After our family hike to Big Arsenic Springs, I (at least) wanted to do some more hikes – preferably in the shady heights of the Carson National Forest. Unfortunately, the managers of that forest had decided to close it the next day to all activities – including hiking – due to the very high fire danger. There was already one big wildfire burning south of Taos, so they were just being proactive in not wanting to fight another human-caused conflagration. Still, the Carson covers much of northeastern New Mexico (and all of the area around Taos), so it’s closure pretty much ruled out any further hikes at altitude. We’d never experienced a whole forest closed due to fire danger. Deep, soul crushing, sigh.
But succumbing to despair is not part of our program, so after a day of yet more art appreciation (and some craft brews), The LovedOne and I settled on a short hike (4.4 miles round trip; 1,000 feet of elevation gain) to the forested heights of Guadalupe Mountain (South) in the still open Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. An old road took us from the trailhead to the saddle between Points 8722 and 8682 and from there a good trail took us first to the Guadalupe Saddle Overlook and then out to the Wild River Overlook (Point 8682). The views were good and the chance for one more stroll through Ponderosa pines was appreciated, so it was a good little hike with which to end our week in Taos and environs.
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
Leave a Reply