Day 1 - July 3, 2009
Getting a late start as usual, but we're glad to finally hit the trail.
Last chance to use the facilities.
We aim for Bull-Of-The-Woods Pasture, which will take us a couple of hours to reach.
We finally reach the campsite around after a few hours of hiking in the dark.
It was humid but cool. My entire back was soaking wet.
I have no clue what Ed and Shan are trying to figure out. Whatever it is, it is shortly forgotten by the need to pitch our tents and cook some dinner.
Day 2 - July 4, 2009
Dawn. Of course I'm the only one awake. The ground was nice and soft, and I slept great.
Ed slumbers.
I've already eaten breakfast and packed up my bag and sleeping pad. The rest of the crew is still sleeping.
After packing up our gear and stashing our bags, we finally leave camp and head for the peak.
The weather was great. No jacket required in the morning.
After a few more pics at the campsite, we finally hit the trail.
Red Canyon Overlook.
Trail conditions were great. Moutain biking would definitely be an option on this trail.
Shaun thinks he sees the peak (the real one is still higher up, but don't tell him).
Red Canyon Overlook.
The trail at Red Canyon Overlook.
A blanket of wild flowers covered the mountain. The scenery was very alpine like.
Still a few miles away from the peak, but this looked like a good spot to take a couple of pictures.
Ed wanted to do his part in keeping the flowers healthy.
The trail was in great condition.
We witnessed several animals on our hike: a few deer, herds of mountain goats, and a couple of marmots.
Getting closer.
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...
Ed and Shaun wait patiently while I catch up.
This billy goat wandered up to us with its head down. We started to get a little nervous and decided to get off his trail.
We actually got really close to this guy. There are a few more goats in the background.
Shan is trying to show his confidence, but can tell he's ready to run for it if necessary.
Ed asked us if we wanted any mutton, but we all declined his generous offer.
Just shortly after passing the goat, I was bringing up the rear behind Shan and decided to make a stampeding noise to see if I could scare anyone. Shan heard the noise and bolted off the trail before realizing it was a joke. Haha. It took me a while to stop laughing and to catch my breath.
Still fairly steep. We are over 12,000 feet here.
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Closer to 13,000 feet now.
Self portait.
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Unfortunately that's not the peak.
But this one is!
Summit! 13,161 feet. We made fairly good time--reaching the summit at around noon.
View from the top.
Ed decided to be our temporary lighting rod. There was a little bit of thunder from a storm approaching the peak so we didn't stay long.
Another view from the top. This one looks down on the Taos Ski Valley.
Still at the top.
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The best picture in the album.
A little mountain stream that was near a campsite further up the mountain. If we had more daylight when we started, this would have been a great place to stay.
Back at our campsite just a few miles away from the parking lot.
16 miles roundtrip. We hiked approximately 2 miles on the first day and 14 miles on the second.
Elevation profile.
