New Mexico: Hiking Along Rito de los Frijoles in Frijoles Canyon
Posted on November 19, 2009
Filed Under General, Pictures
During the first part of November 2009, Jen and I spent a week in New Mexico hiking in the mountains, canyons and desert. The scenery was stunning; and the variety of ecosystems and terrain was unbelievable. New Mexico is not at all what we expected! And, having spent time in 35-states and several countries, New Mexico is our new favorite place to be.
We stayed in Sante Fe, which is a really neat town with lots to see and do — and GREAT food. Sante Fe is also reasonably close to many of the must-see destinations in North-Central New Mexico. A scenic drive to the Sante Fe National Forest, and hiking in the snowy mountains, started our week of high-altitude fun (Sante Fe is the highest state capitol at about 7,000-feet above sea level). Another scenic drive up the High Road to Taos led us to the Taos Pueblo, the Rio Grande Gorge and many of the other gifts Taos had to offer — including an equally beautiful drive down the Low Road back to Sante Fe.
One of our favorite day-hikes was a day we spent in Frijoles Canyon just outside Los Alamos. We enjoyed it so much, we went back the next day. The drive to and from Los Alamos is another beautiful experience; and Los Alamos is quite a surprise itself. Mountains and canyons, skiing and museums, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Bandelier National Monument, along with the second largest volcanic caldera — Valles Caldera — teeming with Elk, Mule Deer and other wildlife, make Los Alamos a destination with something for everyone.
Rito de los Frijoles (Little River of the Beans) flows through Frijoles Canyon and into the Rio Grande just outside Los Alamos. Frijoles Canyon features steep cliffs with dozens of ancient cliff dwellings and ceremonial alcoves and kivas. As we hiked back down from a 142′ climb up the side of a cliff to a huge alcove, a pair of Mule Deer approached the trail we were walking on. We stopped to take a picture, and one of them walked right by me — within about three feet of me. The deer went about their business with absolutely no fear of us at all — as if they knew they were perfectly safe.
Hiking in the other direction, the Ritos de los Frijoles drops down into a deep canyon on it’s way to the Rio Grande. We followed it — sometimes crossing over it by stepping on stones or fallen trees and sometimes scaling canyon walls hundreds of feet above the little river. Up and down, we made our way to the first of a set of waterfalls (Upper Falls and Lower Falls) that drop the river down several hundred feet to the Rio Grande.
Along the way, we encountered very little wildlife; but we did meet up with a rather large Tarantula that showed as little fear of us as the Mule Deer had. This heavy, hairy spider simply crawled up some rocks on the left side of the trail we were on, crossed the path, and continued up the rocky slope to our right.
As we got closer to the Rio Grande, we could see it in the bottom of the “vee” made by the sides of the canyon. The water appeared to be green — blending in to the colorful landscape of the canyon. A few switchbacks took us down several hundred feet where we took a rest below the lower falls before retracing our steps back, up and out of the canyon.
The next time I go to New Mexico, I’ll spend more time and do many more things I didn’t do this time; but I’ll definitely go back to Frijoles Canyon — and I’ll spend more time there. Next time, I’ll get there as early in the day as possible and stay as late as I can — spending plenty of time lounging by the Rio Grande and taking more time to sit and relax along the rocky path that follows the Rito de los Frijoles through the canyon.
Jennifer and Pete Koerner in Frijoles Canyon, New Mexico
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