Hike to Kachina Peak (no dogs)
Initially you hike up from the top of the lift to the Ridge above. The photo below left shows the view from the Ridge and the hike ahead of us. After hiking up to the Ridge, you ski across the Ridge and then, annoyingly, lose altitude by skiing down through trees for a while; somewhere in there you take off your skis and start the main climb up to the Peak. The next few photos show us preparing to climb, while certain members of our party ham it up a bit for the camera.
At this point the serious climbing begins. Since we hadn't had fresh snow for a few days, our climb was made a little easier by the steps kicked by other people; but the steps are quite steep and in some cases a little slippery, so you have to tread quite carefully before moving each foot uphill. Also, your poles sink into the soft snow along the sides of the trail if you're not careful, so you really need to position them on firm snow to use them for balance.
I was glad I had my ski carrier with me so I could strap them on my back. It's much harder, and more uncomfortable, to carry skis on your shoulder as Stuart is doing, and then you only have one hand free to steady yourself with your poles.
We had a short rest on the way up, and of course, took a few more photos.
The hike continues beyond where Sandy is standing.
Below right, we admire Stuart's 60s shirt, which he's been wearing as long as we've been skiing with him (at least 15 years). One day, he'll probably be buried in it.
Time to continue our climb.
Eventually we arrived on the summit and spent some time up there admiring the spectacular 360 degree views and enjoying the peacefulness and solitude.
Although we appreciated the lack of people at the top, we were glad to find a Ski Patroler up there (patiently waiting for us to ski down so he could do the end of day "sweep" to make sure nobody was left on the mountain). Because, of course, we needed a good photo of the three of us together on the summit.
Energy bars work. I immediately felt better, and, even though our legs were tired, we skied a few more runs, including one of our favorites, El Funko, before ending our day back at the base of the mountain.
Later a few friends joined us to celebrate Sandy's birthday at Sabroso restaurant, near Arroyo Seco. We earned it!
Jackie, the dogs were at home while we skied, and a wonderful woman, Mary Sue Comstock, who does Healing Touch for animals came in and walked them every day. You can read about her on an earlier blog entry.
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