Northern NM May/June suggestions

OldBill

OldBill

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Aug 18, 2015
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Planning 10-14 days in Northern NM late May/early June. Hoping to camp in the Pecos or Wheeler Peak Wilderness for 4-5 days. Any suggestions for hikes or short backpacks and campgrounds? Truchas and Trampas lakes get mentioned a lot. Wanted longer but have stops in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos for maybe a day each. Girlfriend wants to see Bisti/De Na Zin Wilderness as well. Looks like that's 4-5 hrs from Red River.
 
Why the towns...... like any other big city/touristy/spendy
 
Bob said:
Why the towns...... like any other big city/touristy/spendy
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I inherited a small piece of land in Rio Rancho my grandfather bought in the '60s. Want to see it while my parents are still alive. Will make them happy. Santa Fe and Taos are tourist stops as my girlfriend hasn't seen them. I like them for the history of the fur trade era. Last time in Santa Fe stopped in a book store and asked about Peg Leg Smith, Old Bill Williams and Uncle Dick Wooton. Lady at the counter yelled to the back "Hey, come out here. This guy knows more than just Kit Carson."

Hoping to find an RV park or campground near Santa Fe and Taos to cut costs. Ritzy areas for sure. Got to fly in/out of Albuquerque.
 
TheMountainRabbit said:
Just posted a trip report on this area. I'm no expert, as it was my first visit, but I can say that I really enjoyed exploring the Pecos Wilderness around Truchas Peaks and will certainly be visiting again.
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Great TR. Very helpful. Reminded me that I need to confirm dependable water sources and routes avoiding exposed Class 3. When in June did you go and was it a high or low snow year?
 
OldBill said:
Great TR. Very helpful. Reminded me that I need to confirm dependable water sources and routes avoiding exposed Class 3. When in June did you go and was ithigh or low snow year?
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2024 was a very high snow year for NM. We went 6/15-17 and encountered snow primarily on North facing ridges or very shady areas. It was not problematic in any way. Water is dependable this time of year especially if you plan camps at lakes or similar. The trails typically follow river or creek drainages(outside of Trail riders Wall or similar). Nothing we did was particularly exposed. Certainly nothing on trail. There are plenty of 4-5 day itineraries here, as well as in Gila, but that's a bit more out of your travel area. Santa Barbara TH or Holy Ghost/Jacks Creek is where you'll want to look at leaving from. 7 days or more is where it gets harder to not cross a road. Can send you the Caltopo we used to brainstorm our route if you like.

The CDT also runs through the Jemez to the West, though I am less familiar with that area as well as the area surrounding Wheeler Peak. Harder to do a 4-5 day itinerary there IIRC.
 
Also the: RV Park. Plenty of camping both developed and otherwise on the Ski Road heading out of Santa Fe, as well as BLM camping beyond town towards Taos. Towards ABQ on 25 less so, but Cochiti Lake could be a good option.
 
@Nethos Thanks! We're looking into moving it to the first 2 weeks in June. Saw one report of a precarious log crossing to the Santa Barbara TH. But, just starting to check our options. Jacks Ck gets mentioned a lot.

Nethos said:
Plenty of camping both developed and otherwise on the Ski Road heading out of Santa Fe
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Is that the same as 475? I was looking at Hyde Memorial State Park as a place to make camp near the town. Maybe some day hikes to acclimate before the backpack.
 
OldBill said:
@Nethos Thanks! We're looking into moving it to the first 2 weeks in June. Saw one report of a precarious log crossing to the Santa Barbara TH. But, just starting to check our options. Jacks Ck gets mentioned a lot.


Is that the same as 475? I was looking at Hyde Memorial State Park as a place to make camp near the town. Maybe some day hikes to acclimate before the backpack.
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Yes. The same road. Hyde Park a good option. You can boondock on this road too but it's not great. Either time of year is great.

Unfamiliar with the log crossing, and don't recall this from @TheMountainRabbit and my trip. We left from West Fork SB. You can also leave from the Ski Basin too, but it is more "populated"(but still New Mexico level). Can access same areas, but a longer lollipop, and camping on the Ski Basin side is more worn in, but will still feel like a ghost town in comparison to Colorado, Wind Rivers, etc. Plenty of ridgewalking to be had in both areas, if that's your thing.
 
