Last week I finally made it to Cloudcroft New Mexico with my daughter to spend several days hiking. The weather was perfect. The trails were dry and the town was peaceful and quiet. It has been ten years since I was last here.
We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and got settled into the cabin we had rented. It was a charming cozy little place, but provided everything we needed for the stay. Our first night we went to the new Cloudcroft Brewing Co. for beer and pizza. I can highly recommend both the beer and the pizza. They don't have a lot of options on the food menu and only offer one size of pizza - small. I was thrilled that they offer two different red/amber ales. I tried the Irish Red and it was incredibly smooth and easy to drink. My daughter had a blueberry cider that she really enjoyed. We did return later in the week just for a brew and I tried the Amber Ale then. I really enjoyed it as it was more full bodied than the red ale.
Monday morning we headed down to the high desert to start our hiking at a bit lower altitude. We headed to three Rivers Petroglyph Site for a leisurely hike and exploring the rock drawings. We really enjoyed the time spent there. From there we drove just a few miles up the road to visit the Catholic Mission of Santa Nina de Atocha, a beautiful little church in the middle of the desert.
Pics of Three Rivers and Santa Nina de Atocha;
From there we drove into Alamogordo for a bit of shopping and lunch before returning to Cloudcroft.
Later that afternoon we set off on our first hike in Cloudcroft. We decided to do the familiar Osha Trail just on the edge of the village. It is a 2.5 mile loop with a few hills. It is a popular trail with the locals so we met quite a few people and their dogs while hiking it. Let me tell you that the 9000 foot altitude nearly kicked our butts on this one. But it was a good, necessary workout.
Tuesday morning was another beautiful day. It started off in the 40's (f) and we hit the trail early for a five mile hike that was just a few miles outside of town. It was the Fir/Little Apache trail, a double loop with some elevation changes, but nothing too steep. It was mostly through forested areas. Nothing overwhelmingly scenic but the trail was deserted so it was a very peaceful hike. We did see one patch of snow in a shady area. My only complaint with this trail is that it gets a lot of people on horseback so there is horse-poop is everywhere and you have to watch your step.
Our third and final day we headed out the Cloudcroft highway to the Switchback Trail. This trail follows the highway and old railway down the mountain and then a footbridge across and then back up hill. We were well acclimated by then and did not struggle at all on the trail. It is a really nice trail with some scenic areas. The hills aren't steep but are fairly constant. There are just a few level areas. It was a good hike to end the trip.
The week was too short, but was still nice to get away and get outside in the beautiful weather. The warmest it got while we were there was maybe in the mid 60's. I took my two little runt-mutts with us, but they only went on the Osha trail hike. We did quite a bit of walking with them though in the area where the cabin was.
Hopefully I will get to return soon as Cloudcroft is such a great location to hike, relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Now I am planning my next trip.... maybe hiking in Colorado this coming Autumn.
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