# Another failed attempt at collecting on my life insurance.



## elder999 (May 19, 2012)

Actually, it was *my* idea.:lol:


Rita-that&#8217;s the wife-and I hike-* a lot.* We _used_ to backpack a lot, but life and work got in the way, and it&#8217;s been quite some time since we&#8217;ve done much more than "car camp" or go on a long day hike. Last year, we were hiking-just a short four hour deal up one of the many canyons in Los Alamos-and chatting, and the subject of backpacking came up, and a possible "tune-up" overnight to see where we stood with backpacking-both in terms of equipment and our ability-even our liking for such an endeavor. I said, _We should hike into Capulln Canyon, so I can take some pictures&#8230;it&#8217;d be a good test,_ and Rita (that&#8217;s the wife) said something along the lines of ok, we&#8217;ll do it in the fall-of course, this was on June 26, 2011-too late in the year for anyone with any sense to hike into Capulin Canyon, and the very day that what would come to be called the Las Conchas fire started, and afterward, well-Bandelier National Monument-and Capulin Canyon-were closed.

So, this year rolls around, and I bring up Capulin Canyon again, so we dragged out what we thought was appropriate equipment, and started getting ready. I had all this stuff:

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to carry. I was pretty sure we&#8217;d need the rope, the tent, and might need spare layers of clothing-I knew I&#8217;d need the comfy shoes after walking in my boots for more than 10 miles, in my boots. Oh, and since this is the desert, in a drought, and after a fire, there&#8217;d be no source of water until we reached Capulin Canyon-after crossing four other canyons on what were relatively pleasant days for the southwestern desert in late May-so I was carrying in 2 gallons of water and a purification pump, and Rita was carrying about a gallon.

We got our backcountry permit from the park, and, Wednesday morning, we set out-we were going to have the whole trail to ourselves. 



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(Oh, and I know the knife looks goofy-it *is* goofy, and didn't last more than a few steps before I took it off-it's been on that shoulder strap for years, and where it was riding might have been the first indication that I'd outgrown that pack....if I'd bothered looking in a mirror...:lol: )

I love the desert this time of year-it&#8217;s funny, since I&#8217;m really a seacoast person-maybe that&#8217;s why I came to keep my boat on the Sea of Cortez, but the desert is pretty cool (to see!) in the springtime-it's in bloom!

there's Barrel Cactus:

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and Prickly Pear Cactus:

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and Desert Lily (this one&#8217;s called "Mormon Lily):

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and a few where the pictures weren't so good, and some I still have to look up (I so totally know those others, though-and if I don't, Rita does...&#8230;&#8230;.:lol: )

So, the hike- I eventually made a new friend, our MSR Microfilter-I&#8217;ve had several water filtration systems over the years, but this one is the best- simple to use, simple to clean, and very efficient.

I also lost an old one. 

My Gregory pack has been my expedition grade backpack for a long time-though I haven&#8217;t used it much at all in the last 10 years. Along the way, my belly got a little bigger-I&#8217;m sporting a 34" waist these days, instead of 31", but that actually should have made the pack more comfortable (assuming my *** has gotten bigger as well&#8230;.:lol: ) but, for reasons I won&#8217;t get into, my shoulders and chest have gotten bigger as well, and this pack-which wasn&#8217;t an ideal fit, but was more than servicable at the beginning-no longer fits me well at all, and was very uncomfortable-especially with about 65 lbs. in it&#8230;..trail wasn&#8217;t a good place to find that out, and now my old friend, who accompanied me to Denali, Rainier, Nanga Parbat, Cho Oyu, and Everest-as well as a bunch of other places-and still quite servicable, except for the faint hint of vomit from a German tourist about 18 years ag-is going on Craigslist.

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Anyway, we set out from the visitor&#8217;s center in Frijoles Canyon-where the more famous and accessible Bandelier Pueblo ruins are-up to the top of the mesa. Bandelier, btw, is thought by the people of Tesuque, Cochiti and San Ildefonso (where I lived for 4 years) pueblos to be their ancestral home-of course, now it belongs to all of you&#8230;.

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From there, we proceeded into a canyon that doesn&#8217;t really have a name-down and up..
And then into Lummis Canyon-about 300 ft., down and up
then into another nameless canyon&#8230;..

then *Alamo Canyon.*

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## elder999 (May 19, 2012)

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A little under 600 ft. down-about 600 ft. up-both over about .6 mile. By now it was about noon, and around 87 degrees&#8230;..down wasn&#8217;t so bad, but up?&#8230;&#8230;.65 lbs.? and a poorly fitting pack?-nothing like that to show one what a sad _jiji_ they&#8217;ve become. :lol: I quickly fell into a longer facsimile of my Everest shuffle: take 40 steps, stop, take 5 breaths. Take 40 steps, stop, take 5 breaths-spent it allwishing I had one of those oxygen bottles, though:lol:. Made it up in a little less than an hour&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.along the way,I thought about a lot of things, while taking in the sheer beauty all round us-I thought about younger men, oceans away, carrying 50 lbs more than I was, through canyons like these, so I could be safe doing it for my pleasure&#8230;&#8230;made it out to the top, though, then into another small, nameless canyon, and out.

Our next stop was the Yapashi ruins-a little over 6 miles in. By now it was about 2 o&#8217;clock, and time for lunch and a rather extended break. The ground at Yapashi is littered with pottery shards-pueblo people traditionally smash pottery for a variety of reasons-and obsidian-we took picturesand picked some up, but put them back where we found them: as far as the pottery goes, it&#8217;s considered rude and spiritually dangerous by some, and it&#8217;s also a violation of the antiquities act. We were also in a national monument, so taking rocks or flowers-never mind artifacts-is strictly forbidden.

