After work one day a couple of weeks ago, Hercules and I went for what started as a normal walk in the Sandias behind our house. I guess he had extra energy from laying around all day, though, because he turned and led me up Bart’s, a little-used trail that heads straight up the mountain. I was digging it for awhile (because I had also spent the whole day sitting at my computer), but for better or worse, we had to do an abrupt U-turn about half way up, since we were not prepared for an after-work walk to turn into such a long and arduous hike before sunset. That dally onto Bart’s was just enough, though, to get me fixated on finishing it another time, especially since I had tried and given up on it once before a couple of years ago. The next weekend, I packed water and snacks and set out again. It’s about 3 miles from my house to the start of Bart’s proper, and by the time we got there, Hercules clearly and purposefully turned on Faulty, which runs parallel to the contour lines, and not up Bart’s. Apparently, he wasn’t feeling it that day, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t either. While we had an enjoyable walk that day, I became even more infatuated with finishing Bart’s. This weekend, along with Hercules, Fitz, and M-, I finally conquered it—10.5 miles with 2500 ft gain; certainly not the hardest hike we’ve done, but definitely more than the walks we’ve been doing lately. The sweat and oxygen deficiency was worth it, though, and made the views at the top all that sweeter.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•