Hiking in the White Mountains: Top of New Mexico . . . Wheeler Peak

10/21/21

Williams Lake Trail & Wheeler Peak Trail: 9.6 miles (3,250' elevation gained)

Trip Report:

- On Wednesday the 20th, Todd and I packed up the Jeep and headed to New Mexico with Sarge. We spent the night in the Taos Ski Valley which put us a few miles away from the trailhead.

- It was a cold but comfortable morning in northern New Mexico, the Williams Lake Trail starts at 10,000 feet and gently makes it way to the picturesque Williams Lake which sits about two thousand feet below the summit of Wheeler Peak (13,167'). At the lake we hooked onto the Wheeler Peak Trail and its many switchbacks to the ridgeline

- The trail below treeline was covered in old packed snow with some icy spots mixed in but we were able to pick our way up without having to put on our microspikes. Above treeline the trail was mostly bare ground with some old snow drifts here and there. Views above treeline were stunning, unlike Humphreys Peak in Arizona which is basically the only big mountain around, Wheeler Peak is surrounded by rugged big mountains, especially looking north into Colorado.

- It was a calm morning on the summit, we took a bunch of photos and relaxed for a few minutes before heading over to a sub peak called Mount Walter taking in some more sweet views before starting our decent.

- The trek back was uneventful, we had the whole trail to ourselves and other than running into a trail runner at Williams Lake earlier we didn't start seeing anyone until the final mile back to the trailhead.

- Back at the Jeep we relaxed and got into dry clothes before making our way into Colorado to our next destination, Sand Dunes National Park.