La Luz is an 8-mile trail that switchbacks up the Sandia mountains, from about 7,000 feet to over 10,000 feet. It’s long, dry, and extremely rocky, especially near the top where the air is noticeably thinner. After hiking up it any number of times, I finally realized I was always too tired once I got close to the top to take photos. Which was really a pity, because the last few miles of La Luz are staggeringly beautiful.
So I began hiking part of the way down it first so I could take photos before I was totally exhausted.1 Yes, I still had to hike back up, but it wasn’t quite the commitment that hiking the entire thing had been.
I went down it for the first time this year on June 6th and noticed the most beautiful cascade of green on some boulders near the top (above).2 What was it, I wondered — maybe a large moss? It was too far above me to get a good look at it.
Ten days later I went back down La Luz and found some of the large “moss” growing lower, where I could actually see it. I got a few close-up shots and iNaturalist identified it as mat saxifrage.3 I was even more enamored of it when I realized it almost always grows close to lichens, at least in the upper Sandias.
When I went back yet a third time,4 I saw that little white flowers were growing out of each of those lush green mats. When I peered even closer at the flowers, I realized they had tiny dots.
My camera and I got closer yet. I was absolutely blown away when I was finally able to see that the tiny dots had multiple colors, ranging from yellow in the center, through orange and red, to magenta near the edges of the petals.
I honestly can’t imagine anything more magical than these tiny perfect flowers growing amongst the rocks and lichens at 10,000 feet.
You can get to the top of the mountain (and La Luz) by driving up the highway on its east side or taking the tram up its west side.
There’s almost always snow on the upper reaches of La Luz through May. And even though hiking part of it is less of a commitment than hiking the whole thing, it’s still not an easy trail … even without snow and ice.
It’s also spelled matte saxifrage or matt saxifrage. I have no idea if one spelling is more “correct” than the others but, since it does seems to form green mats amongst the rocks, I’m going with that.
An exercise not only in obsession but masochism as well.
Love love love this post. Breathtaking detail - nature is truly astounding in its diverse forms....
Perhaps this is one of my favourites, though why choose? They are all so absorbing.
The magic of cameras!