Ms. Young’s Fourth-Graders at the Trailhead after the hike
Climbing up through Dale Ball Trails, South
Lunch spot with a view
Coming back down the mountain
Pack it in, pack it out!
A good view of the ponderosa pine forest
Our last of four hikes with Camino Real Academy Fourth-Graders was with Ms. Young’s class. Twenty-seven kids came for the hike along with four parents or grandparents, Ms. Young, and SFCT’s Trails Program Manager, Tim Rogers. We walked through and learned about habitats (riparian, pinon-juniper, and ponderosa pine forest), visited the Acequia del Llano, the Hydropower ditch, and (later) Two-Mile Pond, and stopped for lunch at the top of the hike at our regular spot, the wonderful rock ledge with a view, below Picacho Peak.
A couple of scraped shins and a few tired adults were the small toll we paid for another great time on Dale Ball Trails. Thanks to Camino Real Academy’s entire fourth grade (and some fifth-graders) for a fun hiking season!
Thanks also to the City of Santa Fe and the Gimbel Foundation for supporting SFCT’s hikes with school kids to promote physical activity, appreciation of open space and trails, and experiencing nature. We’ll be back next Spring!
Happy hikers – with Picacho Peak in the background
An old abandoned valve in the grass near the trailhead – great entertainment while we wait for the bus!
Enjoying the outdoors, with Santa Fe River valley and the Jemez mountains in the background