This is page two of the blog detailing our (Deb, Amanda, and myself) trip to the summit of Little Costilla Peak. Page One is here.
The drive from Raton, NM to the Valle Vidal is a good one, as it leads from the plains into the foothills, and then the Rocky Mountains themselves. It is only 84 miles from Sugarite Campground to McCrystal Creek Campground, but it is a very scenic drive. The campground sits at 8,000'. It wasn't busy at all, and we had a large area to ourselves. Today was hair washing day (we would go five days without showering), followed by the opening of a bottle of recently purchased wine from St. James, Missouri. We enjoyed a relaxed and beautiful evening, with views of Little Costillo Peak. Once it was dark, we enjoyed night sky views of unimaginable clarity. What a place to bring a 12" telescope!
Setting up camp at McCrystal Campground, Valle Widal. We stayed here for three nights, making for five camping nights in a row.
Campground down time.
We had three days and nights to spend at Valle Vidal. On our first full day we undertook a major hike, though with little to no elevation gain. This was our final prep hike before the big one. The hike was a loop of 11 miles, with about 750' of total elevation gain. We ran very low on water, and it was hot. Streams were not running, and cattle tanks were empty. Local birds were suffering, and no doubt other wildlife as well.
Our 11 mile hike, undertaken clockwise from 11 o'clock, our campground. The hike took in Ponil ruins, the remains of a small logging railroad town, as well as two cemeteries. It was hot and dry, even at 8,000' of elevation.
Deb stands in front of the remains of a cabin fireplace passed on today's hike, with Little Costillo Peak in the background. It's over 4,000' above us here, and was the ultimate goal of our journey.
We met a few friends on the hike.
The ruins of a cabin in Ponil, a ghost town encountered on our hike.
Ponil Creek scenery.
Another view of Little Costillo Peak, from near the conclusion to our hike. Ash Mountain lies in front of it, which Deb and I climbed the year before. The Wall, another mountain ridge, sits in front of Ash Mountain. In two days we would attempt the summit of Costillo Peak. We were thirsty and tired after our hike, and spent the afternoon at camp recovering. Deb and Amanda rescued a young raven that had fallen into the horse water trough at the campground. It was drowning when they pulled it out, and it went into shock afterwards. It was dried off with paper towels, put snugly into the emptied vertical wine box we had, and placed in the sunlight to recover. McCrystal Creek was flowing merrily despite the drought, and it was time to soak our tired feet. Amanda and I went first, while Deb stayed with the raven. When it was Deb's turn to soak, the raven decided that it was well enough to depart. It left the wine box, walking towards the campground fence (placed to keep out cattle). As Deb was returning from the creek it flew off, and we all got to witness a successful rescue!
Next day was a rest day, before the big climb. However, we took a road trip in Beorn, our VW Taureg, up towards the trailhead for the big hike. It was a relaxing day, and the weather was perfect, promising a successful climb next day. We left the main road, taking a very rough one that Beorn handled with no problem.
The 2nd and final group shot, with Little Costillo Peak in the background.
Seven cows and a Taureg. A zen moment for all. This would be the beginning of tomorrow's hike. We had to climb the background mountains and follow the ridge towards the big peak. Looking at today's weather, I wished we were setting out now.
Shuree Pond, not far from our trailhead. The pond was teaming with large fish. Colorado Rockies in background.
View from the pond up towards Ash Mountain. Last year this view tempted us to climb to the treeline, shown above. We would tower over this 11,000' mountain on our hike tomorrow!
A word about Chloe. On our return drive to our campsite we took the main (dirt) road. We stopped atop The Wall to gaze down at he 8,000' plain more than 2,000' beneath us, where our campsite was. Deb went to the rim to try for a phone signal, while Amanda and I walked north along The Wall, exploring. Not far from the road we came across a small, solitary grave, marked "Chloe--1945-46." While standing there a doe approached and allowed us to take her photo. Naturally we called her Chloe. It was a chilling moment, thinking of that little baby girl dying up here, and now resting all alone. Well, thankfully not all alone. The trip back to camp resumed soon afterwards, but I still sometimes think of Chloe.
At last it was time for the big one. We were up very early next morning, packing up our tents and gear, and eating breakfast as we drove back up The Wall, past Shuree Pond to the cattle pen we had visited yesterday. We parked against the huge corral and began our climb, starting out at 10,000' and aiming much higher.
