Pecos Wilderness Area

Area/Range

Pecos Wilderness Area

Page Type: Area/Range

Location: New Mexico, United States, North America

Lat/Lon: 35.86902°N / 105.94666°W

Activities: Hiking, Mountaineering

Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Elevation: 13102 ft / 3993 m

Page By: Dan the Jones, Dustiano

Created/Edited: Dec 29, 2006 / Jul 8, 2007

Object ID: 255250

Hits: 2364

Page Score: 90.79% - 29 Votes

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Table of Contents

Introduction

In 1964 Congress designated nearly 200,000 acres of land near the Town of Pecos, New Mexico. Thus forming what is now called the Pecos Wilnerness Area. It wasn't until 16 years later that an additional 50,000 acres were added to the wilderness area. Thus the Pecos wilderness area is comprised of 223,667 wilderness acres.This is the second largest in the state of New Mexico, with Gila Wilderness being the largest. The southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains within the Pecos Wilderness are the southern end of the great Rocky Mountain chain whose northern end stretches to Alaska. The scenery varies from 100-foot-drop waterfalls and crumbled talus slopes to dramatic rock cliffs, towering peaks, and wildflower meadows best caught in July and August. The most dominant tree is the Engelmann Spruce but the area also consists of corkbark fir, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, white fir, limber pine, bristlecone pine, (the Pecos Wilderness is the southern limit of the long-lived bristlecone pine),and aspen pack the forest. Equally diverse is the wildlife, including elk, deer, bear, bighorn sheep and turkeys.To the west, steep walled canyons drain toward the Rio Grande. In contrast, to the east lies the relatively gentle upper Pecos River Valley, an area of broad flat mesas and grassy meadows. Steep walled canyons, long, broad mesa tops, heavily forested slopes, and rugged ridges with peaks above timberline characterize the Santa Fe Mountains of the Pecos Wilderness.

There are 15 lakes, and eight major streams that run for over 150 miles in total. Some of which sustains the native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout.The Rio Grande cutthroat trout has been reduced to approximately 176 populations found in tiny headwater streams, which are highly vulnerable to decimation by flood, drought or other environmental changes, and occupy less than 10% of the subspecies' historic range. Although it is legal to fish for the Rio Grande Cutthroat, anglers are generally asked to practice a catch and release program for this fish.

The general assumption is that there are three subgroups, the Santa Fe Baldy area, Truchas Peak area, and the Pecos area. All three groups, however, are still very large and contain other mountains that are not listed in SP yet. For practical reasons though we will subdivide the area into seperate groups based upon the 7.5 Minute USGS Topographic Map Index.

Aspen Basin
Santa Fe Baldy
Lake Peak
Penitente Peak

Truchas Peaks
North Truchas
Medio Truchas
Middle Truchas
South Truchas
Pecos Baldy
East Pecos Baldy

Jicarita
Jicarita Peak

Cowles
Chimayosos Peak
UN 12900
UN 12696 ("Sheepshead Peak)

The Mountains

The Pecos Wilderness area is primarily composed of the Sangre De Cristo mountain range. The mountain range is very large so this section is supposed to give you the information about the summits located in the Pecos Wilderness area, already posted on SP. They are in order of elevation from highest to lowest.

PICTURE

MOUNTAIN

ELEVATION

Truchas Peak (aka South Truchas Peak)

13,102

13,066

13,060

13,024

12,900

12,841

12,835

UN 12,696 "Sheepshead Peak"

12,696

12,622

12,529

12,500

12,409

12,249

10,212

Getting There

The Pecos Wilderness is located one hour north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It can be accessed through several towns; Espanola,
Pecos, and Santa Fe. There are fourteen trailheads listed by the Forest Sevice that grant access to the Pecos WIlderness, I have listed some of the most popular ones here.

Iron Gate Trailhead - From Santa Fe, head east on I-25 for about 10 miles. Exit Highway 50 and drive approximately 6 miles to the town of Pecos. In Pecos, turn left on Highway 63 and drive approximately 15 miles. Turn right on the dirt county road 223 which is shortly after passing the Mora Camping Area. Drive approximately 5 miles on a rough road to the Iron Gate Trailhead.

Las Trampas trailhead - This trailhead is accessed from NM 76 via FR 207. If you are coming from Santa Fe or Espanola, you can take the very scenic High Road to Taos, which passes through Chimayo and Truchas. Take the easy-to-miss left in Truchas to stay on 76, and follow the road a little over 8 mile to Las Trampas. About a mile past Las Trampas, make a right onto FR 207. From Taos, take NM 518 to Penasco, then NM 75 west to Rio Lucio, then NM 76 about 4.5 miles. Turn left onto FR 207.

Follow FR 207 through the picturesque community of El Valle to its end, approximately 8 miles.

FR 207 is a well-maintained dirt road that should pose no problems to passenger cars. Snow might be a problem, but Las Trampas is not a good place to go in heavy snow conditions in any case. The nearby Borrego Mesa and Rio Quemado trailheads are known for vandalism issues and problematic access (see here), but I have never heard of any such problems at Las Trampas, and the place generally feels safe. All of New Mexico has its share of scumbags, though, and it's probably wise not to leave valuables in your car.

Shortly before the trailhead and the end of the road, FR 639 branches off to the right. This road leads 1 mile or so to the trailhead for the San Leonardo lakes, which is a possible alternate approach to the peaks. FR 639 may be difficult in wet weather.

Santa Fe Peak area - To get here from Santa Fe, take HWY 285 N/St. Francis Dr. toward the center of town. As you near downtown, St. Francis intersects Paseo de Peralta. Don't turn here, but continue on a few blocks until St. Francis intersects Paseo de Peralta a second time (P. Peralta makes a loop). Turn right on Paseo de Peralta and follow it for a couple of blocks. Turn left on Bishop Lodge Road, which is immediately after the large, pink, moorish looking church. Turn right on to Artist Road/Hyde Park Road, which winds its way up the mountain and then takes you to the base of Santa Fe Ski Area. As you enter the parking area for the ski area, stay left where the road forks around a grove of trees. The trailhead is on your left about 100 yards past the fork in the road, near a small grey building housing the restrooms.

Safety

A wilderness area is defined as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain". However, wilderness visitors need to remember they are entering a rugged, natural landscape and must assume full responsibility for their own safety and well being.
Terrain may be rough and steep, and travel much more difficult then expected. Often trails are poorly marked and hard to follow especially after rain fall or during the winter months. Always carry plenty of food and water, extra clothing, and a map and compass. Some of the primary things to look out for are;

Lightning
Hypothermia
Altitude Sickness
Dehydration
Giardia
Fire Danger

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