Great Hiking Weather

With great weather and the promise that our days will cool off even more beginning tomorrow, hiking events are in high gear. Again, just check out Celebration of Our Mountains,  El Paso Hiking Group, GeoBetty, Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group,  Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists, Peak Fitness Challenge,  High Desert Hikers and Las Cruces Hiking Meetup.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is really popping with great events. Check them out. Public Information Officer Karl Pierce says, “I am trying to get all of our interpretive programs onto our Meetup page (www.meetup.com/Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park-Meetup-Group/) , Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Guadalupe.Mountains/) and official web site (www.nps.gov/GUMO/).” Be sure also to visit Peak Fitness Challenge.

There’s another Celebration of Our Mountains beginners hike tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. beginning in NW El Paso. Led by Master Naturalist Tommy Young, you will see some good fossils primarily of prehistoric cephalopods. More information here.

If you are a dog lover and you are looking for a furry hiking buddy, mark your calendar now for Happy Tails and Happy Trails on Saturday, November 3^rd beginning at 9 a.m. at the Tom Mays Unit. I’ve posted the info for this on my neighborhood association blog. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge and read all of the information. We just have to find Lambert (and his buds) a home. This event is yet another great brain-child of Park Ranger Adrianna Weickhardt. Kudos, Adrianna!

This Saturday if you aren’t out hiking anywhere else, come to the dedication of the Lost Dog Trail Head (also known as the Redd Road Trail Head). (Map) The Borderland Mountain Bike Association and benefactors have completed improving the trail head with gravel, parking spots and native Honey Mesquites donated by the West Texas Urban Forestry Council. Take time to hike or just be at the ribbon cutting ceremony from Noon to 12:30 p.m. Many of you know this trail head well. What you may not know is that it takes you into one of the very arroyos which many have fought to preserve in the Northwest Master Plan. Keeping that arroyo – that critical riparian corridor – natural is very important not just to environmentalists but to El Pasoans who love and take advantage of the recreational opportunities of our outdoors.  You can get a sense of the interconnectivity of these trails by viewing mountain bike maps and GeoBetty.com maps.

Remember that Scenic Sunday at  Scenic Drive has changed now to its fall/winter hours.  The Drive is closed to motorists from 7 until Noon each Sunday but open to runners, walkers, bicyclists, etc. This coming Sunday, follow Rosario Walton on a backwards walk beginning at 7 a.m. Details here. “The challenge,” according to Rosario “is to walk the length of Scenic Drive backwards (2miles about 45 minutes) and return to staring point in a normal walking fashion.” Backwards walking, a huge sport in Japan and a growing interest in many European countries, has physical and mental benefits. Do watch out for rampant, errant Chihuahuas!

Finally, the new High Desert Hikers of Las Cruces have some great hikes and field trips throughout the week – all based on level of ability. To learn more and see their schedule, you need to register. So visit the site and take a look.

Excelsior!

Jim H. Tolbert

Publisher, Elpasonaturally and the El Paso Hiker

Leading the way for sustainable living in the El Paso Southwest

jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com
www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com

Get your friends and family outdoors in this beautiful part of the Chihuahuan Desert. Forward this message to them and suggest that they subscribe.

This email message is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com and say “Unsubscribe Hikers”.

"A million tax-free dollars would probably tempt me to divulge your email address.

However, know that your privacy is safe with me . . . Nobody has offered me the million yet.”

The El Paso Hiker E-Letter Volume 2, No. 30, October 24, 2012

More Petroglyphs and Barite to Boot

Again this weekend and for quite a while during this great fall outdoors season, there are a number of great adventures. Just check out Celebration of Our Mountains,  El Paso Hiking Group, GeoBetty, Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group,  Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists, and Peak Fitness Challenge.  Also take a look at High Desert Hikers. Read about their name change.  You will recognize them as the old Ocotillo Hikers – a still extant group.  Sign-up so that you can see their list of hikes and get involved.

Thanks to Val Provencio many of us identified petroglyphs at Alamo Mountain last weekend. You can see some pictures of that sacred rock art. Tomorrow, CARTA leads a group to Tonuco Mountain where you can see more petroglyphs and also explore some old barite mines. Barite (barium sulfate) is used in paint, X-ray diagnostic work, glassmaking and as a weighting agent in oil well drilling fluids. The hike is sponsored by Celebration of Our Mountains, the El Paso Hiking Group and the Las Cruces Hiking Meetup Group.

