June 20, 2021
I woke up early enough before Jarrod came over so I decided to take a Father’s Day hike with my fur baby.
Searching for the Perfect Hike
I knew Jarrod would be over at about 11:00, so by 7:00, I knew I would only have four hours for travel, the hike, and cleaning myself up before he showed up.
I looked on AllTrails for a close, easy, short hike. I settled on the Arroyo Loop Trail in Cedar Crest.
Trail Stats
AllTrails has this hike listed as an easy 2.5 mile loop trail with a 242 foot elevation gain. More on the gains later.
To The Trailhead!
As per the norm, I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and a pup cup for Ash before heading up Central through Tijeras and into Cedar Crest. The trailhead is on Arroyo Seco Rd just off of State Highway 14, spitting distance from Ribs BBQ, which comes into play a little later on. I parked and decided I wanted to listen to some music on this hike, so I put on Led Zeppelin Radio on Spotify, then I let Ash out of the car and we headed out onto the Arroyo Loop Trail West Side.
A Perfect Desert Landscape
Ash, as per normal, took off, tugging at the leash as though he wanted to sprint the entirety of the 2.5 mile trail.
The Arroyo Loop Trail winds through a decidedly southwestern desert landscape, dotted with juniper trees and cacti. Being the first day of summer, the sparse grass on the hike was yellowed and dry. The trail parallels and crosses a series of arroyos along the entire loop, including dips down into and rises out of the ditches. There were plenty of opportunities for some cool photos up into the arroyos as I stood in the trenches.
The shade from the trees was spotty – many stretches with no shade at all interspersed with lanes with plenty of cooler shade. The desert landscape coupled with the heat of the starting day made the perfect environment for lots of lizards along the trail. At every sighting, Ash would tug at his leash hard enough to nearly pull my arm out of its socket. It was a task keeping him reigned in.
Around the 3/4 mile mark, I noticed he was slowing way down. I realized, he’s an excellent sprinter but a terrible marathon runner. He asked for numerous breaks as we trod onward. Eventually it got to the point where he had trouble keeping up with me. He needs to pace himself better. The next mile or so I nearly had to drag him along, before coming across several lizards that quickly scattered as we approached. His initial lunge toward them apparently pumped him full of adrenaline and he dragged me along for the last 3/4 mile or so.
Near the 2 mile mark or so, I went to pull some water from my hydration bladder in my backpack but it was empty. This is the first time I have taken a hike and emptied the bladder. Truth be told, I don’t even know how full it was to start, but I’m going to make more of an effort to make sure I bring more water with us, especially in the warming summer days.
Deceiving Elevation Gain
As we trekked along, I noticed the trail was very hilly. I’m not talking about a long, slow, steady climb to 242 feet above where we stared. I’m talking about several short, sudden drops of 2 or 3 feet into an arroyo followed by a rise up out of them.
At some point around the mile and a half mark, I checked the AllTrails app to see how much further I had to go when I noticed the app reporting I had around 1,400 feet in elevation gain. It dawned on me only then that the trail’s reported elevation gain of 242 feet was a low point to high point gain. The 1,400+ foot gain reported in the middle of the hike was a cumulative gain of all the up and down I had gone through in and out of the arroyos on the hike.
At the end of the day though, the app only counts low point to high point as the elevation gain, so I only got 242 feet on this hike.
The Home Stretch
As we approached the trailhead via the east Arroyo Loop Trail on the return, I could smell the BBQ joint near which we were parked. It was around 10:30 or so, so they were likely getting fired up for a Father’s Day lunch rush. It was tempting to try to get some Rudy’s for lunch but 10:30 was a little early for lunch. I decided to skip Rudy’s for the time being, but I will definitely consider it, or Ribs BBQ, for lunch following my next outing in the area.
Conclusion
The Arroyo Loop Trail was a shorter hike than my last one, and not quite as challenging but still offered some nice sights as we dipped in and out of the various arroyos throughout the trail. It was warm, dry and dusty as to be expected in a southwest desert setting, and I certainly wouldn’t mind trying this trail again in the spring or fall.
Up Next
My next outing is my next camping trip during which I do have a hike planned. I will be making a three hour drive to a spot in New Mexico that I’ve never been to, so I’m very excited about that.
Then, I have a trip to Denver planned as well as the Fourth of July holiday. I will also be trying to sneak in hikes here and there when I can. With a routine finally starting to set in after the move, I might be able to do some after work jaunts out in Tijeras, Cedar Crest or maybe even just a trip to the peak for a beautiful sunset.
And, to top it off, I’ve convinced my manager to let me work 4 tens starting next week, so I’ll have Fridays to hike and do whatever. Super excited about that!
As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate you!
-Phil