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From there, after my peanut butter and jelly, more water, and a little more freedom from the backpack, we wended our way across the mesa to the the Shrine of the Stone Lions:

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this is an ancient puebloan shrine that is still in use by the people of Cochiti, San Ildefonso and Tesuque pueblos. There was a time that non-native  people left "offerings" there, and you might find sea shells, bits of obsidian, statues, and all manner of stuff-most of it was probably inoffensive, but some of it was pretty offensive to the people who actually use the shrine, and they often had to clear all that stuff away and "cleanse" the shrine, so the park instructs hikers not to leave or take anything. We spent a few minutes there, left our own offering, and went on our way.

From here, we made our way across a short distance to the descent into Capulin Canyon, made our way to our campsite, and set up camp for the night. I pumped a fair amount of water for the next day, we ate some of Rita&#8217;s delicious chili-jerky soup, cleaned up, set up our food cache, had a sip of tequila and went to bed.

Can&#8217;t remember last time I went to sleep at a quarter to seven&#8230;:lol: I made the last joke of the day, _I think the tips of my fingers don&#8217;t hurt, but that&#8217;s it_-Rita laughed&#8230;..

Next morning, we stashed our packs, and made our way-with some difficulty- down canyon. After the fire, there was flash flooding in all the canyons, but the trail has major debris dams at each creek crossing-these are really dangerous, and don&#8217;t have good footing at all-so I didn&#8217;t get many pictures at all. 
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After doing down canyon, we made our way back, retrieved our packs, and started our return journey: up out of Capulin canyon, past the stone lions to Yapashi, across the mesa and into a no name canyon., and then Alamo Canyon again-managed to do both down and up in a little more than an hour this time-I was carrying half as much water as the previous day, but my pack still hurt&#8230;..
Anyway, we got back to the visitor&#8217;s center by 3 pm. Got cold drinks, drove home, showered, and made it to our favorite restaurant for an early dinner.l
So, I learned a few lessons-I&#8217;ll be shopping for a new pack-hard to get one for a torso as long as mine, but we&#8217;ll manage. I&#8217;ll be breaking in a new pair of hiking boots, and getting a newer, lighter tent than the one we used-I&#8217;m also going to have to shop for a few other lighter items&#8230;&#8230;.
&#8230;&#8230;.but we&#8217;ll be going backpacking again-real soon.


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## Master Dan (May 19, 2012)

wow what a trip I love the desert especially at night the large Moon and the animals that come out but especially in some areas looking for legal items to collect fosils, arrow heads and precous and semi precous rocks and gems. not sure why you are naming thread about collecting life insurance hope no one passed??


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## elder999 (May 19, 2012)

Oh, the trip down Capulin Canyon? A little ways down is the Painted Cave-an ancient puebloan shrine, still sacred to people from Cochiti, San Ildefonso and Tesuque pueblos, who still use it, and not something a lot of people get to see:&#12288;
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## elder999 (May 19, 2012)

Master Dan said:


> wow what a trip I love the desert especially at night the large Moon and the animals that come out but especially in some areas looking for legal items to collect fosils, arrow heads and precous and semi precous rocks and gems. not sure why you are naming thread about collecting life insurance hope no one passed??



Look around-I married "Annie Oakley." It's a long running joke about the various adventures we go on, like mountain biking over Imogene pass in Colorado, from Telluride to Ouray-surely thought I'd die that time, especially when it started snowing...:lol:


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## Sukerkin (May 19, 2012)

Brilliant photographs of marvellous stunning places, good sir.  Many thanks for posting this up - very interesting.


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## seasoned (May 19, 2012)

You and the wife (Rita), look very fit. 
Thanks for sharing and taking us, if only by computer, on a marvelous trip through terrain I can only dream about. I believe I got tried and sore, just looking at this awesome trip, and adventure you took. 
The trip down Capulin Canyon was my favorite, because of the Paintings on the Cave walls, and the ancient puebloan shrine.
The desert flowers were also very awesome out there in the middle of God's wonderful picturesque landscape


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## WC_lun (May 19, 2012)

Thanks for sharig your hike!  Beuatiful country and the shrine is very interesting.


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## Tony Dismukes (May 19, 2012)

Great pictures!


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## Sukerkin (May 19, 2012)

What is the history behind the Stone Lions carvings, Elder?


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## elder999 (May 19, 2012)

Sukerkin said:


> What is the history behind the Stone Lions carvings, Elder?



There's a similar monument at Cochiti pueblo, somewhere, that is somewhat less weathered, I'm told-but it's not for non-tribal members to see.

These lions are very old-as evidenced by their weathering (though the stone from which they were carved, volcanic tufa, is actually pretty soft stuff)-and their original purpose is lost to antiquity. On the other hand, since they were put there by ancient puebloan people, and _*still *_are used by puebloan people, it's safe to say that some of the ceremonies associated with them were also associated with the chase, the hunt, and warrior societies-which still exist on the various pueblos, and these are the uses of the shrine today, though I can't say much more about that....

Also, their sunward orientation-a fairly common theme in this part of the world-indicates to some that they might have been used to indicate the spring equinox: when the shadow of some object-either carried to the shrine or no longer present-fell between the lions at sunrise, that was the day of the equinox, much like a sundagger-and it was time to get ready for planting, since most of the natives in this area have been practicing agriculture since at least 100 BC, and probably for thousands of years more.....

EDIT: all of that, of course, represents a scientist's reluctance to utter the words _I don't know-*no one does*_, and answer instead with what I do know.....:lol:


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## Sukerkin (May 19, 2012)

:chuckles:  Fear not, my friend, given my previous career in the field of history, I quite understand .  "Ritual purposes" is very often archaeo-historical shorthand for "Darned if I know!".


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