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Mt. Taylor (near Grants, NM)

The trail to the top of Mt. Taylor, the highest mountain in western New Mexico, is called the Gooseberry Spring Trail (#77).  It begins about 5 miles off Hwy 547 on FR 193.  (It’s very easy to miss.  If you reach the intersection of 193 and 501, you’ve gone too far.)  Mt. Taylor is one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo Nation—Tso’odzil.  It is an extinct composite volcano that is basically horseshoe shaped with an interior valley known as Water Canyon on its eastern flank.

The trail starts at an elevation of 9,280 feet and climbs to 11,301 feet in 3 miles.  While the trail is easy to follow and is generally easy on the feet, it’ll take your breath away if you don’t pace yourself.  The trail starts in a mixed forest of ponderosa pine, gamble oak, rocky mountain maple, and quaking aspen.  It breaks out into the open after about a mile and then heads straight up a steep grassy slope to a ridge.  (I found this the toughest part of the hike, both going up and down.) 

From there the trail climbs more gradually but relentlessly, eventually taking big switchbacks across the side of the mountain.  The views from the top are fantastic!  It took me 2 hours and 10-15 minutes to make it to the top, but only 1 ½ hours to come down.  I spent about 45 minutes at the top taking pictures and looking for a geocache, so the total trip was 4 ½ hours.