The ON FOOT Series · Book One
ON FOOT
In the Mountains of New Mexico
35°41′N 105°45′W
The Book
Thirty-Five Days.
Two Backpacks.
One Wild Journey.
In September 1999, Jean and Jim Leaman loaded a Nissan Sentra with a tent, two backpacks, and a loose plan, and pointed it toward New Mexico.
What followed was a journey on foot through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above Santa Fe — climbing to 12,600 feet, camping beside dark alpine lakes, encountering wildlife, battling cold nights, and making the decisions that come with being deep in the wilderness.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains · New Mexico · 1999
The Route
Twelve stages, on foot and off the
map
Arrival in New Mexico
A Nissan Sentra, a tent, and a loose plan.
Albuquerque
Cottonwoods, dust, and the first hot afternoon.
Santa Fe
Adobe walls at 7,200 feet, and the mountains waiting above.
Pecos Range
Into the trees, packs heavy, legs not yet ready.
High-Altitude Backpacking
Thin air, slow miles, cold mornings.
Spirit Lake
Dark water below the ridge; a night that never warmed.
Santa Fe Baldy
12,600 feet, and the whole state laid out below.
Taos
Down from the high country, hungry and dusty.
Cumbres & Toltec Railroad
Coal smoke through the aspen passes.
Columbine Canyon
A creek, a climb, and a long quiet afternoon.
Red River
Last of the high peaks, first talk of home.
The Journey Home
Five weeks of trail dust in the back seat.
Above Treeline
Walking is a slower way to see a place — and the only honest one.
35
Days
12,600
Feet
2
Backpacks
1
Unforgettable Journey
From the Trail Journal
Written on the trail, not
remembered afterward
10,400 feet · evening
“We sat with our backs against the rocks and watched the sun go out of the valley. Far below, the lights of Santa Fe came on one at a time, as if someone were walking the streets lighting them by hand. Neither of us moved until the cold made us.”
From the Trail Journal
Cold Nights
Frost on the inside of the tent by four in the morning. We lay still and counted the hours until light, too cold to talk about it.
Campfires
Wet wood, patience, and then the whole clearing suddenly warm. Nobody says much once the fire finally takes.
Wildlife
A mule deer stepped out of the timber twenty feet away, looked us over, and decided we were nothing worth running from.
High Altitude
Twelve steps, then a rest. Twelve more. The summit never seems to move until suddenly you are standing on it.
Alpine Lakes
The water was black and perfectly still, holding the ridge upside down. We filtered two bottles and sat there far longer than we planned.
Food After a Long Hike
Instant noodles from a dented pot, eaten sitting on a rock. Neither of us has had a better dinner since.
Unexpected Encounters
Silence
Not quiet — silence. The kind that has weight to it, broken only by wind moving through the firs somewhere below.
Jean Leaman
The Authors
Jean and Jim Leaman
“Two people, past the age when this is supposed to be easy, choosing to walk into the wilderness anyway.”
Jean and Jim are not professional adventurers, sponsored athletes, or expedition guides. They are two people with old packs, a small budget, and a long-standing habit of saying yes to the harder route.
ON FOOT began as a stack of pocket notebooks written by headlamp at the end of long days. The series keeps that voice intact: tired, funny, curious, and honest about what walking through a place actually costs — and gives back.
Low-budget travel adventures, on foot
The Book
On Foot in the
Mountains of
New Mexico
adventures.
Series
Setting
Format
Length
- Amazon
- The Publisher
- Independent Bookstores
- Other Retailers
Photographs
Thirty-five days, seen from the trail
Why This Book
Not a guidebook. A record of
what it was actually like.
01
A Real Adventure
Drawn from actual trail journals rather than polished hindsight.
02
A Different Kind of Travel
A low-budget journey built around walking, camping, exploration, and curiosity.
03
The Human Side of Wilderness
Cold nights, tired legs, uncertainty, humor, companionship, and the small pleasures that become unforgettable.
01
A Journey Through Another Time
A glimpse into travel in 1999, before smartphones and modern travel conveniences.
Readers
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