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Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike

or Taos to Santa Fe Thru-Hike

  • Santa Fe To Taos Thru-Hike Day By Day
  • Supplementary Posts
  • How I Prepared for the Thru-Hike

Santa Fe To Taos Thru-Hike Day By Day

An eleven-day, 118-mile thru hike from the Santa Fe Ski Basin to Taos Plaza. With detailed Garmin GPS and Gaia GPS trail maps, ample photographs, and information about water sources and camp sites.

Day 1: Santa Fe Ski Basin to Lake Katherine

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Day 1: After an awful lot of preparation, we were finally ready to go. “We” being me and Riley, pictured below.   My boyfriend drove us up to the basin and dropped us off around 10am. There wasn’t a whole lot of ceremony to it – we wanted to get going. The trail starts off … Read more

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Day 2: Lake Katherine to the near side of East Pecos Baldy

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 Note: *Don’t* do what I did here. We should have stopped at Horsethief Meadow and stayed there for the night. Instead we pressed on because I was trying to shorten the trip by a day. We woke up a little late the next morning at Lake Katherine. One of the larger groups – about … Read more

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Day 3 – The Near Side of East Pecos Baldy to East Pecos Baldy

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SUMMARY: This was a really short day. We made it up the backside of East Pecos Baldy then down into the lake basin. I did actually try to keep going – that’s the little spur you see going off away from the lake, heading N/NE. But about half a mile along I realized I was … Read more

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Day 4 – East Pecos Baldy Lake to Truchas Lake/s

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The day I finally got to see the Trailrider’s Wall. I woke up feeling about 200% better than I had felt waking up the day before. We ate our usual breakfast, treated all the water I could carry (the 100oz bladder plus the Nalgene, plus about a liter and a half I drank just before … Read more

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Day 5 – Truchas Lakes to Santa Barbara Campground

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The long way down. I so wish I had photos of this to show you. But my phone was totally dead by the time I woke up. Thankfully, the Garmin Inreach still had about 25% power, so I was able to turn it on every 30 minutes or so to track most of our way … Read more

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Day 6 – Santa Barbara Campground to Los Estrellos

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This is the first day of the second leg of the through hike (from Santa Barbara Campground to Taos Plaza), if you do the hike in two segments of five and six days each. Here’s the view of the Santa Barbara campground. There is free parking near the entrance. In this photo, you can see … Read more

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Day 7 – Los Estrellos to Agua Sarca Canyon

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We woke up unscathed by the storm. And woke up fairly late, especially compared to other mornings. This was the latest wake up and the latest time we broke camp for the whole trip. I believe we finally got off around 10am. I enjoyed three cups of coffee, and I tried to get the sub … Read more

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Day 8 – Agua Sarca Canyon to just north of Little Korea

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This is my favorite picture of the through hike. We got up at first light. I started doing my morning routine – dress, pack up bedding, tidy up inside, find gear for breakfast. The bear bag was right where I left it, and we had a nice breakfast up on the little hill. Watched the … Read more

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Day 9 – Just north of Little Korea to Bernardin Lake

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Once again, we woke up undisturbed. And deeply grateful for the rest. I believe I gave us an extra hour of sleep. We needed it. So I did the usual pack-up and breakfast routine. We ate breakfast right next to the tent, as I often do. There’s no need to be 100-200 ft away, like … Read more

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Day 10 – Benardin Lake to Drake Canyon entrance

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I woke up just a bit before dawn – right around 5am or so. Put the headlamp on to begin pulling things together. Riley dislikes the head lamp, but we had a long way to go, and I wanted to get into camp early enough (like by five or better) to wash and maybe even … Read more

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The Santa Fe to Taos Thru Hike by Day:
Day 1: Santa Fe Ski Basin to Lake Katherine
Day 2: Lake Katherine to the near side of East Pecos Baldy
Day 3 – The Near Side of East Pecos Baldy to East Pecos Baldy
Day 4 – East Pecos Baldy Lake to Truchas Lake/s
Day 5 – Truchas Lakes to Santa Barbara Campground
Day 6 – Santa Barbara Campground to Los Estrellos
Day 7 – Los Estrellos to Agua Sarca Canyon
Day 8 – Agua Sarca Canyon to just north of Little Korea
Day 9 – Just north of Little Korea to Bernardin Lake
Day 10 – Benardin Lake to Drake Canyon entrance
Day 11 – Drake Canyon entrance to Taos Plaza
© 2023 Pam Neely