Gold Hill from the Taos Ski Valley

For a thorough description of the hike, see Craig Martin's book, 100 Hikes in New Mexico, (#17). Starting at 8:00, we will carpool to the Taos Ski Valley and park by the Bull-of-Woods trailhead (9,430 ft). We will hike to Bull-of-the-Woods pasture and turn north to Gold Hill (12,711 ft). Only at the beginning of the hike, on the way to Bull-of-the-Woods, is the trail moderately steep on a heavily used trail. The view from the top is wonderful, looking at Fraser, Wheeler, Katchina, and the Truchas peaks to the south and as far as southern Colorado, the Blanca peaks, to the north. We will return to the trailhead by way of Long Canyon. Total distance is about 10 miles with a 3,300 ft elevation gain. Count on a 2 hour drive to the trailhead, 5 hours on the trail, and 2 hours to return, not including a refreshment break on the way home.  Email Bart at bart.olinger@gmail.com to sign up; information on carpooling location will be sent to you.