Rolf Asphaug, Eric, Elizabeth, and Mary
July 21–29
Trip report
Five of us set out from Santa Fe Plaza July 21, 2026. It was hot in the juniper forests but soon we reached cooler, higher climes and beautiful pine forests. The first night we reached the Winsor/Borrego trail intersection and found a lovely campsite where we met Ryan and Lauren from Maryland. There was plenty of room for all our tents.
The second day, Mary and I decided to take the Skyline Trail alternate while the other three in our group (Eric, Elizabeth and Steve) opted for the standard route through the ski area base. Mary and I loved the hike up Tesuque Peak and past Deception Peak nearly to the summit of Lake Peak, where the ridge walking was exciting. Unfortunately, our Garmin weather report proved inaccurate and a thunderstorm rolled in. We had no safe choice but to retreat down to the Wilderness Gate (the unmaintained trails shown on CalTopo and the guidebook proved nonexistent, and access to any such trails was in any event blocked off by a barbed wire fence). We continued hiking up to Rio Nambe where we again found a lovely campsite.
Unfortunately the rest of our crew wasn’t so lucky. One of our number sustained a trip-ending sprained ankle, and the other two hikers and some Good Samaritans on the trail helped the injured person down to the ski area, where yet another Good Samaritan got our three adventurers back to Santa Fe for urgent care. The two uninjured trip members returned to the trail and hiked back to where they could join us after a very long third day, along Cave Creek.
The next day was exciting indeed, as multiple thunderstorms threatened to maroon us in forest copses along Trailrider Wall, but we were able to spot a break in the lightning and scampered across the wall. We were treated with views of bighorn sheep, pikas and marmots and had a wet but pleasant camp at Truchas Lakes. Sadly we saw a newly dead cow right next to the trail just beyond Pecos Baldy Lake; I hope it doesn’t become a draw for predators.
The days start blending for me after this point, as we approached the end of the awesome Pecos Wilderness, but we had a great time navigating the various forest service roads and taking some alternate routes to find reliable water. We were also extremely grateful for the Tres Ritos resupply point, which was amply stocked with everything we could desire.
Due to hot and dry conditions we opted for forest road alternates rather than the difficult trail routes along Sections 5 and 6. We took the Drake Canyon alternate and were met by our injured friend – who’d retrieved his truck – with lots of welcome water and beer at FR 437 and Drake Canyon Loop Trail. It was sad to see the trash near that intersection, but we had the camping areas to ourselves.
Arriving at Taos Plaza was such a wonderful experience! This truly was a memorable trail and we are so grateful for it. In particular, the Pecos Wilderness was jaw-droppingly beautiful and I look forward to returning someday. THANK YOU for your awe-inspiring efforts in creating this trail and all the great resources you provide!
I have a few recommendations for future hikers:
1. Solar panels worked well for us on this trail, due to the reliable sun. Hiking north, our backs were to the sun most of the time so we could strap the panels on our backpacks and they were usually in sunlight.
2. The GPX files were very accurate, and we had no trouble following the trail.
3. In hindsight, it would have been nice to take a zero day at Katherine Lake or Stewart Lake. Stewart Lake looked especially appealing.
4. Walking against traffic we made quick work of the 1/3 mile along Route 64. The traffic was bad, but not that bad.
Rolf
