Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Tue Apr 23, 2019 3:13 pm

One of my closest friends and I do a hiking, camping, road-tripping adventure every summer.

In the past we've done Canadian Rockies, Pacific NW, Southern Alaska, and a trip from Nevada up to Montana.

This year we're thinking about going from New Mexico up into Colorado. We'll probably fly into El Paso and make our first stop at White Sands NP. Eventually we'd like to end up in Rocky Mountain NP.

Curious if anyone has thoughts of can't miss spots along the way. We're especially interested in outdoorsy activities without too much crowd. So great places to hike/camp/etc.

Snork
Herd Member
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 1:06 am

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Snork » Tue Apr 23, 2019 5:26 pm

I think the person you most need to talk to is bascar. She will know that area like the back of her hand. Is bascar here?

Koolkat
500 post plus club
Posts: 691
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 2:15 am
Location: Cascade foothills

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Koolkat » Tue Apr 23, 2019 5:59 pm

I lived in Durango/4 corners back in the 70's when I first left the nest. Chaco Canyon (between Farmington/Santa Fe) is highly recommended as far as ruins are concerned. Back then, it was quite a few miles of dirt road to get there and not crowded. That has changed. It's 120 miles from Durango to Bluff, Utah, if you would be interested in Grand Gulch. These are desert destinations, but spectacular. Also there is a cog rail train line from Durango to Telluride. There is a trail head on the east side of the highway between those 2 towns (I believe the train stops there) that will take you up into some awesome country. If I remember correctly, it's about 8 miles to get to the pass up there. There's another trailhead in the vicinity the highway pass that will get you up into the backcountry, I can do a little goggling to pull up specific names if you're interested. What kind of shape are you in? Hiking at elevation?
I didn't get into mountaineering until moving to Seattle, but did do some hiking there.

Durango is only about 3 hours from Canyonlands (I use to go there to camp and see no one, times have changed), Arches and other spectacular destinations, but they are a trip in and of themselves.

https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm

https://www.backpacker.com/trips/canyon ... rand-gulch

Josette
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1360
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 3:53 pm
Location: NJ

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Josette » Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:56 pm

I personally do not have experience except visiting Santa Fe NM. We did the short hike at Bandelier to view the cliff dwellings.
https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

However, DH did the Durango cog train loop with his brothers some years ago. He still raves how awesome that trip was and brought back gorgeous photos of Durango and Silverton. I would pursue what Koolkat described in a heart beat. It's on my bucket list.

Srhorselady
Herd Member
Posts: 488
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 9:55 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Srhorselady » Tue Apr 23, 2019 7:26 pm

If you can stop in Ruidoso NM (not far from White Sands) that is very pretty country. Also I was only familiar with thoroughbred racing, well quarterhorse racing can be very exciting! Mesa Verde National Park is definitely worth the trip. I also second/third the Silverton Railroad trip. Some of the most beautiful scenery. On a future trip go to Utah. Zion, Bryce, and the other National Parks are spectacular. Have a wonderful trip!

tlkidding
Herd Member
Posts: 152
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 5:41 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby tlkidding » Tue Apr 23, 2019 8:14 pm

If you do get to Rocky Mountain National Park, go to the West Side/Grand Lake and not Estes. It's much quieter and we never saw another person hiking more than a few miles from a trailhead. We did several 7-10 mile out and back hikes and did the Big Meadow loop backwards. At the end of the day, we'd soak our feet and legs in Grand Lake with a beer in hand. I went June last year but a few of the higher elevation hikes we wanted to do were still under snow and we couldn't find the trail, so we're going back in August this year.

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:05 am

Thank you, all! This has been super helpful already. Lots of ideas of places to look into!

Koolkat wrote: What kind of shape are you in? Hiking at elevation?
I didn't get into mountaineering until moving to Seattle, but did do some hiking there.

Durango is only about 3 hours from Canyonlands (I use to go there to camp and see no one, times have changed), Arches and other spectacular destinations, but they are a trip in and of themselves.



We have two weeks total, so we have time for worthy detors and spending time there--the goal is really to explore and see what's wonderful. Though we have both been to Arches before. My friend and I are both pretty avid hikers. But I live at sea level, so elevation does take me a day or two to adjust. I've hiked in pretty substantial altitude (in Peru was probably the highest), but it does of course change what I can take on.

tlkidding wrote:If you do get to Rocky Mountain National Park, go to the West Side/Grand Lake and not Estes. It's much quieter and we never saw another person hiking more than a few miles from a trailhead. We did several 7-10 mile out and back hikes and did the Big Meadow loop backwards. At the end of the day, we'd soak our feet and legs in Grand Lake with a beer in hand. I went June last year but a few of the higher elevation hikes we wanted to do were still under snow and we couldn't find the trail, so we're going back in August this year.