Veteran Sunrise Hikers and scholars, Tommy Young and Dave Webster, discuss the  cultural andspiritual meanings of rock art on Alamo Mountain.

Of course, Tonuco isn’t for everyone so look for some interesting hikes into Hitt Canyon or from the Palisades.  Unfortunately the Yoga in the Mountains event for Sunday has been cancelled.  Ranger Adrianna Weickhardt emails to say:

“It is with great disappointment that I must cancel the "Yoga in the Mountains" program for this Sunday, October 14.  No park staff were notified of the closing of Transmountain Rd. on Sunday, October 14th for the "Transmountain Challenge" Race.  Unfortunately, this not only means we will be unable to hold the Yoga program, but the Tom Mays Unit of the park itself will be closed  (the entrance will be blocked) until about 11:00 a.m. 

“We will be looking at a later date to reschedule another Yoga program - and of course when that happens it will be reposted on Facebook, Meetup.com, the TPWD calendar, and the Celebrations of our Mountains website.” 

I do suggest that you mark your calendars now for Saturday evening, October 20^th, from 7 to 9 p.m. in McKelligon Canyon for Coffee Time with Archaeologists.  This is a Franklin Mountains State Park/Celebration of Our Mountains event not to be missed. Reservations are required so contact Adrianna Weickhardt at 915-566-6441 or Adrianna.Weickhardt@tpwd.state.tx.us or just RSVP at El Paso Hiking. October is Texas Archaeology Month.

Excelsior!

Petroglyphs and an Andesite Core

There are three great Celebration of Our Mountains events this Saturday – something for everyone.

First, take a trip to Alamo Mountain on the Otero Mesa to see ancient Petroglyphs beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.  Details and meet-up information about the excursion are online. Val Provencio, an archaeologist with EPWU, is the leader.  She is a member of the El Paso Mineral and Gem Society. Check out their School page on Facebook. Also be sure to check out El Paso Rockhounds on Facebook. Alamo Mountain has spiritual and cultural significance to the Tiguas. In recent years it has, along with other sites on the Mesa, been a focus of controversy between conservationists and mining companies interested in the rare earth metals available in that area.  Here are some pictures of the petroglyphs.

As part of Celebration of Our Mountains, a number of groups will converge on Cristo Rey beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. You may find that the CARTA group will be the most interesting.  Look for their table at the trail head.  Cristo Rey is an igneous intrusion of hot magma which pushed up through Cretaceous sediments and finished forming about 47 million years ago.  Afterwards some of the Cretaceous rocks were eroded to expose the andesite core.  All these different strata through which the intrusion rose bear fossils. Even dinosaur footprints can be found at the base of the mountain.  Although the elevation gain is 820 feet to the top of the peak 4,675 feet above sea level, the well-maintained trail zigzags. Round trip is just 4.4 miles – about 2 or so hours for most folks.  You can learn more about the history of the mountain and the world famous Urbici Soler limestone monument to Christ the King at the Restoration Committee web site.

For sheer hiking fun, join the Dean of Hiking, Carol Brown, for a Northern Pass Loop Hike beginning at 8 a.m. at Anthony Gap on Saturday morning. Directions and details are here and here.

Fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Of course, the best plants for your yard and garden are those that are native to our part of the Chihuahuan Desert. Keystone Heritage Park is having their annual native plant sale this Saturday. Here are details. Here are good reasons to plant natives and avoid invasive species.

There’s another Thursday morning Beginners Hike next week, October 11 – this one with geological interest and on the west side. 

Do see El Paso Hiking Group, Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group,  Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists, Celebration of Our Mountains and Peak Fitness Challenge for great hikes and other adventures.  Remember that Scenic Drive is open to all hikers, bicyclists, walkers, strollers (with attached parent), even Chihuahuas (with attached human) every Sunday from 6 to 11 a.m.

Next weekend, Sunday October 14, is the 35^th Annual GECU Trans Mountain Challenge half marathon and 5K run/walk.  Register online at Race and Adventure.  Race packet pick up is on Saturday, Oct 13.

Excelsior!

