I have always heard people extol the values of a buff but never personally used one. Earlier this year I purchased a Buff CoolNet UV+ and I have used it on almost every hike since then. My Buff has become one of the most versatile pieces of gear that I own and subsequently one of my favorites. For those who don’t know a buff is simply a big tube of fabric that can be worn in a myriad of ways, hence the picture to the right as just a short demo off of Buff USA’s site. I typically wear my Buff around my neck as a neck warmer. Just to clarify a buff can be both a piece of gear and then a brand name version of that piece of gear, kind of like Band-Aid.

The Buff CoolNet UV+ is 95% polyester and 5% elastane so it is stretchy. We actually have two of them and picked this particular version of Buff because the fabric has a UPF rating of 50. One is technically called Tzome Stone but to me it just looks like a geometric pattern of blues and grays and the other is Pelagomic Camo White which is a white and gray camo-ish pattern. The Buff CoolNet UV+ was $24 from REI in Albuquerque.

Like I said before, I typically wear my buff around my neck as neck warmer. Considering how light the fabric is I am actually amazed at how much warmer it can keep me. I stuff it down whatever outer layer I’m wearing so that it traps heat and prevents it from escaping out of the collar. I actually use the Buff as a part of my layering system. As I start to warm up I will take it off but then as I shed layers I will put it back on to lessen the change from one level of my layering system to the next.

Also because it offers UV protection it protects the back of my neck from the harsh New Mexico sun. On particularly cold or dusty hikes I have pulled my Buff CoolNet UV+ up over my face as a sort of face shield. The only issue I have had doing this is that although the Buff is pretty breathable it still sends some of my breath up behind my sunglasses which causes them to fog up.

I have also used the Buff CoolNet UV+ for some more improvised tasks. I have used it as an oven mitt to get hot food off of the fire. Although, I personally wouldn’t recommend it with this particular version of the Buff, as polyester will melt. I have also used it to wipe muddy paws before letting the Trail Doggo back in the car and as a rag for my running nose. Just make sure to throw it in the wash afterwards and you are good to go.

At $24 and at just 34g on my home scale Buff CoolNet UV+ is really just a catch all piece of gear. It has many uses and at such little cost in both money and weight there is really no reason not to have one in your pack. We have found the Buff to be a great piece of gear to provide a little extra sun protection or a little bit of warmth.

For this review we purchased two Buff CoolNet UV+ from our local REI store.

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​Buff CoolNet UV+ on Amazon - $15.90

After our large failure last weekend of La Luz at roughly 14 miles, a 10k trail run with the Trail Doggo on Saturday, and a backlog of chores it seemed like something easier to just get us outside would be the best way to finish off the weekend. So I found a loop route on All Trails that was a mashup of several trails just south of Tijeras which made for about a 5 mile hike that was only a 35ish minute drive away.

Our route started from the trailhead down the Tunnel Canyon (05145) Trail. It was a super easy trail to follow but pretty muddy due to melt off from the recent snow a couple of weeks ago. It was a gentle uphill but only gained about 500’ in the first 2.3 miles when our route intersected the Western Ridge (05268) Trail. The All Trails route called for a 0.5 mile out section to hit the Otero Canyon Trail the another 0.5 mile back. We didn’t really see the point in doing that so we skipped it and just took the Western Ridge Trail the other direction 0.3 miles to hit the Birdhouse Ridge (05411) Trail.

The Birdhouse Ridge Trail paralleled the original route we started but on the upper part of the ridge. It provided much better views than the Tunnel Canyon section. Might have to go back in the spring to see if the Tunnel Canyon section has more foliage resulting in better views. There were several icy sections that where slick especially when the Trail Doggo decided to give an inopportune pull of the leash. But they were too short to justify getting out our spikes. The trail did provide a really cool view of the Sandia Mountains from the East side. Usually we see the mountains from the west living in Albuquerque. There was also a nice overlook about half a mile from from the trailhead. But all in all it was a rather uneventful but easy hike.

