Pecos Wilderness Pg 6 | starmountainoutdoors

Section 3: North Side Hikes

The northern section of the Pecos Wilderness consists of lands managed by the Carson National Forest. The trailheads in this area include trailhead #1, The Serpent Lake Trailhead, Trailhead #2, The Rio Santa Barbara Trailhead, and Trailhead #3 the Las Trampas Trailhead.

Hike#10 – Rio Quemado Falls

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Trail Description: I have no information on this hike at this time.

Hike #10 - San Leonardo Lakes

Trailhead: San Leonardo

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: Day Hike to Overnight

Attributes: Scenic, Wildflowers, Wildlife

Seasons: June - October

Usage: Heavy

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Trail Description: The trail starts at a sharp bend in forest service road 639 approximately 1 mile or so from the river ford near the road junction with the El Valle Road that is also FS road 207. Road 639 is for high clearance or 4wd vehicles, and it should be avoided if you have a lower clearance passenger vehicle. If you do have a lower clearance vehicle, and you still want to hike the San Leonardo Trail, then you can park at the Trampas trailhead. A connector trail starts from the campsite near the creek where there is a guard rail at the south end of the campground. The connector trail is not well maintained (at least when I was there). Expect numerous deadfalls across the trail. Anyway, it follows the Rio San Leonardo up canyon until it reaches a metal and rock blockade that reads “No Vehicles” alongside FS 639. This blockade is about 100 yards down from the bend in the road where the San Leonardo Trail begins.

From the trailhead, the trail proceeds through open meadowlike fields in the forest. It goes over a “tank trap.” A large bump that keeps vehicles from driving up roads or trails. It looks like a water bar, but it is much larger. Then it passes through a metal barrier of posts that also reads “No Vehicles.” The next landmark is a fence with a large red gate through it. The gate had been knocked down by fallen trees when I was there. The trail continues up through occasional openings at a gradual incline for about a mile. The grade will begin to get steeper and steeper the further up the trail that you go. There are several stream crossings. There is an area where the trees are dying. There were some deadfalls in this area across the trail, but they had been cleared when I was there. From there, the trail follows the creek closely until you get to a spring that is the source of the creek. This is a high-volume spring, and it is a good place to get water. Above the spring, the trail continues to follow the raving steeply up the hill. At the top of the ravine, the trail flattens out for a quarter mile or so. At the end of this flat section is an old avalanche chute on your right side that come down to the trail. Here you go up a little rise that has an exceptionally large cairn on top. The trail bends right and starts to climb very steeply for a while here. The trail is very rocky too. Finally, after about three miles of hiking, the trail flattens out on top of the moraine the holds in the lakes. From here you can see the tops of the cliffs that rise above the lakes. Soon you have arrived at San Leonardo Lakes.

The small lake is a short distance from the trail on your left-hand side over a small rise. A good campsite exists on the Southwestern corner of this lake. It may be the only decent campsite in this basin for tenting. Up close to the large lake, the campsites are extremely rocky. A hammock would be the best choice to take up to these lakes if you want a good night’s sleep. Return the way you came. This hike is an out and back.

Video (Combines with Hike #11): https://youtu.be/Csh2I72UlMM

Hike #11 – Trampas Lakes & Hidden Lake

Trailhead: #3, Las Trampas Trailhead

Directions: From the Village of Truchas, NM, take NM 76 north for approximately 12 miles. The turnoff is a little way past the village of Trampas. Turn right on the El Valle road which is also Carson National Forest road 207. Follow this road all the way to the end or approximately 10.5 miles. The trailhead is at the end of the road.

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: Overnight to Multi day trip

Attributes: Very Scenic, Wildlife, Fishing, 12,000 ft peaks

Seasons: June - October

Usage: Heavy

Special Information: A loop hike to San Leonardo Lakes can be accomplished by taking a bushwhacking route over the ridge between hidden Lake and San Leonardo Lakes. However, it is very extremely steep and difficult. Expert navigation skills are required.

