FOOTSTEPS CRUNCH ON a patchy crust of snow as Ranger Adam Dean hikes out to the sunny side of Cerro La Jara, one of the tree-shrouded lava domes in the caldera. He follows a trail visible only as a more consistent line of thin snow in the bare dirt. A trio of bundled-up hikers and a volunteer follow Dean, some of them in their cross-country skiing boots, but their skis have been left in the car. Perhaps fittingly, the event to learn about the effects of climate change on Valles Caldera has been revised to a hike.
Dean pauses to pull out charts and maps from the preserve’s latest climate report, which includes some adaptation strategies for the biggest threat linked to that future: more damaging wildfires. Just in the last century, the average annual temperature at the park has climbed 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Would-be skiers pepper Dean with questions and share how they’ve seen the world change just in their lifetimes. They also enjoy a beautiful morning in the preserve.
Here are a few more ways to engage with the Valles Caldera.
From June to October, park rangers lead monthly moonlit hikes.
Photograph courtesy of NPS/Stan Ford.
SEE IN THE DARK
From its location deep in the Jemez Mountains, the Valles Caldera preserves a rare view: a pristinely dark night sky that offers a chance to see the stars as they were centuries ago, before urban light pollution. Rangers guide monthly moonlit hikes, and astronomers lead stargazing tours of constellations, planets, the Milky Way, and meteor showers from June to October.
START CASTING
Last summer, the park hosted fly-fishing workshops that amounted to a free, guided fly-fishing experience, says Marcus Lopez, an intern with the bird and nature conservation group Environment for the Americas. Lopez helped launch the workshops, reaching out to a local outfitter for gear, New Mexico Trout for volunteers, and Rocky Mountain Tenkara to bring equipment for clinics on a Japanese style of fly-fishing that’s well-suited to the caldera’s narrow waterways.
PARTY ON
Fall Fiesta, which coincides with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, enlivens the park for a full week of events. Speakers cover topics like geology, local wildlife, and human history. Cultural demonstrations showcase basket weaving, flute playing, and flint knapping. At the Artisan Village, browse pottery, kachinas, jewelry, and other crafts made by artists from nearby pueblos and tribes.
On the second Sunday of the month, you can join the Early-Bird Bird Tour to spot hawks, harriers, American kestrels, dark-eyed juncos, and pygmy nuthatches.
Photograph courtesy of NPS/Corey Lycopolus.
