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| Hiking | 10.90 Miles |
2,569 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.90 Miles | 5 Hrs 31 Mns | | 2.61 mph |
| 2,569 ft AEG | 1 Hour 20 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Too early in the season to make it to the alpine peaks in the Latir Peak Wilderness, but this hike was worth every minute.
The trailhead for the hike starts at Cabresto Lake. The last 2 miles on 134A are high-clearance recommended and this would be 4x4 in the mud season. Cabresto Lake would be a great place to camp.
Lake Fork Trail skirts Cabresto Lake for about 1/2 a mile. After that the trail hugs the creek for the next 1-1/2 miles. At approximately 2 miles Bull Creek Trail takes off to the left. Bull Creek makes up the second half of a lollipop loop that incorporates Latir Mesa and short jaunts to Latir Peak and a longer connection to Pinabete Peak.
I continued on Lake Fork Trail another 2-1/2 miles to Heart Lake. The entire route is in a canyon dominated by fir trees with some patches of Aspen mixed in. There was one patch of deadfall along the way that required some serious rerouting.
At about 11,000' the patches of snow which had been an afterthought up until then started to get serious. The biggest issue for me was not having a GPS route downloaded to my phone. A couple of snow areas with deadfall had me turned around.
At .2 miles from Heart Lake a trail takes off to the right and heads to Baldy Cabin and ultimately Baldy Mountain. I continued left to Heart Lake and once at the Lake tried to travel the left (South) side of the lake which had too much snow to go anywhere. This is also where the trail continues to Latir Mesa and to Bull Creek Trail allowing for the completion of the loop.
I went around the other side of the lake which had much less snow and had lunch at the far end of the lake which was a large, wet meadow with amazing views of the peaks.
I thought about my options over lunch. I couldn't see the switchbacks that head up the steepest side of the mountain as the trail heads up Latir Mesa as the trail was almost definitely covered in snow. Baldy seemed like another option and faces south, but when I tried the two trails that make up the mini-loop that pass by Baldy Cabin on the way to Baldy Mountain, there was 2'-3' drifts which was too much snow on both of these paths for me.
This was a light snow year for the Sangre de Cristo, but the lesson for me is that early to mid-June is the bare minimum to reach the high peaks of this mountain range.
There is so much to see here and the beauty at least equals my explorations of the Wenimuche Wilderness in Colorado and the hikes I have done around Telluride. Probably the best part of this area relative to what I have done in Colorado is the lighter use of this pristine area.
I saw 2 backpackers about a mile from the trailhead that had just scared a bear off. They also tried and couldn't make it any higher up than Heart Lake, where they ultimately camped for the night. Otherwise I had the wilderness all to myself. Based on the footprints in the snow, the backpackers were probably the first people in the wilderness for the season.
If you can get away from the fact that there are no 14'ers here, this is a prime wilderness playground. I am already planning a trip back in August  |
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Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