Return to the Bedrock Mortars

Check out  El Paso Hiking Group for a number of great upcoming hikes including three this weekend. Also go to Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group.  Remember also the Las Cruces & El Paso Adventurists.

One great place to find trail maps is at the Borderland Mountain Bike Association site. Many of the trails that we enjoy hiking were “constructed” by the BMBA. Also go to GeoBetty.com for great maps. While at GeoBetty, check out the Peak Fitness Challenge and sign up. Several of the hikes at FMSP are official peak challenge hikes. Check out the August schedule.

Speaking of BMBA trails, on Thursday, August 9, at 7 p.m. sharp we will do the Bedrock Mortars Hike. This hike includes following a lovely, narrow arroyo farther into the Franklin Mountain State Park and looping back to where we started. A bedrock mortar is a circular depression in rock used by ancient people to grind grain or other food products. The number of such mortars at this location suggests that the grinding was a communal activity. Very easy, scenic and fun. Bring at least a liter of water. Remember sunscreen and a hat.  Meet in the parking lot on the south end of Chuck Heinrich Park at the end of Jon Cunningham just off MLK in NE El Paso.  Plan to be there before 7 a.m. We will leave promptly and not wait for anyone after 7.

Since we will be in the Franklin Mountains State Park there is a $5 per person fee collected at the Iron Ranger at the trail head. The fee goes to the maintenance and program of the park and is well worth it. You can purchase a Texas State Parks Pass but it requires a visit to the FMSP headquarters in McKelligon Canyon. The TPWD has yet to learn that there is such a thing as purchasing conveniently online and probably could collect much, much more if they became just a tad more technologically savvy.

Join the El Paso Trans-Pecos Audubon Society tomorrow,  Saturday, August 4, 2012 for a trip to the Reservoirs Down the Valley.  You will travel down I10 east to visit the Reservoirs of McNary, Ft. Hancock and Tornillo.  Possible sightings will be Western & Clark's Grebes, Eared Grebes, pelicans, gulls, egrets, sandpipers, cormorants, herons and ducks of many species.  Meet at 6:30 a.m. at the parking lot at Burlington Coat Factory, at 1144 N. Yarbrough.  Exit at Yarbrough.  At the light, turn left under I10.  Burlington is on the right.  Bring a lunch, water and sun block.  Open to the public.  For more information contact Mark at 637-3521.

Finally, if you like this e-letter, please forward to all your friends. The El Paso Hiker tries to present in one place what you can get only by visiting multiple sites or receiving multiple emails. If you aren’t  a subscriber, please reply to this email and ask to be added to the list. Please also visit elpasonaturally and join that email list too.

Excelsior!

Jim H. Tolbert

Publisher, Elpasonaturally and the El Paso Hiker

Leading the way for sustainable living in the El Paso Southwest

jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com
www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com

Get your friends and family outdoors in this beautiful part of the Chihuahuan Desert. Forward this message to them and suggest that they subscribe.

This email message is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com and say “Unsubscribe Hikers”.

"A million tax-free dollars would probably tempt me to divulge your email address.

However, know that your privacy is safe with me . . . Nobody has offered me the million yet.”

The El Paso Hiker E-Letter Volume 2, No. 22, August 3, 2012

Time for a Hike

El Paso Hiker is back and fresh after a month’s rest.

Do visit, bookmark and join the El Paso Hiking Group. More new hikes are now being posted including an easy one-hour beginner’s hike tomorrow morning at the Stoney Hill Trailhead. Plan to leave at 7 a.m. sharp. Hikers can begin gathering at 6:45 a.m.  There’s a Women’s Only hike on Friday at Tom Mays and a more difficult Tramway Trails Hike on Saturday. Also on Saturday is a Ranger-led Interpretive Hike to Guadalupe Peak. You can find details about this hike at the El Paso Hiking Group or the Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group. In fact, visit, bookmark and join the Guadalupe Mountains National Park Meetup Group.

If you would rather ride to the top of Ranger Peak on Saturday than do the Tramway Trails, Interpretive Park Ranger Nancy Scarantino will talk about wildlife on a Wyler Aerial Tramway trip at Noon. This event co-sponsored by TecH2O includes free refreshments. Check out details online because reservations are necessary.