This is very helpful, tlkidding! We definitely want to do RMNP but were a bit worried about how crowded it's rumored to be. We'll definitely plan to go to the west side of the park!

User avatar
StraightForward
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 3103
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby StraightForward » Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:30 am

If you can make a detour to Carlsbad Caverns (you can actually go from El Paso, through Carlsbad, then over Ruidoso to White Sands), it is worth it. There is a side tour to a smaller cavern that is less developed, and if you get to see the bats leaving the cavern at night, that is incredible (thousands and thousands of Mexican free tail bats).
Keep calm and canter on.

Canyon
500 post plus club
Posts: 650
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:29 pm
Location: W CO

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Canyon » Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:59 am

The Durango area and the San Juan Mountains are beautiful; the Durango to Silverton narrow gauge railroad is definitely worth experiencing. Be aware that statewide, Colorado had major snowpack this winter (thank God!); don't expect to hike in the high country early in the summer. See this graph for the mountains in SW Colorado https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/st ... sjrb19.gif Also, some areas had bad fires (the "416 fire" in the Durango area) last summer, so consider that in your planning. I am very tired now but will come up with some suggestions later.

Kelo
Herd Member
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:42 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Kelo » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:08 pm

Carlsbad is down by El Paso, might be worth adding to the list.

Ruidoso is worth stopping for, about 2 hrs from White Sands, is a neat little town, they start racing May 10 and go through Labor Day and have some of the best QH racing in the world there. It has some good hiking around there as well (there's a neat fireman's watch tower on the north side of RUI that you can hike up to and see about half of that mountain range from), and if you do stop, you have to get pics with the giant horse sculptures ("Free Spirits at Noisy Waters").

Then you can drive up to Albuquerque/Santa Fe, I don't know a whole lot about the hiking in that area but lots to see if you just wanta be a tourist for a few days. If you do stop in ALB, you gotta eat at Mr. Powdrell's BBQ, it's the best and I live in TX! There's a NATRC ride at Navajo Lake State Park (which would be on the way from ALB to CO), I've never gone myself but the photos look real pretty.

I don't really do major hiking so I can't help with all those. I guess Garden of the Gods in CO Springs is super pretty, Pikes Peak is close to there, too. And I highly recommend Grand Lake up by Rocky Mtn National Park. It's just a lovely town and has access to RMNP.

Josette
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1360
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 3:53 pm
Location: NJ

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Josette » Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:17 pm

I forgot to mention the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National monument located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Easy half day hike.

https://www.newmexico.org/listing/kasha ... -blm/2086/

texsuze
500 post plus club
Posts: 669
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 4:50 pm
Location: Texas, The Lone Star State!

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby texsuze » Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:53 pm

If you fly into El Paso, you'll find lots of outdoor activity right here in the great state of Texas :)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
https://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm

Hueco Tanks State Park (rock climbing/ hiking)
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/hueco-tanks

Franklin Mountains State Park
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/franklin-mountains

goneriding
Herd Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:51 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby goneriding » Tue May 07, 2019 5:08 am

Josette wrote:I forgot to mention the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National monument located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Easy half day hike.

https://www.newmexico.org/listing/kasha ... -blm/2086/


This hike! It's not difficult and it goes through a terrific slot canyon before a final climb to a lookout. Great hike!

goneriding
Herd Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:51 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby goneriding » Tue May 07, 2019 5:11 am

I love Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, NM. It's best known for Georgia O'Keefe's home and painting there, but it's a 22,000 acre rustic conference center owned by the Presbyterian Church. First choice lodging is for participants in week long workshops but overnights are welcome space available. It's a beautiful, restorative place. But you have to like simple, Hilton it is not.

