We took Ms. Wynn up to the northern part of New Mexico, almost to the Colorado border.
Spent some time hiking in Sugarite Canyon. Sugarite Canyon is in Raton, NM and is one of NM’s state parks. There are two lakes Lake Maloya and the smaller Lake Alice. The park has fishing, hiking, and boating. It also has camping. The RV camping is limited and seems to be fully booked quite often. Plan ahead, if you want to stay there.
We did a nice 6 mile loop hike that took advantage of three connecting trails, Soda Pocket, Opportunity trail, and Ponderosa Ridge Trail. This area was heavily damaged in the 2011 Track fire. So, hike in the morning when it’s cooler as there aren’t too many trees to provide shade. The area is recovering and it was really encouraging to see the scrub oak and young aspens covering the hillsides.
We found this to be a moderate hike with only about 900 feet in elevation change. The trail goes along Lake Maloya for a short time which was pretty and gave the dogs a chance to really cool off. Shadow as usual took advantage of every pond, creek or puddle. He had a great time wading in, getting a drink, and cooling off.
Right before we got to the trailhead Will spotted some wild turkeys and I managed to get a picture of one of them. Bow hunting season starts soon inside the park, so these guys better start finding a better hiding place. I think they’ll be a little harder to find as turkey hunting season starts September 1st. Saw quite a bit of evidence of bear, but thankfully did not encounter one on the trail.
Also, found some mushrooms and wild raspberries. We ate some raspberries , but didn’t know if the mushrooms were poisonous or not. I found out later that these huge mushrooms are called puffball mushrooms and are good eating. Well, next time I’ll be able to grab some for dinner.
