Things I like: Mountains. Things I don't like: Driving

I’ve spent a lot of my free time in the desert and the mountains, often by myself, and often a long way from anybody. I’ve seen bears and jumped over rattlesnakes at the last minute, and I’ve spent entire nights in the woods guided only by a headlamp and maybe a lucid friend. Occasionally someone asks if I’m afraid of being alone out there, and sometimes the answer is yes. Truthfully, the thought of hidden rattlesnakes and mountain lions in trees does make me shudder a bit. Realistically though, the most dangerous part of every trail run I’ve ever done has been the drive to and from the trailhead.

Automobile accidents are among the leading causes of death for somebody my age. Every year in the United States alone, around 40,000 people die in automobile crashes, including around 7,000 pedestrians that are run down (my current home state of New Mexico ranks number one in this category). Imagine if a Boeing 747 carrying 400 passengers went down every four days in the United States with no survivors—that’s equivalent to the number of fatalities we accept in the US as a result of automobile crashes.

For this reason, I’m a little timid behind the wheel of a car. Driving, to me feels no different than walking a narrow ledge along a thousand-foot cliff—one wrong move by you, or somebody traveling the other direction, and it could all be over. Of course, we get comfortable with this hazardous metaphorical traverse, but occasionally our confidence isn’t enough.

I’m not anti-car by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy going to remote locations to go running and unless you live in Switzerland you’ll probably need a car to do that. But I do wish that some of the time I could avoid using my car. Whether to go running, or just for a trip to Albuquerque on the weekend to see a movie.

This weekend, I leaned on public transport as much as possible for an adventure in the high peaks above Santa Fe. I had to drive to Belen (about 40 minutes from Socorro), but then I could hop on the New Mexico Railrunner and watch the scenery pass by from the second story of a double decker train. Once in Santa Fe, I took a bus to the ski area and found a place to pitch my tent before going for a 90 minute run and then settling in for bed.


Views from the New Mexico RailRunner

The next morning, I met up with friends and set out on an 18.5 mile run ascending and descending Lake Peak, Penitente Peak, and Santa Fe Baldy, plus a detour to Lake Katherine. The entire route took nearly 6 hours and included some very rocky and slow-going sections, but it was nice to spend some time in the high-mountain air.

The remainder of the route from Penitente Peak

Lake Katherine, where I filtered water and began the climb up to Santa Fe Baldy


Views from 12,600 Feet above Sea Level on Santa Fe Baldy


My return to Socorro involved a ride courtesy of Mailani and Wes (yes yes, again my car-lite adventure required the use of an automobile), and another couple hours on the train (apologies to all the people who had to be near my smelly self), plus another 40 minute drive from Belen to Socorro.

While I certainly can’t go car-free where I live, it’s pretty nice to go car-lite. Behind the wheel, I’m limited to a podcast or two, and paying attention to the road. On the train and the bus, I can go through photos, stream videos, and gaze mindfully out the window. Taking the train was by no means the easiest way to accomplish such a mountain adventure, but maybe someday it’ll be easier than it is now, and maybe someday, I won’t need to drive my car at all.

A lightning bolt splits the sky on the return to Belen on the train

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