Pecos Wilderness Pg 4 | starmountainoutdoors

Section 1: Borrego Triangle Hikes

The Borrego Triangle is the most western and somewhat of the lowest elevation area of the wilderness. It holds some of the wildest and least used sections of the Pecos. It is an area of many creeks and drainages including the Rio Medio, Rio Frijoles, and the Rio Molina. You may find trout in a few of these streams. There are three hikes I will describe for this section. They each start from a different trailhead.

Hike #1 - The Borrego Triangle Loop

Trailhead: #8 – The Borrego Mesa Trailhead.

Directions: From Santa Fe, take US highway 285 North. Follow 285 to Pojoaque. Go past the exit for Los Alamos and take a right turn onto State Highway 501 towards Nambe. Continue through Nambe and all the way through the one lane road in Cundiyo. A few miles past town look for Forest Service dirt road #306, the Borrego Mesa Road, on the right. Another option is to go through the village of Cordova on county road #440 to get to #306. Turn left here and drive up almost onto the top of Borrego Mesa. Just before the top, you will see a sign pointing to the right towards the Borrego Trailhead. Turn right here, and the parking area and trailhead sign is on your left almost a mile down the unimproved dirt road. I do not recommend this road for low clearance 2WD vehicles on this road in times of rain or mud, but that's fine because it is a short walk to the trailhead from county road #306.

Season: Middle of April - October

Difficulty: Extremely Hard

Distance: 30 Miles

Usage: Very Light

Trail Attributes: Solitude, Flora & Fauna, Views

Special Info: Stream crossings may be high and fast during spring runoff and thunderstorms. Use extreme caution when fording streams on this trail. Also, the trail is currently impassible between the Rio Nambe Trail (160) and the Capulin Trail (158) due to fallen logs from the Pacheco Fire burn scar. There is a bypass to this section. See trail description.

There are several loops that can be made from this trail or it can be done as a thru-hike on the Borrego Trail.

Be careful with fire especially in the lower elevation areas of the trail system in this area. Even when there is still snow just a little higher up the mountain, the low elevation areas can be very dry and prone to forest fire.

Trail Description: The first leg of the triangle heads west from the shotgun blasted kiosk at the time that I was there at the trailhead, and it runs parallel to the road. It follows a double track or old road at this point. The terrain is open and scrub oak. After about a quarter of a mile, you will see a sign that points to the left telling you that the Borrego trail #150 turns south and off the old road. Here the trail becomes single track and begins to descend downhill. After a mile of hiking, the trail enters a stand of Ponderosa Pine trees. There are some mountain mahogany scrub and oak scrub in this section too. Here you will pass the Pecos Wilderness boundary sign. Continue to follow the trail downhill towards the bottom of the Rio Medio Canyon. There are flat areas suitable for camping on both sides of the Rio Medio. You may have to go around a small rock outcrop on the northwest side of the stream/trail to get to the large flat that is visible from the trail as you were descending. However, there is an existing fire ring just west of the trail and south of the stream that may be your best bet. The stream crossing is at the confluence of the Rio Medio and the Rito Gallina. The Borrego Trail heads almost due south from the crossing and follows the Rito Gallina up a small canyon. After a mile you should reach a junction with the Rio Molino trail #227. Next, you will pass through some nice flat areas just before coming to a fence line. These flat areas contained signs of heavy use by wild turkeys for those of you who like to hunt them. There is a parcel of private land along the trail here on the left side of the fence, so please stay on the trail and respect the private property. The private parcel lasts for about a quarter of a mile. A half mile past that, you will come to the junction with the Sierra Mosca Trail (#156). The Borrego Trail continues to go south following the stream at a gradual incline on smooth trail. There are some nice patches of mixed forest in this area that include aspen trees. The fall colors through here were nice in mid-October. After about 2.7 miles, the trail will top out on a saddle where there is a trail intersection with the Agua Sarca Trail. However, the trail junction is signed “Rito Gallina” trail in place of Agua Sarca (Trail #228). From this intersection the Borrego Trail continues southeast downhill from the saddle towards the Auga Sarca. The creek crossing is only a quarter mile from the saddle. After the crossing, the trail traverses the hillside for approximately one mile. You will pass an old “Pecos Wilderness” sign that is on a tree facing the trail. It is obviously very old and dilapidated. It is nowhere near the wilderness boundary, and I have no idea why it is there. It may have some history behind it such as the wilderness boundary was moved and the sign never taken down, but I am only speculating. Anyway, the trail ends up on top of another saddle. From there, it heads south down a draw for a short distance before a few switchbacks down to the Rio Frijoles. Here, the trail turns right and merges with the Frijoles Canyon Trail for 0.2 miles. There is a sign that marks the creek crossing of the Borrego trail, and the water at this crossing is quite cold.