Our big climb began at the corral (9935'). There was no trail until treeline, much later on. We headed north straight up the first mountain, following its ridge up to 11,000'. After walking the ridge we had to drop down a bit, before steeply climbing on to the main ridge. It was forested, and views were limited. But once up on the main ridge we were near treeline, and the panorama opened up with views in all directions. The day remained calm and sunny, the best possible scenario for our climb. Had the expected storms materialized, we would have had to turn back. There wasn't even a wind blowing up there! We soon crossed the 12,000' mark, a first for all of us. We passed two secondary peaks that we could have climbed instead if the weather had been turning on us, but we passed them by and were soon looking back down on them. All of the Valle Vidal began to open up before us, though we were still far from our goal. We were now looking down on last year's hike to Ash Mountain, one of the highest peaks we have ever climbed. There were several false summits on our climb today, but at last, leg weary, hearts pounding, and breathing rapidly, we began the final assault. Amanda was first up, Deb came next, and I was last. What a way to spend our wedding anniversary! We brought Amanda along just so she could take our photo at the top.
Phase One was to climb the forested ridge above the corral, where Beorn is parked. It was a very steep climb, with no trail.
We are now high atop the first ridge, looking south across Valle Vidal. Our height is about 11,000'.
As we got towards 12,000' the trees become small and scarce. Still a long way to go.
There are a few false summits along the way. One thinks that the final push is on, only to summit that mountain and then see another higher hill beyond.
Looking across to Big Costillo Peak, NM, higher than our mountain. The little version of Costillo was big enough for us today. We are still climbing at this point. Looking northwest.
Amanda heads up to the final summit, well ahead of us.
The weaker sex had to wait awhile before I finally chugged up top to take their photo. View is looking north into Colorado.
Our 2009 wedding anniversary photo! It was our 33rd.
Same view as above, without people blocking it. Needless to say, we were alone the entire hike.
Looking east to Elk Meadow, showing the foreground pass between segments of Ash Mountain. In the background, right, is a vast clearing with a peninsula, and a road to its right. Our campground was in the peninsula. Ponil Creek can be seen leading from the clearing into the background. We had hiked down the creek two days earlier.
The descent commences. We only spent about 20 minutes up top. It had taken a long time to get here, but we still had to get back to the vehicle and drive down to Taos, all before dark.
The descent was fun, more so than the ascent, though near the end knees were giving out and it felt good to reach bottom, so to speak. There was a feeling of almost flying, with so much open air surrounding us. Views were unlimited in all directions, and there was simply too much scenery to take in for one visit. Looking back on this hike after 12 years, I now would do it again. Of course we were completely exhausted that night in Taos, but we had real beds and a shower. We also enjoyed ale and vegan pizza at Outback, sitting outside under trees covered in fairy lights. but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's get down the mountain first.
Our descent back towards treeline. The rocky peak on left is over 12,000', and makes a good alternate if the weather turns bad.
The first tiny tree is about to greet us!
We are down from our hike and driving towards Taos, which sits at 7,000', our lowest altitude in 4 days. We spent a fun evening in Taos, which included Pueblo dancers and a bonfire sponsored by the hotel where we were staying.
We spent the next day on Taos Plaza, healing our wounds. I purchased a black on black pot from a gallery. We had lunch at a brewpub, then headed out for our final night of camping.
The chilies were ready, and looked rather spicy hot.
In the afternoon we drove from Taos west up to Hopewell Lake campground, for one final night of camping. US Highway 64 crosses the Rio Grande on a spectacular bridge. There is often an outdoor market here in the summer, and the bridge can be crossed on foot. Stay off if it's windy.
The final camping set up, Hopewell Lake, NM. This was our highest night of camping, at 9800', but by now we were used to the elevation.
Next day, one more small hike awaited. We were still stiff and burnt out from our big climb two days ago, and this was undertaken as not only a farewell hike, but one that might hopefully loosen us up a bit before our drive today to Colorado Springs. The hike took us to one of three Jawbone Mtn. summits. Deb and I climbed the east one a few years ago. Now just the north one, the highest, is left. today's hike took us to 10,586'.
Deb checks her heart rate as we climb Jawbone Mtn SW. It was a short but fun hike, helping to loosen up our tight leg muscles.
Summit view, looking north towards the highest of 3 Jawbone peaks.
Following our final hike we drove on to Colorado Springs. The gals flew out next morning on separate flights, Deb to Detroit and Amanda to Buffalo. Beorn and I began the epic 3-day journey home via Interstate highway. In many ways this turned out to be one of the best trips ever. All our hiking goals were achieved, the weather held, and the company was excellent. I'm ready to head off again tomorrow. If only....
Mapman Mike
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