Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast before heading south into New Mexico. As we got into the mountains, it was definitely drier and more like the desert.
In the small town of El Rito, we got on FR-44 to head into Carson National Forest and drove to the parking area at the Potrero Campground. From here, we hiked up FR-44B past the campgrounds. Where the road ended, a trail followed the creek upstream into Cañada del Potrero to the cliffs. There wasn't a lot of water in the creek as New Mexico seemed to be in a drought. We arrived at the bottom of the lowest section of Potrero Falls, a 10-foot drop.
We knew there was more waterfall but couldn't climb up right here. On the river left side of the cliffs, it was pretty easy to climb up a ways. We could get into the canyon, but had to hug the canyon wall.
This was only possible because the rocks were completely dry.
From here, we entered the slot canyon.
The main 25 foot drop of the waterfall was right in here.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much water flow.
We climbed back out and then climbed up along the cliffs.
There were some patches of cacti growing among the cliffs.
It was very steep looking down from the rim.
The views of the forest up here were beautiful.
Some bladderpods were flowering.
We had a snack up atop the canyon rim then hiked back.
Driving out on FR-44, we stopped to see some impressive cane cholla.
Soon we made it back to paved roads. Along NM-554, we pulled off to see some cool rock formations that resembled castles.
We got on US-84 and started heading back towards Colorado but made a stop at a picnic area along the highway. Looking south, the Abiquiu reservoir was looking pretty dry.
It was private property to the south, but across the street to the north was the national forest. The "painted" mountains here were stunningly beautiful.
After passing through a break in the fence, we turned left and soon could see Cat's Eye or Talus Arch, a sandstone arch high above.
An obvious path led through the desert with fantastic views of the mountains.
Most of the path was flat and easy but a couple places where we had to scramble.
Hiking through the canyon, nearly all the cliffs had colorful streaks.
I was really blown away with how beautiful this area was. There's no trails or signs so I presume this is a fairly unknown area, but what a wonderful place.
The path basically ended at a spot with a great view of a small valley surrounded by the colorful cliffs.
A few of the rock outcrops had a different color and resembled a castle built into the mountains.
We stopped here and had a snack while enjoying the view.
Then we made the hike back towards the start.
But instead of returning to the car, we continued east towards another canyon with more beautiful views of the mountains.
One mesa in particular had really beautiful striped colors running horizontally across.
The path turned and started heading into another canyon.
The tall sandstone cliffs were mostly devoid of life, but here and there, a single tree popped up like a lone sentinel watching over the desert.
About a mile or so into the canyon, we could see Talus Spire sticking straight up. I thought it kind of looked like a hand with extended index finger.
Past here, it would become a slot canyon. As we didn't have ropes and there looked like a potential for storms, we turned around and started hiking back.
I was really stunned by the beauty of this area. There are no official trails and I don't think anything's named but it was definitely worth stopping for a hike.
From here, we continued on US-84 back towards Colorado. We made a quick stop at Echo Amphitheater.
It was closed due to the pandemic but we could get a picture from the gate. Then we continued to Pagosa Springs and checked into Healing Waters Resort. We walked across the river to have dinner at Tequilas then took a dip in the naturally warmed swimming pool. The smell wasn't too bad in here and the water felt really good, especially after getting a little sunburned in the New Mexico sun.
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