I imagined I’d stroll up the canyon for a half mile or so, maybe find a nice place under a tree to sit and exist, then come back. Easy. Just stretching my legs.
Well, not very far up Otero Canyon a trail forked off. Tunnel Canyon. Ooo, a tunnel. That could be interesting. I took the fork and the trail started to ascend. Kind of steep, but not too bad. I kept on. Parts of the trail were rocky. It kept climbing. I was breathing harder yet nowhere near as hard as my former fatter self. I was passed by a trail runner. How do those people avoid spraining their ankles on the loose rocks?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwxpuuMlTUNHk1nXAZ5D1ebDQGi93boclso6tCSY973Gu_a9U4ynJSb1rdnsfwPe2VhGnV02KvHdbMoIzDaatI7dVYOwTkxFmTYXTAEoWZYYuc-6Q0sEFAgOW6B4DvzNBA5gzlfLipos/s1600/tril2w.png)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhszDIZRL5YXXNosij7aYq48izEtTK-RVnQQTX6oNpwLTy-YUGAROwBMKMQydG0X2y8Ek4GRhDtpI2m7RLMQ8RE8RowXskoOp8bNO1HWEPN43RtL19pCgAnJVzliC63nAGsf_emNZM4jpY/s1600/trail1w.png)
It turned out there was no tunnel, at least not along the trail. Names don’t always mean what we think they do. But I felt a little proud of myself for having hiked the whole thing. Former Cancer Boy conquering the wild! Feeling fit and in control. Woot!
So there I was, at the Tunnel Canyon trailhead, about a mile and a half from where the van was parked. Oh yeah, that. And it was uphill. So I got my second wind, dialed up the determination, and headed back along the highway shoulder. My lower back wasn’t very happy, but I kept chugging. Nature took pity on me, clouded over the sun and sent a breeze. Thank you.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dVD6HIsCraHqZJaSOkOw84IiIO_rTDhEC-aSzBnlqPd5v2_GgAaMeFipN_C9RLYeWOlG8uubHytB2XftIla12spae6AYGd8cbGn0Wm2rvybjXDjQtt-2-iFFYfws-h5MfsGJ-5UmUe4/s1600/selftrail1w.png)
Again I say drone.
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