Category Archives: CDT

Cumbres Pass CDT North Hike – 08/12/2021

November 2, 2021

This hike was during a 5 day camping trip to Northern New Mexico. We set up the R-Pod at Heron Lake for 4 nights. While Pat attended a 3 day workshop in Chama on dyeing wool, I drove up to Cumbres Pass for a hike on the Continental Divide Trail.

The Drive In

NM 17 from Heron Lake goes through Chama, the southern terminus of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, a vintage narrow gauge rail line that offers rides from Chama over Cumbres Pass to Antonito, CO. Continuing north on NM 17, the tracks are never far from the highway, and if one’s timing is right one will see a steam locomotive with passenger cars (and sometimes utility cars) climbing up the 2,000 foot grade (or coasting down). Or maybe see a train pause at the small railyard at the summit of Cumbres Pass.

The drive up on the highway is scenic, especially because sufficient moisture has made the forest, pastures, even the roadside a very healthy green. At the summit, I found a parking lot on the south side of the highway with a sign introducing the CDT southbound, Crossing the highway and going under a railroad overpass, I found the trailhead for the CDT northbound.

The Hike

I was fortunate – the passenger unit of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad just happened to reach Cumbres Pass as I was gathering up my pack for the hike.

On to the hike: Crossing to the north side of CO 17, then going under the railroad trestle, signs pointed the way to Trail 813, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The forest hereabouts was so healthy, everything was green, and flowers were in profusion (I dedicate a photo gallery to them below). And the view, once up on a ridge, was a pretty sight, down CO 17 towards Chama.

As one might anticipate, the trail is well used (it is the CDT). The trail surface was smooth, following along the hillside, looping uphill a bit when crossing valleys coming from the right. In a couple of those places there was water flowing, in one case even a small waterfall. The trail ascends in spurts, never very steep; happily I can tolerate the elevation of 10,000 feet, since I live at 5,000 feet and hike regularly at elevations above that.

I encountered some wildlife as I approached the trailhead. And to finish the hike, I added my name to the logbook at the trailhead.

Highlight

‘Tis a beautiful trail, with a bit of adventure thrown in by the fact it is the CDT. (I did encounter another hiker, a woman setting out for Wolf Creek Pass, expecting to get there in 8 days.)

Statistics

Total Distance: 7.6 miles
Elevation: start 9,990 ft, maximum 10,543 ft, minimum 9,964 ft
Gross gain: 579 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,596 ft, descending 1,606 ft
Maximum slope: 21% ascending, 23% descending, 6.5% average
Duration: 4:40

Cumbres Pass CDT North Hike.Solo.2021-08-12 (KML)	65 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Cumbres Pass CDT North Hike.Solo.2021-08-12 (GPX)	113 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.

Cumbres Pass/CDT South Hike – 08/13/2021

References and Resources

USDA Forest Service: CDNST – Cumbres Pass North Trailhead #813
GAIA GPS: Cumbres Pass via Continental Divide Trail
Continental Divide NST
Continental Divide Trail Coalition: Cumbres Pass Summit
Border to Back Yard: Colorado/New Mexico Border to Wolf Creek Pass
Jennifer Journeys: CDT 2021 Days 43-47 Cumbres Pass to Wolf Creek Pass
We met Jennifer (trail name NoNo) at the top of Mount Taylor this spring. We learned that she was publishing a Video BLOG. Pat & I began watching it then, and followed her through hike all the way to Canada. The first part of this episode covers the part of the CDT that I hiked.
Taos News: Hiking in Southern Colorado: Cumbres Pass North …

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show

George's Flowers: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 05/10/2021

May 13, 2021

Pat and I have hiked up Mount Taylor, last year and 2 years ago, and we were looking forward to doing it again. Jay and Nancy were intrigued and also wanted to ‘go the distance’. So we scheduled a 2-night camping trip, giving us a day to make the climb.

The Drive In

Because Jay & Nancy are tent-campers, we planned on camping in the Coal Mine Campground. Arriving there, we discovered that is not yet open for this year, But, Pat and I provided a fallback; from the 2020 Post:

“We had an easy drive to Grants, then through Lobo Canyon on NM 547 to FR 193 and on to our target campsite. The road has fresh, deep gravel (a Class 3 road) but the Tacoma/R-Pod handled it easily. We chose the campsite closer to the trailhead; an added benefit – it is located on the edge of Lobo Canyon and thus affords better views than the other campsites. This, our first setup outside of an established campground, challenged us in maneuvering the R-Pod among trees and rocks to an area relatively level – great experience for future forays.”

