First hike in the snow this Fall

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain beating on the roof. I listened to the radio and the weather forecast was for rain/snow here in Santa Fe, the temp only being about 35º. So I pulled out my warm hiking clothes--long-sleeved spandex shirt, waterproof pants, fleece hoodie, smartwool socks. But what jacket to wear? My warmer jacket has lost some of its water shedding ability--I need to NikWax it. So I decided on my unlined but waterproof jacket that I wore all summer and stuffed an extra sweater in my backpack in case I felt cold (and I did at the start of the hike.) My waterproof hiking boots and mittens completed my attire. Brewed up a thermos of herbal tea, had a breakfast of a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich and I sprinted out to the car; it's a half hour drive from where I live to where we were meeting up for the hike.

Three of the people who had signed up for the hike chickened out so that left Dave, myself and a new arrival in Santa Fe, Claire. Dave decided we would hike the Little Tesuque to Big Tesque trail. We've done the area a few times before but Dave always manages to find new trails for us to explore. When we arrived at the trailhead it was snowing hard--fluffy flakes--but there was no wind so that it wasn't too cold. Still my fingers were tingling in my mittens; I have yet to find a pair of gloves or mittens that keep my hands warm at the start of any hike. I usually have the tingles for the first 20 minutes or so until the blood gets flowing down to those extremities. Claire found that her hiking poles wouldn't lock so Dave found a couple of branches for her:

As she was also recovering from a hip injury, Dave modified his usual pattern of lots of hill climbing, something I was very grateful for as I huff and puff on hills. Still, the beginning of the Tesuque hike always involves about 20 minutes of gradual ascent.

This is a fence line that's become very familiar to me; I always feel relieved when we get to it because I know that the trail is going to flatten out for at least half an hour.

Toward the end of the hike Dave had me take the lead, saying that I would be able to pick the trail out. And I was, even with the snow on the ground. Maybe I will graduate to being a hike leader within this coming year!