So, I'm a hiker.

Over spring break I spent some time in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Sandia mountains are located in Albuquerque. I like being in the mountains. And while I haven't spent as much time in them as some, I've done my fair share of hiking.

I never really considered myself a hiker. I was a hiker's girlfriend who hiked with him--or maybe even the girlfriend of a man whose siblings were hikers. I hiked, but not in the same way real hikers hike. Sure, I hiked the Dawson Pass/Pitamaken Pass loop in Glacier National Park (19 miles/ almost 3000 foot elevation gain) but I still occasionally complain about it almost 7 months later.

So I've hiked, but until going to the Sandia mountains I never really considered myself a hiker. But then I rode the Sandia Peak Tramway. Don't get me wrong. The tramway was awesome! I stood in line, bought a ticket, and reached the 10,387 foot Sandia Peak in roughly 15 minutes. And the views from the deck were incredible:

It was a good experience. But all it made me want to do was hike it (which is sad considering I don't know if I'm going to be able to take a hiking trip this summer with (hopefully) getting a big girl job and all). There's two trails that you can take to reach the peak. You can take one up and one down, or you can get a one way tram ticket and hike only one way.

There's so many options that all have the same end game of that beautiful aerial view of Albuquerque. But when I was up there I couldn't stop thinking about how I wished I'd brought my keens and osprey. I complain about exercise sometimes, and if asked about my hobbies the words "Netflix" and "reading" are usually the first which come to mind, but damn I do love to hike.

Even without the hike, though, there were some great views on Sandia peak. Check them out:

The view from the bottom of the tramway--don't let it fool you, though, the top of this photo is only about 1/3 of the way up the tram

This ski lift was not running and we watched a guy ski down here, only to hike back up and ski down again

The top of the peak was ~30 degrees colder than the temperature on the ground, but this made it worth it

A wild journalist in her natural habitat

I had to crawl outside a guard fence to take this photo--sorry mom!

Not much could make this view better

(except maybe them)

The sunset over Albuquerque taken from the tram on the way back down

//077