The Hike

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-05-10

The hike this year is much like Pat & I did last year, at least the ascent; I won’t repeat the description, but invite you to review that BLOG post. For the descent, we opted to follow the precedent of our first hike to the summit: descend on the trail to the tree line, then turn right to follow Gooseberry Creek down to it’s junction with the Gooseberry Spring trail.

As we continue to embrace New Mexico’s vistas and features, we very much enjoyed the views from the many vantage points on the trail up Mount Taylor. The open forest through which we pass for the first half of the hike is so very pleasant, with the healthy aspen, ponderosa, and fir trees. Then above the edge of the trees, the views of the slopes ahead and along one section to the right are breathtaking. Out on the slope of the last half of the ascent the views to the west and south are wondrous. Topping out on the summit opens more views to the south and east.

Please step through the gallery of photos below to get a sense of what I’m trying to describe, and some descriptions of the hike.

Highlight

Inspecting maps closely, I had noted that the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) passed near our campsite. Then, a half mile into the hike a young woman caught up with us. It appeared by her pack that she was backpacking. Chatting briefly we learned that she had come from Grants and was in fact a through-hiker on the CDT. A half mile later, we caught up with her as she was chatting with Cheshire Cat (his trail name). He was introduced as a Trail Angel, well known by CDT through-hikers, particularly for providing ice cream sandwiches out on the trail. After a convivial conversation, the hiker continued ahead (being new at this through-hiking universe, we didn’t think to ask her trail name), and she was soon out of sight. Cheshire Cat headed back to the trailhead and his crazy-painted car (unfortunately, we didn’t think to take a picture of the car as we began our hike). And we continued on our way.

(Cheshire Cat challenged us with a $1,000,000 bet: who has right-of-way, a hiker going uphill or one going downhill? We all posited – uphill has right-of-way. He asserted that downhill has precedence, his logic being that one going downhill has difficulty stopping, particularly on a steep, rocky slope. ‘Tho that seemed to make sense to all of us, we continued to think – uphill. So I guess we have and IOU to him.)

As we were climbing up the switchbacks on the upper half of the ascent, we noticed another hiker gaining on us. A couple of hundred yards from the top, she caught up and went ahead. Upon arriving at the peak, she was there taking photos. We exchanged cameras to get ‘selfies’ to document our arrival. We invited her to join us while we had lunch, which she graciously agreed. We enjoyed great conversation, learning that her trailname is “No-No”, that she has been on the CDT for close to a month (starting at the US-Mexico border) and plans to finish at the Canadian border come September.

As we prepared to head back down, No-No told us we might encounter another through-hiker, trailname “Beer Goddess”. And .. as we returned to -the summit, a young woman was there taking her documentary photos. We may have surprised her, asking if she was Beer Goddess. Yes, she said, as we told her No-No was just ahead, packing up to continue on the trail. After getting a picture of her on her camera, we continued on our way, back down Mount Taylor.

Postscript

During our descent, we were reminded of our first hike on Mount Taylor back in 2018. Pat & I hiked to the saddle not far above the tree line. It was a great introductory hike and gave us perspective (and confidence) that we could hike to the summit. We returned two weeks later to ‘go to the top’. Reflecting on those experiences, and in conversation with Nancy & Jay, it occurred to us that others may hike to this half-way point, a bit more than half way in distance and half way in elevation gain. Such a hike would not be so strenuous and would give one great views all around, especially the last 1/4 mile along the east side of the ridge, with a beautiful view across Rinconada Canyon. Then descend, as we did, down into Goosberry Canyon, back to the Trail and to the trailhead.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.31 miles
Elevation: start 9,275 ft, maximum 11,309 ft, minimum 9,275 ft
Gross gain: 2,034 ft. Aggregate ascending 2,246 ft, descending 2,247 ft
Maximum slope: 40% ascending, 41% descending, 12.8% average
Duration: 6:44

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-05-10 (KML)	66 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.PatJayNancy.2021-05-10 (GPX)	57 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/10/2020
Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike #2- 06/13/2018
Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/01/2018

References and Resources

See References and Resources for the 2020 hike
Through-Hikers APP: GutHook Guides
Hiking Dude: Continental Divide Trail (download .kml file)

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery View.

