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| East Fork Jemez River Trail, NM | |
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| | East Fork Jemez River Trail, NM | | | |
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East Fork Jemez River Trail, NM
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| Hiking | 4.00 Miles |
400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.00 Miles | | | |
| 400 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Day 5 back in the Bandelier/Jemez area. I met up with a photographer friend who lives in the area and we went to do a relaxing river hike. Turns out he's also a retired Geologist from Los Alamos. He knew the area very well and he's done a lot of landscape photography around here. His work is what brought me to this area. He brought his wife along, who was a photographer in her own right.
Definitely a relaxing hike. The flora is a bit different, but the rock reminded me of the Mogollon Rim in a lot of ways. This trail is popular with fisherman and sport climbers as well. There is the established trail and then there's the fisherman's trail. We went between the two on and off for the entire hike. And when the trail ended, we got ready to get wet and I grabbed my hiking poles and waterproof camera. He had done this before and took his big camera on the tripod and a walking stick. Brave.  His wife stayed behind and set up a hammock to relax in, while awaiting our return.
The rocks were slick and it was hard to see the bottom, but I followed his lead until the canyon started narrowing into almost a slot. He had climbed down the waterfall before, but the river was higher and didn't want to risk it. I found a way around to where we could photograph the fall itself from a bit higher. I actually found a way to get down to the base, but we decided not to continue any further on this day. I will return. 
It was a beautiful day, with clouds already building as we went along. After photographing the falls, we made our way back to the actual trail and hiked out. Did lunch in Los Alamos and he showed me a great way to bypass the gates at least on one end. After lunch, we parted ways and I went back to camp. Within an hour or two, the rains started and it rained almost all the way through the next day, so I took a break in camp and did some reading on Day 6.
On Day 6, I went into Los Alamos again for dinner. The rains had finally quit and the wildlife were moving around alot. Caught some Mule Deer crossing Highway 4 and then after dinner, I realized quite abruptly that the local fauna is really active around Los Alamos. Within 5 minutes of each other I came frighteningly close to hitting a deer and then an elk. They must really like the base, maybe there isn't any hunting there. Somehow I got back to camp unscathed. I would pack up and leave the campground the next day, taking one more excursion in the area before leaving for another river. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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