I started late on my walk and didn't feel like driving to a trailhead so I decided to walk on the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail, going east along the airport fence. It started out promising - Pueblo Canyon below me basked in warmth and sunshine and although the trail had isolated patches of snow, ice and mud, it was mostly dry.
As I approached the shaded part of the trail above the Zipline Trail and saw all the unmelted snow, I cringed. I'd optimistically (stupidly) only brought along a ski pole. Mostly it was OK but on one tough section, the snow sloped downward from the shaded hillside, forcing me to the very edge of the trail where mud made the footing slippery. If I fell, I didn't see a safety net catch me - it looked like I'd slide off the cliff. I resorted to the "seat of the pants" method to get past the bad part. The rest of the trail to Pajarito Cliffs Site was wonderful compared to this snowy section. I'll wait until the all the snow melts before I hike this trail again!
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| no snow in Pueblo Canyon |
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| lots of snow ahead |
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| a shovel to flatten out the snow would be handy |
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