Commemorate 9/11 by Hiking
Wheeler Peak New
Mexico, 9/14/02
(Photo Links at
bottom of page)
After pushing the idea on thebackpacker.com, backpacker.com, OAN and outdoorsclub.org, two other people were able to join up. Stumped was interested all along. He lives nearby, but we had never met. Then there was toejam, who decided to come at the last minute. He had to drive overnight on Friday to get to the trailhead, and wouldn’t get started till Saturday morning.
Stumped came by my place, and I drove, but he probably soon regretted that decision. I was too lazy, too tired to get gas the night before and we were well past the Pueblo gas stations before I realized that I was running on empty. After a nervous several minutes we made it to Santa Fe on fumes. Whew. We also made a pit stop in Pojoaque, where I happened on a stack of the Albuquerque Journal. Although it was Friday, these were from Wednesday, 9/11 and caught my eye. The cover page was a list of all those killed and presumed dead on 9/11. I grabbed that. I knew exactly what to do with it. They even gave it to me for free, as it was an old paper. It went into my backpack next to the US flag I had packed.
As we left Taos, a huge thunderstorm was developing to the east of the Rio Grande Gorge, and drifting towards the mountains, heading exactly where we were headed. By the time we reached Red River at noon, it was raining and dropped to 47 F. Our last meal at the Old Tymer Cafe was hearty, enchiladas for me and a green chili hamburger for Stumped. It was still raining when we headed for the trail, and 44 F by the time we got to the parking spot, just outside of Red River, near the Gauging Station at the junction of the East and Middle Forks of the Red River. That left us two mile hiking up a mountain resort subdivision to the trailhead, but put us in good position to complete our loop. We hit the trail at about 1245.
The rain continued intermittently through the afternoon, so we always had our rain gear handy, but the hiking was pleasant. The trail parallels the East Fork, gently climbing from about 9,800 ft. It intersects the Sawmill Creek Trail and the Elizabethtown Ditch, a ditch built in 1868 to carry water to a mining operation more than 41 miles away. By late afternoon we decided to call it a day and made camp near the river, where the trail crossed, then departed from the river course to climb towards Lost and Horseshoe Lakes. This was about 10,400. We had hoped to make it to the intersection with Trail 91 (Lost Lake Trail), but it was not meant to be. After dinner it was damp and cool, so we turned in early.
Through the night, I would open my tent fly and see brilliant stars, fall asleep only to be awakened by rain, close the fly, the rain would stop, open it, close it, open it. The next morning I could see rain on the fly before getting out of the tent, and decided to mop it up before packing the tent. Surprise! The rain had turned to ice. The lowest temp Stumped got during the night was 30 F. In spite of the stormy night, the morning dawned clear and sunny. I packed while I heated water and ate breakfast; Stumped was ready about the same time.
The trail now headed west and began to climb from our camp at 10,400, two miles or so to the intersection of the trails at 11,600, to Horseshoe Lake just under 12,000 where we planned to dump our packs and climb to the summit of Wheeler Peak at 13,161. As the morning grew late, Stumped became concerned that his pace would prevent us from summiting Wheeler, and that we might miss Toejam. He sent me ahead with a plan to meet up later. I would drop my pack and carry on with the detachable fanny pack when I saw a suitable camping spot. He would either meet me there, or if he had to stop sooner, I would backtrack to find him.
Not long after separating, when I was getting close to the train intersection I ran into a couple of sheep hunters. They asked if I was with somebody. Somewhat puzzled I explained that I had somebody following behind, and that we were supposed to meet up with somebody ahead. They laughed and said they had run into a guy called “Toejam” who was looking for “Pacman” and “Stump”. I laughed and said that’s the guy. He was just ahead of me. They also described the blizzard they had weathered on Wheeler Peak the night before, even some snow accumulating.
On to the trail intersection, no Toejam, no camping site. On to Horseshoe Lake with no Toejam, too steep for camping. The best spot was back where the hunters were camped, a spot recommended on the Wilderness Map.
As I made the final climb up to Horseshoe Lake I saw a potential camp spot, but it was dry and I knew Stumped had a preference for being near water. I decided to continue to the lake and see if there was something closer. It didn’t look promising, and the lake was at timberline, the wind was picking up and it was very blustery. I was about to turn around and drop my pack, when I saw somebody sitting by the lake, pulling up wind pant. I recognized him from the pictures-Toejam!
We greeted each other enthusiastically and decided to drop back down to the trees, hang our food, cover our stuff and climb the peak. The skies were starting to cloud up and we didn’t want to delay. Back to Horseshoe Lake we climbed, and began the climb from the lake to Wheeler Peak. There are no trees above the lake; the trail first climbs to a ridge. About half way up the ridge we hear a distant voice calling my name. It is stumped, in the last trees, looking up at us. Thumbs up, up we go.
The trail reached the ridge, we were doing great. The wind really picked up, though, probably 30 mph or so and the clouds are getting lower. Every once in a while we see a snowflake. Once reaching the ridge, the trail drops slightly off the back of the ridge, making a long traverse before climbing the ridge between Simpson Peak and Wheeler Peak. We were a little disappointed, the first ridgeline would have been much more direct, but we continue on with great views across the valley towards Simpson Peak, Old Mike Peak and Red Dome. The trail then climbed to the final ridge, then making a final steep climb to Wheeler Peak. This is the only place where I get a little winded and once a little light headed, but that soon passed. We were on top.
It was cold and very windy with some spitting snow. I pulled on my rain pants for wind protection and got to work connecting my trekking poles, and erecting the flag I had packed from home. It kept slipping up in the wind, and slipping down when the wind slacked, but a little of Toejam’s duct tape did the trick. I also got out the newspaper list of the 9/11 casualties and placed it in the registry cache.
After eating lunch, taking pictures and watching a few people come and go from the Mount Walter route; we headed down in strengthening wind and snow showers. This time we took the direct route rather than sticking to the trail, across the rocky slopes and alpine tundra, dropping down to the lake, passing a jogger in shorts, shirt and fleece vest heading up! On we went down to the trees where we found Stumped shivering and tired of waiting for us. He was about to take off to make a camp when he saw us descending.
Backtracking down Lost Lake Trail in the snow showers, we find the sheep hunters are gone and occupy the campsite. That night was a good one for a campfire! Toejam and I had stove problems, but finally got them going and fed ourselves. Mine just wanted a field cleaning and his needed pump maintenance. Stumped laughed at us with his alcohol Pepsi Can stove. Getting cold, he went to his sleeping bag. Toejam and I sat up and talked, staring into the fire. Soon fatigue overcame us, too.
The next morning dawned clear and cold, but the sun was warm. Breakfast, packing up and we parted ways with Toejam. He had a couple of days and planned on climbing Wheeler again, following the ridgeline from Simpson Peak to Taos Cone and to Sawmill Park, before returning via the East Fork Trail. It was a blast meeting up with him like that. He’s an easygoing and congenial guy.
Stumped and I headed out on the Lost Lake Trail, sitting by the lake in the sun for a few minutes, following the trail four miles to a road, then two miles or so down the primitive road to the car. Only the last mile or so of trail was a fast steep descent. The entire day was sunny and crystal clear, the perfect New Mexico day. The aspens glowed in the sunlight and you could see forever.
The trip was a great success. I met two new people to hike with and both great trail partners. The loop we did was an unbelievably well laid out trail with excellent grade and terrific views. My body did well, my gear (including the kitchen sink, according to Stumped) performed well. Only my stove gave me problems. The old Whisperlite just needed maintenance after several years of use. We had some weather to deal with, but it didn’t phase us. I made the summit of Wheeler Peak and flew the flag.
