Hiking near Santa Fe

Of the over four thousand pictures I've taken on my trip so far I find the most happiness looking at this one.

Whenever I look at mountains I look up at their peaks and think: I want to go there. Today I left my campsite in Hyde Memorial State Park and took a solo hike to the top of this nearby mountain. This is it: the peak. Someone from the forest service has put two picnic tables up here as a reward and I love them for it.

To my west I see another mountain, taller, almost reaching the clouds. To my east I see parts of Santa Fe and the valley that separates Santa Fe and Los Alamos. It's sunny and warm where I am but I can see storm clouds and rain off on the other side of the valley.

I think in life I enjoy balancing my time between being saturated with other people and being completely alone. It was nice to leave my campsite today where I have been "adopted" by a local Santa Fe family and go off for some "alone time."

The hike was hard because of the altitude. I had to stop every fifty to hundred feet just to catch my breath. But it was completely worth it.