The Rio Frijoles is one of the most remote streams in the Pecos Wilderness. It is quite scenic, and it contains a healthy population of trout for those who like to fish small streams. I would suggest that this stream is the main destination on this loop hike. Hike up the creek a ways, find a good camping spot, and do some fishing while enjoying the solitude.

From the crossing, the trail continues south and follows the small side canyon that is called Canon de Oso. After about a mile of gradual to moderate uphill hiking you will reach another saddle. From the saddle, the trail begins to descend gradually through mixed forest. The trail follows the stream bottom of Canada Vaca. There are many flat areas with grand old ponderosa pines and groups of aspen trees. There are also a few grassy openings. The drainage is well named for you will most likely see some cows here too. If you do not know, vaca means “cow.” It takes a couple miles of hiking, but the trail eventually drops down to a flat area called Rancho Viejo. This is a parcel of private land with trail right of way through it. Please stay on the trails as much possible and respect private property values while passing through. That means no camping or campfires in this area. Please note that the trail shown on both maps that I use show the trail making a sharp jog to the left around the northeast property corner of the private parcel. I did not see this on the ground, and in fact it would be ridiculous to build the trail like that in place of going straight through the parcel. Anyway, when you get to the opening at the bottom of the hill, there is a large grassy opening. On the far side is a stand of Gambal Oak trees. Go straight through the opening and these trees staying to the left of the grassy area, and you will find the Rio Capulin first and secondly find the Rio Capulin Trail on the far side of the stream. Take a left on the Capulin Trail to continue this hike.

Now that you are heading northeast on the Capulin Trail, you are starting the second leg or side of the Borrego Traingle. The trail follows along the south side of the creek for a short distance before hitting a trail junction with the southern side of the Borrego Trail.

This is the closed portion of the Borrego Trail, and it should not be used due to downed logs according to the Santa Fe National Forest web page. If you want to continue hiking on the Borrego Trail, you will need to take the bypass. Follow the Capulin Trail downstream for almost two miles until you hit the Rio Nambe Trail. Go left on the Lower Rio Nambe Trail and follow it upstream for another couple of miles until you find the junction where you can continue south on the Borrego Trail. Please see the Borrego Trail thru hike section of this book for more information on that hike.

To continue the loop described in this section of the hike, keep heading past the junction and go through the crossing of the Rio Capulin right after that. The forested area lasts for another half of a mile. After that you will find yourself in an extremely hot and nasty burned over area of forest. The saving grace of this section is the beautiful aspen regeneration that has taken place. The trail continues for another three miles like this while climbing almost 2000 ft in elevation. I do not recommend attempting this trail in the summertime heat. Keep to the fringes of summer or spring and fall. I was there in mid-October and temperatures in the burned area were reaching 80 degrees. Also, good route-finding skills are essential for navigating through this area. There was some maintenance that had been completed the year I hiked this section, but this was limited to cut branches and some logs. There was no restored trail after the devastating fire that rampaged through this area. Eventually, you will make it to the top of another saddle that rises in elevation almost 2000 ft above Rancho Viejo. On the far side of this saddle you will enter green forest again. The slippery trail will shoot you strait down the hill for a short distance before you will come to the original dug and leveled trail on the far side of the saddle. From there the trail gradually traverses down to a stream crossing with the Rito Frijoles. On the opposite bank is an unsigned junction with the Redondo Peak Trail. From there, it is two tenths of a mile down to the Rio Frijoles again. After hopping across the stream on rocks, the trail heads straight through an opening to a fence line where the official trail junction signs are located.

