Videos from the trip.

15 pound base-weight for this trip. I'm only a few items away from UL and am really looking forward to it.





I decided I needed more insulation for the cold and Grant at Gossamer Gear let me drop by in-person to pick up my Thinlight on my way out of town. Thumbs up to the GG guys.

I was pumped for this trip and ready to hit a 12 hour drive.

Day 1

I got to the Jack's Creek Campground trailhead around 8AM and signed the log. It was just around freezing but the drive up the mountain was great.

I climbed a very STEEP straight up horse trail, which I later learned was almost a mile of switchbacks if I had taken the other hiker route.

I ran into a ton of cattle clogging up the trail but made it around them.







Plenty of water almost everywhere I was. Good news considering the pipes were frozen at the trailhead and I had no water to start out.





I headed up to Pecos Baldy Lake, passing a few hunters with pack horses and a Peak Bagger from my hometown.

I planned to camp at the lake, but I got altitude sickness so I headed down to 10,000 feet or so to camp.

Day 2

Since I had backtracked, I thought I would take a different trail up to Truchas Lakes. I climbed up to Beatty's Flats and had a wonderful hike up.

It was smooth sailing until I hit the trail to climb up to Truchas Lakes. I use the word trail loosely, it was very difficult to follow, very few cairns, a few tree stumps, no maintenance. I was hopping downed trees the entire way up the mountain.

Every meadow I approached was a gap in the trail with 12 horse tracks. Such a poor trail really pushed the envelope of my comfort level as I was off trail almost 1/3 of the time.

I made it to the top of the Santa Barbara Divide and the view was well worth it.





Right after I took this picture, 30 mph winds decided to blow my map off the Divide; trip over.

I headed back down halfway on a trail I knew led to my starting point and camped.

It got down to 15 degrees; I wore my beanie, hoody, fleece, and Golite Virga and I was toasty.

Day 3

I thought about going to the ranger station to try to get maps but decided after the drive and climb all the way back up it wouldn't be worth it.

I hiked out and still had an awesome trip.

Edited by strong806 on 10/12/2008 13:25:00 MDT.

Thanks for the report and pictures! Way to get out there, even with a sling! What happened?

My arm was paralyzed from the shoulder down when I was 17 years old.

If I am hiking up people are impressed I am hiking like I do, if am hiking down people think I am hiking out after an injury and had to sling myself with my advanced first aid kit. :)

Edited by strong806 on 10/12/2008 13:15:26 MDT.

Cool! You ought to go around to Red River, and hit the Wheeler Peak Wilderness next time.

That would be quite the kit! Maybe you should make up some grand story about a bear, a falling tree, maybe a cliff. :)

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Nice report. Really liked the video portion. Stupid question?: Where are the Peocs- what state? Sorry

It's a wilderness area North East of Santa Fe, New Mexico and parts of it are surrounded by the Santa Fe National Forrest.

Thanks!!