I probably got it mixed up with another loop I found: "5 day loop through the Pecos starting and ending at Santa Barbara campground. Up the West Fork, across the divide, up the Jicarita ridge and then down trail 27"

Still getting familiar with the area. Looking at Caltopo, that route is north of what you did. Looks like trail 27 crosses the Rio Santa Barbara near the campground (which Caltopo has the tent marker on the wrong side of the river anyway). West Fork trail (joins Middle Fk trail) seems to cross the Rio Santa Barbara (actually, a few times) too, but further upstream before Jicarita Ck joins.

Ridgewalks are great, unless it's high wind or a T-storm is imminent.
 
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already very good advice here, but ill add my 2c...

one can do a nice hike from either Jack's Creek or from the Ski Basin and head towards Truchas Lakes, I think all told the Jacks loop would be shorter, but I dont know for sure. Trailriders wall is indeed spectacular, but of course weather risk. The Pecos has lots of good dispersed options, and I've also never really had issues with water there. The sheep at Truchas lakes are, shall we say, gregarious...one place i wanted to get to, but never did, was Jose Vigil lake. I think there is a trail to it.

If you start from the Ski Basin, if there is high snow, the biggest issue you might have is the pass at Santa Fe Baldy. The trail is steep for just a brief moment, but a cornice can hang out there for a quite a while. people do manage it though. The Ski Basin area is really really nice in my opinion. A little busier, but once you pass the turnoff to Katherine lake the people will be minimal.

I think from Jack's creek, the snow issue could be just at the beginning of the trail. It begins with quite a few switchbacks in a steep stand of trees. That being said, I wouldn't expect it to be a problem if the gate is open. One can hike from Jack's to Truchas in a day, but there are many nice places to camp along the way. I don't think you can camp directly under Pecos Baldy, but there are nice sites on the trails just below the climb to the lake.

If you want to camp on the Hyde Park road, Black Canyon is a nice FS campground, and has room for RVs if i remember correctly. Big Tesuque CG is only suitable for cars, but there is a nice trail that goes up high to the weather station. Hyde Memorial State park is also nice. The day hiking on the lower Hyde Park Road is really nice. Starting from the Chamisa Trail there are very nice loops into Bear Wallow etc. You can connect with the Dale Ball trail system as well.

I'm not in the area anymore, so my memory may be foggy, and I'd happily be corrected.
 
scoags said:
already very good advice here, but ill add my 2c...
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Great info. Sounds like the area around Truchas is great for a scenic loop. Didn't see as many options for loops in the Columbine-Hondo so I'm going to focus on this. We'll be an SUV so hopefully there's spots left in the campgrounds along Hyde Park road. Can reserve online but leaving things open until I can get a read on the weather.
 
OldBill said:
Great info. Sounds like the area around Truchas is great for a scenic loop. Didn't see as many options for loops in the Columbine-Hondo so I'm going to focus on this. We'll be an SUV so hopefully there's spots left in the campgrounds along Hyde Park road. Can reserve online but leaving things open until I can get a read on the weather.
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Yes. Truchas area is great. @TheMountainRabbit has a photo of Jose Vigil lake in our TR. You can certainly do Truchas and Trail riders Wall in 5 days IMO. I haven't looked at a map recently, but IIRC it's fairly simple to get off these ridge lines in bad weather. The ridges in the Pecos are an order of magnitude gentler than the Winds, generally speaking.

Be mindful of the regs re: no camping perimeters on the lakes. While people ignore them, it's worth respecting them. At Truchas in particular, there are good sites that are still in the basin but follow the letter of the law. Harder near East Pecos Baldy lake. But with Caltopo it's a lot easier to measure the "exact" distance in the field.
 
Nethos said:
Be mindful of the regs re: no camping perimeters on the lakes. While people ignore them, it's worth respecting them. At Truchas in particular, there are good sites that are still in the basin but follow the letter of the law. Harder near East Pecos Baldy lake. But with Caltopo it's a lot easier to measure the "exact" distance in the field.
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Thanks. I've read a few reports on the perimeter rules up there. I usually pace it off, but checking with Caltopo is a good idea. I don't like camping right next to the water anyway. Really boils me when I see blatent violations around Lonesome Lake in the Winds. Signs clearly mark the boundary. That and bonfires.:mad:
 
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