"Wednesday July 17, 2013 was the most physically exertive day of hiking in my life, 14.6 miles, 8.6 of those with a backpack, 7 major and minor peaks and a daily elevation gain of 6485 feet. Although surprisingly it did not seem very difficult. The 2 day hike was 22.7 miles, 9 peaks and an elevation gain of 7627 feet. I spent almost the entire 2 days on beautiful ridgelines with expansive views in all directions. Because I was spending the 2 days high above streams, I had to carry all the water that I needed. I cleared out many of my ultralight luxury items and carried about third of my backpack weight in water. My pack weighed 33 pounds and 11.25 pounds was water; 180 ounces or 1.4 gallons. There was enough water, but I still could have used more. It was a crisp 45 degrees when I started hiking at 7:45 AM. I had a 3 hour drive to get to the Galivan trail head just before the Taos, New Mexico ski area. The starting elevation was 8893 feet. I did not have anyone else that could go with me so I went by myself. I left my dog at home thinking this hike might be a little too much for her. As I started the hike I saw a mother deer with 2 of the smallest baby deer that I can remember. T..." — Phil-Robinson • Jul 17, 2013

"Wow this is hard straight up hike. Quite relentless. I had a bit on after this walk so I sped up, and sped down all done in 4 hrs, but great views up top, towards Taos, also great views toward Wheeler peak. I started by heading up Manzanita canyon, it is the shortest route (5mile one way), but the quickest, you can also come back onto this walk from heading up bull of the woods, and diverting off. Thgis is ahike for those who want a serious workout, or simply to stuff themselves, my legs burned after this one, but take your time and it wil be a little easier on the body, be prepared for afternoon weather changes too, I got rained on but it can be worse. Enjoy!!" — adameco • Aug 13, 2011

"I have hiked Lobo Peak 4 times; this is the first On Saturday morning June 27, 2009 I got up at 4:00 AM to hike Lobo Peak. It has an elevation of 12,115 feet and is in the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness. For the first time my wife Linda decided to give one of these northern New Mexico alpine peaks a try. We also took along our dog Daisy. I took a 13-pound pack which included 4 pounds of water. We hiked up Manzanita Canyon Trail #59, which is shortly before the Taos Ski area. We left the house at 4:45. We started hiking at about 8:10 at an elevation of 8400 feet. I forgot my camera which takes such wonderful pictures, so I used my phone camera. It was a very beautiful canyon with a rushing stream next to us. It was so lush it felt like we were in a rainforest. We walked next to the stream, having to cross it back and forth quite a number of times. We walked by the stream for about half of the way up. At one point the stream divided and we were on what I called “stereo ridge.” You could hear streams on each side of the ridge, in each ear, in stereo. We stopped for a snack and Linda was getting tired so I carried her pack for the rest of the trip. We reached the end of the canyon and..." — Phil-Robinson • Jun 27, 2009