Two other places to bookmark: Las Cruces/El Paso Adventurers Meetup and El Paso Ridgewalkers. You will find much useful information at Ridgewalkers including GPS tracks of local hikes that you can download.

Hiking, mountain biking and mountain climbing in our area are all getting more publicity because of you, a variety of groups and Peak Fitness Challenge. Check it out. Like them on Facebook. Read a recent shout out from Austin360. There’s a Peak Fitness Challenge hike on the Aztec Caves Trail this coming Sunday.

El Paso Hiker can no longer recommend nor endorse Las Cruces Hiking Meetup events. Word has come back to us that hike leaders are telling groups to find their way back to the beginning of a hike and then abandoning the group to go off alone. Also, we have learned that hike leaders are not familiar with a scheduled trail and that they have not even hiked it before resulting in getting lost, going too far and having to ask for help. When El Paso Hiker learns that the Las Cruces group is once again leading hikes in an ethical, responsible manner, it will again promote their events. Until then, all the groups mentioned above sponsor events for all levels of hikers and do so with the health and safety of participants in mind.

Learn more about this beautiful place on earth which we enjoy whenever we get outdoors.  There are some good online newsletters.  The Southwest Environmental Center’s Summer 2012 Mesquite Grill is now available online. Look for great links at Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition.  Plan visits to the Centennial Museum on the UTEP campus and to the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.

The new August 2012 Franklin Mountains State Park Hiking Schedule is posted. Check it out! It includes movie nights in McKelligon Canyon, a Peak Fitness Challenge hike, a Women’s Only hike and more.  Ranger Adrianna Weickhardt is simply the best!

Finally, if you like this e-letter, please forward to all your friends. The El Paso Hiker tries to present in one place what you can get only by visiting multiple sites or receiving multiple emails. If you aren’t  a subscriber, please reply to this email and ask to be added to the list. Please also visit elpasonaturally and join that email list too.

Excelsior!

Two Beginners Hikes This Week

Hikers, Mountain Bikers, Birders, Conservationists, Etc.: The City of El Paso is updating the Department of Parks & Recreation’s Parks Master Plan, which is their main guide for what they do. The current leadership at Parks and Recreation is narrow minded and focused primarily on turf, club sports and senior citizen bingo. Conservation, preservation of eco-systems, learning about nature and natural open space are nether regions of monsters and abyss beyond their flat earth thinking.  There will be two meetings to present recommendations and receive public input on the Parks Master Plan. Please make plans to attend either meeting and provided your input for parks in El Paso.  Meetings are this Thursday, June 7^th at 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 9^th at 10 a.m. Both will be held at the El Paso Museum of Art, 1 Arts Festival Plaza, off Santa Fe Street downtown. (Map) Franklin Mountains Wilderness Coalition President Scott Cutler says, “In addition to more natural open space parks for people to participate in and learn about nature, there are a number of other new concepts for parks that the Parks and Recreation Department should consider.”  Dave Wilson of the Borderland Mountain Bike Association wrote: “I'll be attending the one on Thursday evening.  Hopefully I'll be able to present some ideas for Chuck Heinrich Park in regards to safe access, more parking, etc. for the mountain bikers and hikers trying to access the state park.” Please read some thoughts about the Master Plan at elpasonaturally.  Also read a great article from the April 2012 Parks and Recreation magazine. You can see the current Master Plan online.

Here’s a great beginners hike on an easy trail in the NE Franklins: 3 mile North Hills Hike, Thursday, June 7, at 7 a.m. Meet at parking lot of Chuck Heinrich Park (Map). The parking lot is at the end of Jon Cunningham Blvd. just west off of MLK off the Patriot Freeway in NE El Paso. There are a number of good mountain bike/hiking trails in the area including one that goes to the Tin Mines. We will walk along the dam and then take a trail toward the mountain. The elevation gain is a gradual 300-400 foot gain. We will be gone no more than 1.5 to 2 hours. This is an enjoyable walk/hike on good trails with lush vegetation as the result of spring rains. If you are a birder, this is a good event for you as well so plan to bring your binoculars. Everyone should bring good hiking footwear, use sunscreen and wear a hat, and bring plenty of water – at least a liter.

