Well folks, with the arrival of my new backpack and ski poles I was looking for some adventure. My budget kept me close to home so I chose to break in the new backpack on the beautiful trails off the Santa Fe Ski Basin. Putting on the 40 pound + backpack at the trailhead was a strange experience...like carrying a 12 year old on your back. Weirder still was navigating the trail downhill without rolling on my back like a tortoise in the desert. I was laughing hysterically and grabbing trees to keep from falling. Thankfully no one was around. The new pack performed like a champ remaining dry and was surprisingly comfortable despite the weight. Even though I packed it to the gills it still had more room! It started snowing and all was quiet except the birds; they were chirping in the trees…I hummed along to their songs and I was completely in another world. After ten minutes, I worked up a sweat and had to take my gloves off. It’s hard to imagine that these trails are less than an hour away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Santa Fe. Elevation of the Santa Fe Ski Basin is over 10,000 feet but still has an abundant of large trees which I so love. 
It was getting late in the day so I hit the road to find the campground only to discover that all the campgrounds were closed for the winter. I pull into a driveway to turn around only to get the Non 4x4 stuck in the driveway. Twenty minutes later after trying every conceivable way I finally give up. There was a log cabin so I went to knock on the door for help. Nothing…then I went to the back door and knocked…again nothing. I looked around for something I can use to put under the tire as the floor mats did not work. I saw the woodpile so I “borrowed” 2 pieces to put under the tire. As I was walking away, a young boy came out and I told him of my embarrassing situation. I’m now feeling like a total loser then the boy’s father came out and told me that I could not have picked a better spot on the whole mountain to get stuck…you see it was the Park Superintendent Joe Christopherson and his wonderful son Stetson that came to my rescue. If you are reading this gentleman, I can’t thank you enough for your help, the wood to keep me warm and your priceless advice. I took a picture of them but it did not come out : (
I ended up camping at the RV camp down the road. There were a million stars out and the moon was almost full so the forest had a wonderful glow to it. Unfortunately, my camera was not good enough to capture the magic of the sky last night. I had a nice fire going and feeling mighty sore from the hike, I fell asleep in no time. It was the icy sleet hitting the tent that woke me up. The temperature had dropped like the titanic and I could not get back to sleep after that. I was shivering hard and remembered what the good ranger told me…get in the car and turn up the heat. I did just that and made a mental note to get a warmer sleeping bag or add a micro fleece cocoon for colder conditions. By 6:30 AM, I was up and broke camp. Everything was frozen and my tent was “crispy” with a new layer of ice. The drive back down to civilization was beautiful and serene and Santa Fe was just waking up to a new and glorious day below the mountain sans the heavy snow. This is what I live for...this very moment is all that I really have. We cannot predict how long we are here for so for this moment, I am in paradise. Thank you thank you!
For a detailed account and more photos please click on this link to my BCMT thread
Yesterday I was back up the Santa Fe Basin fully loaded for another breathtaking trek. I wasn't kidding when I said breathtaking...huffing and puffing up the first two miles of the trail. It was narrow in some spots to eight inches wide and a sheer drop off the side. I was seriously wishing I had snow shoes on as veering off the trail by 2 inches sinks you into the snow a foot and a half...in my case up to my knee. It gets old after a while and I was feeling every step like The StairMaster from hell. I got all the way up to the base of Baldie and realized that I was the ONLY one on the mountain at this point. The sun was casting this incredible golden light over everything and I can kick myself for running out of battery on my camera. Still I got some good photos and am coming back next week for more. 
