SAN PEDRO PARKS TRIP LOG
Location: San Pedro Parks Wilderness, New Mexico; Access from Cuba
Distance: 17 miles roundtrip with options for loop extension
Difficulty (1-9): 3
Local Knowledge:
1. Cuba NM, NM Rte. 126, Forest Road 70
2. Roads are not maintained in winter
3. Wet conditions in spring and summer rainy season
4. Maps, USGS, Nascimiento Peak,NM; San Pedro Parks.
Wilderness, Santa Fe National Forest.
I left immediately after work. It was
Casual day, and the day after Thanksgiving so I was already in jeans With a
quick stop to pick up Larry and a triple grande latte at Starbucks, we drive
the 90 miles to the San Pedro Parks Wilderness. Both of us were not quite
organized with Thanksgiving and work, so we wimped out and used my truck camper
Friday night. I've decided to name it Basecamp. That allowed us to get our
stuff together and get an early start. The night is crystal clear, and the
Milky Way is visible before the moon rises. The weather has been warm and the
night feels balmy even though the ground is frozen and spotted with snow.
Up with the sun, a quick breakfast, last
minute stuff and we start off at 8:30. It's 32F at dawn, but 40F by the time we
move out. My pack seems huge. I'm packed for winter with the four season tent,
winter bag and carrying the common gear. I haven't really done this in 15
years, so I'm glad the terrain is relatively gentle. The trailhead is 9,200 and
we will only reach 10,500. We quickly move into deep spruce and ponderosa pine
forests. There is spotty snow, but never more than a couple of inches. The
trail has alot of mud, but is no problem because it's frozen. We cross several
streams, but each is solid, we only worry about slipping.
We reach San Gregorio Lake quickly.
Maybe 10-12 acres. It also is frozen, situated in a golden meadow. Not a soul
to be seen, and we would see nobody until we returned to the trailhead the next
afternoon. We continue up beside a frozen creek. Many horses have been here
recently, chewing up the muddy, low areas in the trail. After the most
difficult climb of the day, not bad really, the forest are mostly spruce. We
drop into the broader plateau moving several times from dark spruce forest into
bright grassy and marshy meadows with outcropping of red granite and red chert.
Again, we are glad the ground is frozen. No wet feet today! The meadows
gradually become larger and coalesce, until the trail is mostly in the meadow,
skirting the forest. We see plenty of elk, deer and coyote (cow and horse!)
sign, but no movement. . Most of the meadows have broad areas of marsh which
are also frozen. I have flashbacks to Interior Alaska.
Halfway, I feel good, but at about 6
miles my leg start to tighten up and I find myself shifting and adjusting my
pack to relieve my shoulders. Did I really need that winter bag? A four season
tent? All those layers of clothing? But the day is glowing sunshine, must be in
the upper 40's or fifties. We reach a monstrous branching meadow, that reaches
in all directions, bounded by spruce forest. Not a soul to be seen. We see a
small sign in the distance and go to investigate. In this field, a wooden sign
the size of your hands together-"San Pedro Parks".
We're here, 8.5 miles behind us by
2:00. We see a good campsite, across the meadow, half a mile or so and dump our
packs, eat a quick lunch, hang our food and set out to find the San Pedro
Peaks.
After crossing several knobby hills,
we reach the one which barely rises above the others. Atop it's granite
boulders is a rock cairn. This is it San Pedro Peak, 10, 500 feet or so, barely
500 feet above the meadows. But we can see Tierra Amarilla to the north, the
Jemez to the east and farther the Truchas and Latir Peaks. We can see where the
Rio Grande Gorge should be. We are looking at a good part of northern New
Mexico. The light is getting low on the horizon and we haven't set up camp so
we head back the mile and a half to camp.
We make it in plenty of time the check
out the San Pedro Cabin, a burnt ruin with only the chert foundation and
chimney standing. The iron beds, wood burning stove/water heater and assorted
rusting household goods are lying on the dirt basement floor. Later we discover
the corral and well/spring a couple of hundred yards away, in another small
meadow. The spring is protected from by a corral fence, rock wall and metal
cover. "Cool, cool, water..." It's only a few hundred yards from our
camp. We guess it must date to the 30's or 40's.
The sun disappears as we get dinner
together and set up the tent. The temperature drops too. We soon have on all of
our layers, including down jacket and are comfortable. By the time I head for
the tent that night there is already frost on it. We sit and talk, drink tea
and cocoa, eat dehydrated enchiladas and tortillas (hey, this is NM!) and Larry
tells me of his many expeditions, growing up and with his own wife and kids.
His dad was a founding member of REI. His son climbed his first 14' at age
seven. He's climbed, backcountry skied and hiked in BC, the Sierra's, Cascades
and in South America. Larry is also a geologist and expounds on the
surroundings. We turn in and I'm glad I have my winter bag. Things are pretty
frosty by morning. I'm a little chilly in my bag that kept me warm at -20F in
Alaska.
I wake up as the sun rises over the
trees, reflecting off the snow and the frost. I spot the only wildlife we see,
a couple of coyotes, trotting towards the trees in the distance. I'm walking
like a greenhorn. I move stiffly the couple of hundred yards to the spring to
get water and loosen up. It's cold and sunny, but within an hour we are down to
long sleeve shirts. We pack up and move out, me stiffly at first, but we make
good time, comfortably, back to the trailhead. Another bright, unseasonably
warm day. As we near the trailhead we see prints in the snow, looks like a
family for a hike, but see no one until we get to the trailhead. A pickup goes
by with hunters sitting in back. We see a couple of families out cutting
Christmas trees. I'm stiff and sore, but no worse for the wear.