Recommendations for the Pecos Wilderness , NM?

“Anyone been to the Pecos Wilderness area in New Mexico? We are looking to backpack there in mid-August.”

“I've been in through Iron Gate Campground via Pecos and Cowles. It's a great trip to Beatty's cabin Pecos Falls etc.

I've also been in to the Truchas area via the town of Truchas. Another great trip. Hit all three Truchas peaks in one day.

Be ready for rains almost every afternoon. It's a good time to hole up under a tarp for hot soup and a rest.”

“Fpr Pathman: how crowded were Pecos Falls and/or Truchas Peaks? When did you go and were there fire restrictions then?”

“We saw nobody at Truchas (1982) and Pecos Falls area usually has some people around, but when I went there weren't that many people. Some horse packers in the Pecos Falls region. In a normal year there won't be fire restrictions. August is monsoon season.”

“I should add that we followed a jeep road for some distance to get into Truchas. I have a few pics of the Truchas area

Truchas Peaks Area”

“Bring fishin' eq. and cut your food weight.”

“And if you aren't successful, loose some weight. (I never count of fish, but will gladly supplement my regular grub.)”

“any one play pico's world at newgrounds.com”

“I've been there 3 times in the last 2 years, but only in June and October. I didn't get to go last June due to the fires in the southern portion down by Elk Mountain. They closed the entire wilderness so I went to Spanish Peaks and Blanca Peak instead. Depending upon where you live, you might consider entering from the Santa Barbara Campground/TH. It is less crowded. It's kind of nice not being able to see the Truchas Peaks until you make the pass at 12,000 feet. The traverse between North Truchas and Middle Truchas Peaks can be a little unnverving at times, however I've only done it in the snow. South Truchas, which is the highest is just a walkup that time of year. Lots of water. Good camping near Truchas Lakes and on the north side of Santa Barbara Divide.”

“Thanks Cairn. Looks like the snow and rain have been pretty good this year, so fire danger could be low. We would be coming from Los Alamos/Santa Fe area. The Santa Barbara trailhead sounds interesting. Any good trail maps online you know of so I can check out the elevation gain & distances?”

“potp: Don't know of any good map resources for the Pecos. I just looked at Topozone.com, but it is inadequate(doesn't really show the trails that well). There are several really good books out there, namely(Trail Guide--Pecos Wilderness, by SNCHA). Also, the USFS topo map is adequate, although there are some mistakes on it. I use USGS quads since I spend a considerable amount of time off trail bagging peaks. If you don't know where the TH is, it is south of Penasco down a dirt road. I have a Honda sedan that makes it down the road just fine. If you need more info, email @ lking@texas.net. Thx!”

“I have a few more questions so I'll try to get an e-mail out to ya' in the next week,

Thanks for the info...”

“I went solo to the Pecos Wilderness last week and had the best backpacking trip of my life so far. I parked at Panchuela campground because it?s less crowded than Jack?s Creek or Iron Gate. Hiked to Pecos Baldy Lake the first day and found it quite crowded (close to 30 people camped in the area) but still got an isolated spot to camp near the lake. Had to be careful of the extreme altitude for my first night in the wilderness and tried not to over-exert myself. There also are way too many big horn sheep in this area. But it?s a really beautiful spot and in the morning I got to climb the two peaks in warm sun and clear skies and only saw the big horn sheep during the climb. It was the perfect Rocky Mtn morning.

Went on to Truches Lakes that afternoon and only me and one other small party were camped there but several people camped at Pecos Baldy were there climbing the peaks. I climbed North Truches in morning up the grassy side near the lakes to an easy ridge. I didn?t want to try the traverse to the Middle peak and went down the other side to Santa Barbara Pass. I tried to climb the middle peak from the lakes that afternoon at two different spots but got chased down by bad weather. The thunderstorms usually blew off by the evening and you could climb the peaks then if you are not physically spent like I was. I had the lakes to myself that night.

The next day I hiked the divide, which includes carrying a full pack to 12,600?. It was a really pretty day with continuous drop-dead views. That afternoon I dropped down to the Pecos River and headed back towards the car. I saw no one at the falls and the area has been closed to camping. It?s about a 15? waterfall and not worth seeing. There were about 100 head of cattle in the valley. Also saw a sign that told about the trail across Hamilton Mesa being closed. I camped north of Beatty?s flats because that area is also closed to camping.

The next day I hiked over Round Mountain back to Cave Creek and camped just a little way into the wilderness. There are lots of nice meadows along the creek there. Left the next morning. I got rain 3 afternoons and 3 nights but overall good weather. The rain was always gone at supper.

I?ve been wanting to make this trip ever since my hiking partner got sore feet there 7 years ago. It was really pretty and wild. I?d gone for long walks in my hiking boots every night for about a week before I left and got my feet prepared since that?s where I usually have problems. I hope you have as good a trip as I did, potp!”