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/10/2020

June 13, 2020

We returned to Mount Taylor where Pat & I made two hikes two years ago (a reconnoiter hike followed two weeks later by a hike to the summit). As then, we took our R-Pod camper for two nights giving us a whole day to make the hike without traveling. As for camping, since the Coal Mine Campground was closed, we made a one-day trip a week ago to locate a suitable campsite where the Forest Service permits “dispersed camping”. We found more than a dozen such sites; checked 3 or 4 of them to determine suitability for bringing in the R-Pod (care taken to avoid branches that might snag the camper); we marked 2 that we judged to be suitable.

Drive In and Camp Setup

We had an easy drive to Grants, then through Lobo Canyon on NM 547 to FR 193 and on to our target campsite. The road has fresh, deep gravel (a Class 3 road) but the Tacoma/R-Pod handled it easily. We chose the campsite closer to the trailhead; an added benefit – it is located on the edge of Lobo Canyon and thus affords better views than the other campsites. This, our first setup outside of an established campground, challenged us in maneuvering the R-Pod among trees and rocks to an area relatively level – great experience for future forays.

The Hike

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.Pat.2020-06-10

After a pleasant night (‘tho chilly – a cold front brought night time temperatures into the low 40s – the extra blanket was welcome as was the heater in the early morning – but .. cooler temperatures were promised for the hike), we drove the two miles or so to the trailhead and set off. The first half of the trail is quite pleasant, wending through open forest of mostly ponderosa pine. The trail itself “gets with it quickly”, enough slope to get blood moving and breathing heavy. In places the surface is a bit rocky, in other places it’s dirt with pine needles that soften the footfall.

As we left the forested portion of the trail, we stopped to recharge with Instant Ramen Soup. The 2nd half to the summit is in the open; we again enjoyed the magnificent views to the east, south, and west. (See more descriptions from our previous hike to the summit.) At the summit, we relaxed a while with coffee & hot chocolate and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Because of the rocky surface on the last 1/4 of the trail, we opted to take a different route back down the mountain. AllTrails showed a track that went north from the summit, then west and south to make a loop back to the trailhead (Gooseberry Springs and Mount Taylor Loop). The AllTrails map also showed a dotted line down the west slope – we chose to take that ‘shortcut’. It proved to be a seldom-used two track that was not too steep – ’twas a good choice. Where this two track intercepted the AllTrails track, we chose to make a more direct route towards the trailhead by descending down the wide open grassland. The slope of the terrain was fine (for descending) and covered with thick grass. We used this opportunity to gain some experience in interpreting the topo maps versus ‘ground truth’. We sought a track with lesser slopes and one that didn’t require any climbs up from the intervening valley.

Overall we were successful, descending a uniform slope, then tracking a topo line where it was necessary to ascend up to a ridge. For the last 100 or so feet of elevation, we found cattle trails that made the descent easier (cattle figure out how to ‘bushwhack’). Easier .. until the final 50 feet or so of really steep slope and thick bushes that made for real ‘bushwacking’.

Before leaving this descent, we reviewed the topo map to identify a route down that might be easier on a future hike to the summit. The remainder of the hike, down Lobo Canyon past Gooseberry Springs and to the trailhead was most pleasant. Back at the campsite we had a very nice evening, slept well in the camper, and enjoyed a relaxing morning at the campsite. Heading home, on our way out of Grants we recalled on our last visit having a pleasant break at the Route 66 Junk Yard Brewery. Stopping there would have been a very nice, but since breweries have been closed due to Covid-19 we pressed on to Albuquerque. Note: We had cellphone service at the campsite and for most of the hike. This permitted us to check out AllTrails and other sources for alternative ideas.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.0 miles
Elevation: start 9,274 ft, maximum 11,314 ft, minimum 9,274 ft
Gross gain: 2,040 ft. Aggregate ascending 2,274 ft, descending 2,274 ft
Maximum slope: 39% ascending, 43% descending, 13.6% average
Duration: 8:33

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.Pat.2020-06-10 (KML)	82 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.Pat.2020-06-10 (GPX)	220 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.