On Saturday, June 9^th, there will be a beginners hike at 7 a.m. We will do the Upper Sunset Trail at the Tom Mays Unit of the FMSP the easy way. Meet at the gate to the Park (map). We will take some cars to the parking lot at the end of the trail and ride together to the north end, top of the trail. This really is a beginners hike with a good trail, not a great elevation gain. It is only a 1.5 mile hike one-way in the easy direction. We will plan to do the Upper Sunset from south to north another time. But for now this is perfect for those of you who have been wanting a beginning hike on a weekend. Also, this will give us all time to get to Ardovino’s Farmers Market for a brunch or a breakfast burrito. Remember your canvas shopping bags for your vegetables, herbs, eggs and such.

Join the local Auduboners for a bird watching trip to Rio Bosque Park, a local 4 to 5 hour trip to El Paso's lower valley.  Possible sightings will be Painted Bunting, Burrowing Owls, Harris's Hawk, White-tailed Kite.  Open to the public.  Meet at 7:00 a.m. at the bridge crossing the Riverside Canal.  Directions from I10: take Americas Avenue, which is Loop 375.  Don't use access road, stay on Loop 375 to Pan American Drive, turn left on Pan American Dr. and go 1-1/2 miles.  Contact Mark Perkins at 637-3521 or mperkins4@elp.rr.com.

Keep an eye on all hikes posted through the El Paso Hiking Meet up Group including another Palisades Sunset Hike this Wednesday.

Do check out the June schedule of hikes in the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Remember that Scenic Drive is closed every Sunday morning from 6 to 11 a.m.  It’s a 4.1 mile hike from one side to the other. This walk takes in a dazzling panorama of El Paso and Juarez and a display of 500 million year old fossils! It’s a good recreational walk and can be done in an hour and a half.

Check out this sensational new El Paso restaurant: Tom’s Folk Café at 204 Boston Avenue in the Cincinnati Entertainment District. Like them on Facebook. It has the El Paso Hikers Five Star rating!

For anyone looking to escape the heat and climb Wheeler Peak and explore the Taos, NM area: there is a former BLM Wilderness Study Area guide who is renting out a room in his 3-BR house in Taos, NM  for June (preferably for June 10 onwards) but would consider one or two weeks at a time in June.  July might work out as well. Visit http://santafe.craigslist.org/roo/3035889724.html.

Finally, Professor Roy Brown alerts us to the fact that “on May 29, 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.”  The Venerable Brown says that “El Paso and Sunrise Hikers have time to organize a 60^th Anniversary Celebration Hike!” 

Tin Mines Hike Tomorrow

At entrance to Franklin Mountain Tin Mines

There are some really cool hikes coming up.  As always, I suggest that you visit and bookmark El Paso Hiking Meet-up and the Las Cruces Hiking Meet-up as well as the Ocotillo Hikers of Las Cruces for schedules of great hikes. Join the El Paso and Las Cruces meet-up groups so that you receive email about hikes as soon as they are scheduled.

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 7^th plan to hike to the only Tin Mines ever in the United States. They are located in the northeast Franklins. The hike begins at 8 a.m. Get details here including where to meet. The El Paso Tin Mining and Smelting Company operated in the northeast Franklins from 1909 until 1915 when it was shut down for lack of productive ore. 

Also tomorrow is a hike in Fillmore Canyon at Dripping Springs in the Organ Mountains. Go to the El Paso Hiking Meet-up description for the details.

The El Paso/Trans Pecos Audubon Society is planning the annual trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to see ducks, cranes, geese and other birds and wildlife. (Map) Mark and Janet Perkins will be at the Refuge on Friday, January 13^th,  for those who want to join them that day.  Those who arrive on Saturday will meet at 1:00 p.m. at the Refuge Visitor's Center.  There are also plans for a trip to the Sandia Mountains for the Rosy Finch banding (weather permitting).  Beginners and nonmembers are welcome.  Please RSVP as soon as possible.  Reservations are required for this trip.  There is a detailed Itinerary available upon request.  Contact Mark at 637-3521 or mperkins4@elp.rr.com.

Every Sunday is Scenic Sunday at Scenic Drive from 7 a.m. to Noon. Walk, run or bicycle this 4.1 mile round trip of panoramic views and 500 million-year-old fossils. Also, get to know the El Paso Zoo. If you visit all of the exhibits on this fabulous 35 acres, you will walk a mile. Keep track of Zoo Events.

Excelsior!