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Tue May 07, 2019 1:37 pm

goneriding wrote:I love Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, NM. It's best known for Georgia O'Keefe's home and painting there, but it's a 22,000 acre rustic conference center owned by the Presbyterian Church. First choice lodging is for participants in week long workshops but overnights are welcome space available. It's a beautiful, restorative place. But you have to like simple, Hilton it is not.



this is a trip for simple! Though this is probably too fancy for this trip. The goal is to camp majority of the nights or at least as often as possible. The less civilization the better :)

piedmontfields
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 2735
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:41 pm
Location: E Tennessee USA

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby piedmontfields » Tue May 07, 2019 2:54 pm

I love N NM/S CO. You will have so much fun. Between Santa Fe and Jemez Springs, the Valle Caldera is really lovely: https://www.nps.gov/vall/index.htm

There are also a lot of hot springs to explore in N NM if you are into that...

lorilu
Herd Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:54 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby lorilu » Thu May 09, 2019 2:11 am

There is a historic train trip between Chama NM and ANtonito CO. It's really cool. https://cumbrestoltec.com/
If you get up into Colorado, you MUST stop at Great Sand Dunes Nat Park. It is amazing. Bring mosquito spray..... https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm
If you get up into western CO, be sure to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. https://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm
A bit further up the west side is Delta/Hotchkiss/Paonia. I spend about a month out there every summer visiting an old friend. There is great hiking near there, up on Grand Mesa (great lakes to dip into as well!) and on Kebler Pass east of Paonia. Also, North FOrk Valley is an up and coming wine area and the wineries are worth a visit......

goneriding
Herd Member
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 9:51 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby goneriding » Tue May 14, 2019 1:11 am

blob wrote:
goneriding wrote:I love Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, NM. It's best known for Georgia O'Keefe's home and painting there, but it's a 22,000 acre rustic conference center owned by the Presbyterian Church. First choice lodging is for participants in week long workshops but overnights are welcome space available. It's a beautiful, restorative place. But you have to like simple, Hilton it is not.



this is a trip for simple! Though this is probably too fancy for this trip. The goal is to camp majority of the nights or at least as often as possible. The less civilization the better :)


Ghost Ranch has camping. It's quite lovely and simple. I tried to get my husband to go with me and he thought it was roughing it too much lol.

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Fri May 17, 2019 12:55 am

Here's the current rough itinerary right now:

Fly into El Paso
White Sands National Park
Gila National Forest
Santa Fe
Taos
Great Sand Dunes National Park or Gunnison?
White River National Forest/Maroon Bells-Snowmass
Rocky Mountain National Park
Fly out of Denver


Also on the list of things to look into to either add or replace some of the above with are:

Carlsbad Caverns, NM
Manzano Mountains, NM
Tent Rocks, NM
Bandelier National Monument, NM
Wheeler Peak Wilderness, NM
Shiprock, NM
Sandia Mountains, NM
Rio Grande Gorge, NM
Mesa Verde, CO
Durango, CO
Ouray, CO

WheresMyWhite
500 post plus club
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby WheresMyWhite » Fri May 17, 2019 4:16 pm

After living in CO for 32 years :)

I'd skip Gunnison and do Great Sand Dunes, I'd also skip Durango but add in Silverton or do the Durango-Silverton train ride.

If you are at all a science-y geek, I'd maybe add on a visit to National Radio Astronomy Observatory 50 west of Socorro, New Mexico.

https://public.nrao.edu

If you're going to do Maroon Bells/Snowmass be prepared that the Aspen area is not cheap. If you have time, ride the gondola to the top in Aspen. Views are amazing. FWIW, I love Aspen but not the prices :)

Canyon
500 post plus club
Posts: 650
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:29 pm
Location: W CO

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Canyon » Fri May 17, 2019 6:29 pm

In general, National Monuments are not on people’s radar and will be less crowded than National Parks. I personally would avoid the Maroon Bells in the summer. Yes, they are spectacular. But, the crowds and shuttle buses – no thanks. But maybe if you are backpacking, you can get away from the tourists after a few miles. Be advised that it is still snowing in the CO mountains. If you are coming early this summer, research carefully where you may be camping. Maroon Bells opening may be delayed. An avalanche of historic size has closed the Conundrum Valley. Last weekend, seven people were caught in avalanches in the Emerald Lake area of Rocky Mtn NP :shock: .

I saw Bandelier National Monument and Chaco Canyon almost 40 years ago, so my information is dated. I remember Bandelier being interesting, while Chaco was spectacular - more difficult to get to but definitely worth the drive.