In the future, I will not take the full loop, but I would follow the Rio Frijoles canyon trail from the Borrego Trail to this point. That will cut off around five miles, and it would be a way to avoid much of the burned over area. You could also explore the Rio Frijoles more and do some fishing if that is your thing.

From the fence line trail intersection, the trail continues to the right or northeast upstream along the Rio Frijoles. After about a half of a mile, you will reach a stream crossing where there is a beautiful camp with a fire ring on the righthand side of the trail and just south of the stream. The camp backs up to a stand of large aspen trees, and it was probably the most memorable campsite on the entire hike. Anyway, the trail continues to follow the Rio Frijoles upstream. Soon, you will reach a meadow complex labeled on the map as Panchuela West. This lovely area of meadows and streams lasts for almost two miles. Here, the trail is difficult to follow through the meadows. If you keep hiking upstream, the trail will reappear like magic before your eyes eventually. Towards the end of Panchuela West, there is a stream crossing with a large sign post up the hill a short distance. That is the junction with the Panchuela West Trail that connects with the Redondo Peak trail and heads over to Horsethief Meadow. The trail that you want continues upstream along the Rio Frijoles and runs into a fence line at the far end of an opening. The trail may split here. I went through the fence up to a cabin, but there may be another route closer to the creek. However, you will miss seeing the old cabin that was once a forest service workstation. The cabin is in extreme disrepair and would be dangerous to enter. Please be safe and keep your distance. The trail continues northeast from the cabin area and enters another burned over area. This is higher elevation and more scenic than the last, but the trail has had less maintenance and requires much stronger route-finding skills due to heavy forest fire damage. The best way to proceed is to follow the stream staying to the left of the round mountain at the head of the canyon. When you reach the saddle at the top, you will find a large meadow on your left-hand side. Go past the meadow keeping a little bit to the right and you will find the old trail including blazed trees. Here the route starts to head down the hill traversing the hillside on the left side of the drainage. This area is still devastated by fire. Watch out for widowmakers and downed logs. Eventually, the trail disappears in fireweed and more downed logs. To stay on course, you will need to drop down to the stream at the bottom of the drainage and follow that out to the Rio Medio trail. This is a physically exhausting process of route-finding and hopping over what I estimated to be a couple thousand logs. Take your time, and watch you step. There is no room for error out here as it would be extremely difficult to get you out this mess if you get injured. The canyon narrows into a small gorge near the end just before you enter green forest at the bottom of the canyon. I was hoping for relief from the difficulties of the route here, but I was incorrect. Just past the entrance to the gorge, there is about 200 yards of intense windthrow piled about head high. Take your time, and carefully pick your route through here. I had to remove my pack twice and push it through openings under the log jam and then climb over or crawl under to get through. Before you know it, you will find an area where a scout trail crew cut some branches and a few logs and flagged the trail. It will not be long from here before you come out to the Rio Medio Trail.

The Rio Medio Trail is the third leg of the Pecos Triangle Loop. You will turn left, and it is six miles to the Rio Medio Trailhead and a road walk of three miles back to the Borrego Trailhead. The first part of the Rio Medio Trail starts out on a flat trail in thick forest. You will pass a fence line where the side stream has washed down tons of gravel and changed channels so that it flows right up against the fence. Soon after that, you will reach the only crossing of the Rio Medio. There is a flat area that lasts for about a quarter of a mile past the crossing before the trail gradually gains elevation to traverse the southern aspect of the ridge above the canyon. This was an extremely hot section of trail, although there are plenty of shade trees. The trail continues to contour the slope as it pops in and out of little side canyons. There are a few streams in these side canyons that would be great places to refill your water reserves. After several mile of this, the trail finally approaches the stream again and goes down two short but steep and slippery switchbacks. There are numerous places to camp along this section of trail. The steam is nearby, and it is very flat for a few miles. The trail does head up over a little bluff for a short stretch before descending back down to the stream. Again, there are good places to camp here, especially across the river. After a short stretch along the stream, the trail will turn almost due north, and it will start to climb far above the stream. There are a few switchbacks here. Eventually, the trail rises above the forest and into the scrub oak where you will find some nice view. The trail will continue to climb and switchback until you find yourself at the top of a small rise looking down onto a forest road. That is where the Rio Medio Trailhead is located. Again, there is a three-mile road walk back to the other trailhead where you started the hike. It would be a good idea to hike with someone else on this trip that could shuttle you back to your vehicle.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/4mWLWtbwa_s

