More magical mountain adventures
Last month, I spoke to a local couple about their hikes near the Taos Ski Valley and to Serpent Lake south of Taos. This month, I asked readers to contribute even more stories about epic hikes in the area, which is to say those beyond the ordinary.
Here is what I learned about long hikes, remote places and trail-less wilderness hikers have been turning to this season.
Carson National Forest, near Taos Ski Valley
Something about the elevation gains and the high mountain peaks near the Taos Ski Valley brings out distance hikers and runners seeking extreme adventure.
Taos artist Bruce Katlin, for example, runs a long route up Yerba Canyon (CNF #61) to Lobo Peak. Then he runs all the way across the ridge on Lobo Peak Trail (CNF #57) to Gold Hill, down to Bull-of-the-Woods Pasture and back on Wheeler Peak Trail (CNF #90) to the trailhead at TSV. Then he runs back to his car at Yerba Canyon Trailhead. The entire trip covers 24 miles and takes him about 10 hours.
“I like coming down Gold Hill to the Bull-of-the- Woods pasture (Gold Hill Trail #64),” he said. “There is something really mystical about this forest.”
Katlin sometimes carries his painting gear with him. One August, he ran from Red River up to Lost Lake, on to Horseshoe Lake, and up to Wheeler Peak. He stopped several places along the way to paint. On the way up, he got disoriented and ran past Wheeler all the way to the Taos Cone, several miles beyond. After it suddenly started to snow, he looked behind him and spotted Wheeler. This whole trip covered 22 miles and took 9.5 hours. “After that trip, I got a GPS,” explained Katlin.
Mike Bruce also combines running and hiking to cover long distances. He named one of his favorite routes the “Lobo to Wheeler Peak Traverse.” He begins on Manzanita Canyon Trail (CNF #58) and follows it up to Lobo Peak. From there, he crosses the ridge to Gold Hill and continues down to Bull-of-the-Woods Pasture. From this point, he heads up the trail past Fraser Mountain to Wheeler Peak. He descends Wheeler Peak on the Williams Lake Trail, sometimes in the dark. This route covers 30 miles and has more than 10,000 feet in elevation gain. The whole thing takes between 12–13 hours.
“The secret to being able to run this far, for me, is the Vibram Fivefingers, a minimal trail running shoe,” Bruce explained. “There is no padding or protection, but these shoes prevent me from spraining an ankle when I run over rocky terrain.”
During long runs, he tries to keep his pack light but brings water and a water filter, a mylar emergency blanket, two headlamps, rain ponchos, mittens, and a first-aid kit. He also brings food like a burger, salmon or a fruit shake. His dog, Chaco, an Alabama black mouth cur, and music always accompany him.
Bruce grew up in Taos and runs a business called Upgrade Taos Computer Solutions. His long distance jaunts are the way he decompresses after work.
Northwest of Taos
Another kind of adventure is walking into remote areas without a trail in search of solitude, places to fish or antler sheds.
Cruces Basin Wilderness is part of the Carson National Forest located near San Antonio Mountain northwest of Taos. It is lightly visited, in part due to the 20-mile drive in on gravel road Forest Road 87. Although the first few miles are easily passable, the last 2 are more challenging, says 10-year Taos resident Kenton Pass.
“Cruces Basin is a true jewel,” said Pass, who goes there to fish. “The beauty is spectacular and the fact that you are by yourself makes it special. There aren’t many defined trails.” There are bears and wild horses, as well as very old beaver dams on the numerous streams, he added.
Valle Vidal, northeast of Taos
Mina Martinez is known around Taos as a singer, but she also loves
outdoor adventuring with her husband, Andres Martinez, and her young daughter, Naia.
“My most favorite and sentimental spot is the Valle Vidal,” she said. “It is one of my favorite places to get out and not think about anything else, and it’s not that far.
“We usually arrive around 8 or 9 a.m. and park on the side of the road and just go for it,” she added. “Our hikes can go from 6 to 19 miles in a day. My husband has been visiting these ridges since the age of nine or 10 years old. This place is pristine, with so much
wildlife. We always see bear, elk and deer.”
After Valle Vidal, the Gila National Forest in the southwestern part of the state is her top choice. “The terrain is more rocky and the wildlife is different and abundant,” she said.
Gila Wilderness
The Gila Wilderness, not far from Silver City in the southwestern part of the state, is a favorite spot for Angie Carr and Andrew Incerto, who told me about their hikes near Taos last month. Recently they did a 32-mile hike in the area.
The two joined with Carr’s sister and boyfriend to do a through hike (starting at one location and finishing at a different one). They had researched the hike and expected there to be a well-defined trail for about half of the 32-mile trek.
“From prior experience, we knew that just because there is a trail on the map, does not mean that trail actually exists,” Incerto said. “Getting up-to-date trail information can be very challenging in this area. Of the roughly 32 miles of trail, I would say only 40 percent of it had a well-defined, findable trail. Because of flooding and lack of use, the majority of the trail was gone, and we had to resort to routefinding and bushwacking, often slowing our pace to less than 1 mile an hour.”
They hiked a section of the Gila River Trail starting at the Grapevine Campground and ending at the Turkey Creek Trailhead. “The Gila area is a unique environment,” Incerto said. “It is a fairly dry landscape with abundant water. Almost every little canyon seems to hold a small spring, creek or river.”
The trail took them through fields of tall clover and across numerous crossings of the river. They had a GPS to guide them until a charging cord broke the second day. They fell back on the timehonored method of wayfinding: a map and compass. Luckily, Incerto had developed the basic skills to use analog tools. Otherwise, he said they would have had to turn around and abandon the hike.
Incerto had been to the Gila once before when he drew an elk tag. Carr grew up on a ranch that bordered the Gila National Forest. Her dad leased rights to graze cattle in the forest, so it was her playground growing up. “The Gila is breathtaking,” she said. “It’s this incredible contrast of very rugged desert and life that springs up around the water. On one hand you have high rocky cliffs with piñon, pines and cacti, and on the other you’ve got cottonwoods, bugs and fish. It’s a magical place. I hadn’t realized until we did this backpacking trip that so many of my childhood memories are very Gilaspecific.”
The four saw only one other person on the trail, but spotted two bears, along with turkeys, snakes, elk and other wildlife. “I can’t say that I would return to this trail anytime soon,” Incerto said. “But I can’t wait to return to the Gila for my next adventure.”
Cindy Brown has been a freelance writer and columnist for the Taos News for the last 13 years. She writes about the outdoors, health, gardening, culture, community, and home. She is the author of “Taos Hiking Guide,” available locally and from Nighthawk Press at nighthawkpress.com. Contact her at cindy@taoshiking.com.