Wildflowers near the Iron Gate Campground.
After a long drive through Pecos, Terrero, and then winding up the mountain towards Cowles, we arrived at the Iron Gate Campground to begin our trek. This moderate hike spans roughly 10 miles and crosses over numerous open and beautiful mountain meadows resting at about 10,000 feet with views of the Truchas peaks.
As we began our hike, we walked among the most fragrant forest of Ponderosa pine trees and aspen groves, as we crisscrossed up the mountain canyon to reach the meadows above. As much as I love the open mountain meadows, there is something so serene and peaceful being in a mountain forest.
Come on! We're almost to the meadow!
Just look at my little sister being super adorable!
We timed our hike perfectly with the spring blooms. We saw numerous wildflowers including, wild purple irises and yellow pea flowers. The aspens were vibrant chartreuse green, giving all of the valley views a beautifully lush and green hue.
After hiking about 2 miles, we reached a log fence, and here the trail opened up to the first meadow. As we climbed up the meadow trail, views from the trail opened to reveal stellar vistas of the tallest peaks in the Pecos Wilderness.
Here we enjoyed the meadow slowly, taking in the views and breathing in the fresh mountain air. My humans let me frolic through the meadow and enjoy being my dog-self!
Taking in the view with my human!
We continued up the trail a bit to find a beautiful aspen grove and views of the Truchas peaks. My pawrents tried to take a family picture of us all, but I was too busy exploring to pose. Lil sis, on the other hand, is a huge ham and loves the camera!
Truchas peaks.
After our fill of the gorgeous mountain views and playing in the meadow, we headed back down to the trailhead. We let lil sis rest her stump legs before heading back down the trail. What a beautiful spring day to explore Hamilton Mesa!
Happy trails, happy pups!
-Roxie
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