It’s spring! Not just spring, but Spring 2021. Okay. So it’s not officially spring, but it’s certainly time to get outside and enjoy the benefits of being in Los Alamos. When the Laboratory was first established back in the 1940’s, residents of the “Secret City on the Hill” used to refer to Los Alamos as Shangri-La. References to the city of Shangri-La portrayed in the book Lost Horizon by James Hilton were sarcastic at best. The irony being that we indeed live in a city perched atop a hill that was so secret in the early days that nobody was actually allowed to speak the name out loud. Still, while the original reference to Shangri-La was sarcastic, I like to imagine the positivity in that comparison.

Beautiful. Private. Safe. And let’s be honest with ourselves here. We have access to some of the most incredible outdoor spaces around just by taking a stroll to the end of the street. Of course, in spring we have some crazy windy days. But these two outings are still a lot of fun.

Deer Trap Mesa

If you haven’t checked this one out, you really should! The trail head is accessed at the very end of Barranca Road where it meets up with Navajo Road. There are plenty of historical signs detailing the various homesteaders that first settled the mesa, but the most interesting part of this hike dates back much farther than homesteaders.

At the end of the ridge in a gap between narrow rocky formations, ancient Pueblo Hunters dug a game pit into the ground. This pit was likely around ten feet deep when it was still in use. Today it is so filled with rocks and dirt that Average Joe could easily climb in and out with a little assistance from friends. Still, it’s amazing to walk in the footsteps of the people who called this place home over a hundred years ago. They called the spot navawi’i “pitfall gap” in Tewa. The mesa itself was called navakwage or “pitfall mesa”.

Now. It should be mentioned that if there is still a lot of ice and snow packed into the rocks, hikers need to be very careful with the steeper portions of Deer Trap Mesa. No need to chance a fall into that deer trap! But the views from the top of the mesas are truly something to behold. Don’t forget to bring your phone for an excellent selfie op!

Acid Canyon

The Acid Canyon Loop is accessed from the Larry R Walkup Center. The loop itself is less than a mile and is partly located on a trail first used by the Ranch School in the 1920’s, which is pretty darned awesome to think about. Yes. The name tends to put people off. Why on earth would you call something Acid Canyon? In the beginning, it was pretty much intended to keep people away.

The canyon was first used by the Laboratory because all of the waste water conduits from TA-1 were gathered into one pipe and sent down through this canyon. The canyon was obviously off limits at that time, but since those days it has been cleaned up and re-designated for public use. The last cleanup efforts happened in 2001 with an eye to bringing things up to modern standards. If you’re interested in that, check out this interesting online resource.

Eventually, the Acid Canyon Loop winds around to Kinnikinnick Park. The park was originally suggested as a wildflower preserve. The trails and footbridges were part of Howard Pack’s Eagle Scout project in 1995. The park’s dedication took place on Earth Day in that same year when Los Alamos had one of our typical late spring snow storms. The name Kinnikinnick itself was Sarah Legare’s winning submission picked from a bevy of entries into a naming contest held by the parks department.

So get outside and enjoy our little slice of Shangri-La! And if you’re ready to get outside and shop for your dream home in Los Alamos, give me a call. I’d love to talk living and life in Los Alamos.