Mount Taylor

October 10th

Today I had a decision about whether to go over or around Mount Taylor.  The Ley maps are unabashedly for going over the summit.  It is a fairly dry straightforward climb up and over.  The official trail circumnavigates around the north side of Mount Taylor with less up and down, a longer distance plus one reliable water source.  Mt. Taylor reaches a peak of 11,300 feet above sea level.  Also, it marks the southern end of the traditional Navajo nation.

I ended up walking around.  I wanted the comfort of water along the way and, at this point, being on top of an 11,000′ mountain is not that impressive to me.

The trail was actually pretty nice.  It turns out the Mount Taylor 50k Trail Run uses both the official and alternate trails….it was run just the previous weekend.  There was interesting elevation gains, a good water source, and the tread was distinct.  Glad I took it.

 

I found a gray mare walking through the woods on the eastern side.  She was neither afraid nor excited to see me.  (Later on I stopped at the Forest Service office and asked whether there was a horse reported missing.   He said there are wild horses all over and not worry about it.)

A local couple in their side-by-side stopped and we had a great discussion.  They both work at the correctional facility and this was their day off.  The man grew up in the area and knew it like the back of his hand.  They offered me water and food.  They even let me know their address if I needed anything.  I wish I was as generous as this couple.

Late in the day, I found a black irrigation  hose.  Ranchers out here use them to transport water from a spring to a cattle tank.  They can go for miles.  This one had a leak about a half mile down hill.  I was glad to have the exrta water “just in case.”

There have been a ton of pine nuts on the trail.  Considering how much I pay for these in the grocery store, I should’ve dumped my food and collected the pine nuts.  Later in the day, I heard pickup trucks and “thunking” sounds.  It sounded like somebody hitting a tree with a baseball bat.  I finally ran across the source: people out collecting pine nuts.  From the way one guy acted, I am not sure this was  an up-and-up  operation.  I ended up camping across a meadow from their base camp.