Last month I organized a trail ride in the Manzano Mountains. A place I had been wanting to ride ever since I took my daughter hiking there last Fall.
See photos of that hike: Fourth of July Canyon Hike
I had looked up this ride in my Saddle Up New Mexico trail guide and between the guide and my previous visit last year, I felt like I was prepared to guide the ride without getting us lost.
My friend Vicki offered to come pick up me and my Apache mare, and our friend Leeda and her mare shared a ride with us, too.
Saddling up…….ready to hit the trail!
My trusty steed, Apache is always game for a mountain trail ride.
All tacked up and ready to go…..
The equestrian trailhead is different than the parking area and trailhead that we used when I took my daughter to Fourth of July Canyon. But Albuquerque Trail does connect to the Fourth of July Canyon trail as well as the Manzano Crest trail and the Cerro Blanco Trail, too.
We started off leading, but Apache knows the ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ story well, and prefers to save her energy for the end of the ride. So we only led the ride for about a mile and then our two friends and their gaited horses moved on up to the front.
Since several of our trail riding buddies ride gaited horses, Apache has learned not to worry if those horses move way up in front of us and even disappear from view.
She is happiest just to mosey on down the trail at a relaxed pace….just like me.
I’d say that we are perfectly matched. “Show me your horse, and I’ll tell you who you are”
The trail was beautiful as it traveled beneath the tall ponderosas, but it was a steady uphill climb, so we all took frequent breaks to let our horses catch their breath.
All three of us would get excited whenever we caught sight of some Fall color and we’d stop to take photos.
Me and Vicki.
A close-up of our happy, smiling faces surrounded by beautiful Fall color!
Apache thought that the Autumn leaves smelled interesting, but they didn’t taste all that good.
I loved riding over such a colorful golden carpet. And with the way the sunlight filtered through the trees, it was pure magic!
Looking skyward rewarded us with spectacular color, too!
My mare has been barefoot for the almost 5 years that I have called her mine, but it still amazes me with how confidently she travels over rocks, gravel and boulders as if they are not even there. She is always sure-footed and careful and she takes good care of both of us.
When I researched this route, I decided to follow the direction of travel that the trail riders, who wrote the Saddle Up New Mexico book, had chosen.
But I did take note that it seemed a much steeper climb than the route that I took last Fall when my daughter and I hiked it.
Oftentimes on this route, we would be hugging the side of the mountain, with a steep drop off on one side and a steep uphill on the other side.
I would sometimes let Apache run uphill so she could build her momentum to climb up the steep sections.
I was happy to see any signs on the trails and I eagerly checked my maps and trail directions and was even happier when I realized that we were right on track and not lost.
But the trail continued to climb and we gained close to 1,000 ft in only 2 miles.
Apache was grateful for a rest stop and took advantage of Vicki’s gelding’s rump to rest her head and get some love from Vicki.
But we were riding a 7 1/2 mile loop trail and we hadn’t reached the top of the Manzano Mountains yet on the Crest Trail, so we needed to continue on….and upwards.
It was a thrill to catch a brief sighting of the Sandia Mountains to the north, through the trees. These are the mountains that are basically in my backyard and the ones that Apache and I ridden several times all the way to the top of Sandia Peak at 10,678 ft!
We all really enjoyed riding through this section, traveling through the trees on the Mosca Trail. The sunlight glittered between the branches and through the colorful leaves, and along with the twisting and turning trunks of the short trees, this section was just enchanting.
We were excited when caught our first glimpse of Mosca Peak above and in front of us!
And I felt relieved when I saw the sign that said we were now on the Manzano Crest Trail, and I checked my map and directions and knew we needed to turn south.
Apache could feel my excitement every time that I saw some Fall color and she would stop and wait patiently so that I could take out my camera and get a few shots of the beautiful leaves.
We let our horses grab a few bites in a pretty little meadow near the top of the Manzano Crest.
Me and Vicki in the distance.
Leeda zoomed in for a nice close-up of Vicki and I and are awesome horses in the meadow with another colorful peak behind us.
Leeda and Vicki making their way through the meadow to the trees.
The next section was downhill, but traveled through a dense stand of scrub oak and mountain mahogany as it wound it’s way down the side of the mountain. I kept thinking that it would make perfect bear habitat, so I kept my eyes and ears open and made lots of noise.
The views were absolutely incredible, though. We had extensive views for many miles to the east and west and views of the Manzanos to the south.
Apache and I enjoying the Fall color covering the little 9,000 ft peak just to the south of 9, 500 ft Mosca Peak.
When my daughter and I hiked this area last Fall, the vegetation was more sparse and short. The generous summer monsoons that New Mexico received this year really seemed to help all the vegetation grow thick and high.
We finally reached the saddle on the Manzano Crest.
Apache and I posed beneath 9, 500 ft high Mosca Peak!
To the west, down below us, stretching for many miles is the Rio Grande Valley. Can see the dark green ribbon? That’s the river that dissects the state and runs north to south through the center of New Mexico.
Notice that Apache loves the mountain vistas just as much as I do.
Yes indeed! Life is Good!!
We had already ridden for 2 hours and we started our ride about 11:00 am, so my friends had been asking when and where we were going to be stopping for a lunch stop, and even though we did ride through a several pretty meadows, I had a specific location in mind. A secret meadow with expansive views of the eastern plains of New Mexico, and convenient places to tie up our ponies so they could enjoy some of the mountain grasses while we ate our lunches.
Apache was grateful for our lunch stop and took advantage of the green grass and the shade. And after eating, she took a little nap.
The meadow had lots of green grass and we all let our ponies enjoy a few more bites before we head back up to the trail.
Once we were back into the trees again, the colors were spectacular!
We rode past and through some unique boulder formations, too.
After a couple miles we stopped off a trailside livestock tank to water our horses.
Apache seemed to enjoy the taste of the fresh spring water.
If we could have continued straight we would have been in the Fourth of July Campground and ended up at the hiker’s trailhead, where my daughter and I started our hike last Autumn. But no livestock is permitted in the campground, so we took the Fourth of July Trail Spur back to Albuquerque Trail to reach the horse trailer instead.
Perfect ride with good friends, beautiful trails, gorgeous Fall color, and terrific horses!
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