February 2010: Hike Reflections

Saturday, February 6th was a beautiful winter day for hiking!  We hiked the northern part of the Dale Ball Trails and the trail conditions were very good, all things considered.  The temperatures were just warm enough that the snow was a bit soft (better traction than hard packed snow) but not so warm that the trail was muddy.  In fact the worst conditions of the whole day were in the St. Bede's parking lot which was a quagmire in spots - one of our number got her car stuck in the mud there and we had to push her out.  So you see even if you are planning to worship indoors you still have to deal with the mother nature ;)

What a wonderful gift the Dale Ball trails are to those of us who live in Santa Fe, providing great hiking opportunities with well maintained and marked trails scattered throughout the city.  For those of you who don't know about them here is a link to the official website for the trails - Dale Ball Trails

We are hoping to do a snowshoe hike sometime before the end of the season on a Saturday other than our regular day, so stay tuned for that.  Also, I'm planning some other "opportunities" this year that should be exciting, again stay tuned!  If you aren't on our email list please do send along your email address to me so that I can add you to the WitW listserve.  My email address is to the right on this page.

Blessings & we'll see you on the trail,

Jon+

March's Hike: Reflections

I can't believe how slow I've been in posting these reflections from our hike on March 1st, my apologies!

March 1st was the first Sunday of Lent this year and the gospel lesson from Mark was about Jesus' baptism and forty days in the wilderness.  Well, we weren't in the wilderness for forty days but due to my not doing a "pre-hike" reconnaissance (which I normally do on trails with which I'm not familiar) we didn't always know where we were.  It seemed to be an appropriate beginning to Lent in a way and everybody was a good sport about it.  Regardless my shortcomings as a trail guide this month, we had a great time and it was a beautiful early spring day which served to reinforce the concept of layering.

Please stay in touch with this page over the next week because in April the first Sunday of the month happens to be Palm Sunday and "we'll" need to decide whether or not to hike that day or possibly on Saturday (the 4th) instead.  I'll be making that decision very shortly and will post as soon as  I do.

Blessings,

Jon+

February's Hike: Reflections

What a beautiful winter day it was on February 1st!  We hiked the Dale Ball Trail - North and found the trail in good condition (with a couple of icy spots), the sun bright, the temperatures agreeable and the views and companionship superb.  It was a wonderful day to worship in the wilderness!

Barring really nasty weather we will hike again on Sunday March 1st, which will be the first Sunday of Lent.  I am also still planning on beginning a green Bible study in the near future and will let you know as things develop on that front.

Blessings and I look forward to seeing you all on the trail,

Jon+