Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Thenaturalmedic Adventures
Hiking Bandelier's Ancient Canyon
Note: Audio Only, Please See YouTube for the Video Version
Step into the ancient world of Bandelier National Monument through this immersive backpacking journey along the Rito de las Frijoles (Bean Creek). What begins as a simple overnight trek quickly transforms into a fascinating exploration of natural wonders and human history nestled in north-central New Mexico.
The trail winds through diverse ecosystems where riparian habitats meet towering cliff faces, creating an ecological treasure trove. Wildlife thrives here - from elusive mountain lions and black bears to the more visible evidence of beaver dams transforming the creek into serene pools. Perhaps most captivating are the ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings, including the remarkable Alcove House perched 140 feet above the canyon floor, accessible only by wooden ladders anchored to the cliff face.
This wilderness adventure isn't without its challenges and humorous moments. Watch as I navigate multiple creek crossings, filter water from natural sources, and face the classic backpacker's dilemma of unfamiliar gear as darkness falls. The journey culminates with a spectacular ridge-top hike offering panoramic views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains still capped with snow. Whether you're planning your own Bandelier trip, seeking backpacking insights, or simply enjoy virtual adventures through America's natural and cultural treasures, this trek offers genuine wilderness experiences alongside practical tips for your next outdoor excursion.
Join me on this journey through ancient landscapes, and give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed coming along. Subscribe for more trail adventures as we continue exploring the hidden corners of America's wild places!
Okay, kids, craig the Natural Medic, I'm at Bandelier National Monument in north central New Mexico, close to Los Alamos, about to do a little overnight backpacking trip. If you're responsible for knowing all the rules and securing the permits, or go this way, I hope you'll follow me down the trail as we explore Bandelier National Monument. Okay, I'm doing a loop trail, well, two trails that make a loop, and I'm following Rito de las Frijoles, which means Bean Creek in the Spanish, and there it is Nice free-flowing water source. Pretty neato Visitor Center is back that way. Pretty much gonna follow this creek all the way to Zone F, which they have designated for camping. We're going to Zone F F, which is about a four mile walk back. There Should be pretty flat, and then tomorrow, after I get rolling, I'll finish the trail by heading up on the ridge at the rim of the canyon. Should be interesting.
Speaker 1:Let's take a look at some of the animals that are found here. They have mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, cottontail rabbits, mule deer, rock squirrels and albert squirrels Maybe we'll see some and some reptiles you might see Bull, snake, diamondback, rattlesnake, garterster snake, whiptail and fence lizards. Of course we're in an ecotone here Because of the creek. You have a lot more species you wouldn't normally find in this part of the world, or at least in this environment, even though you have these huge cliffs. On the other side you have a huge riparian area due to the creek, even though it's not a huge park. There's a lot of diversity here. You can see all the different trees on the sign from elevation at 5,000 feet, which is down pretty much in the bottom of the canyon, in the creek bed or near the creek bed, and then, as it gets higher, you will see different trees show up. You can pause the video if you want to see that in more detail.
Speaker 1:That's the way I came over there. I'm crossing over the Frijoles Creek and it's down here flowing nicely. So even though I'm carrying three liters, I do have a filter with me to filter additional water, should I need it. I imagine tomorrow I'm going to need to carry as much as I can, as I'll be up on top of that ridge and may not have opportunities to get water. About a mile in there's a little Kaibo turlet right here you can see the walls of the canyon pretty well. I believe a lot of those pot marks over there stem from native people making their homes up there. I'm up here in the alcove house. It's a round structure with a roof entrance and it's quite a ways up off the valley floor 140 foot climb Up some wooden ladders Pretty crazy if you think about it, but what a beautiful view.
Speaker 1:I have to wonder about that daily commute. Was it worth it? I was just at the alcove house and now I'm entering the wilderness. About five miles to go, probably more like four, to get to the F-stone for camping and of course, as you get into the wilderness that is where you lose the bridges. So right here we have Hallways Creek and it's a little wide point. You can see the trail over there. We're gonna walk across and hopefully not fall in. Keep our feet somewhat dry. All right, so far so good, and hopefully not fall in. Keep our feet somewhat dry. Alright, so far so good. Keep stepping here, step here, step here and we're across. Piece of cake, just crossed the creek one more time. Look what we have here Camping zone E.
Speaker 1:Reservations required, so you do have to secure a permit. They prefer to know 24 hours ahead of time. Took them three, four days to answer me. I guess it's been here for a while because it's pretty bleached. There's a bone right there, not a human bone, but animal bone some kind. I'm thinking probably elk or deer, not really sure. Definitely seen interesting things here up stream off holly's creek. There's definitely some dams. They weren't made by humans. Looks like beaver dams Definitely some beavers around here making some little ponds Very cool. I noticed several standing pools this way. Didn't realize what was going on until I saw this. All right, it's beautiful out here. Sun is going down, hoping I'll get to my spot pretty soon.
Speaker 1:I'm at the little buffer zone between camping areas. You've got a sign right here says entering no camping zone and the sign on the other side says camping zone E good spots back there to camp in. I'm in camping zone F. We're're going to keep pushing forward. Two things I noticed down here in the so called no camping zone between E and F there's a lot of this stuff poison, ivy leaves of three let it be, and you're in a very narrow spot so you wouldn't really be able to put a tent down here. Anyway. One thing to keep aware in the southwest, no matter where you are, flash flooding can occur at any time. You can see evidence of it here lots of wood piled up when the creek floods. They recommend you camp on higher ground, which is probably this camping area, or this part of this rail is off limits to camping Out of the tent rocks, which is run by the BLM.