The trails are really meant for mountain biking but I could definitely see doing some trail running on them. The whole thing is just a series of interconnected trails that could be done in any number of combinations to achieve whatever distance or time goal you were looking to do. Our particular route was just one I found on All Trails. However, it definitely made for a nice change of pace by providing a really easy day of hiking not far from home. We ended up with 5.4 miles covered in a little over two hours with 719’ of elevation gain.

Gear Used (Links are to Amazon)
Pack - Osprey Stratos 24L
Poles - Black Diamond Trail Sport 3
Water Bladder - Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5L
Shoes - Salomon XA Pro 3D GTX
Gloves - Black Diamond Mont Blanc
Gloves - The North Face Apex+ Etip

GPS
GPS - alltrails.com on iPhone
GPS - Strava on Apple Watch

In my Pack (Links are to our site)
Survival Kit
Dog Kit
Medical Pouch

This last weekend we made another attempt at the famous La Luz trail in the Sandia Mountains and for the second time we failed to reach the summit. This time, it all came down to being unprepared for the trail conditions we encountered.

La Luz (Trail #137) is one of the most popular trails in the Sandia Mountains right on the edge of Albuquerque. The trail starts at 7,050’ and goes up for 7.5 to 8 miles depending on if you go to the Sandia Crest Summit or over to the Tramway. During those miles La Luz gains over 3,775’ of elevation and passes through several different climate zones. Because the full out and back trip is 15-16 miles most people hike sections of La Luz or only hike the up section. There is an aerial tramway that can be used for the descent.

Back in late September, about a month after moving to Albuquerque, was our first attempt of La Luz in which we hiked up and over to the tramway and rode it down. According to my gps on that trip we did 9 miles with 3,773’ of elevation gain. However, as we only did the up and decided against the extra mile round trip to reach the Sandia Crest, we knew we would have to go back to make the “full” trip.

We woke up a little before 7am and made the customary Starbucks stop, we need really need a sponsorship from them, and started our second ascent of La Luz right around 8:15am. We received several inches of snow two weeks ago in Albuquerque which hasn’t completely melted in the mountains. So we brought along our Hillsound Trial Crampons assuming that whatever snow was still on the trial would be packed down into ice as La Luz is probably the most popular trail in the Sandia’s.This assumption would be our undoing.

The first 5 miles of La Luz went by pretty quickly. We covered them all at between 2.3 and 2.6 mph and that was while gaining almost 2,100 vertical feet. The only problem was that part of the way up we realized through a packing mishap that only one pair of the trail crampons had made it into the packs. So we had some pretty big concerns about our ability to cover the last couple of miles if the ice we were expecting was present. This was also amplified when two hikers on the way down asked if we had brought our spikes and warned we would need them. However, one said something strange when he mentioned a foot of snow.

La Luz covers several different environmental zones starting in the desert and working it’s way up. The 5 mile mark is one of the bigger changes as the trail starts to have an alpine feel about it. This is also the point where traveling higher up on the trail becomes difficult in the winter. There is actually signage at this point warning that the trail ahead may be impassable due to snow and ice. Like I mentioned earlier, we assumed due to the lack of fresh snow and the popularity of the trail that any snow that still remained would be packed down into a layer of ice. We could not have been more wrong!

Once we crossed the 5 mile mark and started the series of switchbacks that criss cross a boulder field the unpacked snow was at least 6 inches deep and noticeably higher in places. We were not prepared at all for these conditions. I had opted for my Saucony Peregrine ISO trail runners over my Salomon’s with Gor-Tex. The Saucony Peregrine’s are super comfy and also very breathable, not waterproof in the least. Also, both of us neglected to bring gaiters. We had just assumed there was no way that the trail would have significant unpacked snow.

We couldn’t just give up so we decided to give it the old college try. Luckily, someone had broken some trail before us but it was a single set of footprints that plunged 6 inches into the snow. We tried our best to step into the tracks but we only managed to cover a mile in the next 30 minutes and I could feel my socks soaking through from the snow. At mile 6 our hopes were dashed when the tracks stopped and the trail continued on unbroken. We were a mile or so from the summit but we knew there was no way we could break fresh trail through 6 plus inches of snow without freezing our feet. Neither of us had waterproof boots, gaiters, and only one set of trail spikes between the two of us. So sadly we turned around and spent another 30 plus minutes trudging back down the snow field, which was actually worse than going up.

