Wheeler Peak - another high point

After John's solar class, we drove down toward Albuquerque, with a stop at Taos Ski Valley along the way. It was time for an actual attempt of a climb up Wheeler Peak, the highpoint of New Mexico. We had (barely) enough time, our legs weren't sore from a race the previous day, and there didn't seem to be much, if any, snow at the top of the mountain. It was now or later.

More colorful aspens on the drive through Colorado (Harvey is barely visible on the dashboard, but he appreciated the trees too):



Starting our hike up from the parking lot. This sign made me giggle:


Where's John?


Our first attempt ever at building a cairn:


The climb up from the lake was very steep, but that kept us warm on a chilly morning. Once on the top ridge, the wind was blowing and it was pretty cold. One of the last little sections to climb before reaching the top:


John checking out the trail register:


And signing us in:


The plaque at the top:


If you look really closely, you can see a strange moraine-type feature in the gray dirt just above the lake:


Taos Ski Valley down below:


Obligatory selfie:


John's highpoint pose of the day:


Yoga on the rocks:


A shout-out to Markus and Brandi - our last one of the summer, saved for just such an occasion - thank you for the delicious chocolate!


A summary of this (and other) highpoint accomplishments:
http://www.kipley.com/marcy/highpoints/index.html