What a day. It’s almost nine. The sun just set and the sky above the canyon we’re camping in has turned to magnificent purples and pinks. Zak and I are perched on a boulder drinking whiskey from a plastic water bottle that has been chilling in the bubbling stream for the past two hours. This day has seemed longer than imaginable and breakfast, let alone last night’s James Beard dinner, seem like distant memories.
Dinner last night: ✔️ The food was some of the best New Mexican I’ve had.
Breakfast at the B&B: ✔️ Turns out that when you mess up the reservation and get a few cheesy, herby scrambled eggs, life is good.
On the way to Bandelier NM, we stopped at a bagel shop in Los Alamos to get lunch, knowing it would be the last good meal for a decent amount of time. You’re probably thinking, “Geez, all those Knotts do is eat and talk about what they eat.” Yep. We packed the bagel sandwiches to go and headed to the monument.
Upon arriving, we got our back country permit, a short orientation, and the warmest greeting from Ranger Sally. (She says hi, Ranger Mike, and just raved about all you did in your too short time here.) We grabbed a picnic table and ate those delicious bagel sandwiches, afterward washing up in the last running water we’d see in a good while.
We finished loading our packs, slung them over our backs, and began the 8 miles of hiking of the day. The sun was beating down and the sweat immediately started dripping. We knew the hiking would begin hard, about 1000 feet up in the first mile, but with the heat and full bellies, it was a challenge. But we did great. We were slow, we took lots of breaks to catch our breath and sip water. About 45 minutes from the start, we were at the top of the canyon. We took a collective breath of fresh air, and started the next 5 miles of relatively flattish hiking. In a real low grumble, I heard thunder echo through the canyon. It didn’t seem to ever stop. The sky above had darkened. Zak mentioned that he had looked at the radar and we needed to talk.
A small, but strong thunderstorm was coming right at us according to the radar and the thunderhead above. Knowing we shouldn’t go higher than we were (keep hiking the trail) and that we wouldn’t have time to get back to the trailhead, we opted to stay put. We quickly threw up a tent, and texted our emergency contacts our exact gps coordinates. Truthfully, this is the most scared I’ve been in a few years. This storm was huge and coming right at us, in the middle of nowhere with no other people around us. Just as the first drops started falling, we got emergency alerts on our phones to shelter in place. We jumped into the tent.
Let’s talk about the smell in that tent. I think it is permanently scarred in my nose tissues. We all were rancid. Our deodorant had finished it’s job a good hour prior. Our boots were off, and, geez, the smell of four pairs of hiking socks and sweaty feet is putrid. Plus, at least two of us tooted in the tent. It was bad. Really, really bad. And hot. The heat radiating off of us created a foggy, sticky air that was unforgivable. It was hard to breathe, horrible to smell, a hot mess.
The heavy drops pounded the tent, but at one point, we noticed the thunder had quieted. Zak and I immediately volunteered to check the progress of the storm. Getting hit by lightning was a risk worth taking compared to spending extra time in that small two person tent. The sky above us was a light grey, indicating the thunderhead had dissipated when it reached the canyon, before it got to us. There was another, much larger, but not as severe looking storm behind it. We weighed our options and decided to forge ahead. If we needed to shelter in place again, we could.
We let my mom and the Otts know we were safe and what our plan was.
I had thought we’d hike a half mile or mile before needing to hunker down again, but as the hike progressed, the storm slowed and started moving away from us. A few miles later we were looking at nearly clear skies and terrain unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
I’ve never been to a savannah, but I imagine it would look like what the top of the canyon looked like. Tall deserty grasses, trees standing alone or in small clusters, small shrubs and sandy soil. It was just breathtaking.
Eventually, we made our way back down the canyon and hiked a short way along a river to our campsite. It’s perfect. The river is gently flowing, the flowers were of every color of the rainbow, the temperature is cool and crisp, the canyon walls are towering above us.
This is hard, this summer lifestyle we have. It’s risky and scary at times. But, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else with anyone else. These adventures make the memories that are our family. We’re so lucky.
Visited Bandelier in ‘93 – only did short hikes to the ruins but loved being in an ecotone that showed a lot of different vegetation in a very small space. It was easy to see why the original inhabitants lived IN the canyon rather than on top of it.
Totally!! We were there three years ago, but I really fell in love with it this visit. I can’t wait to go back and hike to the Yapashi pueblo.
Ranger Sally was Sarah’s supervisor as well! We are so thrilled you love Bandelier!