! I think of you every time I use it). But my face and hands were still really cold even though I was starting to climb. But after 20 minutes, the trail and the valley were cut off by the large mountain side to the south and the wind died off. The rest of the hike up was not a problem and actually enjoyable.

At the top, I found two others (the only ones I’d see today). One turns out to be Mike Coultrin who is the author of the authoritative guide the Sandia Mountain hiking trails. He and his cohort showed me their nifty GPS things. Got to have one! It was looking pretty clear back down and I was chilling off fast so I started back down. I hadn’t gone more than 15 minutes when it starts to snow and it snowed the whole way down. The wind picked up right where I had left it. It was mostly a big flurry with virtually no accumulation. Nothing a Chicagoan would even notice.

The warm shower at home was particularly welcome.