Side Trips:

1. Rio Frijoles Trail. Hiking west from the intersection of the Borrego & Rio Frijoles trail will give you 5 additional miles of hiking (one way). It may be beneficial for those searching for trout to explore the Rio Frijoles downstream. I did not have the chance to explore that trail the proceeds down to the forest boundary and a boy scout camp property.

2. Borrego Trail Thu-Hike. If you want to continue South on the Borrego Trail for a short thru-hike, then at the Capulin Trail, take a right turn and head Southwest through the small valley at Rancho Viejo. The trail is hard to find in spots through the grassy area but is easy to pick up again at the end. After Rancho Viejo, the trail follows the Rio Capulin through a small canyon of Ponderosa Pine before coming to an opening where the trail runs into the Rio Nambe Trail. There is a flat open area here that I used as a camp when I came through. There are ruins from an old car that reminds me that this is technically outside of the wilderness area. From there, go east up the Rio Nambe Trail as it follows the stream up the canyon. You will pass through an ugly area of flash flooding damage along the creek. It is washed out and full of downed logs. Soon, you will cross the creek onto a North aspect of the canyon where it is shadier. This does not last long, and you soon recross the Rio Nambe as you continue to follow it upstream. After one more stream crossing, you will come to a trail junction. Turn right at this junction and follow a side canyon uphill through a very old burn scar. Near the top or the hill, the trail switchbacks twice before you come to a road. Head strait downhill on the road until you reach a curve. Look between a log and a large ponderosa pine at the outside of the curve to find the trail again. There is no sign here! Next, the trail switchbacks down the hill several times until you reach an intersection with the Lower Rio En Medio Trail. The Rio En Medio Trail is closed to the left where it crosses into land owned by the Tesuque Pueblo called the Aspen Ranch. To the right (downhill) it is also closed due to the Medio Fire (at the time this book was written). Continue through the intersection to a crossing of the Rio Medio. The trail continues uphill and winds around to a short traverse overlooking the Aspen Ranch. It finally passes the corner of the ranch and reaches another intersection that has no signage. Take a left and it is a short jaunt downhill to the Aspen Ranch Road. The Aspen Ranch Trailhead is about 100 yards up the road to the right. You can arrange a pick-up there or continue down the road until the road crosses the Winsor Trail. Take a right on the Winsor Trail and follow it down a mile or two until it intersects with the Borrego Trail again near Big Tesuque Creek. Take a left onto the Borrego Trail and follow it up to the final trailhead just before Hyde State Park.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/HD25wm-jHQQ

Hike #2 – Rito Quemado Trail to Rio Molina Trail Loop

Trailhead: #7 – The Rio Molina Trailhead.

Directions: From Santa Fe, take US highway 285 North. Follow 285 to Pojoaque. Go past the exit for Los Alamos and take a right turn onto State Highway 501 towards Nambe. Continue through Nambe and all the way through the one lane road in Cundiyo. A few miles past town look for Forest Service dirt road #306 on the right. Turn here and drive up onto the top of Borrego Mesa. This is a fairly long road. You will keep going past the sign for the Borrego Mesa Trailhead and find yourself in an opening surrounded by fenced pasture with a large barn to your right. At the end of this fenced field there is a road that is not signed. Turn right here, but only drive into the tree line. If you do not have a 4WD vehicle find a place to park here. A very faint road continues down from the first curve inside the tree line until you see a trail sign. This is the trailhead. The sign was laying down due to rot at the base of the post when I was there last. If you did not know it was there, you would never find it. To the untrained eye, it just looks like a sign that has fallen down in the middle of the woods. I would not recommended this road for low clearance vehicles.

