Pecos Wilderness 2000

When: August, 2000

Crew: Charlie, Beka, Mark, Ryan, Alicia, Me

Summary: This five day four night trek began at Holy Ghost Campground in the Pecos Wilderness. The first day saw an easy climb out of Holy Ghost Canyon, up the "Big Nasty," and on to Windsor Trail, which led to our first camp at Stewart Lake. We caught some trout, and ate them with a delicious stew we had for dinner.

The next morning, we packed up and headed for Horsethief Meadow. We made good time and found a campsite by early afternoon. Horsethief is an large meadow, and one of the prettiest places I've ever camped. There is a small brook running through the meadow that burbles pleasantly while you fall asleep. We also saw six or seven wild turkeys on their way to roost for the evening.

Day three was a long hike from Horsethief to East Pecos Baldy Lake. We got caught in a light rain coming up the back side of the mountain, but it had stopped by the time we reached the southern saddle. East Pecos Baldy seems to create its own weather system; it rains everyday, and hail in August is not uncommon. Still, we kept relatively dry as we rested after the day's climb.

The original plan for day four was a side-hike to the top of East Pecos Baldy. Unfortunately, the weather seemed more unpredictable than usual, so we decided to hike up the north saddle and explore Trailrider's Wall. On the saddle, we encounterd three Big Horn sheep, and watched them run over and up the side of the mountain, where we were able to make out more sheep, including a lamb trying to nurse from its mother. We spent a couple hours on Trailrider's Wall, enjoying the views of Truchas and East Pecos Baldy. We made our way back to camp just before the afternoon storm rolled in.

The last morning, we stayed in the tents for a while hoping the rain would stop. It had been raining since the previous afternoon, and Mark and Ryan's tent was leaking pretty badly. When it gave no signs of abating, we donned our raingear, struck camp, and started the long hike down to Jack's Creek Campground. The weather was so bad we didn't even stop to enjoy the view from Round Mountain. After endless switchbacks into Jack's Creek, everyone and everything was soaked. We made it to the truck, and huddled under the trailhead sign while Mark and Charlie brought our other vehicle up from Holy Ghost.

Other: Pecos Wilderness Waypoints