Only Jennifer would be prepared for this! It was Cliff’s Manzano Mountain run on Oct. 28. We were several hours into the journey, maybe 20 miles from pavement. And up ahead on the rough road were four or five big black cattle on and next to the road--and a tree, across the road, blocking our passage. Its trunk was at least 12 inches in diameter, and thigh-thick limbs were everywhere.
Now what, some of us wondered. Well, Jennifer, prepared, ready, and willing, grabbed her battery-powered chain saw. And got right to work. Two of three of us grabbed branches and flung them into the woods. Three or four slices with her saw, and Jennifer was done. In less than 5 minutes. 10 Holy cow! And on we went.
The day began at the Sandia ranger station on what the old-timers still call South 14. A stop in Manzano to collect two women in their white Jeep rounded out the entourage of 11 (???) vehicles. A few minutes later, we were climbing to Capilla Peak. On the way up, we encountered a Dodge diesel pickup carrying a family from Rio Rancho. The driver owns two big cranes and told us that a tower at the peak had fallen, landing partly on the cable to another tower. He was checking out the situation and later said he intended to return at some point with his cranes to begin R&R. After that, it was down the mountain, retracing our steps, then into Manzano again, then single file behind Cliff.
It had been a year or so since Cliff had driven this route, but he knew virtually every turn. We climbed and climbed. Two mph. Ten mph. Two mph. The views to the west and then to the east and then to the west--spectacular. Mud puddles and gooey slop marked the roadway in many places. Lunch was taken 30 minute or so in a clearing somewhere not near anything. We stopped again at the ruins of what must’ve been a home a hundred years ago. No roof. Walls mostly collapsed. Someone’s dream home a long time ago?
By now, the sun was in the western sky, and most of the fall color in the trees was brown. Every now and then a solitary yellow aspen would break the thousands of acres of pinon and juniper and scrub oak. Several times, we spotted deer, Cliff alerting us via CB. Two or three times, at least, the descent was steep, really steep. Then one time, it was up and up, so steep that one could see only sky over the hood. Finally, flat roads again. The Abo ruins were the final stop. It was a great run.
