Wheeler Peak, NM

May 25-28, 2018
Wheeler Peak, NM

What’s the plan for Memorial Day? Ike texted me and talked about making a plan with our friend Ethan since we haven’t caught up in far too long. Ethan suggested Wheeler Peak, New Mexico’s high point at 13,159’. We all made a plan to meet after work Friday and spend the weekend it the Taos Ski Valley area. As always, things change and the adventure begins far before the real plan comes to fruition.

Ike and Mike drove down from Loveland and we loaded up the car with all of our gear for the weekend. With four of us in the car, the fit was tight, but we made it work. By 6 pm we were headed south and on the same timeline as Ethan who was coming from Aspen. Just after crossing into New Mexico, a deer darted out in front of me and before I had a chance to get to the brakes, we had collided and the trailblazer was torn up. Major front end damage and engine knocking, we would need to leave it on the side of the road overnight, so we called Ethan to come get us. Within 15 minutes he was there and we were loading up his truck with gear for five. Finally arriving near the ski valley, we lucked out and found an open campsite, so we set up tents, had a few beers and called it a day.

Saturday was supposed to be the day we climbed Wheeler Peak, but instead it was spent dealing with the now dead trailblazer. Not wanting to deal with repairing the vehicle in New Mexico, Ethan drove us to the next town down and we grabbed a uhaul trailer for the trailblazer. Laura’s mother picked up my truck in Colorado and made the 4 hour drive to meet us. We loaded up the trailblazer, had a barbeque in the Dollar General parking lot and Laura and her mother took it home to Colorado leaving me and the guys to chill out and relax.

The next morning Laura drove back down and met up with us and off we went to climb the mountain we were all here for. We decided that we would make a loop out of our day, so we parked one truck at an upper trailhead 3 miles up the road and left one at the bottom of the road where we started hiking. Bull of the Woods trail is a very scenic and easy 7 mile hike to the 13,000’ summit. The views are amazing and experiencing the beauty of the area was great since I had never been there before.

Taking our time, we summited the mountain at 1 pm, spent an hour relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day and then started our hike out via the Williams Lake trail. Half way down the mountain, Ike got excited when we encountered a snow field and decided to make a snow angel. Taking pictures and laughing out loud, we were all having a blast. An hour later we reached Williams Lake at 11,000’ and while it is filled with snowmelt, Ethan, Ike and I all decided to jump in for a swim. We were only able to stay in the water for a minute or so before jumping out and welcoming the warm sunshine on our backs. We relaxed, dried off and headed toward the truck.

When we got to the truck, we cut up our customary cheese blocks and devoured two blocks as fast as I could cut them. Back at camp, we barbecued once again and relaxed the night away.

The next morning we visited some natural hot springs and swam in the Rio Grande River before all heading home. It is always an adventure with these guys, but these are the times when you really do find out who your friends are. Not one complaint about dealing with the damaged car, just an automatic willingness to help in any way possible. All relaxed and having fun no matter what, I couldn’t ask for anything more than to spend some time outdoors with an amazing woman and some rad dudes.