The Third Time is not the Charm
A series of stories about poor planning for big adventures.
Truchas, the elusive trout. Since my first days in New Mexico, I have had my sights set on summiting Truchas, the second highest peak in the state (13,108 ft). Truchas is actually a collection of three peaks: North Truchas, Middle Truchas, and South Truchas. South Truchas is the tallest of the bunch. It is the most southern point in the continental United States to reach over 13,000 ft. The three peaks reside in the Pecos Wilderness and are exceptionally difficult to access as it will generally take more than one day of hiking to reach the summit. One could access the peaks via Trampas Lakes within a day, but this route faces a long and technical scramble to the top. The Quemado Falls trail offers the best access to the summit within a day, but there are access issues due to land grants.
Three times I have attempted to summit the peak. Three times I have failed. The following is a recollection on the attempts which have failed, mostly due to poor planning, impulsive decisions, and not being familiar with the ruggedness of New Mexico’s wilderness.
Attempt #1 - August 2017
My first attempt to find my way to the top of Truchas was actually a thoroughly planned backpacking trip. Starting from the Santa Fe Ski Basin, Laura and I were to hike up to Truchas and back over the course of a few days. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the Pecos Wilderness and the nature of the monsoon season in the southwest was our folly. The hike started well, albeit challenging as are all hike through the Pecos Wilderness. We encountered our first complication upon reaching Horsethief Meadow where our trail disappeared. Apparently, some years ago a wild fire had burnt this area and the trail we sought was vanished. We attempted bushwacking for a bit before deciding better of progressing further. As we regathered ourselves and weighed our options, the most intense monsoon I have had the privilege of enduring rolled in.
First a drizzle, then a rain, then a downpour of oceanic proportions drenched the entire wilderness. Quickly we became soaked and cold. Lighting and thunder raged above us. Immense flashes of lightning were followed by instant thunder sounding like a shotgun discharging right above our heads. We immediately discounted any plans of progressing further into the wilderness in favor of finding a camp to hunker down in and wait out the storm. Unfortunately for us, we were required by terrain to hike through the raging storm for some miles before finding a suitable campsite. Wet and cold to the bone, we huddled in our tent and waited for the storm to pass. It took hours. We spent all day in the tent just waiting, realizing our poorly conceived plans. We underestimated the intensity of the monsoon season and the wild nature of the Pecos Wilderness.
The next day, we hiked back to the Santa Fe Ski Basin with an unsuccessful summit of Truchas under our belts.
Attempt #2 - October 2021
Feeling a hunger for adventure and a desire to commune with nature, Laura and I decided to hike up to Trampas lakes. These beautiful lakes sit beneath the towering Truchas peaks. With next to zero planning, we impulsively set out to reach the lakes and then summit that darn trout!
It seemed like an easy go. The hike to Trampas Lakes was only about 5 miles with another 1.5 mile hike to summit Truchas. The weather was a mild October day abundant in fall colors. The aspens were flaming with hot, yellow leaves. The air was crisp and cool. It was an ideal day for hiking.
The first issue we encountered was our haphazard planning. We didn’t get started hiking until mid afternoon due to our last minute decision to try this hike. The ascent to Trampas lakes was delightful and smooth, but we did not arrive at the lake until nearly 5pm. We were prepared to hike through darkness to return to the trailhead, but the final ascent to Truchas entailed a more technical journey than we had anticipated.
The trail from Tramps Lakes to Truchas Peak that appeared on multiple different maps did not actually exist. To summit, we would have to bushwack and scramble to the top. Mentally, we were not prepared for this and given the late time of day, we decided not to push up to the summit as we would certainly have a dark descent down from trailess mountain peak.
As such, we skipped the summit of Truchas, enjoyed the lakes, and hiked back to the trailhead. It was an entirely enjoyable time on the trail, but it was not a successful summit of Truchas.
Attempt #3 - July 2023
We had spent the weekend in Southern New Mexico in blazing 105 degree F weather. Our return to Santa Fe had us dreaming of some high elevation adventures to escape the heat - seems like a great time to summit Truchas!
So, we once again impulsively set out to summit. We thought we understood our past failures mostly as choosing the wrong approach. From the Santa Fe Ski Basin, we failed. From Trampas Lakes, we failed. Surely, the approach from Santa Barbara Campground would lead to success. The trail from Santa Barbara Campground was far milder in grade and had been a better documented approach toward Truchas. The only complication was distance. It is about a 25 mile out and back from the Santa Barbara Campground to the Truchas Peaks.
Despite the large number of miles to cover in one day, we were confident that our fitness would permit us to traverse the distance and elevation to Truchas. Our planning was our weakness. We set out to hike with next to no planning and did not start until nearly 11:30 AM. We hiked about a half mile before realizing in our rush to get started, we left a water filter in the car. So, we had to turn back, retrieve the filter, and restart the hike. This mishap added about a mile of extra hiking. Poor study of the maps beforehand also caused us to make a wrong turn, adding on a needless extra mile and significant elevation gain. We also made a pit stop at a lake a little off route for a break and water refill. A total of 3 miles lost due to mistakes on a day with a late start and big miles to cover is a grave fault.
As we approached Truchas, it dawned on us that if we were to summit Truchas, we would be looking at a nearly 30 mile day with our “bonus” miles. We were also not likely to finish the summit of Truchas and the return to the trailhead until 10pm. With our food running low, we ultimately decided to turn back just shy of the final summit to the top.
Conclusion
What can be learned from all of these failed summits? First and foremost: planning is crucial. All of these attempts failed because of inadequate planning. Attempt #2 and #3 were impulsive and poorly arranged. Attempt #1 contained a significant amount of planning, but the plans were not formulated from quality information. Planning for these excursions is not easy, but can be the difference between success and failure.
Another lesson concerns risk management. Truchas is deep in isolated wilderness and is incredibly difficult to access. Safety is key. Rugged self-reliance is the only way to approach adventures in the Pecos Wilderness where Truchas resides. Part of self-reliance is making safe and sound decisions, knowing the limits of yourself and your party, and being secure enough in oneself to say “today is not the day, but that does not make me a failure.” Risk is inherent when entering wilderness areas. Mitigating risks is a constant and safety is largely a decision process.
The final lesson I will share is that these adventures are all about the journey, not the destination. This former is a phrase we have all heard, but it is essential for enjoying oneself in the wilderness. It wouldn’t be an adventure if success was guaranteed. As such, enjoy the trail, the flowers, the wildlife, and the peace. If you also happen to end up with a nice view from the top of a mountain; excellent.