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Java Joe’s

Comfy coffeeshop with black beans and some of the hottest chile in town. 505-765-1514; 906 Park Ave SW, Albuquerque; mains $5-12; 6:30am-3:30pm;

Owl Bar

Nothing can beat the simple green-chile cheeseburger at this hole-in-the-wall south of Albuquerque. 505-835-9946; 77 Hwy 380, San Antonio, NM; mains $4-7; 11:30am-9pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct

SLEEP

Dunshees

Beautifully appointed suite or casita with kiva fireplaces, private patios, and gardens. 505-982-0988; www.dunshees.com; 986 Acequia Madre, Santa Fe, NM; suites $125-140;

Nora Dixon Place

Friendly B&B in a rural village outside of Albuquerque. Ask for the Bosque Room, with a kiva fireplace and Mexican tiles. 505-898-3662; www.noradixon.com; 312 Dixon Rd, Corrales, NM; r $102-124;

Old Taos Guesthouse

This 200-year-old former farm sits on 8 acres of grass and cottonwoods. 575-758-5448; www.oldtaos.com; 1028 Witt Rd, Taos, NM; r $90-175;

USEFUL WEBSITES

www.chilepepperinstitute.com

www.greenchile.com

SUGGESTED READS

Red or Green? New Mexican Cuisine, Clyde Casey

Artisan Farming: Lessons, Lore and Recipes, Richard Harris

LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner

TRIP

47 Take the High Road…and the Low Road

49 Hiking the Jemez

50 Margarita Marathon

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Return to beginning of chapter

Rim-to-Rim Canyon Hike

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WHY GO Views from the canyon’s scenic overlooks are breathtaking, it’s true, but to fully appreciate the immensity and essential wildness of the Big Ditch, below the rim is where it’s at. And hiking the canyon rim-to-rim is the ultimate way to immerse yourself in its depth and magnificent beauty.

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TIME

3 – 5 days

DISTANCE

25 miles

BEST TIME TO GO

May – Oct

START

North Rim, AZ

END

South Rim, AZ

ALSO GOOD FOR

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If the Grand Canyon’s enormity doesn’t quite hit you as you crunch down your first few North Kaibab switchbacks in the misty morning light, it will once you’ve passed through Supai Tunnel and look below upon the trail slashed along the rugged contours of sheer cliff walls. You have taken the plunge.

Most hikers going rim-to-rim make the journey in two or three days, depending on which trails and in which direction they’re hiking. This route covers one popular hike spanning two to three days (North Rim to South Rim), but you could easily reverse the direction and/or add a day or two as you please.

It’s possible to link any number of North Rim trails to South Rim trails. For the experienced canyon hiker, multiday backcountry trips in the inner gorge are nearly solitary experiences on primitive trails and backcountry campsites. But first-time canyon hikers should start on well-traveled corridor trails to get a feel for the very unique conditions of the Grand Canyon – it’s easy to underestimate the elevation change, the intense, scorching heat and the amount of water you’ll need, or to get psyched out by the dynamic of descending into the gorge and ascending (seemingly interminably) out.

Turn your expectations upside-down by starting your hike from the serene North Rim – this is the stripped-down rim of the Grand Canyon, without crowds or commotion. On your drive to the national park, you’ll wind through the northern section of Kaibab National Forest, with its vast stands of ponderosa and sections of burned-out trees from the 40,000-acre wildland Warm Fire in 2006. Once you’ve arrived at the park’s North Rim, make a lunch stop at Deli in the Pines for a cold pasta salad and a soda before heading over to the North Rim Backcountry Information Center. Here, you can get a permit for camping below the rim and find out what current conditions are in the inner gorge. It can snow on the North Rim even during the summer, while temperatures at the bottom of the canyon can shoot beyond 110° F in the shade. Save your energy for the big hike, but if you have a few hours, take the flat, 2-mile Cape Final trail to one of the most phenomenal overlooks on either rim.

While you’re waiting for a table at Grand