Will the Culebra range ever not suck for access?

[Carl the Cuttlefish]

There's excellent hiking in the north Sangres down to Blanca, then from Cabresto Lake on Latir in NM all the way down to where the range ends in Pecos, but that middle section, from La Vita Pass to Amalia is a pile of trash access wise. There's a couple trails over by Cuchara, but according to alltrails every single one of them is full of blowdown and unusable. On the other side, there's some godawful network of roads to a bunch of home sites, the vast majority of which are empty. Anyone ever been up in here, is there anything worthwhile up there to explore? Looks like you could get right to the backside of Trinchera on a motorcycle. Looking at it, if there was ever a fire, everyone up there is absolutely screwed, so whatever idiot allowed this development to be in place should be slapped repeatedly.

Then there's the section by Culebra which is apparently all ranch and if you pay $150 you can hike. I actually kinda get that for Culebra to keep it a little more pristine, but the problem is every other mountain in the section is off limits too. Then south of that we have Ted Turner on the east side and Rio Costilla Ranch on the other. I stopped in a gas station in Costilla and asked if there was anything worth hiking in there and the lady said the one trail to a bunch of lakes up the north side of Latir, but was closed from blowdown and there really wasn't much else. Sounds like it's basically a hunting ranch for the local boys. Don't know if anyone would slap you if you wandered on the stuff up to Big Costilla? There's roads all through there if you e-biked up to get somewhere to start hiking.

I talked to some guy who apparently owned one of the ranches by San Luis. Interesting guy - he said there was an idea of having a new housing development in San Luis at some point. It's a beautiful area, I could totally see living there instead of Taos, but there is absolutely nothing to do outdoors there. You'd have to drive to Blanca or to Questa! Unless he had some sort of access as part of the development?? As it is now the town is dying, primarily because there is NOTHING to do there cause it's all blocked off. It's essentially a lunch stop for traffic to Taos and that's it.

[Somewhat of a Prick]

Im not sure if this discussion has been had on this forum yet

[interloper]

There's plenty to do in Costilla County, but you have to set your expectations appropriately. There are some patches of public land but they necessitate a slower pace to enjoy them: Fishing, hunting, exploring, watching the wild horses. While I would love if I could easily access those peaks, I've had some pretty beautiful days just cruising around the countryside on my motorcycle and taking in the views and watching wildlife. It's a slower pace out there - contemplative activities are where it shines. That said, there are efforts to help improve outdoor accessibility for Costilla County. There are trails being built in the public areas that do exist and there are efforts to acquire more land to increase the size and amount of them.

On the other side, there's some godawful network of roads to a bunch of home sites, the vast majority of which are empty. Anyone ever been up in here, is there anything worthwhile up there to explore? Looks like you could get right to the backside of Trinchera on a motorcycle. Looking at it, if there was ever a fire, everyone up there is absolutely screwed, so whatever idiot allowed this development to be in place should be slapped repeatedly.

To answer this question, you cannot access Trinchera Peak from the west side without trespassing on the Trinchera Ranch. The upper roads are gated and used by the ranch for logging and hunting.

Also, I've seen from your other posts that you live in Taos. I apologize if you already know this, but I'm not sure if you're aware of the history of why Costilla County is divided the way it is, but it's because of the land grants that date all the way back to New Spain. Costilla County has always been mostly private land, and likely always will be. It's not ideal for peak baggers like us, but it is what it is.

Take it from a local - if you choose to beat your head against the wall about what the San Luis Valley COULD BE, you'll miss out on enjoying and appreciating it for what it actually IS.

[greenschist]

There's a couple trails over by Cuchara, but according to alltrails every single one of them is full of blowdown and unusable. On the other side, there's some godawful network of roads to a bunch of home sites, the vast majority of which are empty. Anyone ever been up in here, is there anything worthwhile up there to explore? Looks like you could get right to the backside of Trinchera on a motorcycle.

This is misleading, there is definitely better access than that. The road/trail to Trinchera is open to small ATV's, hikers, dirt bikes, and probably horses and mountain bikes. Check out recent condition reports from this website. Beyond Trinchera there is additional access from both the north and south. To the north, the Indian Creek trail gets very close to treeline north of Teddys Peak. While bushwhacking to treeline often isn't fun, it's also very typical when climbing 13ers in any range in the Rockies. To the south there is FS Road 437 from Purgatoire Campground to treeline on Mt. Maxwell. This road was totally unaffected by the blowdown near Trinchera. I hiked that road twice last year (it was too steep for the 2wd truck I had). Climbing Maxwell is mostly class 2 beyond the road with some short and easy class 3 sections.

