Upon learning work would send me to New Mexico, the first thing I searched was for the tallest peak. It's
Wheelers Peak, towering 13,161feet, it boasts a higher elevation than Borah, Idaho's home jewel. Upon arriving in Taos, NM, I was thoroughly disappointed to find that the week before my arrival had dumped from 6-10 inches of snow on my destination.
Deterred by a lack of proper climbing gear, I hit a dandy of a trail in the vicinity, Yerba Canyon trail. Nine miles round trip, with about 1,000 feet of elevation gain per mile. To prepare, I duct-taped my recently lost toenail, pulled on my jacket and camelback, and hit the trail early.
The first mile included several stream crossings- except the little stream had outgrown its banks and swelled with May snowmelt. Several stream-crossings turned into stream-jumpings and stream-luchings. At near 10,500 ft, snow was tickling the ground, and by 11,500 I was into 3-4 inches of snow with my measly running shoes. With the incoming fog and slight alpine rains, I was forced to heed safety and turn back just a half mile from the top. Conquering both Yerba and Wheeler have raised substantially on my bucket list. Just wait...
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| I lost my toenail in an accident earlier during the weak, and left it to handy-dandy duct tape to save the day. |
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| The trail I'd just traversed, and would turn back around and speed down to avoid the rain. |
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| Freezing on the trail |
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| A mini-hike on a different trail the previous day. |
1 comment:
Way cool. Good thing it was pink duct tape. How did you get the picture of you jumping? You are so ambitious Leesy! Love you!!
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