Kitchen Mesa Hike


It feels like it may actually be a little chilly today, but by the time we drive up to Ghost Ranch the weather is once again sunny and the perfect temperature for hiking. We hiked through Ghost Ranch on our CDT hike, and it’s interesting to come back and be disoriented, seeing things differently from the memories. We didn’t do the hike up Kitchen Mesa before, and it may be the best one here. This mesa hovers over the dining room complex of Ghost Ranch, and tops out right in a strange, moon-like layer of gypsum. Everywhere you look there’s a new color, or something out of the ordinary to jostle the mind into greater appreciation of the place.

Knee notes: no real problems today, just some very minor twinges at the end. Now that I’m stretching a lot, it’s hard to tell what’s sore from stretching and what might be related to the knee acting up. Definitely felt my left hamstring today.


2 responses to “Kitchen Mesa Hike”

  1. I’ve hiked up Kitchen Mesa a dozen times or more–in the cold, warmth, wind, beautiful sunny weather and under the full moon. Being from the Minnesota prairie/woods area, this is an entire different planet for me. I love bringing people up here for their first time. I’ve never felt closer to”God” anywhere.

    Kitchen Mesa

    Desert rains splash down arroyos,
    snow melts and runs away
    from this mesa top
    quick as a stealing coyote.
    A lone cedar tree; a miracle, a conundrum,
    is anchored in a moonscape of gypsum.
    I imagine that If I could see through the layers,
    limestone, sandstone and quartz,
    I would see how roots grip rock so tightly
    that tree limbs defy wind,
    I might learn how to hang on to life,
    challenge the erosion of little moments
    that become dust in the desert sky
    if a person does not pay attention.

    Kitchen Mesa Meditation

    Sitting still atop this mesa, I forget my flesh
    As my senses tentacle into space and time,
    bring a vision of ravens,
    song of wind,
    smell of juniper
    through the windows, wide open,
    of this house of bone I inhabit.

    Talk to me, people.

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