1663

  • SF2T 2026 Day 1, Tuesday June 9
  • Start mile 0, Santa Fe Plaza
  • End mile 13.2 on Winsor Trail, approaching ski area
  • Miles walked: 13.2

Cairn drops me off at the train station at 6:30, and I arrive in Santa Fe around 9. I I do not need to hike far today– just to USFS land where I am allowed to camp. Let’s explore and enjoy Santa Fe. I take a walking tour, given by a docent of the NM Museum of History.

 What is 1663? That is the PO Box for all atomic scientists reporting to Los Alamos during WW2, commemorated on a plaque in the first placita east of the plaza.

Afterwards I get enchies at a place just off the plaza.

Heading east along Alameda and the Santa Fe “River”, the route then turns along a pathway.

Following open space paths, we connect with the Dale Ball trail network, crossing Hyde Park Road, then La Piedra trail and several ups and downs,  to Juan Trail and getting to USFS, and finally Winsor Trail for the rest of the day, climbing roughly parallel to Hyde Park Road towards the Ski Basin.

Winsor is getting plenty of mountain bike use, and I see a couple of bikers. 

Finished audiobook The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiel Hammett.

Next Long Hikes 2026

Tomorrow I start the SF2T, the 122 mile Santa Fe to Taos route, recently created by Pam Neely. Then I return to Santa Fe and start the NNML, Northern New Mexico Loop, 500 miles, created by Brett Tucker, best known for the Grand Enchantment Trail.

I originally hiked the NNML in 2019, but the route has since been changed to go through Taos (well, close enough), and I want to experience the new version.

So my plan is to hike between Santa Fe and Taos three times this summer.

Maybe I’ll see you on the trail.

Bluewater Canyon 2026

NMVFO volunteers gathered at a BLM riparian narrow canyon a few miles west of Grants.

Our task is to lop the entire length of the trail, about 2.2 miles, thick with willow, wild rose, gooseberry, and oak. One team started from below, and the other from above, and we met in the middle.

The canyon is a hidden gem. If you did not know it was there, you would never guess. Check it out.