I ended up in New Mexico because of an off-hand comment by kleinbl00 about New Mexico mountains. I was looking for a spring mountain hiking trip that wouldn't be mud and/or snow, thus ruling out anything further north.
I found a number of good trip reports for East Pecos Baldy and Truchas peaks. Hiking here gave me a lot of options.
All of my mountain hiking up until this point was in the Adirondacks. These peaks are in the 4-5000' range, starting from trailheads of 900-1800'.
In the Pecos Wilderness, I started at over 8800' at the Jacks Creek trailhead north of Cowles, NM and about an hour's drive from Santa Fe. I had three days of hiking blocked off with an intent of going to Truchas Peak. Day one was a hike out to Pecos Baldy Lake, a common camping site. I saw two horse riders that afternoon, and they were the last people I saw for about 42 hours.
The hike to Pecos Baldy lake was 7.25 miles and took me up to 11,500'. My GPS tells me I had a total ascent of 2940'. I felt pretty good up to about 10,500' when I just started to feel worn out. With less than a half mile to go to the lake, I had to stop and take my backpack off and just sit for a bit. The hike up took me about 4.5 hours.
That night after laying in my tent for a bit, I checked my pulse. Normally my resting heart rate is under 60 beats per minute. Laying there more than 10,000' above my home, I measured 88 bpm (44 beats over 30 seconds). I decided then that Truchas (about 10 miles round trip) was off the agenda. I'd instead go for East Pecos Baldy, a mere 1.2 mile trip and 1000' elevation gain.
It was cold and windy that night. My sleeping bag is rated to 40 degrees, and I woke up cold. I checked the time: 10:30 PM. If it was almost morning I'd have just lived with the cold, but this was going to be all night. I packed a sleeping bag liner I'd never used before, and I pulled that into my bag. It did the trick, and I'm glad I had it.
The next morning I knew the hike was shorter, and it was cold. I ate breakfast with a wool hat, gloves, and down coat. I was still cold and decided I just needed to get moving to warm up.
There's an official trail all the way to the summit. It's 0.6 miles down one trail and then a 0.6 mile spur to the summit. I saw a lot of snow as this was on the north side of a spur off the mountain. About halfway down the trail I got to an eroded bit of trail I couldn't figure out how to get around. Going under it meant dropping down twenty feet with no obvious way to get back up. Going over it meant trying to get up twenty feet. And going across it meant a steep slope with loose dirt where slipping meant a twenty foot slide into trees and rocks. I pride myself on being safe. I turned around.
Back at my camp, I considered my options. I knew the route to Truchas crossed the Trailriders Wall, a flat open ridge with a lot of views, so I took the trail up there. Along here I topped out at 11,953', my new record for highest hike. At this point I had no specific goal as no summit was within reach, so I just hiked down the trail until I felt like turning around.
That's the Truchas group of peaks in the center.
Along here I saw a sign for another trail that headed back to the lake. My National Geographic map showed the trail leaving the lake but stopping at the saddle between East Pecos Baldy and the Trailriders Wall. But the sign was there and I could see a few cairns marking the trail. On the way back, I followed that as best I could, but it wasn't nearly as worn as the other trails were. It was here that I saw a herd of bighorn sheep.
Continuing on, now on the side slope of the Trailriders Wall, I encountered a talus field. It was like walking on the rocks under railroad tracks. Everything was loose. From my vantage I couldn't see any trail, but I knew I had to get to the saddle. The Wall is mostly treeless, so it was easy to see where I needed to go. Once there, I could see multiple paths through the talus.
Coming down off the saddle I scared up a couple... I don't know, beavers maybe? I'd say groundhogs, but they apparently aren't in New Mexico. Otherwise it was a straightforward hike back down. After about four hours on the move, I was pretty tired again, much like the first day. While the day was early and I could have started hiking out, I stayed put for the rest of the day.
The third day was a simple hike out, almost entirely downhill. To my surprise, I still was worn out by the end. Much like day one, I had to drop my pack and rest even close to the end.
Conclusions:
I enjoyed the Pecos Wilderness and would gladly go back. However, I wasn't terribly impressed with the bits of Santa Fe and Albuquerque I saw. Endless beige dirt is depressing.
I also concluded elevation does have an effect on me, and it won't be immediately obvious. Instead it's sort of a cumulative impact that creeps up. I think my next trip, if not to the Northeast, will be to split the difference between Mount Marcy at 5300' and the Trailriders Wall at 12,000'.
Those beavers were definitely Marmots. I love Marmots, and Pikas! Two adorable animals. This looks a great trip, did you find yourself acclimating to the elevation as you spent more time out there? The impression I got from your third day was that it was a "no". Hmm, there are a lot of peaks in the Northwest that split that elevation difference...
As someone who spent a lot of time with friends acclimating (or not) to the altitude, the rule of thumb we professed was seven days. We had the only olympic-sized swimming pool at 7000 feet or higher so we had athletes show up from around the world. None of them stayed for less than two weeks. When I came down to sea level for the first time, it took ten days to acclimate the other way. I had been running 8 miles a day at 7200 feet so my first week in Bellingham involved like 12-mile runs. It was nuts.
Yep, I never felt like I acclimated to the altitude. I never felt it exactly, it wasn't a sense of not getting enough air or anything, it was just that a four hour hike had me feeling exhausted. I reminded myself I hiked for thirteen hours last December in tougher conditions (but half the pack weight) from 1800' to 4800'. I don't think it was just being a bit wimpy, it was a physiological response. If you have any suggestions for 8-9000' peaks, I'm all ears! I do want to explore the PNW, but it was off the list here in May because I didn't want to deal with changing winter/spring conditions.
Well, I can probably send you thirty options in that elevation range...