Trail Description: The trail starts on the east side of the trailhead and quickly goes up the hill from the campground & trailhead following a southeasterly direction. The trail is exceptionally smooth and well-engineered. The climb in elevation is gradual and extremely steady. You will pass through a genuinely nice forest of mixed conifers and occasionally some aspen. You will gradually get close to the Rio Trampas as you get closer to the two-mile mark. At about the two-mile mark you will pass at the bottom edge of a huge talus slope. Just before 2.5 miles you will cross the creek for the second time. At the far end of the crossing, look to the left for a use trail leading off into the aspen trees. There is a nice campsite here that is open, almost flat, it has good access to water, and it has a wonderful view of a large rock face above. This would be a wonderful place to make camp for those arriving late in the day or evening who want to get a jump on the remainder of the clime early the next morning. If you continue the main trail, you will see a couple of campsites to your right along the river. These are too close to the trail and the river, and they should be avoided if possible, according to leave no trace backcountry ethics. At around three miles, the trail curves south following the creek. Not far after turning generally south, there is an unsigned trail marked by cairns that turn left off the main trail. I have never taken it, but I think it is safe to assume that it is the trail that leads over the divide to the West Rio Santa Barbara Trail. Around this area, you are leaving the mixed forest and you are entering a classic Rocky Mountain Spruce-Fir forest. At about three and a half miles, you will pass a small talus slop to the left and walk through at least two old avalanche chutes. After that, the trail begins to switchback up the hill, but the trail is engineered well enough to maintain a steady grade. During the course of the switchbacks you will cross a narrow and active rockslide area. Look and listen for falling rocks in this area. You never know when there is an animal crossing it above you that can knock a rock loose. You will also see some beautiful cascades in the creek though the trees when the trail passes close enough. After the switchbacks, the trail moves close to the creek before crossing it. From the creek, it snakes uphill on rocky tread. Eventually it crosses a nicely constructed culvert and eventually you will reach the signpost for the hidden lake trail. Go right for hidden lake and left for Trampas Lakes.

Heading left for Trampas lakes, you immediately cross the outlet stream for the west lake. The trail curves around to the right for just a little bit and you find yourself at the first lake. There is a use trail the turns left from this point that takes you to lake #2. There are trout in both lakes if you would like to fish, but I found the fishing to be poor. It is my opinion that they are overfished. There are plenty of campsites around both lakes. In fact, they are extremely popular, and you shouldn’t expect to find solitude if you camp here. There is firewood here, but expect to carry it a long way, because the campsites are picked clean. If you do prefer a bit more solitude, then try Hidden Lake.

Turn right at the signpost and follow the Hidden Lake trail as it turns North. Soon, the forest will open up at a talus field below a huge rock outcrop. The trail turns and heads downhill at this point. At the bottom of the Talus field, it turns left again and follows along the bottom of the field. After this, it switchbacks down a couple of times to drop a little more altitude before making its final approach to the lake. Right at the terminus of the trail, there is a heavily used campsite. It is too close to the trail and the lake and in my opinion, and it should be avoided. Better camping exists around the lake on the other side. There is much less use on that side of the lake and there is plenty of firewood for those who like a campfire.

Hike #12 – Serpent Lake & Jicarita Peak

Trailhead: #1, The Serpent Lake Trailhead

Directions: From the Sipapu Ski Area, take NM 518 east. The road follows the river for approximately 10 miles. Here, at the end of a small valley take a right-hand turn onto forest road 161. Follow forest road 161 all the way to the end of the road which is about 5 miles. The trail starts on the west side of the trailhead near the sign.