References and Resources

US Forest Service: Gooseberry Springs Trail
Gooseberry Springs Trailhead
SummitPost: Mount Taylor
AllTrails: Gooseberry Springs and Mount Taylor Loop
Mount Taylor via Gooseberry Trail
ondafring: Day Hike: Mount Taylor
ASCHG: Mount Taylor From Gooseberry Spring Hike
Stav is Lost: Hike Mt. Taylor via Gooseberry Springs Trail (great photos)
Four Corners GeoTourism: Gooseberry Springs Trail – Mt. Taylor
Outdoor Project: Gooseberry Springs Trail to Mount Taylor
Hiking Project: Gooseberry Trail

George's Photos (with captions): Click on a Photo for Gallery Show, or Click Here for Slide Show

Pat's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show, or Click Here for Slide Show

El Malpais-Narrows Rim Hike – 03/26/2014

February 27, 2019

One of our early hikes, checking out trails around Grants, NM. This summary is posted from memory; it took place before I began this Hiking BLOG. This was such a nice hike with friend Vince. I think my memory will bring back some particulars.

Statistics

Total Distance: 7.65 miles
Elevation: start 7,078 ft, maximum 7,437 ft, minimum 7,078 ft
Gross gain: 359 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,975 ft, descending 1,974 ft
Maximum slope: 29% ascending, 30% descending, 7.4% average
Duration: 5:24

Narrows Rim Hike.Vince.2014-03-26 (KML)	193 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Narrows Rim Hike.Vince.2014-03-26 (GPX)	60 Downloads

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

References

BLM: Narrows Rim (pdf)
ExploreNM: Narrows Rim Trail
New Mexico Meanders: 2017-07-02 The Narrows Rim Trail
AllTrails: Narrows Rim Trail
Only in Your State:
The Best New Mexico Hike You’ve Never Heard Of But Need To Take
Stav is Lost: Hike Narrows Rim Trail

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

San Gregorio Lake Hike – 08/01/2018

August 11, 2018

‘Tis summer, hot in the “low lands”. San Pedro Parks beckons us, to it’s higher elevation and forested landscape. Having hiked here with Jay two years ago, I’ve looked forward to returning with Pat.

The Hike

‘Tis much as I described in that earlier BLOG post – an easy trail, wide without much elevation change. I didn’t recall that there is so much downfall – downed trees all along the trail in this part of the Parks. We did look about for camping sites for possible future (short) backpacking; one of the first sites we came upon is, unfortunately, within the No Camping boundary around the lake. There is an open meadow where we turned around that looked appealing. And I’ve read that San Pedro Parks is great for camping. This was a most pleasant hike, so pleased to come here with Pat.

Statistics

Total Distance: 4.8 miles
Elevation: start 9,223 ft, maximum 9,620 ft, minimum 9,223 ft
Gross gain: 397 ft. Aggregate ascending 778 ft, descending 784 ft
Maximum slope: 25% ascending, 23% descending, 5% average
Duration: 4:26

San Gregorio Lake Hike.Pat.2018-08-01(KML)	149 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
San Gregorio Lake Hike.Pat.2018-08-01 (GPX)	230 Downloads

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

Hikes in San Pedro Parks

References

USDA Forest Service: Vacas Trail/San Gregorio Lake Trailhead #51
ASCHG: San Gregorio Reservoir Long Hike
Hiking in New Mexico: San Gregorio Hike – 08/20/2017
ondafringe: Backpacking: San Pedro Parks Wilderness
Wilderness Connect: San Pedro Parks Wilderness
AllTrails: San Pedro Parks Trail
Summit Post: San Pedro Parks Wilderness

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike #2- 06/13/2018

June 17, 2018

Two weeks ago we hiked up the Gooseberry Springs Trail on Mount Taylor near Grants. That was such a great hike, we decided to return soon with the goal of going all the way to the top. So that we could make an early-morning start, we traveled to Grants the day before and spent the night in a motel. (On the lookout for craft beer, we stumbled on the Route 66 Junk Yard Brewery – check it out on the east end of town.)

The Drive In

See the description in the previous post Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/01/2018

The Hike

After a McDonalds burrito and coffee breakfast (the only restaurant in Grants that is open early), we headed for the Goosberry Trail trailhead. See the report on our earlier hike for particulars on the first half of this hike. Oh, by the way, we made the turn onto the Trail that we missed on the previous hike. And knowing we faced a 2,000+ elevation gain, we took frequent breaks (and kept up the intake of water).

Nearing the location of our mid-hike break on the previous hike, above the tree line on this side of the mountain, we headed up towards the summit. The trail continued to be a moderate slope, well used and easy going, ‘tho on fairly steep hillsides. The views to the east, south, and west were glorious, despite the hazy atmosphere. And the views of the surrounding slopes of the mountain were stunning, particularly in the light of the early morning sun. An occasional rock outcrop added another dimension of Mother Nature’s beautiful work. ‘Tho it has been hot at lower elevations, the early start coupled with the upslope breezes made the weather conditions quite cool and pleasant.

