"This is the 4th year my son Garret and I have tried to make this hike, and finally we did it! The last 3 years the area was closed, during the time we needed to go, because of fire danger. There is a small window of yearly time that this hike can be done. If someone were to go in May, or even early June, the snow could be too deep to accomplish the hike without great difficulty. There is no water on the ridge, so we had to harvest snow for drinking water. If someone were to wait past the middle of July, on into August, it is possible the snow would be gone, and because we spent almost 3 days on the ridge, above the timberline, and above 12,000 feet in elevation, those dates could be dangerous because of the monsoon season’s lightning on the ridge. The perfect window of time is the last week in June and the first week in July. I picked the 4 days for this trip because it was a no moon time and I wanted to enjoy the spectacular dark star filled sky. Day 1 We left my son’s house Thursday June 26, 2014 at 5:00 AM and headed to Espanola, New Mexico then east towards the Santa Barbara campground at the edge of the Pecos Wilderness. We started the hike 1.3 miles north of Santa Barbara..." — Phil-Robinson • Jun 27, 2014