Difficulty: Hard

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Time Required: Overnighter to multi day trip

Attributes: Very Scenic, View, Wildlife

Seasons: July - October

Usage: Heavy

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Trail Description: The trail starts on the west side of the parking area. You immediately cross the La Sierra Acequia on a flimsy board bridge. Right after that there is a signed trail junction where a trail branches sharply back to the right. The Serpent Lake Trail continues almost due west on a wide roadbed for almost a half mile. Then, after a gradual climb, you will reach another signed trail junction. Continue going left at this junction. The forest here is spruce mixed with aspen and is quite lovely. The trail continues gradually uphill following the Acequia for a while. Soon, you will reach another water crossing. Here there is some rocks and small poles to help you keep your feet dry. From this location the trail gets a bit steeper and rockier. You soon reach a steeper slope with a couple of switchbacks. Here, the Aspen trees disappear, and the forest becomes entirely Engelman Spruce. Then the trail bends southward and climbs straight up a moderate slope where the trail is rocky and braided. At the end of this stretch, the trail turns a bit more westerly again as it more gradually climbs through spruce forest. Eventually, you will reach the top of a small ridge where you will see tree cluttered views of the high alpine ridge where the “divide trail” is located. In approximately a quarter mile, you will find the sign for the trail leading down to Serpent Lake. The trail does not exist on maps, but I assure you that it is there. From the top of the ridge you may need to look for a couple of cairns to help you find the path that follows a small ravine down the steep hill. At the bottom of the hill, the trail crosses the outlet stream of Serpent Lake in a marshy, willowy meadow where there are steppingstones placed strategically to help people avoid getting muddy feet. Right after that you will reach the lake. There are camping spots in the trees just east of the Lake. Please make sure to camp 200 feet from the lake here. This is a heavily used area. Serpent Lake gets its name from the long strip of grass that runs north/south through the water. If you look at a satellite image of the lake, the strip of grass looks like a serpent. I did not see any fish swimming around the shallow black water of this lake.

Video: https://youtu.be/4KAyFUDLnCc

Hike #13 – West Fork of the Rio Santa Barbara

Trailhead: Santa Barbara Campground – Carson N.F.

Directions: This trailhead is just off the High Road to Taos. From Santa Fe, take highway 84/285 North through the town of Pojaque and turn right onto highway 503 towards Nambe. Go through Nambe and follow 503 until you get to the cutoff to Chimayo. This is county road 96. Follow this road through Chimayo. Turn right where it runs into State Highway 76. Follow highway 76 up to the town of Truchas. Here, the highway takes a sharp turn between two old buildings. Watch for this turn where the speed limit goes down to 25 mph. Continue North on highway 76 through Trampas. Turn right where the highway runs into highway 75. Follow this road into the town of Penasco. Where the highway takes a sharp left-hand curve, stay right onto state road 73. This next turn is hard to spot. Take a right onto the Santa Barbara Road. The sign is behind a tree (or a house or something if I remember right) which makes it hard to see. Turn left onto the Santa Barbara Road and follow it all the way to the end which is the Santa Barbara Campground and Trailhead. There is free parking back down the road a short distance, otherwise parking is $5.00 per day at the time of my hike.

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard

Distance: 12 Miles – Or combine with Skyline Trail and the Middle Fork (29 miles) or East fork (31 miles) for a loop hike.

Time Required: Overnighter or 3-4 days (if you make a loop hike out of it)

Attributes: Very Scenic, Fishing, Wildlife Viewing, 12,000 ft + peaks

Seasons: June - October

Usage: Heavy near trailhead – light past 5-6 miles in

Special Information: You can combine this trail with the Skyline Trail and the Middle Fork (29 miles) or East fork (31 miles) for a loop hike.

