To the top of one our more enchanting states.
I hiked to Wheeler Peak, the highpoint of New Mexico via the Williams Lake trail. I was only partially acclimatized so it was a bit difficult, but at a lower elevation it would have been more on the moderate side of hard.
Starting at the Taos Valley Ski Resort, the trail winds its way up under trees to, you guessed, it Williams Lake. Some people stop there or camp there before going for the summit, but I just pressed on. The trail heads in an easterly direction and eventually goes above treeline. It that switchbacks several times up the western side of Wheeler before it gets to the summit ridge. There's a minor false summit but the real summit isn't much higher or further.
I actually followed the line on my Polar HRM, which routed me up jeep roads for part of the beginning. On the return I took the trail itself for the full trip after the lake. Either one ends where the ski lifts are. There was a bit of a contrast between sweaty, dirty (in various ways) me and the preppies who were taking nature strolls in the lifts area.
Reading past trip reports, some call this trail Class 2, but I don't see it. I used poles - and I highly recommend them - but there wasn't anywhere I could see that I'd need to use my hands.
Another thing I've seen in past trip reports is the claim that the last 1000' of gain is over steep scree. I was picturing a massive couloir of loose gravel where you'd have to kick step going up and plunge step going down. In fact, the trail is almost all packed dirt. Of the last 1000' of gain, maybe one-third is packed dirt covered with sharp, loose, irregularly-shaped rocks from golf ball to grapefruit size. However, that doesn't post a great difficulty going up or going down, just make sure you've got solid footing before making another step. There was some steep, loose dirt near the top and I was thankful I had poles for that. As for the stats, Polar says the uphill leg was 4.6 miles.
I got an early start so there were several cases where I yielded to uphill hikers. Unfortunately, a loud group also got an early start and I heard them as they followed me up the mountain. Thankfully I was leaving the summit as they got there. The trail was so crowded I was half expecting a USB speaker or two, and a group didn't disappoint. But, at least they fired that up as they were leaving the summit.
The sky was mostly clear with clouds off to one side. I don't know why the images are so dark, but it was more like the video.It did start to rain a bit but I was soon under the tree canopy so it didn't bother me that much.
I was thinking of then doing the 4.5 hours drive to the Oklahoma state highpoint. However, I saw that it was 105F there and it wasn't going to get cooler before dark. So, I'll try that the next day earlier in the day.
As for the logistics, I parked in the hiker's parking area. There are signs saying several things, among them that there's no overnight camping, and that the parking fee is $5. Guess what? I ignored both. There was at least one other person in the parking lot did the same, and he even set up a tent. I just slept in the back of my car. The lights from the million-dollar condos meant the lot didn't get fully dark. And, those million-dollar condos (one is on the market for over $2 million) are also why I didn't pay the $5. Why should anyone subsidize those who can afford a second or third home at a ski resort? I did it for the people, man.