Reaching the summit, we enjoyed an extended break with coffee and empenadas, and taking time to enjoy the sights. Heading down, again the slope and general condition of the trail made the descent reasonably easy. And looking at the scenery from this new angle or direction made it beautiful in ways different that during the ascent.

Close to a mile from the summit on the way down, we opted to follow the ‘canyon’ towards -the- Gooseberry Spring. ‘Tho not a marked trail, we found ‘trails’, tracks left by cattle, elk or deer, a maybe people, that were easy to follow and allowed us to remain in shade (the temperature was rising and the sun intense). For a short time we rejoined -the- Gooseberry Trail, but then descended again into the ‘canyon’ and followed it until the point where the Trail crosses the ‘canyon’. From there it was about 2/3rd of a mile back to the truck.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.69 miles
Elevation: start 9,273 ft, maximum 11,314 ft, minimum 9,273 ft
Gross gain: 2,041 ft. Aggregate ascending 2,366 ft, descending 2,364 ft
Maximum slope: 32% ascending, 40% descending, 12% average
Duration: 8:44

Gooseberry Trail Hike.Pat.2018-06-13 (KML)	169 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Gooseberry Trail Hike.Pat.2018-06-13 (GPX)	99 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.

References and Resources

See Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/01/2018

George's Photos w/ Captions: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike – 06/01/2018

June 5, 2018

Our second day on a camping trip to the Grants area instead of heading to the Jemez (see the post for the Bluewater Lake Hike). We had considered the Coal Mine Campground for the previous night, but because this was our first trip out with the R-Pod, we took the easy route – Grants KOA. On this day, ‘tho, we set out to check out the Coal Mine Campground and after a visit to the Mount Taylor Ranger Station, hike the Gooseberry Springs Trail.

The Drive In

The campground is quite nice, with a few nicely shaded sites (no electric services, but the usual pit toilet in National Forest campgrounds). Having checked out of the KOA, we brought the R-Pod up the 9 miles and 1,000 feet elevation gain (on a very nice paved road) to Coal Mine Campground and parked it in a nice drive-through site. After brunch, we headed on up Lobo Canyon Road/NM 547 to the turnoff (FR 193, gravel) to the trailhead (5.2 miles) for the Gooseberry Springs Trail. FR 193 passes through ponderosa and juniper forest, but with many turnoffs that appeared to be quite suitable for primitive camping (RV or tent).

The Hike

Gooseberry Springs Trail Hike.Pat.2018-06-01

The trailhead is clearly marked, as is the beginning of the trail. However … at about 3/4 miles into the hike we missed a turn for the -real- trail and followed an old two-track that was quite rocky in spots. After about 1.5 miles, with the help of a trail track on US Topo on the phone/GPS, we headed up-hill (easy bushwhacking) and across where we found a well-used, easy to walk trail. We followed this uphill for another .25 miles when we found ourselves out of the forest, on more open land.

As we continued uphill, there were fewer trees until we came into completely open space with stupendous views to the south and west. Another .25 miles and we were at the top of a saddle and could now see the vista to the east. After enjoying our mid-hike coffee/snack break, we headed back downhill, passing many cows and calves which we had encountered on our way up. We stayed on that well-used trail for the distance back to the truck.

Throughout the hike, especially on the actual Gooseberry Springs Trail, the climb and descent, the slope was gentle. The trail surface was rocky in very few places; otherwise dirt or, in the forested area, covered with pine needles. It is another mile or so from our mid-hike break spot to the top of Mount Taylor. That portion of the trail is completely in the open, great for the vista views. We could see the trail as it tracked up the slope with one large switchback about 2/3rds to the top. We’ll be going back soon to make it to the top.

Statistics

Total Distance: 3.94 miles
Elevation: start 9,274 ft, maximum 10,253 ft, minimum 9,274 ft
Gross gain: 979 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,147 ft, descending 1,147 ft Maximum slope: 38% ascending, 28% descending, 11% average
Duration: 3:46

Gooseberry Trail Hike.Pat.2018-06-01 (KML)	131 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Gooseberry Trail Hike.Pat.2018-06-01 (GPX)	206 Downloads
Gooseberry Trail DriveOut.Pat.2018-06-01 (KML)	173 Downloads
Gooseberry Trail DriveOut.Pat.2018-06-01 (GPX)	63 Downloads

If you haven’t explored these hiking tracks with Google Earth, I urge you to try it. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the screenshot above. For some ideas, check out Using Google Earth Track Files.