Season: Middle of April - October

Difficulty: Very Hard

Distance: 16.2 Miles

Usage: Very Light (Best Trail in the Pecos Wilderness to find solitude)

Trail Attributes: Solitude, Flora & Fauna

Special Info: Stream crossings may be high and fast during spring runoff and thunderstorms. Use extreme caution when fording streams on this trail.

The distance to the first trail junction is incorrect. It is more like four miles to the Rio Molino trail.

Trail description: The trail starts on the Rito Quemado Trail #157(even though it is called the Rio Molino Trailhead). Now, I know that the trail naming is confusing. I was confused at first too, but I have a theory that the trail was misnamed on the map once, and the name must have just stuck. The Rio Molina trail #227 is the trail that actually crosses the Rito Quemado. The Rito Quemado trail never goes to the Rito Quemado. It just parallels it. Anyway, follow trail #157 South from the sign in the middle of the woods downhill on what appears to be an old roadbed. It is one of the few trails that go downhill from the trailhead. You will see a blaze on a pine tree just above the trail from the sign. From there, the trail drops down into an intermittent drainage and follows that drainage for a while. After that, it traverses a sidehill up to the point of a spur ridge and then continues down the now hot and dry South facing slope. You will see some high desert species such as cactus, juniper, pinion pine and yucca though here. The trail soon crosses the wilderness boundary and continues downhill steeply towards the crossing of the Rio Medio. Be on the lookout for ticks from here up to the top of the next ridge after the stream crossing. This is the only area in the Pecos Wilderness where I have encountered ticks and in less than ½ mile, I had to flick off seven ticks when I was there last. Anyway, at about the 1 mile mark on the trail you will reach the crossing of the Rio Medio. This is a deep and swift crossing. It used to be better, but a tree recently fell across the stream in such a way that you need to cross a bit downstream from where the crossing used to be. When I was there the water was about to the top of my thighs, but it was not pulling me downstream, so it really was not too bad. You will need to use caution and make smart decisions regarding crossing this during runoff time or after thunderstorms. This is probably the most dangerous stream crossing that I have encountered in this entire wilderness area. It is the deepest and fastest anyway. Also, there is no water for about three and a half miles from this crossing. You will want to camel up here and fill a water bottle before continuing the hike. Finally, I have never seen any fish in the stream down here, so it is probably not the best place to drown a worm or drop a fly. After crossing the creek, the trail makes an almost immediate switchback and heads steeply up the hill. This next ¼ to ½ mile is probably one of the steepest sections of trail in this book. Stop often to rest and check for ticks. Soon, you will find yourself on the top of a ridge with nice little views in almost every direction. Make one more effort to remove any ticks here. The remainder of the hike seems safe from those blood-sucking little monsters. Follow the trail as it turns left and heads uphill along the top of the ridge. There is an old fire scarred forest that has been underburned a long time ago of old but small ponderosa pine trees with gamble oak in the understory. In places, you can see out into the Espanola Valley to your right. Keep heading up the ridge sometimes quite steeply and through switchbacks until you reach a small peak with your first good view of the top of Sierra Mosca from a small rocky outcrop. The trail continues downhill for a short section, and then proceeds uphill. Luckily, it is not as steep as it was earlier. The trail continues uphill then levels off several times from here. You will notice the forest slowly change as you increase in elevation. Soon, you will even see an aspen or two not far from the trail. Eventually, after about four miles total, you will see a cairn in the middle of a ridgetop saddle. Look for a large pine on your right. If there is a sign on it, then you have made it to the Rio Molino Trail. However, the sign is hard to see from the trail because it is placed on the opposite side of the tree. If you start to go downhill in the fir trees on an east slope down to the Rio Molino (about a quarter of a mile), then you have missed it. However, you would not be the first because I missed it the first time up this trail. Something else to look for is a large down log across the trail just past the rock cairn. Anyway, from here you can continue south up the Rio Molino Trail or make a right and head west. South will take you up to the top of Sierra Mosca. It is another three miles of sometimes very steep trail to reach the junction of the Sierra Mosca Trail. However, it does follow the creek, so there is water. There are not any good camp sites until just before you reach the Sierra Mosca Trail. For the purposes of this description, we will turn right onto the Rio Molina Trail and go past the tree with the sign on it. The trail follows a ridge and stays fairly level for a short distance. You will see a view through the trees up to Sierra Mosca from here. Then the trail proceeds downhill steeply towards the crossing of the Rito Quemado. There is a flat grassy area at the bottom along the creek. This would be a good option for camping, but there is no fire ring here. The trail crosses the small creek and then climbs steeply up the opposite slope to the top of a small ridge. It proceeds down the ridge shortly and then makes a sharp right on a faded trail down into a low spot or a gulch. The trail turns left here and follows the gulch downhill. However, the map that I was using showed it as staying up on a ridge. I have found that the trail is shown closer to how it truly is on the ground with the USGS maps better than any other maps. Anyway, this is where the trail gets funky. It is super faint, and there is lots of blow down. You will need to scout around and look for cut logs along the trail where clearing has taken place in the past. The trail eventually turns left and heads uphill into another gulch. Just past a group of downed trees the trail curves right up the side of the gulch and heads up to the top of the ridge again. It goes over a small hill and reaches a small grassy opening. It took me nearly a half of an hour to find the trail on the other side of this clearing. For one thing, there was on old flag hanging from a tree on the opposite side that is not in the direction in which the trail continued. Another reason was that there are just too many fallen logs in the area, and the trail was very faint to begin with. So, take some time to scout after crossing this opening. I found that the trail was starting to head in a more northerly direction. You will find a cut 6” or 7” log sticking up about 100 yards from the opening. I did lose the trail again a few times before coming to the top of a small hill where the trail became more evident. There, I even found a sign denoting trail 227. Here the trail remains fairly level with minor ups and downs for at least a mile. It goes through ponderosa pine forest that ranges in age from very young to very old. The pine forest seems like it will never end through here, but it is very pretty. Some of it even seems like you are walking through plantation, but it must be entirely natural regeneration. Anyway, soon you reach the end of the ridge and the trail descends towards a saddle where it bends to the left and heads steeply downhill. I must admit that I lost the trail on the way down and ended up following a game trail down to the Borrego Trail. It was more heavily used than the Rio Molino Trail. I did backtrack and found that the main trail followed an old roadbed of sorts down to the Junction with the Borrego. That is what I get for being in a hurry trying to outrun a thunderstorm. Anyway, near the junction there is a nice camp amongst the logs that the trail Rio Molina Trail winds around. When you get to the Borrego trail junction turn right and follow the trail downstream. It is about a mile to the Rio Medio crossing and another mile uphill through an old fire scar to the Borrego Trailhead. Turn right on Forest Road 306E and follow it to the Borrego Mesa Road (Forest Road 306) to get back to your vehicle at the Rio Molino Trailhead. It is a road walk of approximately one mile.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/nae2DTAgI1k

