On Walkabout On: Wheeler Peak, New Mexico – Part 2

Prior Posting: Wheeler Peak, New Mexico – Part 1

Narrative (Continued)

As I continued with my hike to the summit of New Mexico’s highest mountain, the  13,161 foot (4,011 m) Wheeler Peak, the trail eventually began to drop quite a bit in elevation as it descended down into a lush valley:

Note that way off in the distance of the above photograph Wheeler Peak can actually be seen.  So not only was I losing elevation now, but the peak was still a pretty good distance yet away.  As I descended into the valley I actually had to walk through some snow drifts that were still covering the trail even though it was the middle of summer:

I had lost elevation in order to pass through this lush valley, but it was worth it to get out of the sun for a little while and enjoy the fresh air from the trees and the fast flowing creek:

If someone is looking for a place to camp this would be a great place because it is gorgeous, isolated, and has plenty of water.  The trail eventually starts ascending again towards Wheeler Peak.  Here is the view looking towards the west after I exited the small, lush valley:

The exposed ridgeline pictured above is what I walked across in order to reach the lush valley.  From the valley I was now walking across another exposed ridgeline.  Here is the view looking further up the trail as I crossed this exposed ridgeline that was covered with alpine grass which seems to cover the sides of all the mountains I crossed all the way to the summit of Wheeler Peak:

Due to all the grass there was plenty of wildlife to spot high up in these mountains.  I was amazed by the number of marmots that could be seen all over the hillsides:

I was even more amazed by how big these marmots get, some of them were the size of small dogs:

Besides the marmots another animal I saw scattered all over these high meadows were bighorn sheep:

Here is a closer look at one these animals:

As I continued to ascend up the hillside I was actually getting pretty tired and had to stop and catch my breath a few times.  The trail was a steep switchback that was made more difficult by the fact that I was probably nearing 13,000 feet in altitude which means less air to breathe.  I eventually reached the top of the hillside and was awarded with this view that shows the prior lush valley I passed through on the bottom right:

Here was the view I had looking east over an stunningly, beautiful lake:

For obvious reasons this beautiful lake is called Horseshoe Lake:

I have no idea if there is fish in this lake, but it looked like Horseshoe Lake would be another excellent place to camp along the treeline at.  As I continued to follow the trail along the high and exposed ridgeline I saw a peak coming into view in the distance:

I had read that many hikers confuse this peak with being Wheeler Peak when in fact it is actually Mt. Walter the 2nd highest peak in New Mexico.  As I hiked towards Mt. Walter there was still plenty of beautiful wildflowers to see even here above the 13,000 foot elevation level:

As I hiked up the side of Mt. Walter I had a view looking straight down at Horseshoe Lake far below:

Also I noticed as I walked up the side of Mt. Walter the summit of Wheeler Peak just a short walk across an exposed ridgeline:

As I climbed higher up Mt. Walter the wind was now really increasing and was even having difficulty staying on the trail:

On the summit there is a sign that states that Mt. Walter is named after a gentlemen by the name of H.D. Walter who supposedly loved these mountains.  I can’t blame him because the Taos Mountains are absolutely beautiful:

As can be seen by the flag tied on the pool the wind was blowing extremely hard and I had a very hard time walking.  I did not spend a whole lot of time on the summit but on summit of Mt. Walter I had an incredible view looking north of the Rocky Mountains extending back towards Colorado:

The mountain on the left is the 14,047 ft (4,282 m) Culebra Peak located in Colorado, in the middle is the twin summits of the Spanish Peaks which are also in Colorado.  Here is also a view I had of the 12,441 ft (3,792 m) Baldy Mountain located in New Mexico.

I have added this mountain to my short list of peaks I want to climb in the next year because views from up there should be outstanding considering how it stands so far apart from the rest of the mountains.  Off to the northeast I was also able to make out the summit of Fisher’s Peak near Trinidad, Colorado:

Once I took these few pictures of the view I got off the summit of Mt. Walter and found some shelter behind some rocks to take a break from the wind.  Here is the view from the rock outcropping looking toward the remainder of the trail I needed to hike up to reach the summit of Wheeler Peak:

This last portion of the hike was really miserable due to the wind and the prolonged exposure was causing me to become quite cold as well even though it was the middle of the summer.  However, after slowly and carefully following the trail I made it to the 13,161 foot summit of Wheeler Peak without incident.  On the summit of Wheeler Peak there is a plaque that sits atop a metal tube that has some survival supplies inside of it for those who need it:

The plaque on the summit says:

Wheeler Peak

13,161 Feet Above Sea Level

Highest Point In New Mexico

Named in honor of Major George Montague Wheeler (1832-1909) who for ten year lead a party of surveyors and naturalists collecting geologic, biologic, planimetric, and topographic data in New Mexico and six other southwestern states.