References and Resources

US Forest Service: Gooseberry Springs Trail
Gooseberry Springs Trailhead
Four Corners Tourism: Gooseberry Springs Trail – Mt. Taylor
AllTrails: Gooseberry Springs Trail to Mount Taylor
SummitPost: Mount Taylor
Gooseberry Springs Trail
Hiking Project: Gooseberry Trail
ondafring: Day Hike: Mount Taylor
ASCHG: Mount Taylor From Gooseberry Spring Hike
Stav is Lost: Hike Mt. Taylor via Gooseberry Springs Trail

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

San Gregorio Lake Hike – 08/20/2017

September 26, 2017

Before the weather turns colder, and snow comes to the Jemez, and having hiked in all of the canyons off of the Rio Cebolla, we headed to the San Pedro Parks Wilderness. This is a most beautiful area, with higher elevations than other parts of the Jemez, and tho’ further in miles than the Rio Cebolla the drive is on highway/paved roads. Thus the time to get there from Bernalillo is about the same.

The Hike

We opted for the Vacas Trail (#51), starting at the San Gregorio Lake trailhead as our first outing in the San Pedro Parks. This looked like an easy trail and closest driving distance from Bernalillo. It appears to be quite heavily used, relatively level on easy walking surface. Its pretty much a steady climb through open woods, past the San Gregorio Reservoir. We turned left some distance above the reservoir, at the junction with the Damian Trail to remain on the Vacas Trail, continuing up Clear Creek (which had a trickle of water running). We stopped for our mid-hike break, at 3.44 miles, at the junction with other trails in the Wilderness.

There is much more to explore in the San Pedro Parks – we will return.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.73 miles
Elevation: start 9,218 ft, maximum 9,972 ft, minimum 9,218 ft
Gross gain: 754 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,257 ft, descending 1,258 ft
Maximum slope: 43% ascending, 32% descending, 6% average
Duration: 3:31

San Gregorio.Jay.2017-08-20 (KML)	245 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
San Gregorio.Jay.2017-08-20 (GPX)	61 Downloads

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

Hikes in San Pedro Parks

References

USDA/Forest Service: Vacas Trail/San Gregorio Lake Trailhead #51
ondafringe.com:
Backpacking: San Pedro Parks Wilderness …2013
Backpacking: San Pedro Parks Wilderness …2016
SummitPost.org: San Pedro Parks Wilderness
Wilderness Connect: San Pedro Parks Wilderness
Continental Divide Trail Coalition: San Pedro Parks Wilderness …
The Outbound Collective: Backpack the Vacas Trail Loop

Jay's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Continental Divide Trail, Wolf Creek Pass Hike – 07/02/2017

July 10, 2017

For our third day in the San Juan Mountains/Pagosa Springs, we headed UP, maybe above the tree line? To Wolf Creek Pass and a section of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

The Drive In

It is a long way up a steep highway US 160, from 7,800′ elevation to 11,800′ at the trailhead above the Pass. It was obvious immediately that we -would have- scenic views.

The Hike

From the Lobo Trailhead we descended across a snow bank to meet up with the CDT about 1/2 mile on. For the next 1.4 miles the trail continued down, a medium width, well traveled trail but on a quite steep hillside. From here it went up a bit, at least as far as we went before stopping for our mid-hike break and return trip. The views in every direction are stunning, looking across valleys to the next section of the San Juan Mountains. ‘Tho we weren’t “above the tree line”, many of the peaks above 12,000′, some over 13,000’ and were barren.

Jay here: It was a bit chilly and windy atop the CDT trailhead. You start out behind the big radio towers and immediately walk over a snow covered trail. Most of the trail is in the open and some portions are narrow ledges along steep hillside. If you fall on that hillside you are going roll quite a way before you can stop yourself, a fact that offers little comfort to me and my vertigo. Other parts of the trail run through older forest where there is still snow on the ground. There were also a lot more corn lilies in the meadows we crossed. This was another hike that had descents at the start that made for a long slog back at the return, but we persevered.

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.07 miles
Elevation: start 11,742 ft, maximum 11,742 ft, minimum 11,148 ft
Gross gain: 695 ft. Aggregate ascending 1,448 ft, descending 1,447 ft
Maximum slope: 34% ascending, 30% descending, 8% average
Duration: 4:26