"I have not been hiking many peaks recently because there are not many more peaks that I am interested in hiking. I do a little mountain jogging each week to stay in shape. In the Book “New Mexico’s High Peaks,” by Mike Butterfield, he lists the Peak 12,728. He shows it with a prominence of 150 feet. This is a great NM peak informational picture book and lists all the 80ish 12K and 13K peaks. I decided to get that peak and maybe something else in the area. So that I would be able to get an earlier start I drove to Red River, New Mexico to spend the night. I got up at 4:00 AM, July 16, 2021, and drove an hour to Williams’s Lake parking area south of the Taos Ski area. You do not need a 4WD vehicle to get here. There were no clouds in the sky and the temperature was in the upper 40s. I started hiking at 5:45 AM at an elevation of 10,253 feet. It is a 2-mile hike on a very nice trail to William’s Lake, from there it is bushwhacking until the timberline. There were deer in the meadows going up. I knew that it was going to be very hard climbing up the hill on all fours so I was kind of kicking myself the night before for what I knew I was getting myself into. It was a chug getting to the..." — Phil-Robinson • Jul 16, 2021

"Day 1: My daughter Christina came to town for a 2 week visit and we made plans to have a 3 day peakbagging and backpacking adventure. I originally planned for us to peakbag in the Pecos Wilderness, but fire restrictions closed the area. We decided to go to the Wheeler Peak Wilderness, home of the highest peak in New Mexico. We left the house at 5:00 AM, June 15, 2018. We drove to the town of Red River then went south on Highway 578 to the East Fork Parking area. We arrived at 8:20 and were hiking by 8:40. The starting elevation was 9630 and it was a cool clear morning. Christina brought her dog Bane along for the trip. I had a 34 pound pack and Christina had a 29 pound pack and Bane a little pack with food. New Mexico was in the middle of a drought, so I was surprised how lush and green everything was. We could hardly find a square meter that did not have wildflowers in it. We started hiking on Trail 56, later this turned into Trail 91. I have 2 speeds of hiking, one is a slow a pace, but I can do it all day without stopping. Then I have a “let’s move it” pace. I used the slow pace, and except for some standing pictures stops, we did not stop all the way until we reached our cam..." — Phil-Robinson • Jun 16, 2018

"Bright and early Friday morning, September 21, 2012 my friend Jim Miller and I headed north to hike the highest peak in New Mexico, Wheeler Peak, plus 4 other peaks. We left my house at 5:45 AM, drove to the town of Red River then south on highway 578 to a parking area on the East Fork of the Red River. It took us 4 hours of driving. It was a cool clear fresh crisp morning when we started hiking. We started at 10:00 AM at an elevation of 9630 feet. We left on trail 56 which later turned into trail 91. I hiked Wheeler Peak with my son Garret 6 years ago on the same month. This was before I became an ultralight luxury camper. On that hike I was carrying about 50 pounds. This hike, including all the group gear and two pounds one ounce of prime rib eye steak, I was carrying 35 pounds. (The steak weighed more than my pack.) Our plan was to camp at Lost Lake then hike 5 peaks the next day. On the way up someone told us about a good camping area at Horseshoe Lake so we changed plans and decided to stay there. It was a beautiful forested hike, at times crossing and hiking near a pretty little stream. I have hiked so many peaks this year, 26 before this trip, that I didn’t even feel the hik..." — Phil-Robinson • Sep 22, 2012

"I went on this trip with my son Garret, Sept. 14, 2007. We went through the town of Red River, New Mexico and arrived at the Wheeler Wilderness parking area. After a short hike into the Wheeler Peak Wilderness, the trail divides. One way follows the East Fork of the Red River to Lost and Hidden lakes. We went that way last year hiking Wheeler. The other way follows Sawmill Creak, the next canyon to the east. We hiked 5 1/2 miles, to the headwaters of Sawmill Creek, with full backpacks. We set up our base camp in a forested area at the very end of the stream. We put up our tent and a rainfly. I brought 2 one-pound T-bone steaks and we cooked them over the coals. They were delicious! We enjoyed an evening campfire and went to bed early. The next morning, we left early to conquer 4 mountain peaks. We used our 2 GPSs and headed straight through the thick forest towards the top of Taos Cone. We had to pass through the "forest of fallen trees." It was an obstacle course to reach a clearing near the cone. This was especially difficult for Garret because of “knee issues” related to his work. Finally, we were out and made Taos Cone, 12,240 feet. We headed towards Red Dome, when we were met..." — Phil-Robinson • Sep 15, 2007