I'd like to organize a group for the Via Ferrata at Taos Ski Valley. The Via is accessible only to guided groups, with a maximum of 4 participants. It should be a lovely and challenging adventure - see https://www.skitaos.com/via-ferrata. We have two participants so far, so with a 3rd, the cost for the all-day outing will be $217 per person, and will drop to $187 if there are 4 of us. We will start at Taos Ski Valley, about 2 hours from Los Alamos, at 8:45 AM. Contact Bill to join in.
It looks like Saturday should be a fine autumn day, with the current storm behind us, so let's try a local classic. Pedernal is a landmark visible throughout northern New Mexico, standing as a sentinel at the northern end of the Jemez Mountains. It was Georgia O'Keefe's mountain, painted by her time after time. Its summit is a classic destination; views from its 9,862-foot narrow top are spectacular. It is one of our Peak Challenge summits. Reaching Pedernal takes a two-hour drive from Los Alamos, and a hike of about 8 miles round trip, parking just off the main Forest Service road.
Lake Fork Peak is on the west side of the cirque that includes Wheeler Peak, and circles Williams Lake above Taos Ski Valley. At 12,881 feet, it is less than 300 feet below the elevation of New Mexico's high point. To explore this summit in the easiest way possible, we will take the summer lift in Taos Ski Valley (lift #4), and start our hike from there. From there, we will hike to Kachina Peak (a sturdy climb of 1000 feet in itself), and traverse along the ridge line to Lake Fork Peak. We will then retrace our steps and ride the lift back down to the base.
I’d like to propose a day outing from Santa Barbara Campground, following the West Fork of Santa Barbara River, to the Santa Barbara meadows with views of the Truchas Peaks beyond. This is a hike of 5 miles each way, with a climb of about 1000 feet. It is along a trail all of the way. It should take us about 90 minutes from Los Alamos to the trailhead. Let’s leave Los Alamos at 8:00 AM next Saturday morning, and return in the afternoon or evening.
published by Norbert Ensslin on Fri, 2020-06-26 13:57
Leader:
Norbert Ensslin
Telephone:
505-662-1408
Date:
Fri, 2020-08-07
Leader Email:
Norbert.ensslin@gmail.com
Difficulty:
Moderate
Technicality:
Intermediate
Are dogs allowed?:
Not allowed
This trip is a short backpack to climb Half Peak over the August 7-9 weekend. Half Peak is a high Thirteener located in the San Juan mountains near Lake City, and is one of the top 100 peaks in Colorado. Most of the route is on trails or grassy slopes. However, the flat summit plateau has cliffs on three sides, and is accessed by scrambling along a narrow Class 2 ridge, with some exposure, on the South side.
One of the classic river runs in North America is the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, running through the River of No Return wilderness. We had a wonderful trip down the Middle Fork in July 2016, hosted by Terry Morgan and Lorrie Bonds Lopez, and catered by Hughes River Expeditions of Stanley, Idaho. Between the rafting and kayaking, fly fishing for trout, the semi-desert scenery, and fabulous food, it was a trip to remember. It is time to organize our return trip.
COVID-19 Information: we will comply with the Governor's orders on physical distancing. We will have three co-leaders, each leading a group of 1+4=5. Everyone should have masks, and everyone will always be 6 feet apart. We'll limit the total trip to 15 people, so please email Zack to sign up.
I would like to announce a two or three-night backpacking trip into Cruces Basin for the 4th of July weekend (July 3-5). Cruces Basin is pristine wilderness located west of San Antonio mountain near the New Mexico/ Colorado border. We’ve been a few times before, and it is well worth going back. This trip will be a mellow and family-friendly adventure with a short hike to our camp followed by hikes to explore the Basin. We can break into groups for day hiking, with options for those that want to adventure out further and those that want to do shorter day hikes.
For a spring 2020 Canyon trip, we will head to an area that we have not visited since 2007: the Escalante River, about a mile upstream from its confluence with 25 Mile Wash.
This will be our usual drop camp trip, in which we make ourselves a comfortable camp with chairs, tables, two-burner stove, wine cellar, etc, and explore out in every direction for five days of hiking. It can be a little warm in May, but we will have the Escalante River nearby to take a dip.
