"I left my house about 4:30 AM, an hour too early, to meet 3 other peakbaggers north of Taos to hike Ute Mountain. I gave myself an hour, just in case there were traffic problems or some other issues. I took a leisure drive up, picking up a little breakfast on the way. I took a light snooze, in the KTAO Radio Station parking lot, and met the other hikers at 8:00 AM, September 29, 2018. We took 2 vehicles, Fred drove with me, and Jeremy drove with Richard. Sorry for the poor directions…….I was following Richard and it was nice to not have to “think” going to the peak’s parking area. We turned northwest in Costilla, New Mexico to a dirt road called Stateline. It is exactly on the New Mexico Colorado border. We headed directly west on the boarder, went south to a locked gate, then after reorganizing north again, headed southwest to our parking area. The road is not too difficult, but definitely not for a passenger car. We were directly north of the peak. It was a beautiful morning, just about the right temperature to start out. The skies were mostly blue mixed with a few cirrus clouds. There was a slight forest fire haze in the distance. We started hiking at 9:30 AM at an eleva..." — Phil-Robinson • Sep 29, 2018