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| Hiking | 14.00 Miles |
2,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.00 Miles | | | |
| 2,000 ft AEG | | 26 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | In early October, I went on a planned 4-day backpacking trip to the Pecos Wilderness near Santa Fe, NM. My basic route was:
Day 1: hike from Jack's Creek trailhead to Pecos Baldy Lake
Day 2: hike from Pecos Baldy Lake to Truchas Lakes
Day 3: hike from Truchas Lakes to Beatty's Flats
Day 4: hike back to car
I ended up combining Days 3 and 4 for one long 16-mile day.
The drive to the trailhead took me about 9 hours. I car-camped at Jack's Creek campground (a nice little place) before setting out on the trail the next morning. Fall color on the way to Pecos Baldy Lake was abundant. Golden aspens were everywhere. Despite the section of burned trail from the 2013 Jaroso Fire, it was a very pleasant hike. I feel as if I hit the weather jackpot that day, as the temperature ranged from mid-30s to mid-60s with only light wind. I was able to find a nice, protected camp site about 200 yards from Pecos Baldy Lake and then spent the remainder of my afternoon wandering around the lake, relaxing, and reading. I finished off the night by cooking over a camp fire then making a night-time visit to the lake.
I slept incredibly well that night and didn't wake up until almost 7 AM. After breakfast in bed, I packed up and began hiking the Skyline Trail. I was soon on the Trailrider's Wall, which I consider some of the most spectacular hiking I have ever done. It presents incredible views and scenery the whole way, and is just generally fun. I bet this section of trail, however, could feel incredibly different if a monsoon was headed your way! I saw two horse riders out hunting for elk that morning and would see no one else for about another 30 hours. I also saw a group of bighorn sheep near the Trailrider's Wall.
After descending back to the trees, it's a couple miles left still to Truchas Lakes. Surprisingly, I had a hard time finding a camp site here. There were lots of dead trees which seemed ready to fall and lots of boulders. It seemed all the good and safe spots were closer than 200 yards to the water. I finally managed to find a semi-flat site free of nearby dead trees. After finishing my camp chores, I went for a walk around the lake and visited the smaller Upper Truchas Lake. I surprised to find it much less windy up there. I took advantage of the good weather and sat and read for awhile before returning to camp. At this point, the wind was really beginning to pick up. It was too windy to have a fire, so I simply ate dinner and went to bed.
The wind howled all night long and I ended up waking up early, eating breakfast and packing up in the dark. I was back on the Skyline Trail around first light. Once on the trail, I found a much more protected and less windy camp site about 1/4 - 1/2 mile North of Truchas Lakes. The hiking along this section of trail is great. It's only moderately hilly and you have a good mix of forest hiking and expansive views. Pretty soon, I was near the Santa Barbara Divide and took Beatty's Trail South. I would love to return here and hike more of the area near the Santa Barbara Divide.
Beatty's Trail felt like a veritable highway. It was almost all well maintained and was typically slightly downhill or pretty flat. With the cool weather, we made good time and were at Beatty's Flats in another couple hours. I had originally planned on camping somewhere outside the restricted zone at Beatty's Flats, but it was so early and I still felt good, that I just decided to keep on hiking. So on I went. The trail south of Beatty's Flats is pretty nice. I was worried about water, but even in October I would occasionally pass by small streams. There were a few places to camp along this section of the trail, but none very close to water.
Eventually, I was only a few miles from the car, so I decided to just hike back to the car and camp at Jack's Creek campground again. The last few miles were tough, but the thought of beer and dinner spurred me on to the finish. That and the scenery wasn't too bad 
In summary: if you live in Arizona and are looking for a multi-day, alpine-like hike, head to the Pecos! I think early October is the best time to be there. Some old-timers I spoke to said the first bits of snowfall usually come around this time. I think I could easily spend a week out there
A correction to the trail description though: dogs ARE allowed on this trail. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
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