I will gladly take any suggestions, but don't put too much effort into it as I have a lot of ideas for stuff this year, and there's no way I can do it all. The South Sister in Oregon is something that seems maybe doable. It's a little higher than I'm thinking, but it's in the ballpark. I want to start chipping away at the rest of the Northeast 111. That alone would keep me busy for four or five years.
I once ran a 10k two days after donating a pint of blood. The experience was very similar to attempting to run at 7200 feet having been acclimated to sea level.
I used to bike to work a few times a week, an easy five mile ride to my old office. One year after giving blood (not the same day but definitely the same week), the ride was awful. It was almost painful. I'm at about 900-1000' above sea level here, and that memory is surprisingly similar to how I felt hiking at 10,000' after living my whole life at 1000'.The experience was very similar to attempting to run at 7200 feet having been acclimated to sea level.
It stands to reason. Give a pint of blood, knock out 12% of your oxygen transport capability. Go from 1000 feet to 4000 feet, you go from 20.1% oxygen to 17.9%. a thousand feet to ten thousand feet is taking you from 20% oxygen to 14%... that's a 30% hit. Probably not quite like giving up three pints of blood, but also not like shotgunning a Red Bull either. Had you driven there you would have noticed your car sucks, too. We knew from dyno tests that a normally-aspirated motor makes about 75-80% of the power it would at sea level. I built a full-roller V8 and drove it to school. It broke in about Utah and went from "satisfying" to "fun." Coming down out of Snoqualmie pass it went from "fun" to "oh holy shit I've built a monster." I probably gained 200 HP in 1500 miles.
Yup, those numbers look about right. Can't wait to run a 50k at 6,000ft...
Hah, I'm going to be there in mid July. Enchantments in a few weeks!!!
That's a trip report I can't wait to see! I occasionally look at guided hikes up Baker or Adams.
Every trail of my childhood. We didn't turn around. In the Jemez there were several "trails" that were effectively "follow the river until you see the funny-shaped rock on the horizon and then scrabble to it as best you can." Speaking of... Story checks out. In summer you need to watch out for rattlesnakes. The little ones like to live in there. Lots of these to eat: Marmots. In Silverton once we heard a couple Texans asking their waitress about all the "pygmy bears" they saw everywhere. "Seen any pygmy bears?" in an excessive drawl became our touchstone for Texan off-roaders. Word. The Pecos Wilderness loses a lot of its charm when there's no escape. You get used to the elevation. The brown will drive you slowly mad.Going under it meant dropping down twenty feet with no obvious way to get back up. Going over it meant trying to get up twenty feet. And going across it meant a steep slope with loose dirt where slipping meant a twenty foot slide into trees and rocks. I pride myself on being safe. I turned around.
On the way back, I followed that as best I could, but it wasn't nearly as worn as the other trails were.
I encountered a talus field. It was like walking on the rocks under railroad tracks. Everything was loose.
I scared up a couple... I don't know, beavers maybe? I'd say groundhogs, but they apparently aren't in New Mexico.
However, I wasn't terribly impressed with the bits of Santa Fe and Albuquerque I saw. Endless beige dirt is depressing.
Yes! Marmots is definitely right now that I see them. I've crossed some pretty sketchy stuff in the Adirondacks, but something about that trail really had me stuck. I think it was feeling off because of the altitude combined with the loose soil from the recent erosion. It just felt like crossing marbles with a twenty foot slide if it went wrong.Every trail of my childhood. We didn't turn around.
I suppose the idea that some drunk kids would have crampons and an ice axe is laughable?
If you love to hike, Pecos Wilderness area is always a pleasure. We went to Stewart Lake last time we were there. However, know that the forest is dying. Climate change...
I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures! The forest was really beautiful, and it's a side of the southwest I think a lot of people don't realize is there.
That looks like a great trip. I'm jealous. On a road trip I once make the mistake of camping at 10000 ft on the first day leaving from 400 ft (national forests are free and hotels aren't). I hiked the required mile from the trailhead with only a little breathlessness, but every time I rolled over in my tent my heart started pounding and I woke up with a headache from the altitude.
That's kind of how I felt on my first night! It's why I bothered to count my pulse. My heart was pounding and I was just laying in my tent. I felt better the second night, even if I felt exhausted the next day during the hike. Having more time to acclimate would be nice.
sounds like you didn't exactly fall in love with the arid beauty of the dry southwest, but there are options if you decide to return. the fort davis area is rugged, and big bend at the right time of year is green and wet in a few sheltered canyonsI think my next trip, if not to the Northeast, will be to split the difference between Mount Marcy at 5300' and the Trailriders Wall at 12,000'.
That's probably a fair statement. My parents asked about how it compared to my trips to New York, and my answer was that the hiking was of equal quality, but while I could imagine living in New York, I couldn't picture the same for New Mexico. Texas is a maybe, though. I have a good friend in Austin, and maybe I could work out a trip to see her and do some hiking. Someone else mentioned Big Bend to me recently, and it sounds like it's worth checking out.
Hey WanderingEng it sounds like this was an awesome trip. I'd definitely recommend Big Bend for some great desert hiking. In my opinion, the drive is not so depressing. Nothing like the open Texas road. Just don't watch the movie Nocturnal Animals w/ Jake Gyllenhaal before making the drive and I would recommend making the drive early morning so you could arrive in Big Bend with a bit of daylight left. The hikes/desert in Big Bend is remarkable. I camped out in Terlingua, which is a small, very cool ghost town with a population of 58 just outside of the park. My fav part about spending time in Big Bend was being able to cross the border to Mexico via walking across a shallow stream. My brother and I were able to hang out in this little Mexican bar and enjoy a few beers before walking back across the stream to America.big bend is about ten hours depressing driving down i10 from austin