John left for Carlsbad at about noon and I opted to stay behind to get a bit more work done with Jean, as the progress this morning did not go as well as I had hoped. Dimitri, Jean, Don, and Dimitri - the four people I work with here, are all gone or busy for the weekend and I'm here by myself, so this means it's time for weekend #2 of me hiking off into the wilderness by myself.

Tomorrow it's a drive up to the base of the Los Alamos ski hill (9,200'). Here Quemazon Trail cuts across the ridge which separates Los Alamos County from the Cerro Grande and runs into Pipeline Road. From here, Trail 282 crosses a narrow mesa and then drops down 1000' to the low point of the hike, the junction with Caballo Trail 277 (8,621'). Trail 277 promptly goes straight back up, all the way to the summit of Caballo Mountain (10,496') - the highest point on the hike.

...and back again. Unfortuantely, there isn't a reasonably short return trip other than the way I came, so I'll have to retrace my steps or add about 400% to the length of the total trip, which I'm not prepared for. But regardless, I should have some good pictures and more sore muscles by tomorrow night (assuming I don't fall off a cliff or get eaten by a mountain lion). Total trip distance: ~11 miles. Elevation change: 1,875'. Wish me luck.