Wheeler Peak Wilderness

Carson National Forest

Here is a picture of the US Geological Survey marker on the summit of Wheeler Peak:

Fortunately the summit had a large windbreak made up of piled rocks that I was able to sit behind and get out of the wind.  However, the summit had a bunch of these little squirrels that would actually try to get into hikers bags in order to steal food:

Fortunately I had my bag tied up nice and tight so the critters could not get into it.  As I sat down out of the wind I did my best to enjoy the view from the summit.  Here is the view looking back towards Mt. Walter and the ridgeline I followed from the Bull of the Woods Trail to reach Wheeler Peak:

Here is the view looking west towards the Taos Ski Valley:

Here is a closer look at ski valley which is where I started my hike:

Here is a look at some of the rugged slopes that compose the ski resort:

Right across from Wheeler Peak to the south is the rugged 12,886 foot (3928 m) Lake Fork Peak:

Here is view looking towards the northwest where a trail running along the ridgeline could be seen crossing these rugged peaks:

I know there is a trail to Wheeler Peak that comes from Eagle’s Nest in the northwest so I figure that this is probably that trail.  It is a longer trail to reach the summit of approximately 20 miles but it looks like it would be quite a spectacular walk.  I stayed on the summit for about a total of 15 minutes taking pictures and speaking with a few other hikers, the first I saw all day who had ascended up the mountain from Williams Lake down below.  They were all curious about the Bull of the Woods route I took and I expressed to them how it is a great hike, but it is definitely a longer way to get to the summit.

After finishing talking with the other hikers I then proceeded to head down the steep southern face of the mountain towards Williams Lake down below.  Here is a view of the summit of Wheeler Peak as I began my descent down the mountain’s southern face.  For people that look closely at the below picture, the last hiker I spoke to on the summit before departing can be seen:

The trail going down the southern face of Wheeler Peak crosses through a lot of scree rock which can make footing a little slippery at times:

Here  is a picture of the trail heading towards one of these scree rock debris fields:

The forest service has done a really good job maintaining the trail through the scree, so it was actually quite easy to cross:

Here is a picture looking back at Wheeler Peak where the switchbacking trail can be seen working its way to the summit:

It was interesting to see though the power erosion the lower down the mountain I went.  The rain and melting snow over millions of years has cut into the mountain and caused it to slowly crumble down the side of the mountain:

Something else I noticed as I continued down the mountain was all the marmots that populated this side of the mountain as well:

As I descended down the mountain the view was dominated by the impressively craggy slopes of Lake Fork Peak:

The mountain is not as tall as Wheeler Peak but it is quite impressive:

Here is a view looking back towards the summit of Wheeler Peak which is no where near as impressive as Lake Fork Peak:

Here is the view of the mountain lying between Lake Fork Peak and Wheeler Peak to the east:

Eventually I found myself hiking into the treeline where I was surrounded by forest of beautiful pine trees:

Once I got to the bottom of the valley the trail connected to the Williams Lake Trail.  I took a short walk to the end of the Williams Lake Trail to take a few pictures of this lake situated in an incredibly beautiful amphitheater of rugged mountains:

With such beautiful alpine scenery it is almost amazing to think this is New Mexico which is known more for its deserts, but as the above picture shows, it also has outstanding alpine scenery.  Here is the view of Wheeler Peak hovering over Williams Lake:

All around the lake there was also plenty of wildflowers to be seen to include these beautiful columbines:

The water level in the lake is too low to support fish, but it sure was lovely to spend some time hanging out at and enjoying the scenery:

Williams Lake in my opinion is one of the most beautiful locations in all of New Mexico, but it was time for me to head on back to the trailhead.  The walk from Williams Lake to the trailhead was quite easy since it was all down hill and in the shade due to all the trees.  As I walked through this thickly forested area I suddenly came out into a clearing that was filled with a few bushes and a strange plant I did not recognize:

Here is a closer look at this plant:

Does anyone know what this plant is called?  If so please leave a comment.

After about an hour of walking from Williams Lake the trail then merged with a small dirt road used by the Taos Ski Valley workers to access the upper slopes of the resort:

This road continued to descend down the valley along a beautiful stream of crystal clear water:

Eventually following the road along the stream took me to the upper ski lodge:

Here is a view looking back towards the upper portion of the ski resort:

I thought that it would be a short walk back to the trailhead where I parked my truck, but as I would find out it would take me an hour to walk down the road from the upper ski lodge to get back to the parking lot even though it was down hill the entire way.   As I walked down the road I noticed this sign for the Williams Lake Trailhead which is where most people I saw the day I hiked up Wheeler Peak were hiking up the mountain from:

The summit of Wheeler Peak is even visible from the trailhead:

This route is much shorter than the 13.65 miles I hiked on my loop hike.  The round-trip distance to the summit of Mt. Wheeler from this trailhead is 7 miles.  As I continued to walk down the dirt road from the upper ski lodge I noticed this unusual holiday home at the ski resort:

Eventually I found myself walking into the ski village at the bottom of the valley:

Since it was dark when I started my hike I could not see the view from the upper parking lot that morning.  Now since it was the afternoon I could see the view of the Taos Mountains leading towards Wheeler Peak in the far distance:

Conclusion

A hike to the summit of Wheeler Peak is really something that anyone physically able to do so should do when visiting the Taos area.  The views are incredible and the alpine scenery cannot be beat.  For those looking for more of a challenge and greater experience I do highly recommend the Bull of the Woods Trail to reach the summit, but for those with only a half a day to spend to reach the summit or are a novice hiker then go ahead and take the Williams Lake Trail approach.  Either way hikers will have a great time experiencing one of the most beautiful places in New Mexico.