The path back down was uneventful. Once we were back below the 5 mile mark we were able to pick up the pace again. I still think going down on trails is way harder on the body than going up. The effort might be easier but it just feels like it beats my knees up. At 9 miles in we did a small off trail section out on a ridge. It had a little bit of exposure but definitely provided some of the best photos of the day looking back up into the Sandia’s. Someone took a small fall right into a cactus and scrapped up their knee. Nothing too crazy just one more thing to add to the less than ideal trip.

Back on the trail we coasted down and finished up with 13.85 miles according to Strava run on my Apple Watch. We covered 3,065’ of elevation gain with a moving time of 5:30 at an average speed of 2.5mph. Total time was 6 hours and 2 minutes.

It was really disappointing to fail to summit the Sandia Crest this time. We were both feeling great and moved pretty quickly up the mountain without taking too many breaks. The weather was phenomenal! The trail conditions were just not at all what we had expected and we could have managed the last mile or so through the snow without issue if we had brought the proper gear. Our winter hike of Mount Taylor had way more snow but we were prepared for that. Really sucks to fail due to lack of preparation not technical skill or physical abilities. But we live and learn and will be better prepared for next time and our third attempt at La Luz.

Gear Used (Links are to Amazon)
Pack - Osprey Stratos 24L
Poles - Black Diamond Trail Sport 3
Water Bladder - Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5L
Shoes - Saucony Peregrine ISO
Traction Device - Hillsound Trail Crampons
Gloves - Black Diamond Mont Blanc
Gloves - The North Face Apex+ Etip

GPS
GPS - alltrails.com on iPhone
GPS - Strava on Apple Watch

In my Pack (Links are to our site)
Survival Kit
Medical Pouch

We have two dogs, Ripley a three year old German Shepherd (the Trail Doggo) and Lilly a six year old Siberian Husky. We love hiking with our dogs but there are a few things we have learned that can make the experience a lot more enjoyable. So here are some tips for hiking with dogs.

Similar to how we organize all of gear, you can read about How I Organize my Hiking Gear here, we have a Magpul Daka Pouch full of dog specific gear that we bring along with us anytime we take one or both of the dogs with us on a hike.

Gear
You really don’t need a bunch of extra stuff to take your dog hiking but there are a few useful items and several must haves. First up poop bags. I don’t know if it is just the Trail Doggo or all dogs but someone poops on every hike. So we keep a roll of poop bags on her leash and in our dog hiking bag we carry a second roll so that no matter what we are covered. We also take a large gallon sized ziplock baggie. The purpose of the baggie is to put the poop bags in after they are full of poop. It is just a second layer so that there are no mishaps, that would be a shitty day, and you don’t end up smelling dog poop for the remainder of the hike. After the hike we stuff all of our other trash into the ziplock baggie and toss it.

After poop is covered the next thing is water. We carry a collapsible 400ml Sea to Summit bowl for watering the pups. Usually we just keep the bottom most bit collapsed so that it make the bowl a little wider proportionally to its’ height. Fill it full of water from a water bladder or bottle and the doggos are happy. Then collapse it back and it stows away taking up almost no room.

I also keep a locking carabiner in the bag that I attach to a metal d-ring on the Trail Doggo’s leash. This allows me to clip her to small trees, my pack’s hip belt, or my pants belt if I need to go hands free for a minute. It might not sound like much but the carabiner is extremely useful and they are pretty cheap. A lot of times it is just much easier to get things accomplished with two hands and a dog not tugging on your wrist.

Lastly, we carry a few items specifically for K9 medical care in addition to our normal first aide kit. This includes two soft muzzles and a K9 Quick Reference Guide from Ready Warrior LLC. Most people get kind of weird when you talk about pets and muzzles but they are extremely important for medical care. A soft mesh muzzle allows you to provide first aide treatment to your dog when they are not in their normal state of mind. After a dog sustains an injury they are in pain and might bite their owner especially if you have to cause more pain in the course of treatment. It is best practice for both you and your pet to apply a mesh muzzle prior to providing treatment. And for anyone who is concerned a mesh muzzle that is properly sized for your dog will not restrict breathing at all. There are a couple of circumstances when a muzzle should NOT be applied such as heat related illness so it is important to know some basic first aide for dogs.

