Barbed wire and muddy boots – we always welcome rain, even as it washes away some of our intentions….
Last weekend Kevin and I corralled Jacob, Shawn and Kali for a work/ chow/ biking adventure. We drove to up Mesa Alta Base Camp Saturday, in fine Northern New Mexico autumn weather. We got right to work sawing, trimming, digging and stringing along the north- south span of the fence, perhaps the most disastrous section, with sizable juniper, piñon and sage growing up, over and through the fence. Entire trees had fallen over in a couple spots, entangling split wire deep within dead branches. Undaunted, Jacob sawed trunks while Kalden, Kali and I hauled branches. The good news was, we saw no fresh cow poop, so the fencing repairs appear to be a success! Kali and Kalden wove the branches into some more sophisticated erosion barriers, and created a ponding basin to control runoff. Kevin and Shawn reset posts, strung wire, fashioned a couple of posts from downed trees, and by late afternoon, we had completed the entire north- south span of the fence! Which coincided with running out of staples, and the everyone having tummy rumbles…
We headed back to camp to get chow ready for our hungry crew, and lit up a roaring fire in our new fire pit, which has a center grate for cooking, and side grates for keeping food warm, as well as a ring around the base to prop up and dry muddy boots. Over smoky piñon juniper coals, we cooked enough steak to satiate everyone and stash some away for our anticipated Sunday bike ride picnic lunch.
After a hearty meal, we stargazed until clouds rolled in, as it was Jupiter’s opposition AND closest proximity to Earth (not sure how it can be both at the same time…). We snuggled down into tents and campers, a curious thud- thud resounding throughout the night…
We awoke to the pitter- patter of a light shower, and emerged to find the thud- thud had been elk! Fresh tracks in the damp soil led down the road. We even saw some along the corridor we had created with the wildlife fencing- elk had been funneled to the safe spot and had crossed there!
The rain caused us to rethink our bike ride, and after breakfast we checked out how the low spot in the road looked after a night’s precipitation. The day before, some numb nuts in a mini van got himself stuck, totally spun out, deepening the ruts and widening the puddle. Some local fellas pulled up in their Bronco and extracted the van just as we arrived to help. The guy took off without even so much as a “Thank You”, but we shared some beers over the fire with the fellas, swapping expletives about lame ass cars and their drivers.
As we suspected, the road was a disaster in the morning, leaving us wondering if we could even get out in our 4WD vehicles. We got the shovels, and attempted to smooth out the ruts in road- not everyone thought the effort was worthwhile, but after breaking camp, we all made it out.
Along those same lines, the question of what effort is worthwhile has been rolling around, and while on a recent road trip, Deana and I had plenty of ideas to share about Mesa Alta Base Camp.
The southern portion of the property would be the ideal place to develop permanent dwellings, as that section has the best access to Highway 96- no puddles involved- and the best views of Mesa Alta and Table Mesa. Just needs a road, wifi and a well- costly endeavors to be addressed in the future.
The northern section is where we have been concentrating our efforts so far. The fence we are repairing does not actually follow the property line, but is comprised of formidable timbers and miles of barbed wire that will serve the purpose of keeping trespass cows off the property so that the vegetation can recover, without the expense of removing it and installing one that does follow the property line. Someone put a lot of time, labor and materials into making this fence, and who are we to undo their efforts? We are repairing it and working it into our vision. One option is to make the section north of the fence into a primitive camping area- a place for Continental Divide Trail hikers to crash after filling up their water bottles and checking their email. Also it is a great area for potential mushroom cultivation. The area just south of the fence could be drive- in camping, with a shared space including a roaring fire in the fire pit. The southern area then would be a couple of permanent dwellings with electricity and water.
We finished the weekend by driving, rather than biking, up to the top of Mesa Alta for lunch. We hoped to find aspens turning, and we found several gorgeous stands. Our trips to see aspen turning above Santa Fe have become fewer as the crowds have increased, along with the caterpillar infestation and wasps that the warming climate nurtures. Mesa Alta will be a perfect destination for future autumn gold hot dog roasts! We took a moment to day dream about possible seasonal excursions, and here are some we hope to share with friends and family:
January, February- Cross country skiing and snowshoeing
March- April- none, as this is pollen/allergy season
May- Wild Irises; adobe brick making
June- Mariposa Lily; adobe brick making
July- Bike-packing up to Mesa Alta and the hiking down to the Chama River; fishing?
August- September- Mushrooming and other wild edibles
October- Aspen
November-December- none, as this is the holiday season
What are you ideas?
We’ve “moved in”- the camp now has a cooking facility! 
Sawyer Jake. 
Sisyphean? 
Gold against grey. 
Our boots may never be the same…. 
Shawn and Kevin 
Water catchment 
Kali, Jacob and Kalden