6 Days in the Pecos Wilderness

It’s been a year since I’ve been backpacking. A whole year. 😢

With the pandemic and being extremely busy at work, backpacking in 2020 seemed like a lost cause. Then my friend, Eric, texted a fully worked-out route in the Pecos Wilderness . All I needed to do was show up. After a bit of juggling, I managed to get the time off. Away I went!

Our route was a touch over 36 miles. Lots of high elevation ridgewalking, views, and alpine lakes. Perfect! In total, our trip was 6 days with a rest day in the middle. The pace was great for the shorter and cooler days at the end of September. Plenty of time to rest and soak in the views. And for Eric’s 9-year-old canine Daisy to hike with us.

The night before we started we camped at Jack’s Creek Campground. An excellent jumping-off point .5 miles from the trailhead. It had been two years since I saw Eric, but pulling into the campground his old familiar Tarptent was easy to spot amongst all the RV setups.

The first day began with a climb and leveled once we were up on the ridge. The ridge was mostly through active grazing land at the start with our first views. Then it changed to an aspen forest before dropping into the Pecos River valley. Right before the descent, there was a spectacular cliff viewpoint. This would make a great dry camp, but we pushed on a little further.

On day 2, we continued our hike up the Pecos River. The hiking was mostly through the forest. Pecos Falls served as a scenic spot for lunch. As we climbed higher along the Valdez Trail, the weather turned to drizzle with thunderstorms in the distance. Around dinner, there was a quick break in the weather allowing us to set up camp and shovel down some food before the next round.

The next morning we woke up to a magical (and extremely cold) frost inside and outside of our tents. We decided to break camp as fast as possible and high tail it to the ridgeline for breakfast in the sun. The rest of the day was entirely along the ridgeline with phenomenal panoramic views in every direction. There was a mix of trail and cross country travel, but it was easy to navigate. We ended the day at Truchas Lake, which we had all to ourselves.

The clear alpine lake was a perfect spot for a rest day. We spend the morning basking in the sun around the lake, reading and watching the world go by. In the afternoon, we explored the upper lake and boulder field. Chirping pikas and marmots were busy preparing for the nearing winter. The weather was stunningly warm for late September.

Day 5, back on the trail. Another sunny day almost entirely of ridgewalking and 360-degree views. We found a stunning spot in the sun and out of the wind for a 2+ hour siesta. Dropping off the ridge, we camped at Pecos Baldy Lake with views of East Pecos Baldy.

On day 6, we did a morning summit of East Pecos Baldy, about 1,000ft above the lake. Then back to camp for lunch. It’s another stunning late September day. The aspens' full yellow foliage is on display. We get to the car in the late afternoon, sip a post-hike beer, recap the trip, and part ways.

Overall I'd highly recommend this route. I enjoyed going counterclockwise to warm up my legs through the forested section and get the spectacular ridgewalking in the second half of the trip. However, either direction works. Best to tailor your trip to time the ridge walking with the clearest weather window for the views. At 36.5 miles you certainly could do it faster if you don’t have a full week. Many thanks to Eric for planning and getting me back out there. And to Daisy who was the best hiker in the group!

If you go: