Knits & Peaks

Tag: hiking

  • Taos from Summit to Skein

    A while back we packed up the car and headed north for a quick getaway to Taos. I’d been craving some mountain air, a good hike, and a visit to a few fiber shops. Taos delivered on all fronts.

    We camped near the ski village, just along the stream. Even in summer, the night air up there gets chilly, and I was grateful for my hand-knit layers. After setting up, we roasted marshmallows for s’mores. It was a simple, relaxing way to end the day.

    The next morning, he set out to hike Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico. The peak is 13,161 feet tall, and the hike is about 14 miles round trip with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. He described the hike as one of his favorites, with alpine meadows and blooming wildflowers. The was hoping to see some bighorn sheep, but they were nowhere to be found.

    During his hike, I explored Taos. The downtown has a quiet charm with adobe buildings, colorful murals, and lots of local art. I stopped in at Mooncat Fiber, a cozy, welcoming yarn shop tucked just off the plaza. Their selection includes lots of indie-dyed skeins, and I couldn’t resist picking up a skein of hand-spun worsted weight in deep blues, purples. This was spun by Kimberly Darling in color Such A Night, a mix of 80% blue faced leicester and 20% silk. I also stopped at the Taos farmer’s market where I picked up some green chile cheddar muffins.

    On my way to meet him after the hike, I stopped at Taos Wools in Arroyo Seco, a small town just north of Taos on the way to the Ski Village. Their yarns are made with wool from regional flocks, mainly Churro sheep. I picked up a few skeins of their natural black Churro wool, and admired the baskets of wool fleece (some day I’ll learn to spin!). The owners were friendly and full of knowledge about the sheep, which I learned are part of the Navajo-Churro heritage and have been raised in the Southwest for centuries. There’s something really special about yarn that’s so deeply connected to the land and its history.

    To end the trip, we drove to Ojo Caliente for a quiet afternoon at the mineral hot springs, one of the oldest natural health resorts in the country. The pools are filled with different types of mineral water, believed to have various healing properties. After a few packed days of hiking, camping, and exploring, it felt good to soak in the warm water and let our muscles recover. We moved between the pools, relaxed in shaded lounge chairs, and enjoyed the calm pace of the day. I brought my knitting and worked a few rows between soaks, a peaceful way to wind down before heading home.

    We only spent a couple of days in the Taos area, but it was full of camping, hiking Wheeler Peak, exploring town, and making a few fiber stops along the way. A quick getaway, but a good one.

  • Sands, Sun, and Sweaters

    We took this trip in January, both of us on vacation and wanting to see parts of New Mexico we hadn’t explored yet. It felt like the perfect time to get out of town. We started our trip in Albuquerque and drove south through Alamogordo on a sunny winter morning. The scenery changed from high desert to rolling hills as we got closer to White Sands. On the way, we stopped at the famous pistachio farm, yes, the one with the world’s largest pistachio out front. We grabbed some snacks and stretched our legs before heading into the dunes.

    White Sands National Park was incredible. The dunes were bright white and stretched out forever. We hiked part of the Alkali Flat Trail, which took us up and down soft hills of sand. If you hike this trail, most start out on the intended path, and then slowly wander off exploring the dunes. The sun was blinding, the sky was clear, and the contrast between the white sand and blue sky was unreal. It felt like we were walking through a dream, except we were sweating and getting sand in our shoes. Totally worth it.

    I wore my cloud sweater on this trip, and it was perfect for the cooler winter temps. I knit it using the Cloud Sweater pattern by Petite Knit. It’s a top-down construction, first knitting the back flat, then shaping the shoulders and joining in the front. Highlights of this pattern are the shaping with short rows along the back, shoulder, and underarms, combined with a loose and comfortable body. For those who can’t stand knitting 4-5 inches of 1×1 ribbing on the neckline and cuffs, this is the sweater for you! Petiteknit designed a simple edge that rolls inward, making the collar and cuffs super comfy. I used yarn I ordered online from Hobbii, holding Highland Wool in color Dark Moss with Diablo in color Thyme (a soft mohair). It was easy to make and cozy to wear, especially in the cool desert breeze.

    After our time in White Sands, we continued on to Las Cruces and explored Old Mesilla, a small historic district just outside the city. The plaza was quiet and full of charm, lined with adobe buildings and local shops.

    The next morning, we went for a hike on the Dripping Springs Trail in the Organ Mountains. It’s a fairly easy trail with great views and just enough incline. The trail leads to some old stone buildings that used to be part of a tuberculosis sanatorium and resort. We spent some time exploring the ruins, peeking into doorways and reading a few of the signs about what the place used to be. It was quiet and a little eerie, but also really cool to see something with so much history hidden in the mountain.

    On the way back, we made a quick stop in Hatch, New Mexico, known as the “Chile Capital of the World.” It felt like a must-see given the town’s reputation, so we took a stroll through the local shops and grabbed a dried chile ristra for our door. It’s a small town, but it’s one of those places you can’t miss when exploring southern New Mexico.

    The whole trip was a mix of fun stops, amazing landscapes, and the perfect excuse to wear a handmade sweater in the desert.

  • A Winter Hike in Santa Fe

    Earlier this year, we spent New Years Eve in Santa Fe, enjoying the city and lights. That weekend we hiked the Chamisa Trail in Santa Fe National Forest. The trail is about 4 miles long, with around 1,000 feet of elevation gain, and it’s located just outside of Santa Fe on the way up to the ski area. It was a chilly day, but perfect for a winter hike. The trail was peaceful, and we were mostly surrounded by tall pines and some occasional snowy patches. It wasn’t too difficult, but definitely a steady incline. We took our time, enjoying the views and the quiet, which made the hike feel even more rewarding. Plus, I was excited to wear my hand-knit hat and mittens on the trail.

    I knit the mittens using an Icelandic-style pattern by Mittens for Mimi, which was both fun and challenging to make. The design features a traditional colorwork technique that’s great for keeping hands warm in cold weather, and it was my first time trying this style of knitting. The pattern itself is simple, but it has a beautiful, repeating motif that I loved working on. For the yarn, I used a mix from Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in color Edelweiss and Cascade 220 Superwash Wave in color Wildberry Sorbet. The wool is warm, with just the right amount of loft to make them feel cozy but not too bulky. After completing this pattern, I began to notice the inconsistency of the stitches, which led me to learning about color dominance. I hadn’t realized the importance of consistently holding the main and contrast color. There is a super helpful Brooklyn Tweed Color Dominance 101 video on youtube that I wish I’d watched before knitting this! Overall it was a great learning experience, and the mittens turned out as I hoped.

    For the hat, I used the Main Sea Captain’s Hat pattern and Malabrigo Rios in color Ivy, which is one of my favorite yarns because it’s incredibly soft and warm. What I really love about this pattern is the folded edge. It makes the hat extra cozy on the forehead and avoids that itchy feeling that some hats can give. The fold adds a nice touch of structure, and the yarn has just the right amount of softness to keep it comfortable all day. The whole hat is perfect for keeping warm on cooler hikes.

    On New Year’s Eve, we spent some time exploring Old Town Santa Fe. The weather was freezing, but the lights made up for it, and there was a live music that added a magical touch to the evening. We wandered around the plaza, enjoying the decorations, but definitely had to keep moving to stay warm. Before the celebrations, we went to see the Nosferatu movie at a local theater. It was the perfect way to get into the spooky mood of the evening. The whole night felt like a cozy, cinematic adventure, an unforgettable way to ring in the new year.