There's a lot of ridgeline that is on public land. From the summit of Maxwell you can hike north for nearly 11 miles until you hit treeline and private property. While it would be nice to have more, 11 miles above the trees is a lot. I've only been on a few of those miles, and believe me when I say that the ridge looks a lot longer than it does on a map. Maxwell and Cuatro are actually two of my favorite 13ers. Lots of people have done the Trinchera-Maxwell traverse in a day. It would be a huge day, and still leave plenty of public ridgeline to explore.

If you're in Taos I definitely think it's worth a trip or two, especially with the Spanish Peaks nearby. I live in COS and went to this area 4 times last year. I was there again last week to check out fall colors (which might be peaking right now). I have to agree with interloper, if you take the area for what it is, there's a lot to love and enjoy.

[Carl the Cuttlefish]

Oh yeah, there's plenty to do that's not peak bagging, but it does kinda cripple the region because the Culebra mountains are so nice. Every other county around Costilla is sooooo much better as far as rec (there isn't the horses though). Antonito has a ton of rec right outside of it's doorstep and Taos County is really good. If we took out access to the mountains in Taos though, the town would be dying without the rec or ski areas.

The land grand thing never made sense to me, the whole state of NM had land grants, but here we are with tons of public land, in some sense more than CO. It had to have been decisions by the US to keep Costilla private ranches and Taos and Conejos counties public.

[dwoodward13]

The land grand thing never made sense to me, the whole state of NM had land grants, but here we are with tons of public land, in some sense more than CO. It had to have been decisions by the US to keep Costilla private ranches and Taos and Conejos counties public.

Many of land grant holders did not speak English or understand the US legal system when in the 1850s they had to apply to confer their grants under US rule. Basically there was a lot of fraud, abuse, and other shenanigan's. The same story that played out with many native peoples and westward settlement. Common land grants became US Gov property.

[greenschist]

An interesting case study of the land grant issue is the history behind Valles Caldera National preserve. In 1821 a land grant near Las Vegas NM was given by the government of Spain to the Baca family, and later that year Mexico won its independence. The family had a tough time enforcing their claim in a remote and at times near-lawless region of Mexico. Within 30 years the area became part of the US. The US govt agreed to honor Spanish/Mexican grants, but decided not to forcibly relocate everyone in Las Vegas NM to please the Bacas. They were given a choice of five huge parcels in NM, AZ, and CO. They chose the Valles Caldera area, and their lawyers weaseled their way into owning the other four parcels. A series of other lawyers and wealthy landowners went on a spree for the next few decades, snatching up every bit of granted land that they could from locals who spoke little English and didn't understand the complex interplay of legal systems with differing ideas of land ownership (Spanish law allowed land to be held in common by multiple families, US law focused on individual ownership). The Baca family eventually sold off the land they still had, which changed hands many times throughout the 20th century. In 2000 it was sold to the US govt, and in 2015 fell under the control of the National Park Service as Valles Caldera National Preserve.

The history of the Culebra range is no less complicated, it's just remained private property to the present day. There's always a chance it'll end up as public land in the future. After all, the areas associated with the Baca grant eventually became a great deal of public land: Valles Caldera National Preserve, much of Santa Fe National Forest, Bandelier National Monument, lots of BLM land I can't name, and even Great Sand Dunes National Park.

All this to say if you live in Taos, you should check out Valles Caldera. Very cool area with tons of wildlife, and quite a bit closer than the east side of the Culebras. The Jemez Mountains are very fire-prone, so the sooner you get out there the better.

[ekalina]

Oh yeah, there's plenty to do that's not peak bagging, but it does kinda cripple the region because the Culebra mountains are so nice. Every other county around Costilla is sooooo much better as far as rec (there isn't the horses though).

I'm guessing the people who live in Costilla don't consider the region "crippled." They're probably thankful there isn't an attraction in their backyard that draws thousands of vehicles and people, along with all of the problems that creates, to where they live.

[Carl the Cuttlefish]

Thanks for that info greenschist! My fam lives in COS, and they've talked about going to La Veta area as a 'halfway' point several times, but none of us really knew what was open. My brother tried one trail that had a ton of blowdown, but good to know these options!

