Pecos Wilderness

Latitude, Longitude: 35.82984385,-105.664173 Elevation: 8321 ft (for Panchuela Trailhead)

There are many jumping-off points for entering the Pecos Wilderness. Jack's Creek is a popular one, but the last time I went, we started at Panchuela - although that made our first day several miles longer.

The Pecos Wilderness is vast, and rugged. It is incredibly gorgeous, and lush as well. It's not hard to find water, nor is it difficult to spot wild animals. There is a lot of elevation change, so any backpacking trip of appreciable distance might likely be considered moderate to difficult. We took a trip starting at Panchuela going to Pecos Baldy Lake the first night. We then went to Horsethief Meadow the next night. We finished up by hiking down the Cave Creek trail to arrive back at Panchulea. It was a great trip.

Where have you gone in the Pecos?

USFS Santa Fe National Forest Website for the Pecos Ranger District

  View Larger Map This map is to the Panchuela trailhead, but there are many 

other locations that are well suited for starting off a trip into the Pecos.