Little Cherry Creek

A few miles north of Pinos Altos, New Mexico, the Little Cherry Creek trail begins.  Distance is 8.4 miles (in/out), and elevation gain is 1450 feet.  

Parking at the trailhead is limited.  There are a few pull off spots where a car or two will fit, but the road grows worse as one heads uphill.  Initially, for the first two miles, the trail follows an old two track forest road.  After that the trail narrows and heads off into the big pines and multiple switchbacks.

About a mile past the above photo, I was rounding a switchback when I encountered a full-size bear about twenty feet away.  I felt like I jumped two feet up in the air, but I doubt that I cleared two inches.  Meanwhile, the bear, which was a beautiful blonde/gold color, was running up the mountain as fast as it could.  And Callie, mild-tempered Callie, began barking furiously but couldn't run off after it, being on-leash.  No camera was involved, but Julia will confirm that it was a beautiful light color.  After the hike was done, we learned that black bears come in many colors, and this was a very light one.  

The trail continued to climb until it met the intersection of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

As a former Appalachian Trail thru-hiker (Quid Pro Quo, GA>ME '96), I was pretty excited to be walking along the CDT and may have skipped and hopped between a few blazes before we headed back down. The hike down the mountain also had its share of excitement when a group of javelinas ran across our trail.  Thankfully, they didn't mistake Callie for a coyote, and no harm was done.