Nordic Skiing in Chama - Edward Sargent Wildlife Area

Winter trip to Chama this last weekend. Drove up to spectate some of the racing at the annual Ski Classic. Originally planned to do some racing myself but this happened to be my first outing of the year so that plan went out the window.

Instead we toured around at the Edward Sargent Wildlife Area. They manage the area in winter giving the west side of the WFA over to skiers and snowshoes and the north/east side to the snowmobilers. It was nicely signed and tracked-out, and we navigated across and along the Rio Chamita in a 6km loop, leaving other loops to explore for future visits.

We chatted with a group of snowshoers that were part of a Ski Classic tour I believe. Saw a half dozen other skiers including a friendly guy from Santa Fe who tells us he has a place in Chama and happened to be putting up several of our friends from Santa Fe/Los Alamos for the weekend's race. Saw plenty of animal sign, but no actual animals other than eagle calls from across the valley. There may also have been a low snoring/growling sound, possibly coming from the small child in our tow-sled. Fascinating insight into the human condition.

Panoramic photography skills courtesy of the Desert Babe (not to be confused with the Desert Toddler)

Related Posts:
 - Nordic Skiing, Cumbres Pass
 - Chama Chile Ski Classic
 - Neff Mountain Yurt Trip, Chama NM

2015 New Mexico Trail Running Calendar

I spent some time bringing the Race/Outdoors Calendar up-to-date (see Tab above). One addition for the year is the new trail relay in Angel Fire, a Ragnar type event. I can't figure out the distances involved or even how you win this event, but I imagine it will be a nice addition to the area race scene.

The week/weekend I'm most fired-up for is in May. Santa Fe Bike & Brew is coming back for an expanded 2nd year. More of a beginning of summer festival than a race, but it's bike-centric, there is an element of good beer (in fact, it's my understanding that this entire event was the brain-child of Chris Goblet of the NM Brewers Guild), and the timing coincides with the Santa Fe Run Around on Sat (May 16th), and the Santa Fe Century on Sun (May 17th). Big week. Biiiiggg fuuuuun outdoorsy week.

As it happens, I was absent for Bike & Brew last year due to travel, but one new event I made was XTERRA Glorieta which was first-rate. Really hoping the organizers bring that one back for a second go.

Two great events that always come and go before I can get my bearings set for the new year are the Chama Chile Ski Classic and Santa Fe WinterFest (beer fest). Fast approaching as I type. Need to get on it.


Related Posts:
 - 2015 Outdoors Calendar
 - Calendar update 2013

Another Year of Drought for Santa Fe - 2014

Santa Fe and surrounding areas had a terrific monsoon season this year, but as has been the case for much of the last decade our year-end precipitation totals fell well below the long term average. As measured at the airport, we ended 2014 with just more than 9.5" of rainfall/snowfall compared with the average of 13.5". Snowfall in the winter and spring months just hasn't kept pace.

Santa Fe Precipitation Chart - 2014

The chart above was provided by John Fleck, UNM water resources faculty and ABQ Journal contributor. John originally posted the precipitation chart for Albuquerque below, noting that it's the 7th consecutive year below average for the Albuquerque area.

Albuquerque Precipitation Chart - 2014

Related Posts:
 - Arroyo Washout (Oct. '14)
 - Frijoles Canyon in Recovery
 - River Gauges and Fall Floods