The K9 Quick Reference Guide from Ready Warrior LLC is a medical quick reference specially for dogs and it is phenomenal. It covers literally everything related to medical first aide for dogs. It covers the treatment procedures for K9’s similar to TCCC for humans on catastrophic injury as well as treatments for bloat, snake bite, K9 CPR, vitals, and even drug doses for K9s. It is designed for working dogs but the treatment procedures are the same whether it is a police K9 or the Trail Doggo.

Trip Planning
In addition to bringing a few items we take a few extra circumstances into account when choosing hikes to take our dogs on. The biggest factors are usually distance and elevation gain. Our Siberian Husky has arthritis so we usually cap any hike for her at about 4 miles. The Trail Doggo has no issues with distance but she is extremely strong and if she is feeling stubborn can unintentionally turn a difficult descent into something that is downright dangerous. So with her we usually try to either go after routes that are flatter or that include a more moderate descent. We also try to avoid large off route sections with either dog. Although we do them from time to time, it can be a pain trying to navigate brush while also keeping your dog going the right direction and not catching their leash on every single little branch.

For any trip that includes the dogs we usually up our water about a liter or so. They can go through a surprising amount of water so bring extra especially in a dry climate such as New Mexico.

Summary
That about sums up our dog hiking kit. All of the items I mentioned above are easy to come by online, links to several are below, and can make a hike with your puppies a little more enjoyable and safer. Although it weighs 317g the convenience of having one bag with everything in one place trumps the weight. Not to mention 317g is definitely worth it for the safety of your four legged family member alone.

Items in Dog Pouch - Links are to Amazon
Magpul Daka Pouch - Small
Metolius Locking Carabiner
Sea to Summit 400ml Bowl
Mesh Canine Muzzle - Can’t remember the brand
K9 Quick Reference Guide - Ready Warrior LLC (site not Amazon)
Petco Dog Poop Bags
Ziplock Gallon Baggie

This last weekend we decided to try something new for us and hike in the snow! Coming from Arkansas snow hiking wasn’t really an option so we haven’t ever done it before. Pair that with a recent set of snow storms that swept through New Mexico and we figured it was an opportunity to try something new, the only question that remained was what trail. When we hiked Mount Taylor via the Gooseberry trail back in late October we ran into another hiker, Mac, who told us about a trail that runs along the north side of Mount Taylor which he strongly recommended. When I looked at the forecast I figured we were in for an interesting day with several inches of snow and temperatures anywhere from the low 20’s up to freezing.

We left Albuquerque around 7:45am after our obligatory coffee stop and headed towards Grants, New Mexico which is about an hour away. After leaving Grants we drove up into the Cibola National Forest and the highway turned to snow covered dirt road. Then it was down Forest Service Road 453 to the trailhead. The route I found on AllTrails.com recommended one location but we ran into some hikers at the trailhead who inquired about our route. After telling them where we were heading they said our original route was doable but about 2 miles longer for no reason and gave us directions to the “normal” trailhead for our route which was about another mile up the forest service road. So we headed up there and found a nice trailhead with a picnic area and a vault toilet.

When we set off our on hike the Jeep said the temperature was 28 degrees! The trail had about 3-4” of snow at that point. Surprisingly, we actually got hot really quickly. Cold weather hiking is new to us but we were both expecting to deal with cold temperatures however it wasn’t an issue at all. We hadn’t been going for more than 20 minutes before we were both down to only our thermal base layers. The first mile or so was a consistent but very manageable uphill through the pine and aspen forest. We were able to get some really great pictures of the winter weather. Around the mile mark the trail opened up into a huge meadow that had phenomenal views back out over the plains to the west of the mountain.

