Outings: Valle Caldera National Preserve
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| The setting sun is a prelude to the moonlight ski and snowshoe night at the Valles Caldera National Preserve, about 20 miles west of Los Alamos on N.M. 4. |
Moonlighting
When my girlfriends Geri and Martha invite me to go snowshoeing in the wilderness after dark, the first word that comes to mind is lunacy. But for these two, I’d give anything a try. So, one January evening, a full moon high in the sky, we head north of Santa Fe, past Los Alamos on N.M. 502, to the Valles Caldera National Preserve, for one of the moonlight ski-and-snowshoe nights the preserve sponsors monthly.
Once known as the Baca Ranch, and privately owned until 2000, the current preserve is 89,000 acres in the Jémez Mountains, situated in a collapsed caldera (crater) of an ancient volcano. When we arrive, around 7 p.m., the visitors’ center awaits: a cabin with a pole light outside. There are no other amenities. The starry night sky is a black silk dome overhead. A ring of mountains—the caldera’s rim—surrounds us.
We should have brought a flashlight. The snow and moon are as bright as glow-in-the-dark prizes from a cereal box, but they hardly allow Geri and me to make out the straps of our snowshoes, or for Martha to see the bindings of her new cross-country skis. But eventually, we and the 20 or so other visitors suit up. A bonfire, thoughtfully lit by the Preserve staff, marks the start of the trail, and the sight of flames against snow brings to mind scenes from Jack London’s Call of the Wild.
I think of white Yukon nights, teams of sled dogs warmed by the campfire, their masters nearby in sealskin parkas. In my new down jacket, I’m still cold and anxious to get moving. Trekking across the glowing snow, we can clearly see ourselves and surroundings, but not colors. It’s like being in a black-and-white photograph. If only Ansel Adams had captured this scene— to me, it’s as majestic and mystical as his moons over Hernández or Yosemite.
Moonlight pass, $15. Expect one moonlight skiing/snowshoeing night per month, January–March, weather permitting, on the Saturday night closest to full moon. (866) 382-5537, www.vallescaldera.gov—Tricia Ware