It is fascinating to think about how many lives these areas had - at the time the Baca's would have had their claim on the area near Las Vegas, the Apaches would have said that that was their hunting ground, and they were being pushed by the Navajo - who claimed the Jemez / Valle Caldera area. But it wasn't till Colorado that the barb wire got put up... The weird thing is that almost all the pre 1850s activity stopped at Taos as the northern outpost probably cause it was too darn cold in the San Luis Valley (in 1800s temps) and the passes weren't easy. But today it's got roads anywhere you want to go, irrigation everywhere etc.. The Jemez are definitely on my list for next year, I generally explore out in a radius and have done most of the local Sangre stuff this year . That area is fascinating, there's so many caves and old inhabitation spots and the pine trees are as big if not bigger than the ones by Pagosa!

There'd be a lot of people climbing Culebra to get their 14er if it was free access, but I don't think the rest would be very heavily used. The only hikes in Taos that get crowded are the one to Wheeler peak (which is the easiest point to the get above treeline in NM, has a ski area right there, and is the state high point). Other than that, it's like 6 people maybe, and half the time I know one or two of them. Also, look at the other side by Cuchara, not exactly a zoo and that's arguably closer to the main population centers.

That all being said, I really do scratch my head at why the SLV isn't more built up and trafficked than it is - Antonito, South Fork, Saguache, they all have amazing outdoor opportunities, but it seems like people go past it over Wolf Creek or stay up by Chaffee county.

[oldschool]

Thanks for that info greenschist! My fam lives in COS, and they've talked about going to La Veta area as a 'halfway' point several times, but none of us really knew what was open. My brother tried one trail that had a ton of blowdown, but good to know these options!

It is fascinating to think about how many lives these areas had - at the time the Baca's would have had their claim on the area near Las Vegas, the Apaches would have said that that was their hunting ground, and they were being pushed by the Navajo - who claimed the Jemez / Valle Caldera area. But it wasn't till Colorado that the barb wire got put up... The weird thing is that almost all the pre 1850s activity stopped at Taos as the northern outpost probably cause it was too darn cold in the San Luis Valley (in 1800s temps) and the passes weren't easy. But today it's got roads anywhere you want to go, irrigation everywhere etc.. The Jemez are definitely on my list for next year, I generally explore out in a radius and have done most of the local Sangre stuff this year . That area is fascinating, there's so many caves and old inhabitation spots and the pine trees are as big if not bigger than the ones by Pagosa!

There'd be a lot of people climbing Culebra to get their 14er if it was free access, but I don't think the rest would be very heavily used. The only hikes in Taos that get crowded are the one to Wheeler peak (which is the easiest point to the get above treeline in NM, has a ski area right there, and is the state high point). Other than that, it's like 6 people maybe, and half the time I know one or two of them. Also, look at the other side by Cuchara, not exactly a zoo and that's arguably closer to the main population centers.

That all being said, I really do scratch my head at why the SLV isn't more built up and trafficked than it is - Antonito, South Fork, Saguache, they all have amazing outdoor opportunities, but it seems like people go past it over Wolf Creek or stay up by Chaffee county.

Most of the poorest counties in Colorado are in the SLV area. It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing to me. To attract people, which could/might raise money from basic economics, people want to know there are good jobs, growth potential for their real estate, adequate housing, and all the other "things" people look for in a town or area. The counties in that part of Colorado are reliant on some tourism and agriculture. For a certain sector of the population, that works. For others it doesn't. Outdoor opportunities are only part of the reason people live where they live.

Access and blown down and private land are all connected IMO. More people would probably mean less blow down as hikers and climbers would/will fix it up a bit, at least the trails to nice areas. Private land is private land so let's just move on from that discussion. Access would also improve with more people but...as stated before find the character and beauty and value that it does have and does offer instead of "comparing" it to other areas. Go out, do what you can, then move on if that's what you choose.

Mike

[wineguy]

When my wife and I were in Taos this past spring I snuck out for a day to tag Ute Mountain, near the CO border. A very nice hike, over 10,000' and almost 2500' of prominence. I recall being on a trail for awhile, but not all the way to the summit. I needed my GPS to find the summit, a large flat area with lots of trees.

I had a nice view of the Culebra range, and the extensive snow caused me to bail on a planned trip to the north Cielo 13ers. It would have been a big day, and I didn't want to be slowed down by snow and feel rushed to make the exit deadline.