If you are on COTH, BabyGoose camps out and posts beautiful photos of scenery and wildlife in New Mexico. She might be a good resource for the state! Here is a link to her photo albums - https://www.flickr.com/photos/49754031@ ... 6311241741

Great Sand Dunes are fun and worth a visit. (In a former life, I led guided pack trips on the other side of the Sangre de Cristo Mts.) You could take 114 from Saguache toward Gunnison. I recommend a side trip to Crested Butte. You could take Cottonwood Pass over the Collegiate Range to Buena Vista; some of it is unpaved but has been used as a route on the Pro Cycling Challenge, so very doable in a passenger car. There are several hot springs near Mt. Princeton ranging from hippie to fancy. From there, head to Grand Lake, maybe via Breckenridge.

Have fun!

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Fri May 17, 2019 7:14 pm

Wheresmywhite & Canyon, thank you both! super helpful in terms of narrowing things down!

The silverton-durango train ride sounds great, but I'm worried that will be an odd/time consuming stop on our road trip since we'll have to do a round trip to retrieve our vehicle. But maybe that won't be that time consuming. But maybe that's not the case?

We'll be camping pretty much everywhere we go, so perhaps aspen prices won't be too much. But dually noted that maroon bells is a crowded mess in the summer. Last year we had a crowded mess experience in Banff, so we'll probably avoid it for that reason!

Will look into adding Chaco Canyon!

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Tue May 21, 2019 4:09 pm

Canyon wrote:In general, National Monuments are not on people’s radar and will be less crowded than National Parks. I personally would avoid the Maroon Bells in the summer. Yes, they are spectacular. But, the crowds and shuttle buses – no thanks. But maybe if you are backpacking, you can get away from the tourists after a few miles.


Canyon, looks like our dates will be pushed back to September, which will probably be bette for crowds. Do you think Maroon Bells will still be a sh*t show in September?

I definitely don't want a repeat of last year's banff crowds and buses and mess.

Canyon
500 post plus club
Posts: 650
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:29 pm
Location: W CO

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby Canyon » Tue May 21, 2019 5:02 pm

blob - that may depend on when the aspens change color (very popular then), which usually starts between mid-September to mid-October and depends on many factors including summer moisture and temperature changes. So, maybe midweek during the week of September 8? :lol: Not very helpful, sorry! Maybe contact the Forest Service for their input, phone # here https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteri ... ecid=82346 to get better info than I can offer!

Also, sent you a PM.

heddylamar
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1405
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 3:04 pm
Location: Texas (o_O)

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby heddylamar » Tue May 21, 2019 7:20 pm

If you ever want to repeat Banff (and Jasper?) we had a fantastic time in early November a few years ago. The glacier place was closed, but the hiking was fantastic. Most trails, we were the only ones there.

blob
Bringing Life to the DDBB
Posts: 1752
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby blob » Wed May 22, 2019 1:18 am

heddylamar wrote:If you ever want to repeat Banff (and Jasper?) we had a fantastic time in early November a few years ago. The glacier place was closed, but the hiking was fantastic. Most trails, we were the only ones there.


Oh yes, I imagine that's a lovely time of year. We actually managed to have a lovely time in Jasper last year--great hiking and not too many crowds, esp for the more challenging hikes. But I think we were not prepared for the crowds at Banff. We couldn't even find parking the overflow lot for the shuttle to Banff!

if we'd known, I think we would have just spent all our time in Jasper!


Canyon wrote:blob - that may depend on when the aspens change color (very popular then), which usually starts between mid-September to mid-October and depends on many factors including summer moisture and temperature changes. So, maybe midweek during the week of September 8? :lol: Not very helpful, sorry! Maybe contact the Forest Service for their input, phone # here https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteri ... ecid=82346 to get better info than I can offer!

Also, sent you a PM.


Thank you, I got in touch with them! And sure enough, september is still pretty heavy traffic. So, we'll enjoy other beautiful things in CO :)

WheresMyWhite
500 post plus club
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 3:37 pm

Re: Any folks familiar with NM and/or CO?

Postby WheresMyWhite » Wed May 22, 2019 3:42 pm

I would concur that overall September-October is a lovely time of year but yes, will get 'nippy' once the sun goes down. The closer to the end of September you get, you're getting into as much of an 'off season' as you'll get in the ski towns... after the summer rush and before ski season.

Aspen is never cheap :) If you're camping you want to look 'down river' toward I70.

FWIW, the place I miss the most for views is Wilkerson Pass - west of Colorado Springs, heading down toward South Park. It's the "back door" from the Springs to Breck, Aspen and other points 'west'.

Some of my most favorite photos were taken at the top of the pass looking both east and west.


Return to “The Observation Lounge/ Cookbook Forum even Hot Topics”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 52 guests