Scrabble scrabble scrabble.
Every few minutes we hear some creature racing away. Glimpses of a deer, chipmunks. But mostly, just the forest floor quivering in their wake.
Hamilton Mesa Trail leads us into the Pecos Wilderness through high mountain meadows. Wildflowers pulse yellow and purple. The Pecos River burbles, always within sound if not sight. Then it’s there and we cross it.
From the trailhead, we saw deep into a valley blanketed with rich evergreens, rustling aspens.
No matter how far I go, or what I see, just to be here is enough, I told myself then.
We climb till I’m nearly climbed out. I push on, eager for mesa-top views. We reach a crossing at last and see…cars?! I exclaim in consternation, vow temporarily forgotten.
My research had indicated we’d pop out onto the mesa top, with views everywhere, after three or three and a half miles. We’d hiked three and a quarter miles, all the way to Iron Gate Campground, and we’re still deep in trees.
I plop down on a log. Two squirrels chase each other at high speed. I laugh till I realize one is charging down the log straight at me. It diverts only when I squeal.
Above, the highest and best expression of sky, clear as the peal of a bell.
As we descend back through the trees, ridges high above catch our eye.
Giant berries surround us. I’d been so focused on gaining the mesa top I hadn’t even noticed the berries before.
My husband touches one. “Feels like leather. Full of fiber and seeds. Probably poison.”
At mile 7.5, we’ll climb the final naked ridge to the trailhead in relentless midday heat, me cursing and praying, mostly in silence.
Every minute, that initial vow will remain true.
Whatever happens is as it should be, for I am in the Pecos.
Hike length: 8 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Trail traffic: just one other human and his two horses
Wildlife spotted/heard: deer, chipmunks, squirrels, butterflies, brown creepers, mountain chickadees, crows, bluejay, raven, red-breasted nuthatch, woodpecker
TIPS:
-The proprietress of our cabin painstakingly informed me about the best and worst restrooms on the road to Cowles. This is invaluable information and I am paying it forward. Iron Gate Campground: Just say no. Jack’s Creek Campground: Two thumbs up. I would go so far as to describe the restroom near the horse corral at Jack’s as pristine.
-I didn’t think of it at the time, but if I were climbing back up that ridge to the trailhead on a hot day again, I would stop to soak my feet and maybe my head in the Pecos River to stay cool.
Woman Seeks Elevation 