Day Hikes Part 2
Summer is upon us and with it the lure of the wilderness. Adding to our earlier list of great hikes, here are eight more excursions that mirror the beauty and diversity of northern New Mexico. Bring plenty of water, power bars, sunscreen, a camera, as well as a map and guide book. Again, we thank the authors of Day Hikes In the Santa Fe Area for their comprehensive overview and helpful hints, for which this article is indebted.
ASPEN VISTA – If altitude isn’t a problem, this is an easy, gradual climb that starts at 10,000 feet on a dirt road (Aspen Vista Road) and winds through groves of aspen, spruce and fir, streams, and meadows dotted with a rainbow of wildflowers, depending on the season. Fifteen minutes from the Plaza, the trail starts at mile twelve on Artist Road (aka Hyde Park Road) where you’ll find adequate parking except possibly on summer weekends. Runners, mountain bikers, hikers, families, and dogs on leashes can ascend up a wide road (that gradually narrows) all the way to Tesuque Peak (12,045 peak), or retrace their steps to the trailhead (parking area) whenever it suits them. Mid- and late summer afternoons can witness sudden thunderstorms, so if your goal is Tesuque Peak, get there by noon. Fal l, with the changing of the aspens, is an absolutely glorious time to enjoy the foliage and stable weather. In winter, cross country skiers hold domain.
VALLE GRANDE/COYOTE CALL TRAILS - Two easy hikes through the Jemez Mountains (about an hour and a half north of Santa Fe on US 84/285) present the serenity and majesty of the immense Valle Caldera National Preserve. In 1997, the owners of the the Baca Ranch, which encompassed most of the Valle Grande (also called Valles Caldera), approached the U.S. government and offered to sell their land. An agreement was reached to buy the 95,000 acre ranch for $100 million and permanently protect it as the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Valle Grande appears to be a valley but is really a caldera (which translated means cauldron or crater) or collapsed volcano. A million years ago, the area was a geothermal hot zone with numerous active volcanoes. So much magma was produced that a void was created under the rock surface and, with its support gone, the surface collapsed. Vents opened around the edges and more eruptions occurred. The result is the country’s largest caldera—17 miles in diameter—and one of the largest in the world. The first hike—the Valle Grande Trail—takes you from the crater rim to the bottom of the caldera. From the parking area, off State Highway 4 (near mile marker 43), cross the road and look for the Valle Grande trail sign. Round trip is about an hour. The second hike, on Coyote Call Trail, starts on the south side of the highway and climbs an old logging road. After 40 yards the trail forks. Take the right branch that heads uphill. Note the blue diamonds on trees that serve as trail markers. You will ultimately reach a ridgetop with an 800 feet elevation gain from the trailhead. Sweeping views of the caldera reward you at numerous lookout points. Allow two hours for the round trip to the parking lot. There are other trails through the Valle Grande that require reservations and a fee. Check vallescaldera.gov for details.
KITCHEN MESA - This three hour, four and a half mile round trip through the heart of Georgia O’Keeffe country exposes the striking vistas and geological formations (the best display of red rock in New Mexico) that inspired Santa Fe’s most celebrated artist. The Kitchen Mesa cliffs (sediments from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods) sit above the Ghost Ranch Dining Hall. The marked trail starts just beyond Long House and New Arts Building. The first part of the hike is relatively easy and exposes one to a box canyon, sculpted sandstone cliffs, and the deep red Chinle formation soils of the valley floor. Many well-satisfied hikers, especially with children, turn back at this point. If you continue on, the trip turns steeper, up a rocky talus slope of the canyon wall, and later there are large boulders to traverse around. Follow a series of painted green cans (and arrows painted on rocks) to stay on the trail. To get to the top of the cliffs, serious scrambling using toe and hand holds is required, but the views from the top, and the rock formations around you, make this a perfect picnic spot. In summer, be aware of afternoon lightning storms. From Santa Fe, Ghost Ranch is about a two and half hour round trip, and the drive through the Abiquiu area is one of the most scenic in northern New Mexico.
RIO GRANDE GORGE – The gorge, located between Espanola and Taos, is about a three hour round trip from Santa Fe. Take US 84/285 north to NM 570, which leads toward Carson and Pilar and the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center; here you can obtain maps, camping information, and directions to hiking trails along the gorge rim. The 800 foot deep chasm, cradling a magnificent stretch of the Rio Grande River, can best be viewed from pedestrian stations on the 500 foot long Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, the second highest cantilever truss bridge in the United States. Below, specs of kayakers and rafters weave through the river of this mini Grand Canyon from April through September. There are three connecting hikes along the rim. The Northern and Southern trails together are six hours round trip, and Petaca Point about four hours. None are considered strenuous, but as shade is hard to come by, bring a hat and sunscreen and lots of water. The Petaca Point trail is the least traveled of the three, and along with the solitude, you’ll enjoy distant vistas of the Jemez Mountains to the west, and to the north, the panorama of sagebrush flats rimmed by domes, cones and mesas. The Southern Trailhead is well marked with arrows and in some spots the path is vertiginously close to the gorge edge. Numerous viewpoints take advantage of vistas of Taos Mountain, Wheeler Peak, and the Lairs to the northeast. When you close in on a lone juniper, you are near the halfway point. To see the other half, retrace your steps to the parking area and drive to the Northern Trailhead. Here, look for the sign “West Rim Trail” and head through a gate. The massive span of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge dramatically anchors the landscape as you follow an undulating trail that, like its southern counterpart, sticks very close to a rugged basalt-walled gorge. Some hikers and bicyclists find the northern and southern trailheads repetitious, and if you have to choose only one try the West Rim Trail. The gorge hike can be combined with a visit to the Taos Pueblo (six miles away) or some half day rafting down the Rio Grande.
