(Continued from Page 1 re: the Bayo Canyon trail loop)

APPROACHING THE BAYO BENCH TRAIL

Near the top of the mesa the trail splits in two directions. Cody and I turned left, climbed a bit higher,  and went out to the overlook to peer into the canyon where we'd been hiking a few minutes earlier:

 

 

 

 

We were down there a little while ago.

Then we turned around and walked west on the undulating Bayo Bench Trail that we hiked with Jim a few days ago. The views are scenic in that direction, too:

 

 

An interesting tree nearby:

These two views look back the other direction:

 

The Bayo Bench Trail is fairly flat and smooth at its eastern end near the point:

Farther on it narrows to single-track and becomes hillier and rockier:

 

Well-worn path over soft exposed "tuff" bedrock

BACK ON THE BAYO CANYON TRAIL

Near the roundabout trailhead we looped back toward the east and followed the Bayo Canyon Trail section that the runners will use tomorrow when they're returning to the finish at the Posse Shack.

None of the course markers have been placed in this section yet (as of noon today) but it's always well marked during the race. Here are some photos that show this part of the course:

   

These pictures are looking back:

   

More ruts that began during the homesteading years and have eroded further with time:

When Cody and I came to the spur trail that goes up to the Posse Shack (and our camper), we turned right like the runners will do tomorrow. If we'd gone straight on the Bayo Canyon Trail for another quarter mile, we would have come to the spur trail on which we descended into the canyon a couple of hours earlier.

This spur trail to the stable area and Posse Shack is short but challenging at the end of the Jemez races with its steady climb, high rock steps, and narrow chutes. On a shorter hike, it's just plain fun to scramble back up tot he mesa:

   

 

 

   

 

At the top of the climb the trail spur morphs into a dirt road by the stables:

In a few yards the runners will reach North Mesa Road and turn right toward the Posse Shack and the finish line of the Jemez races. Our camper is across the road and to the left, just out of the picture:

Those other campers are in the county's RV storage lot.

Cody and I had a good hike that lasted about two hours with all of our stops. The weather stayed cool, with some glimpses of sun. Note that there are no sources of water on this route; I carried enough for Cody and me.

We saw very few people during this weekday hike. Other than the folks tending to their livestock in the stables, we saw only two runners, two hikers, and one dog in six miles. Cody was able to run free for most of the hike.

Jim's resting up for his 50K race tomorrow. While Cody and I were hiking he drove to White Rock to get some propane; he couldn't find any in Los Alamos to fill one of our RV tanks. With the cold weather we've been having the last few days, we've been ripping through more propane than we have on our two prior visits to Los Alamos in May. Jim was able to get diesel fuel a little cheaper in White Rock, too -- $4.17/gallon.

As if that's "cheap!" It's even worse in Los Alamos.

Next entry: pre-race volunteer activities

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil