Santa Fe Baldy

The last mile up the trail to Santa Fe Baldy has to be the single hardest mile I have ever hiked. It takes you from 11600' to the summit at a little over 12600'. A thousand feet of elevation gain in a mile is tough, but at that altitude, it was punishing. It took me nearly an hour to hike it.

The rest of the hike was pretty easy though. It starts in a parking lot near the Santa Fe ski area just inside the Santa Fe National Forest. You start off at around 10300' through a thick forest of Douglas Fir, Aspen and Spruce trees. The trail climbs pretty quickly, gaining 500' in the first 0.5 mile to the border of the Pecos Wilderness Area. From there you drop down that 500' over the course of the next few miles.

At that point, 4 miles from the peak, you begin climbing again. The hike from there isn't too bad as the trees begin to thin out, giving up some impressive views of the area, including several of the peak itself. Needless to say, just seeing the peak from that distance made me tired.

It got really pretty with about two miles to go as the trees really thinned and you hiked through some alpine meadows. From there, the trail really starts to gain elevation quickly and then you pop out above the tree line for that last mile.

I never really felt the effects of the altitude until I hit about 12000'. My legs suddenly seemed very weak and I started getting a pounding headache. My steps were getting slower and every minute or so I had to stop to catch my breath. I probably looked about like my brother did when he hiked Kennesaw Mountain with me.

Eventually I made it up and the view was amazing....I was just too exhausted to enjoy it. I rested up and after bargaining an, I'll-take-your-picture-if-you-take-mine deal with a couple at the top, I headed back down.

It was good to get to a lower elevation, but I was exhausted. My legs were sore, my headache was still throbbing and overall I just felt sluggish. Most of that was probably because I hadn't fully acclimated to their altitude. Next time I'll be sure to have a couple of extra days in before doing a hike like this.

Just before I got back to the trailhead I ran into a man and his dog who I had seen at the top. That dog had to have the most energy of any creature I have ever seen. I mentioned this and the guy said, "Yeah, eight hours of hiking and all he wants to do is play fetch."

I laughed, said goodbye to them and headed on down the trail. A couple of seconds later I had the most comforting thought I'd had all afternoon, "Eight hours, huh? Only took me seven."