Trail Description: The trail heads up the hill across the road from the restrooms. The trail climbs uphill for approximately ¼ mile. At this point you have gone through a cattle gate, and you will pass a water tank for the campground. Here, the trail levels off and eventually passes closely to the campsites on the western edge of the campground. Soon you will reach the end of the campground where a trail to the backside of the camp connects with the main trail. Just past the campground, the Jicarita Creek trail branches off to the left. Your trail continues to the right and climbs up the canyon gradually. You will pass through some beautiful forest of aspen with a few conifers through here. There are also some small meadows to add to the beauty of the area. Next, you will pass by the wilderness boundary signs at about the 1.5-mile mark. As you continue up the trail, the canyon narrows and becomes rockier. Soon, cliffs appear on either side. After that, you will reach a large bridge over the river. It is a beautiful spot in a narrow canyon with rock outcrops all around. The trail continues to follow the river upstream through the canyon. About ¼ mile past the bridge there is a use trail leading off towards the river. I saw some tents pitched down below, so I know that there are some campsites down there. The trail continues to climb gradually to moderately in this section traversing uphill from the river. At the 2-mile mark you will come to the junction where the Middle Fork Trail diverges from the West Fork Trail. The West Fork Trail continues to the right. You will pass a couple of small meadows on the right-hand side of the trail. Each with spectacular backdrops of rugged granite mountainsides and beautiful forests of aspen around them. Soon after, you will come to another bridge. This is one of my favorite bridges in the wilderness. It was made by flattening two logs and using milled lumber for the railings. It was expertly constructed. What makes it fun is that it has a bit of a bounce to it when you cross. Just across the bridge, there is a genuinely nice campsite to the right-hand side of the trail. It is situated near the confluence between the west fork and the middle fork of the Rio Santa Barbara. A good place to do some fishing perhaps. Anyway, the west fork trail continues south through a few open areas until after about two more miles, it comes to a large meadow area. At the time I was there, it was inhabited by many cows. There were a few campsites that I saw from the trail close to the north end where you first enter the meadow area. I am sure there are more camps all around the meadow, I did not explore the entire area because it is almost a mile long. There are great views of the surrounding mountains from this meadow area. There is also a beaver pond on the west side of the meadow that is approximately halfway up the meadow complex. When you get to the south end of the meadow, you will go through a small group of trees and enter another small opening before the trail turns and heads to a creek crossing. This is the first without a bridge, however, someone made a pile of poles to help people cross without getting their feet wet. After the crossing, the trail turns south again and gradually climbs and traverses the slope to the west side of the river. The trail tread is very nice here. The path is a smooth decomposed granite with no large rocks. It is about as good as it gets. After about a mile and a half you will hit a set of nice long switchbacks to help you gain some elevation. You will get great glimpses of Chimayosos Peak here and there through this section. Soon, after another ½ mile of hiking, you will reach an opening on the left side of the trail. You will see a campsite just below the massive bulk of Chimayosos Peak rising above the headwaters of the river. If you go another half of a mile, you will need to pay very close attention to the right side of the trail for a very faint trail leading to No Fish Lake. I did replace the rock pile that marked the path because it was knocked down when I was there.

No Fish lake is a pretty little lake that is about a quarter mile off the trail. It has about two campsites. One is up high above the lake, and the other down close to the outlet stream. Both are nice places to camp. The only issue that I had with camping there is that the lake is in a little hole which restricted the views. Still, if you walk around the lake, you will still find a nice view of Chimayosos peak for evening photos.

From the cut-off to No Fish lake, the trail continues about a hundred yards up the hill until you reach another switchback. From the switchback, you can spot No Fish Lake to your right through the trees. If you get to this point, you know that you missed the little side trail to the lake. The trail continues up a few more long switchbacks from here. There is a tiny trickle of a steam that crosses the trail in this section, and a few campsites along the stream here if you prefer not to go to No Fish Lake. This would be a great place to camp if you want to explore the area or climb North Truchas Peak because you are just below the pass. The trail continues up to the timberline from here and emerges on a steep scree slope as the trail switchbacks to the top of the pass. At the top of the pass, there is a trail junction. If you go left, the trail will take you to the remainder of what is referred as the Santa Barbara Divide. To the south is the Pecos River drainage and to the north is the Rio Santa Barbara drainage. If you turn right, the trail will take you to Truchas Lakes.

