Summer Trail Running: Atalaya Mountain to Picacho Peak

I have lived in Santa Fe for 11 years and I am still discovering new hiking trails.  I have hiked both Atalaya Mountain and Picacho Peak a number of times, but I had never hiked from one peak to the other until this summer.  Both peaks offer stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding area including the city to the west and the Santa Fe National Forest to the east.  The hospital where I work has east-facing windows with view of both of these mountains, and I often open up the curtains in patients' rooms and set up their chairs to face the windows so they can see the sunrise over the mountains.  There's something healing and meditative about seeing the mountains from a distance, and then hiking to the top of the peak and viewing the world from above.  

The hike begins at the St. John College parking lot (although, alternatively, you can begin at Cerro Gordo and go up Picacho Peak first).  It winds through the foothills next to the campus with a few rolling hills until crossing the road and heading up the mountain.  This is the time of year I call apricot and tarragon season, where apricot trees are rich with fruit and tarragon grows abundantly along the trails.  The uphill path winds through switchbacks and two steep sections through the pines and chamisa.  I have hiked up Atalaya a number of times, and no matter my level of fitness it is always challenging.  A mistake I made this time was starting off too aggressively and trying to run the uphills, leaving me exhausted by the time I got to the steep terrain and switchbacks.  I literally had to sit down on the trail because my quads would no longer hold me, which was good preparation and a learning moment to prepare for my race that would be uphill for the first four miles.

Atalaya (meaning "watchtower") is a ridge along the eastern side of Santa Fe.  At just over 9,000 ft, it is the tallest peak in the foothills on this part of town.  It doesn't have a clearly defined point at the peak, but the top of the mountain is broad, and hikers can walk around to see the view from all sides.  It's so rewarding to reach that highest point after a strenuous climb.  I usually get to the top, take a few photos, grab a bite and then head back down the way I came up, but this time I continued on past the summit and toward Picacho Peak.   

Picacho Peak is 8,500 ft, and although slightly lower than Atalaya, it does have a more defined peak to it, offering panoramic views of the whole area.  While it is visible from the peak of Atalaya, the route to get there is somewhat confusing and it's helpful to have GPS for this section.  There's a steep downhill followed by a sandy area across the arroyo, then the trail meets up with the lower Dale Ball trails heading up to the peak.  There are a few splits in the trail and I took a couple wrong turns, but it's hard to get really lost in this area, and before too long I was approaching the peak.  I walked the final uphill and I'm embracing that walking during a trail run isn't failure and any momentum forward is success.  Picacho Peak has special meaning for me and it's often my go-to hike for meditation and perspective, and it was enjoyable to approach it from a different direction this time.

The full loop is about 8 miles total.  Instead of going all the way back up Atalaya, the remainder of the hike winds around the mountain before heading back down hill to St. John's.  I was very fatigued on the way back down and found myself tripping on rocks a lot.  I was also feeling dehydrated because I was still experimenting with the right balance of nutrition and hydration.  When I had about 2 miles to go, I had a hard ankle roll and a fall onto a rock, bruising the side of my foot.  I stayed there for a minute in shock, fearing that I broke something.  I was able to stand up and continue running on it, but when I was driving that afternoon it got so swollen and painful that I was convinced I had a fracture.  Besides the pain and the fear that my race training was over, it was overwhelmingly stressful to think about what an injury might mean.  The medical bills, the unpaid time off work, letting down my department, figuring out transportation for my kids for school and camp and activities, managing the house, it was just too much.  Getting injured as an adult and a parent, when I'm responsible for so many other people and commitments, is no joke.  Thankfully a few days of elevation, ice, and compression did the trick, and I was back on the trails the next week, but this time with an enhanced sense of caution to avoid injury and to watch carefully before I stepped.

Some post-run TLC

Later that weekend my friends and I had a craft (and wine) night and made macrame plant holders!  Happy summer!