Around this point the amount of snow had started to increase to 4-6” and the incline stayed a consistent uphill so we went ahead and threw on our Hillsound Trial Crampons for some extra traction. Over the course of our hike I was really impressed with the trail crampons. As long as they continue to hold up well they will be a great piece of gear. Around mile two the trail intersects with Forest Service Road 453E but not before a nice steep little section that really gets the heart rate going. Our route continued to the east down FR 453E for another mile until it intersects the Gooseberry Trail. This section of the trail was completely untouched and although it was beautiful it was tiring work to break trail through six or so inches of untouched snow. FR 453E continues east from that intersection to hit FR 453 which goes up to La Mosca Overlook. Originally heading to the top of La Mosca along with Mount Taylor had been part of our plan but we were moving rather slower than we had anticipated so we decided Mount Taylor was enough.

We took Gooseberry trail back towards the southwest and the summit of Mount Taylor. The route hugs the edge of the mountain for a half mile and feels very much like an alpine climb, just hugging onto the edge with a big drop off. After that half mile Gooseberry again intersects FR 453E but the summit route continued uphill. We found out later that the route is called Heartbreak Hill and I can definitely understand why. The switchbacks to the summit are relentlessly uphill and the snow definitely didn’t make it any easier. But we made it up the summit at 11,301 feet and got to enjoy some stunning views that were only improved by the snow. I don’t know why but mountains, especially snow capped mountains, have always fascinated me.

After 10 minutes at the summit to take some pictures we headed off down the west ridge. AllTrails showed a trail that led down the ridge and linked up with the Continental Divide Trail and some forest service roads to make a loop back to our trailhead. However, after half a mile of hiking in 12-18” snow drifts we couldn’t locate any sign of the trail. Obviously, the trail was completely obscured but we saw no mounds that could have been cairns or any blazes. So after we ran into FR 453E we decided to change plans and follow it back to Trail 02421. I had really been looking forward to hiking on the CDT as I have done a short day hike on the Appalachian Trail before. But we figured without being able to locate the actual trail and how long we had already been out it was more prudent to take the more direct route back to the car. Plus I was getting tired of breaking trail and someone had already snowshoed down FR453E so the going was noticeably easier.

We made great time on the way back down Trail 02421. It was actually crazy to see how much snow had melted just since we had started our hike. Most of the trees below the meadow had sloughed off their snow and on the trail it was starting to compact which made it much easier. Funny enough we actually ran into Mac, the hiker who had recommended the trail to us a month earlier. He was heading up Trail 02421 to Mount Taylor and remembered giving us the recommendation. We thanked him again for recommending the trail and he seemed pretty happy that we had taken his advice.

A short while later we made it back to the car. According to Strava on my Apple Watch we covered 7.77 miles in a moving time of 3:39 which comes out to an average speed of 2.1mph. We were definitely slower than expected in the snow but to be fair there was a lot more snow than we had anticipated. I had expected four or so inches. But we consistently were in 4-6” and broke trails through sections that were well over 12”. In hindsight some snowshoes would have been really helpful especially on the sections on FR 453E and down the west ridge of Mount Taylor. All in all it was a great trip and we got some great pictures. It was also really cool to be the first people to summit Mount Taylor in the snow for 2019.

We definitely found the temperatures much easier to handle than expected. When we started the car read 28 degrees and when we finished it was 33. I really have no clue what it was on the hike or at higher elevations. It was a phenomenal weather day though with a clear sky and almost no wind at all. I really need to get my hands on a small thermometer to take hiking. It is good to know going forward that temperature won’t really be the limiting factor this winter but instead it will be snow conditions and wind. We definitely still have a lot of learning to do this winter about how the conditions will be throughout the season but we aren’t to keen to just kick up our shoes for the next 3-4 months. If anyone has some advice for great winter hikes in New Mexico please let us know!


Gear Used (Links are to Amazon)
Pack - Osprey Stratos 24L
Poles - Black Diamond Trail Sport 3
Water Bladder - Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5L
Shoes - Salomon XA Pro 3D GTX
Traction Device - Hillsound Trail Crampons
Gloves - The North Face Apex+ Etip
Gaiters - REI Backpacker Low (Link to comparable product)
Ice Axe - Black Diamond Raven 65cm

GPS - alltrails.com on iPhone
GPS - Strava on Apple Watch

In my Pack (Links are to my site)
Survival Kit
Medical Pouch
Food & Snacks
Columbia Puffy
The North Face Apex Jacket