Former New Mexican reporter Nathan Lederman, left, and former New Mexican photographer Javier Gallegos take in the view from the top of a mesa near Abiquiú in November 2022.
New Mexican reporter Sean P. Thomas takes a break next to the East Fork of the Jemez River during a May 9, 2021, hike in Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Former New Mexican reporter Nathan Lederman, left, and former New Mexican photographer Javier Gallegos take in the view from the top of a mesa near Abiquiú in November 2022.
One of my greatest pleasures in life is introducing someone to a place I love.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a close friend, a family member or a new acquaintance. In each instance, the opportunity to play the role of guide and to witness a person light up as they experience an incredible landscape for the first time brings me overwhelming joy.
During this season of giving, I think of what I can offer that’s of value to others (and of little expense to my cheap self). For those of us who have a passion for the outdoors, sharing our time to take those in our orbit into nature is a way to strengthen connections with one another and with the beautiful lands that surround us. And it’s something we can do year-round.
In the nearly six years I’ve been at The New Mexican, I’ve seen quite a few staffers come and go. Many of the hires tend to be relatively new to journalism, new to adulthood, new to New Mexico, and in the early stages of trying to get a grasp of this mysterious place where they’ve just landed.
Part of the onboarding process often involves our HR director or an editor introducing them to the resident outdoors writer as a resource who can offer a bit of help with the latter.
Some people invite new hires out for a drink or a coffee to get to know them better. I don’t drink alcohol or coffee. With me, it’s water and walking.
What’s great about Northern New Mexico is you don’t have to put much effort into deciding on a hike that will impress someone who’s unfamiliar with the area. Pretty much whatever you pick will do the job.
I often like to hit newcomers with the one-two of the Tsankawi unit of Bandelier National Monument and then anywhere up in the Jemez Mountains (usually Las Conchas Trail or somewhere in the Valles Caldera) to demonstrate the vast difference in landscapes that can be found within a small radius.
New Mexican reporter Sean P. Thomas takes a break next to the East Fork of the Jemez River during a May 9, 2021, hike in Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Matt Dahlseid/New Mexican file photo
The short Tsankawi trail provides an opportunity to appreciate the cultural history of the ancestral Puebloan people in a gorgeous high desert setting, while a hike in the lush alpine valleys of the Jemez usually forces the new hire to recalibrate their mental image of what New Mexico is.
I find hiking to be a great activity to get to know someone. Water breaks and scenic overlooks offer natural stopping points to sit and chat, but there’s no obligation to fill the air with words because your surroundings offer a perfect excuse to be silent and bask in the beauty.
I’ve also found people to be more open in conversation while on a hike. Exploring the outdoors evokes talk of where you’ve been, where you want to go, and for many, what you love.
The conversations frequently remind me that we’ve all taken different paths and are at different stages of our life’s journeys.
On one hike in Valles Caldera a couple of years ago with a new reporter and a photography fellow who joined the paper around the same time, both mentioned they had little experience hiking. Spending much of their lives in large cities, they said they’d rarely ever seen the stars.
I could partially relate, as I grew up and spent my early career in areas with little public land and few hiking opportunities. But coming from a town with no stoplights, I’d fortunately seen plenty of starry nights.
The two were blown away by the serenity and the sprawling vistas of the caldera. I was worried I’d exhausted them by accidentally taking them through more deadfall than I’d anticipated while searching for tree carvings made by Hispanic sheepherders from the early 1900s. Fortunately, they were game for the challenge and we ended up doing a few more hikes over the next year in different landscapes in the region, including the Pecos Wilderness, Frijoles Canyon, White Ridge Bike Trails and the colorful cliffs around Abiquiú.
The areas I took those two in the caldera were spots that others had previously shared with me in my first few years here.
It was Los Alamos hiking enthusiast Coco Rae who introduced me to the Valles Caldera backcountry after the release of her popular was released. And a group of volunteer citizen scientists were the ones who first took me out hunting for the historic tree carvings that are scattered through the preserve.
Hiking with those who are from here or who have spent years roaming the state is also a great joy. There are friends I go back and forth with as we show each other secret spots that are off the beaten path. Already enamored with New Mexico, we share in the thrill of diving deeper to continue to find new places that inspire us.
The more you explore New Mexico, the more you come to adore it. The more you know it, the more you value it and want to preserve it.
You may not turn someone into an outdoor enthusiast by taking them on one hike. But by showing them a bit of what makes this place special, you can plant the seed of wonder in their mind and see what blossoms.
