Walk to Lamy

I walked from the Santa Fe Community College to Lamy today. This is a map of my route. I started off on the green trail, walked to the red trail, turned right on to the red trail, and walked to Lamy. It was a pretty nice day - overcast with a wind. The wind blew in my face most of the day, but it wasn't too tiring. I was expecting to encounter other walkers and bikers, but I only saw one bike rider all day. I think I walked over 16 miles (if you add in my walking mistakes and the strange route I took into Lamy) and it took about 5 hours.



This is a tree along the rail trail in Eldorado. The rail running from Lamy to Santa Fe is quiet. It is currently being used by an excursion railroad, The Santa Fe Southern Railway. The main railroad has never come to Santa Fe. This rail spur was originally created to get passengers and goods to and from Santa Fe and the main rail line that passes through Lamy.

Lamy is a sleepy town with less than 200 residents. It once had a Harvey House. Here is a nice page of NM's Harvey Houses.



This is a break I took after walking about 12 miles. This was in an area just south of Eldorado where there are big houses and a lot of horses.



This is along one of the most beautiful parts of the trail. About 3 miles west of Lamy the track curves through cuts in the hills. There are a lot of train bridges and stunning views. New Mexico Beauty! This picture was probably 2.5 miles from Lamy. I would highly recommend taking this part of the trail. For a short walk you can park at Hyw 285 and the tracks and walk westward, or park at a lot in Eldorado at a railroad crossing and walk south and east.



This is the depot in Lamy and this was the ending point of my walk. My coworker Harriet was so great to come and get me and drive me back to my car.

The ending part of the walk was really strange. I thought the trail went all the way to Lamy, but looking at the map now - it obviously does not! Once the trail crossed Hwy 285 (about 1 miles from Lamy), I didn't see the foot trail again, so I walked on the tracks and along the gravel of the tracks when there was room. About .25 mile from the depot my plan became problematic when I came upon a giant wood trussel. It was about 100 feet above the ground and there wasn't a walkway. In order to keep going, I jumped down the hill and followed a long driveway to the main road. I walked the main road into Lamy. This walk down the hill would have been easy in the first mile of my walk, but at the very end it was difficult. I was so glad to see the depot as I walked the main road into this tiny town.