Back in Town

Sorry to say, readers, that I had to venture back to my hometown for two weeks and see family. Kenosha, Wisconsin is beautiful; however, there is very little warm weather and I found myself constantly seeking warmth though I had only brought summer clothes to accommodate the humidity.

As soon as I stepped back into my driveway, I grew excited at the opportunities I will be sharing with you as a result of my return. I think I will call up my good friend Josh and see if he would like to tour the Main Street strip with me. It is in Old Mesilla, and it is full of culture, museums, and shops. One of my favorite places has homemade fudge. I cannot remember the name of it now, but I'm elated to find out.

Dearest reader,

If you so choose to read my blog, I promise to share experiences that may make you rethink your current location. I think the best part about Las Cruces is that the culture never gets old. No matter how many times you visit a place, you can always find more there. I implore you to visit my town. It is hot, dry, and utterly enjoyable. Also, soon will be the Las Cruces fireworks display. It has been somewhat lacking in water, so whether or not the show will go on is unknown to me. Though, I'm sure it will, and when it does I will be sure to give you all of the details.

(Dante's) Levels of Fun

I am not the kind of person to go traveling in the desert. I burn really easily and get exhausted faster in the presence of high temperatures. However, yesterday I decided to take a trip to the Doña Ana mountains, about six miles from where I live, for a nice hike.

*Warning* This is partly tourism, but also a cautionary tale.

Las Cruces offers several mountainous regions for hiking purposes. I have hiked several trails in the Organ Mountains. They are beautiful, well maintained, and perfect for a day of fun.

The Doña Ana mountains are a little different. I had never hiked them before yesterday. I brought enough supplies for the proposed hike, including an abundance of medical supplies should anything go wrong.
Some suggested pieces of equipment would be:

• Hiking boots (I wore lightweight cross country running shoes, which I prefer)
• Hat (I wore a baseball cap, but something that covers your neck might be preferable)
• sunscreen
• lots of water
• snake bite first aid kit
• GPS for hiking

I wore the shoes, and some brown shorts along with a neutral colored t shirt, etc. I also brought pants because the level of cacti and other barbed plants is pretty high. My legs got a little scraped, but I felt much more comfortable in the shorts because of the heat.

Our plan was to hike the hundred yards to the base of the mountain and up to the top. We planned on just coming back the way we came. But here's the thing, the Doña Ana mountains are extremely steep, covered in loose rocky terrain, and tons of sharp plants to land on. These mountains are really pretty, but maybe less hiker friendly because there are no marked rest areas, maps, or water available on site. 

We arrived where we wanted to start at 8:00 am. We got there early so we could start in a shady section of the mountain. It took awhile to reach the top, due to the need for a quick break or picture taking and the like. We could not head straight up, because there were insurmountable vertical rock faces. This made us travel across the mountain as well as up. We thought we had reached the top, only to realize there was still at  least 40 yards to the top. As we finally reached the top, we were faced with an interesting dilemma. Going down the way we came, at least a 70° slope, would mean risking falling off several cliff faces. Earlier, we had seen the way around the peak that was a more manageable hike, so we opted to take the slightly longer but less treacherous trip down. Unfortunately for us, by the time we had started climbing down the mountain and realized that the mountain chain extended past what we had been able to see, it was too late to go back over. After hiking around the mountain side for an hour and a half, we began to run out of the water we had packed for our pre-planned trip. Once I realized we were desperately lost, I called my parents at 1:04 pm and sent GPS coordinates of our current location using my cell phone. However, they were the wrong coordinates, unknown at the time. My friend and I ran out of water at 2:00 and found shade. By then, my communications had been cut off because my phone had died. His had just gained signal and by nearly 4:00, both our families and the state police were officially searching for us. My dad found us at 5:00 and we drank water for the first  time in 3 hours. This may not seem like a long time, but in a hot desert climate it seems like forever.

In the future, I probably will still go back to hike again, because besides being lost it was one heck of a trip and I really enjoyed it. Some things I learned:

• Leave a map of where you will be going with your family instead of just explaining the day before because they will be able to find you if you are lost.
• Bring more water than you will need for your trip.
• It is really easy to get lost on a huge desert mountain terrain where everything looks the same, so a GPS device is a necessity where there are no trails.
• Never stray from the path you chose to take, under any circumstances unless for some reason it is completely impassable. In other words, don't let a recently fallen tree get in your way.
• Cell phones save lives. Mine had a full charge when I started that day, but due to its short battery life, it eventually died when I needed it most. That chargeable phone charger would have been useful. Don't scoff at your technology just because you're going on a nature hike. Seriously, cell phones saved us.

Again, I'm a pretty simple girl so maybe next time I'll just take a trip down the downtown strip, but take a lesson from my mistakes and don't be afraid to take a mountain hike. It's exhilarating to push yourself like that for the sake of seeing something so beautiful. Take the peril with a grain of salt. As long as you go prepared, I guarantee a beautiful day.