Travels West: Deserts, Mountains and the Ocean: Colorado and New Mexico, Part 3 and Part 4

Part 3

Hike #2 was an important one for us. We would be hiking from the Taos Ski Valley to just beneath Wheeler Peak, the highest summit in New Mexico. Williams Lake is a little glacial pond that sits surrounded on all sides by some of the highest peaks we had ever encountered. Just before reaching the lake, at the hike's highest point, is the turnoff to Wheeler. Next October we hope to turn here and continue on up to its summit. It will be our highest hike ever, should we make it.

The hike begins by following a small but vigorous mountain stream, the same one we slept near last night, but now over 2,000' higher. We had our filtration bottles on this trip, and put them to good use, saving us carrying a full day's water supply from the start.

The trail up to the lake is rocky and difficult underfoot, though parts of it are standard packed dirt. Much of it was within high altitude spruce and alpine forest. The hike begins at over 10,000', so we were short of breath a lot on the uphill portion.

The scenery was breath-taking during the entire hike, beginning at the ski lifts. We were beside a rushing stream at the beginning, then entered a dark and very pleasant wood. Mountain views were constant. Views really opened up as we reached Williams Lake.

Near the top of our hike, we were looking up towards the trail to Wheeler Peak. I took a few extreme telephoto shots, and when we got home we discovered there were 4 people making the ascent today. We even briefly saw someone at the very summit, two miles away from us and 2,000' higher up. We climbed nearly 2,000' today ourselves. The entire hike was 4 miles long, the same as yesterday's walk near Denver, but what a difference one day can make!

Two hikers can be seen up in the saddle, silhouetted against the sky. Two others are in the green area, but can't be seen unless the full photo size is depicted. Hopefully that will be us next year! This is an extreme telephoto shot (24x).

After a lot of uphill walking, we reached our incredible goal for today. There were marmots everywhere! Williams Lake is a popular hiking destination, and today was no exception. We did have the lake to ourselves when we arrived, but during our lunch we were joined by others. On our descent we met many people on their way up.

We ate our lunch on the boulder beneath this magical cliff at Williams Lake. It was a wonderful area for exploring, or just sitting and gazing around.

Our elevation high point for today, and for this trip. It came at the top of the trail, just before the short descent to Williams Lake.

Once back at our car, we were only 45 minutes from downtown Taos!! It is just too amazing that something like that hike can exist so close to civilization. We had lunch at Eske's Brewpub, a favourite stop when in the area. They roast their own green chiles, using it in their food and their beer. I had green chile enchiladas (vegan) and green chile ale, while Deb enjoyed green chile stew (vegan) and a home-brewed iced tea which she really enjoyed. We had enough to take with us for dinner that night.

After lunch we visited the nearby downtown plaza, where I met up with an old friend. Afterwards, we headed to Sipapu Ski Resort, which would be our home for the next 2 days and nights.

Part 4

Our stay at Sipapu was not as glorious as the one three years ago. The lovely outside bar/cafe had burned down last August and had not been replaced. No more Starbucks coffee, no veggie burger, and no New Mexico craft beer. At least the tables were still outside by the river, and the indoor cafe was open. Hopefully this will be remedied. We stayed once again in Cabin 9B, enjoying a roaring fire in the fireplace on our 2nd night.