Bobcatting Indian Creek: FRIDAY OCT. 9

About this event

**Description: Bobcatting Indian Creek: FRIDAY OCT. 9** **Round Trip Hiking Distance: 5 miles** **Round Trip Hiking Time: 3 hours** **Elevation: 8800’ to 10,500’** **Rating: Moderate+** **Please be considerate of others and do not RSVP for this hike if you cannot go up and down Atalaya in under 3 hours. This helps us to stay together as a group, enhancing the hiking experience for everyone. It is not about competition, but cooperation. COVID vaccination and compliance with CDC rules on quarantine and isolation are required (i.e., don't attend if you have Covid!). This is a group event and participants are expected to stay with the group. No firearms or commercial solicitations.** **Hike Description: Indian Creek is located off Santa Barbara Canyon, near Penasco, about 1.5 hours north of Santa Fe. The basic hike: we cross a couple rivers, steadily ascend a mountain, summit and enjoy lunch with great views, then descend as we came.** **The hike starts, almost immediately, with a crossing of Rio Santa Barbara. The ford should be about knee deep so you will need water shoes, sandals or sneakers for this crossing; waterproof boots or bags are not enough. We’ll then promptly ford a second, shallower stream, which might be passable in boots, but might not. The river will be cold.** **After that, we’ll steadily ascend, roughly following Indian Creek. There is a nice meadow, a small water tumble and a good viewpoint to enliven the ascent. We’ll follow the ridgeline for a quarter mile to a great viewpoint of Santa Barbara Canyon--which ought to have plenty of golden aspen (we'll know better tomorrow)--and the entire Truchas Range, where we’ll have lunch. A few feet away, thru a grove of bristlecone pines, is another viewpoint, of the Rift and points west. We’ll return as we came.** **This hike features a river crossing and a steady, serious ascent, so be prepared for that, and be realistic about your capabilities and comfort-level. Note the river will be high right…