Dispatch #27

Hamiltons Cross-Country Adventure 2010

Dispatches

Aug 05

Published at 23:54

Taos Ski Valley is very different than Telluride. It is a barebones
ski resort with little interest in summer activities. As pictured, we
camped right off the parking lot for two nights and it was free!
Unfortunately, we didn't totally escape the Colorado rains as hoped.
Our 20 year old tent (that had held up so well) sprung multiple leaks
when the skies opened up at 10pm. While Chris was content to sleep
with the drips, Caroline devised a plan to put the fly from our
backpacking tent on top of the ineffective one. Picture us running
around the pitch black night with our skivvies on, rain pouring, as we
try to stretch a 2nd fly over a wet tent. Not a pretty sight! On top
of that, Chris did not bother to put in his contacts… think tired,
wet, blind mole!

In the end, the mole and his princess slept well that night. No more
drips. The next morning, we woke up early and hiked up towards Mount
Wheeler. At 13,000+ feet, Wheeler is the tallest mountain in New
Mexico. A 16-mile roundtrip hike will take you from the ski valley
floor to the summit. We headed out at 7am, but were halted short of
the summit by dark clouds and thunder at around 11am. The hike took
us through some beautiful woods, to vistas overlooking the Red River
Canyon, past wildflowers, and above the tree line where Marmots make
their homes. It was a tremendous hike that we realized could very
well be our last in the West!

From Taos, it was on to Santa Fe for Green Chiles and the culture of
Canyon Road!

Name: Taos, New Mexico
Elevation: +0 m
Latitude: 36° 23’ 38” North
Longitude: 105° 34’ 36” West