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| Hiking | 11.96 Miles |
3,980 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.96 Miles | 5 Hrs 27 Mns | | 2.79 mph |
| 3,980 ft AEG | 1 Hour 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Friend of mine wanted to visit Taos, as he hadn't been in eight years. I said I'd tag along if we could take a shot at Wheeler. Ended up visiting Williams Lake and the Summit of Wheeler Peak together before I took off along the ridge to get to Old Mike Peak.
We were at the trailhead twenty or thirty minutes before sunrise. Rushed the first two miles through the dark, mossy forest of old mixed conifers in order to watch the sunrise at Williams Lake. We took pictures and watched the sun rise on the peaks upside-down in the still, reflective waters of Williams Lake.
The views got progressively better until the trail rose from the treeline, and then the views and surrounding landscape became utterly breathtaking. From the treeline and up we passed maybe twenty marmots and ten pika. The marmots let me get up real close, and really all of the animals we encountered were not very skittish around people. There were a few big snowdrifts that the trail crossed over on the way to the peak in the grassy slopes above the treeline.
The altitude made the final set of switchbacks a little slow going, but the trail really never reached a grade that was uncomfortable. Made it to the ridge and saw a few people taking pictures and heading back down. We had the peak to ourselves and were the third group to summit. Caught our breath for a little while before I headed off down the ridge toward Simpson. I'm not sure how anyone can make it up to the top of Wheeler and resist the urge to go out along the ridge to Old Mike.
To me, the few miles to and from Old Mike and Wheeler were the best part of the trip. The Blue Lake was interesting to see in person. Its turquoise color is striking in contrast to the area it's nestled in. There were two mountain goats and a big horn sheep enjoying the views with me and another person from the top of Mike.
Clouds started to form while I was on the way up Old Mike and were getting heavier as I rushed back to Wheeler Saddle. Made a side trip to Walter Peak before heading down. I was down in the canyon by Williams Lake at 10:30am when the first thunder of the day broke. It continued on until shortly after I made it back to the trailhead.
The trail from Wheeler summit back to the trailhead was pretty crowded, but there was hardly anyone on the trail in the early morning. Lost track of the marmot/pika count, but I think it ended up around 40 and 15 respectively. |
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