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Revisiting Williams Lake…

Posted By Diane Berry On June 5, 2012 @ 9:50 am In Nature & Wildlife,Outdoor Recreation & Hiking,Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Last summer when we visited the Taos, NM area as part of our annual road trip, we hiked the two mile trail in the Taos Ski Valley, NM up to Williams Lake, a small glacial lake nestled in the valley between mountain peaks. Unfortunately and in spite of careful planning to choose the best day for our hike, as we were visiting during summer monsoon season, we encountered rain for the entire four mile round trip hike.

The Start of the Williams Lake Hike [1]

Meghan, Me and Kate

I have been writing recently about our cross country move to New Mexico and, as a treat to ourselves after spending months packing boxes, a week loading the truck, two days driving cross country and several days unloading and unpacking boxes, we decided to revisit Williams Lake in the dryer weather.

We were also eager to show the hike and the Taos Ski Valley terrain to our oldest daughter, Kate, who was accompanying us on our big move from California. She had never been with us on a trip to Taos, so there was much to share with her about our new home state.

On the Rocks near Williams lake [2]It was sunny and about 60 degrees as we set out on our hike last Friday morning, perfect hiking weather. What a treat after working intently for weeks! Though it was June, rain was not the precipitation we encountered, but snow, large quantities of it. While it was not falling, it was piled up along the trail. At one point, Terry’s foot sank several feet into a bank he was attempting to cross.

We took our time, as we were still adjusting to the altitude since our recent arrival. The ski valley is at 9000 feet. Our home in Taos sits at about 7000 feet and we had just moved from about 500 feet above sea level. Throughout the course of the hike we climbed at least another 2000 feet as Williams Lake sits at over 11,000 feet above the sea.

At Williams Lake, NM [3]

Kate and Meg

Snow on the trail in June [4]In spite of that, we enjoyed a marvelous hike. We had great fun taking staged pictures and, amazingly, had the trail to ourselves the entire time. Interestingly, last summer while hiking in the rain we encountered numerous other hikers. In addition to the fabulous weather, once at the top, we were treated to some amazing views. A wonderful respite and reward for our hard work of the past few weeks.

Read more about New Mexico campgrounds [5] and things to do in New Mexico.

Last 5 posts by Diane Berry

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Article printed from Good Sam Camping Blog: http://blog.woodalls.com

URL to article: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/revisiting-williams-lake/

URLs in this post:

[1] Image: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/revisiting-williams-lake/at-the-start/

[2] Image: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/revisiting-williams-lake/me-and-t-on-rocks/

[3] Image: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/revisiting-williams-lake/kate-and-meg/

[4] Image: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/revisiting-williams-lake/snow-on-the-trail/

[5] New Mexico campgrounds: http://www.woodalls.com/rv-camping/new-mexico-camping/default.aspx

[6] A Climb in the Rain…Again?: http://blog.woodalls.com/2011/09/a-climb-in-the-rain-again/

[7] A Climb…in the Rain?: http://blog.woodalls.com/2011/09/a-climb-in-the-rain/

[8] Hiking the Devisadero Trail: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/06/hiking-the-devisadero-trail/

[9] A Winter Climb to William’s Lake–Part 1: http://blog.woodalls.com/2013/03/a-winter-climb-to-williams-lake-part-1/

[10] A Hike Not to Be Repeated–Part 1: http://blog.woodalls.com/2012/08/a-hike-not-to-be-repeated-part-1/

[11] Contextual Related Posts: http://ajaydsouza.com/wordpress/plugins/contextual-related-posts/

[12] Great RVer Spectator Event: the Salomon Freeride Championships!: http://blog.woodalls.com/2013/03/great-rver-spectator-event-the-salomon-freeride-championships/

[13] Thoughts On Hiking Alone...: http://blog.woodalls.com/2013/03/thoughts-on-hiking-alone/

[14] The Rift in Winter...: http://blog.woodalls.com/2013/03/the-rift-in-winter/

[15] Time to Plan...: http://blog.woodalls.com/2013/02/time-to-plan/

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