Speaker 1:I'm a little bit out of breath. I've not backpacked since last year when I was in Ashdown Gorge in Utah, other than not walking in the water. This kind of reminds me of similar characteristics. I'm not sure if it's the same rock that the tent rocks are made out of, but it looked very similar to this Low bridge. Look out, okay, made it to the general camping area. It's just a zone. There's no designated campsites. You're allowed to camp in this particular zone, wherever you can find a suitable spot.
Speaker 1:It took me about three hours to get here and went about six miles, a little over six miles. That's probably okay. We'll have more to do tomorrow. Got to go up on this ridge and I've got to go a little further down in order to climb up it. It's about 830 right now. I've not set up my tent, which is a new tent that I got from Outdoor Vitals, but I think I can figure it out. Let me stop filming for a second, and I will. I'll get back to you.
Speaker 1:Well, I got supper made. I got some veggie chili from ready wise. I've had this one for a while. I don't think I've ever tried this variety. I tried a bite of it. It's pretty good. It is a veggie chili, so I don't have any meat, but it does have beans and whatever else is in chili. I am actually gonna sleep on my tent because I couldn't figure how to set up my tent. I bought the tent last summer. I never set it up, got to the campsite a little bit dark and I was tired and Probably dehydrated. Just gonna cowboy camp tonight on the new exped mat mat. Just haven't had a chance to use it yet. So we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 1:All right, getting back on the trail and shooting for our lunchtime completion. We do have a cafe here, a bandolier, and be nice to eat there. Last time I was here didn't get to eat there. They closed earlier. Headed out on the trail, gonna go further down this way, then up on top of this ridge to do the Frigolese Rim, all the way back to the visitor center. Just grab some water out of the creek.
Speaker 1:Here it is. I Got my c-noc bag here. I've got my platypus Quickdraw. Let me hook that up and I'll show you how I filter my water. I'll put links to this Set up in the description so you can see that for yourself. The quick draw or any other filter that is the same size. So saw your squeeze, saw your mini micro will fit to the C-NOC bag. It holds two liters. The top of it, where my hand is, it slides off. You just scoop the water up like you're trying to fill a bag, because that's what you're doing. Let gravity do its thing. You can squeeze it, so it's a little faster.
Speaker 1:Always treat your wild water because you never know what's in there that could hurt you. Alternatively, you can attach the filter directly to the mouth of the bottle. Just drink it like that. I prefer this method of using the C-knock bag. Attach the filter and then drain it into the deal. One thing to bear in mind as you are out in the great outdoors is you're going to sweat and when you sweat, electrolytes come out. This is my latest one I'm trying from Element. This one is called Citrus Salt. We'll try it in one of these bottles. I'm going to put two packets in there and see how that goes.
Speaker 1:The Apache and Painted Cave are back to the left, ponderosa Campground to the left and Visitor Center is back, which is where I came from over here. You have a trail here and you have a trail here. We're going to go up to this guy and go back to the Visitor Center the wind is starting to pick up a little bit and go back to the visitor center. Wind's starting to pick up a little bit. I think it's pretty amazing that a couple hundred feet now off the canyon floor, but you can still hear the water flowing, since we were at the upper crossing. According to the sign, 1.9 miles, five miles to the visitor center, should be able to do that in a couple of hours. Right now I think it's 11, 30 ish, somewhere like that. So we're looking at 12, 30, 1, 1, 30 or two is we'll say, and this way you go to Capulon Canyon and the Dome Trailhead.
Speaker 1:That's where I came from, and then down there was where I was roughly last night. There's some tall mountains over there. I think on the other side of that is Valias Caldera, which I'll be going to on Monday and then continue this way. In front of us we can see the high peaks in the Santa Fe area for the Sangre de Cristos. I was there last week in Colorado the Sangre de Cristos over there by Crestone and Great Sand Dunes, and it was snowing, so I'm not too surprised that there's still a snow cap. May have to zoom in a little bit but, yeah, still a snow cap.
Speaker 1:I think there's about two miles until I get to the junction trail. I'm still using natural Atlas. Stick with me. The junction we've been waiting for. It's the last little bit to go down to the visitor center. But you can go to other places like Yoposhe, mid Alamo Canyon, upper Alamo Canyon, upper crossing. Now we're gonna go down here. This should take us down into a canyon and to the visitor center. I'll turn in my bear bag and get something to eat at the cafe and maybe visit the bookstore. Well, definitely visit the bookstore. Actually got a little ahead of myself. Visitor center is 1.1 miles down this trail. It's mostly down the frijolito. We entered it yesterday and now we're leaving it. Thanks, bandelier, for a great experience.
Speaker 1:Yesterday we were at the alcove house. I believe it's right on the other side of that, where that white rock is. Down there you can definitely see the other cliff dwellings. That way, the trails they have beside those are pretty easy to see. And here's another view of Alcove Hills. You can definitely see, in proximity to where the majority of the homes were, how forested it is here in the Freeholies Canyon. It was definitely a motivating factor. Water it was definitely a motivating factor. Water plants as shelter for animals, that were food sources, plants that were used for medicines, plants that were used for daily tasks. I can see my truck.
Speaker 1:I wanted to give a summary before I took off from the park for today, the thing that went right I made it through the trail. That's a good right thing. I didn't starve. I had plenty of water. Could have gone better. Bringing a pillow I had a new inflatable pillow I was going to try Didn't bring it. I should have set up my tent before I left the house, so I was familiar with it. That won't happen again. I probably should have got here a little earlier, but other than that, I had a good time. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did give it a thumbs up, don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more great content. Until next time, see you on the trail.
