We went abruptly from Winter into Spring, here in northern New Mexico, already seeing temps in the 80s. The apricots suddenly bloomed, causing everyone to worry about an ensuing freeze, which would doom the crop. Last April was cold and snowy, so who knows what is next to come? The river too responded to the sudden warmth, jumping up to 1130 cfs this AM, with the water temp at 54 degrees. And, when you can locate them, the trout are biting. Apricot trees are to be seen here and there, outside of the orchards. I call them free-range trees, and here’s a nice one that’s blooming on the banks of the Rio Grande, in the Orilla Verde Recreation Area, where we run our full-day Rio Grande Gorge and Float trips.

Apricot tree blooms along the Rio Grande

As I sit here in the New Wave office, I’m thinking I may have to get the swamp cooler going. It’s 70 degree out front, and our forsythia is blooming. And all this warm weather is having an effect on the river. It’s coming up! It’s at 759 cfs at this moment (you can get this info on our website. Click on “Weather and River Flows”). CFS is an acronym for “cubic feet per second”. Picture this: 759 boxes of water (each box being a cube 12″X12″X12″) going by in a second’s time. That’s 759 cfs. 759 cfs is actually quite a bit of water. It’s enough to run the Taos Box and all other stretches, with ease. Because of this early run-off we may start up a little sooner this year. Our official opening date is April 28, but we might push that up if there’s sufficient demand. So … if you want to go rafting before April 28, give us a call.

What are you doing this summer? Not sure? Well … how about joining up with New Wave’s Guide Training Program this year? The first session begins May 5, the second June 2. We are looking for a few energetic, nature-loving people to add to our guide corps and, to this end, we have made the price of this year’s training very attractive. It’s only $150, for four days of instruction and two weeks of practice.You can’t beat that. Here’s the full scoop: GuideTrainingProg2012b

Guide trainees learn how to "surf" a raft

Today, at 3:30 PM, the temperature was 63 degrees as I got into the car to drive a few miles upstream and see if the fish had started biting. And … sure enough, they were! They (both browns and rainbows) went for my combination of a purple Wooly Bugger and trailing red Copper John. The river is running at 500 cfs, and still quite clear. Upstream, I saw a kayaker playing at the Sleeping Beauty wave. Another system is moving in, but we know that winter is pretty much over. We’re now looking forward to Spring skiing and the Rio Grande caddis hatch. The only sad note is that our wintering bald eagle friends will soon be leaving. How we have enjoyed their regal presence.

The Racecourse stretch of the Rio Grande, near Taos, NM