DIABLO CANYON - This is considered an ideal winter hike, but the three hour round trip from Santa Fe is also fine for summer if you finish before noon. From Santa Fe, take US 84/285 north to NM 599. After 4.3 miles heading south on 599, exit at Camino La Tierra and turn right at the stop sign at the bottom of the exit. Go straight, through a four-way stop intersection, and follow signs to La Tierra. The road becomes Buckman Road. After about three miles you pass a windmill frame and corral on your left. Drive another 4.1 miles and look for a secondary road branching to the left. This leads to the mouth of Diablo Canyon and an open area to park your car. Diablo Canyon is part of the Caja del Rio volcanic field, which eons ago formed a basalt-capped escarpment with dark cliffs rising up to three hundred feet. When you gaze up, you’ll find active nests of cliff swallows, and on most days hawks and ravens circle above. As you head north, out of the canyon, you’ll come to the Rio Grande River and glimpse Buckman Mesa, named after a 19th Century lumberman, Henry Buckman. Despite the starkly beautiful, austere and dry terrain, underneath is liquid gold, and we don’t mean oil. The Buckman area is home to deep wells that produce a significant part of the city’s water needs.
HOLY GHOST/SPIRIT LAKE - This strenuous, eight hour, fourteen mile round trip (not including the 80 miles round trip from Santa Fe) into the rugged Pecos Wilderness is perfect for summer and early fall. If you have the stamina, you’re rewarded with flowering meadows, cascading streams, stands of aspen and spruce, and Spirit Lake, aptly named for its Thorovian serenity. Drive 1-25 north for about 15 miles and take exit 299 (Glorieta/Pecos). Follow signs to NM 63, heading north into Pecos River Valley. It’s about 13 miles to Holy Ghost campground and a (free) parking area just before the campground entrance. Follow a marked, dirt path to the footbridge that crosses Holy Ghost Creek. The trail involves switchbacks and multiple stream crossings, and ultimately takes you up the ridge between Holy Ghost Creek and Winsor Creek. Keep climbing, follow your map or guidebook, and you’ll end up on Winsor Trail (well trafficked on summer weekends) that eventually bears left to Spirit Lake. (The trail to the right leads to Stewart Lake—see below.) The scenery and views of the southern Sangre de Cristos, Jemez Mountains, the Rio Grande Valley, and Santa Fe Baldy are spectacular, as is the lush vegetation. The altitude gain is almost 3,000 feet (Spirit Lake is at 10,800 feet) and means negotiating a number of steep passages, so poles or a walking stick are advised Spirit Lake holds lots of rainbow and cutthroat trout, so take along a fishing rod. Camping and camp fires are not allowed in the lake basin.
STEWART LAKE – If you don’t want to combine Stewart Lake with Spirit Lake (and camp overnight at the former), make this a separate day hike. You follow the same directions from Santa Fe to Pecos, then head into the Pecos River Valley and eventually the Winsor Creek campground parking area, where a kiosk marks the trailhead. A good trail/topo map is advised for this exhilarating trip along canyons, ridges and wildflower meadows of the main crest of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This first half of the trail is largely sheltered by aspen, fir and spruce with only peek-a-boo views of the surrounding wilderness. It’s a gentle, somewhat uneventful climb until you hit the second half, when you suddenly realize why you made the trip. The prize at the end of the trail is a spring-fed, emerald-green lake (revered by New Mexico trout fisherman) that was created by glaciers over several ice ages, surrounded by thick timber stands, and dominated by a view of Santa Fe Baldy. A small earthen dam enlarges the natural lake. Unlike the much higher Lake Katherine (see Lake Katherine hike below), Stewart Lake is one of the easiest alpine lakes to access in the Pecos Wilderness. Here, inviting campsites make this a base for exploring surrounding high country.
LAKE KATHERINE - Immediately east of Santa Fe Baldy, Lake Katherine is the largest and, at 11,700 feet, the highest alpine lake in New Mexico. If you can combine this trek with Spirit and/or Stewart lakes, as well as summiting Santa Fe Baldy (an hour or so from Lake Katherine), you’re an iron man and will be richly rewarded for your two or three day experience. If not, Lake Katherine is a stand-alone, eight hour, 15 miles round trip from the Winsor Creek trailhead. For many hikers, it’s the jewel in the crown of the three lakes. The trail, weaving through dense pine forest, grassy meadows and aspens, follows Winsor Creek most of the way. The steep grade can be challenging, particularly the last 1,000 feet as you dog it up a slope of scree. You’ll encounter patches of snow well into June. Arrive at the campsites before five; after sundown, it’s cold even in July and August. Twelve inch cutthroat swim close to shore in the crystalline waters. Like Stewart and Spirit lakes, Lake Katherine can also be accessed from the Santa Fe Ski Basin, following the Winsor Trail toward Santa Fe Baldy and paying careful attention to your guide book map. This approach is more than an eight hour round trip. If you want to go to Lake Katherine via Pecos, drive north on NM 63 to Cowles. In Cowles, turn left and cross the Pecos River. Look for the sign for the Winsor Creek Trailhead on FR 121. Drive about 1.5 miles to the trailhead.