Video: (hike #14 too) https://youtu.be/HKyyxM3Uf0w

Hike#14 – Middle Fork of the Rio Santa Barbara

Trailhead: Santa Barbara Campground – Carson N.F.

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard

Distance: 12 Miles

Time Required: Overnighter or 3-4 days (if you make a loop hike out of it)

Attributes: Very Scenic, Fishing, Wildlife Viewing, 12,000 ft + peaks

Seasons: June - October

Usage: Heavy near trailhead – light past 5-6 miles in

USGS Topo Maps: Jicarita Peak

Special Information:

Trail Description: The trail heads up the hill across the road from the restrooms. There is free parking back down the road a short distance, otherwise parking is $5.00 per day at the time of my hike. The trail climbs uphill for approximately ¼ mile. At this point you have gone through a cattle gate, and you will pass a water tank for the campground. Here, the trail levels off and eventually passes closely to the campsites on the western edge of the campground. Soon you will reach the end of the campground where a trail to the backside of the camp connects with the main trail. Just past the campground, the Jicarita Creek trail branches off to the left. Your trail continues to the right and climbs up the canyon gradually. You will pass through some beautiful forest of aspen with a few conifers through here. There are also some small meadows to add to the beauty of the area. Next, you will pass by the wilderness boundary signs at about the 1.5-mile mark. As you continue up the trail, the canyon narrows and becomes rockier. Soon, cliffs appear on either side. After that, you will reach a large bridge over the river. It is a beautiful spot in a narrow canyon with rock outcrops all around. The trail continues to follow the river upstream through the canyon. About ¼ mile past the bridge there is a use trail leading off towards the river. I saw some tents pitched down below, so I know that there are some campsites down there. The trail continues to climb gradually to moderately in this section traversing uphill from the river. At the 2-mile mark you will come to the junction where the Middle Fork Trail diverges from the West Fork Trail. Head left at a huge old Douglas Fir Tree and where the trail sign is located. The trail will take you south for a while before you hit a set of long switchbacks and start gaining elevation. Here, you also enter a humongous grove of aspen trees that will last for miles. Through this grove of aspen, the trail traverses the hillside far above the river. After approximately three miles the trail comes to a beautiful meadow opening with a nice view. Soon, you will reach another larger meadow with a trail junction. Turning left will take you up the East Fork Trail. Taking a right, you will stay on the Middle Fork Trail, and you will soon drop down and cross the East Fork of the Rio Santa Barbara. In a little over a mile, you will reach another stream crossing in a small meadow. Look for a trail with campsites to your left just before the meadow. There is also a small spring that crosses the trail just past the campsite trail. There are nice pools of water in the meadow, and I will assume that this would be a good place to try some fishing. The trail continues past the stream crossing and steadily climbs up the slope at a moderate grade. There are no good campsites through this stretch of trail all the way to the divide. This is mainly due to a spruce beetle infestation that has killed most of the trees. You will see a few meadows from the trail, but no spectacular vies through this section. Eventually, you will come to some large meadows to your left as you circle around the upper middle fork basin. After the meadows you will come to an opening where the trail switchbacks up the hill. The trail will fade away, but there are giant rock piles with a pole stuck in them to mark the route. At the top, there is a huge trail junction with lots of signs that have been worn away from the harsh weather at 12,000 ft. This is the end of the trail. If you go straight, you will end up on the Pecos Trail that takes you to Pecos Falls. A right turn will take you towards Truchas Lakes via the Skyline Trail. A left turn will take to the Skyline trail heading towards Cebola Peak. Also, it will take you to the Divide Trail which goes towards Jicarita Peak.

Hike#15 – East Fork of the Rio Santa Barbara

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Trail Description: No information at this time.

Hike#16 – The Divide Trail

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Trail Description: No information at this time.

Hike#17 – Walker Flats

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Trail Description: No information at this time. Trail & trailhead are most likely closed due to hermits peak fire. Check with the Pecos-Las Vegas district of the Santa Fe National Forest.