Hike #4 – Jose Vigil Lake & Dome Trail Loop

Trailhead: #6 – The Rio Medio Trailhead.

Directions: From Santa Fe, take US highway 285 North. Follow 285 to Pojoaque. Go past the exit for Los Alamos and take a right turn onto State Highway 501 towards Nambe. Continue through Nambe and all the way through the one lane road in Cundiyo. A few miles past town look for Forest Service dirt road #306 on the right. Turn here and drive up onto the top of Borrego Mesa. You will pass the sign for the Borrego Mesa Trailhead and find yourself in an opening with a large barn to your right. At the end of this fenced field there is a road that is not signed. Turn right here, but only drive into the tree line. If you do not have a 4WD vehicle find a place to park here. A very faint road continues down from the first curve inside the tree line until you see a trail sign. This is the trailhead. If you did not know it was there, you would never find it. To the untrained eye, it just looks like a sign in the middle of the woods. This road is not recommended for passenger vehicles.

Difficulty: Hard

Distance: 22.4 Miles

Season: Middle of April - October

Usage: Light

Trail Attributes: Solitude, Flora & Fauna

Special Info: Stream crossings may be high and fast during spring runoff and thunderstorms. Use extreme caution when fording streams on this trail.

Trail Description: Unavailable...I never got a chance to take this hike. If you have taken this hike and would like to submit a description then please contact me.