Winter hiking in New Mexico

[Wolf - 23000]

Has anyone here winter hiked New Mexico? I’m thinking about starting early in the season so that I can yo-yo New Mexico before beginning my 2019 CDT thru-hike. As I get into Northern New Mexico and the higher elevation, I figure it may involve some snow travel. I’m ok with that as long as my turn around point if not too difficult to pick the trail back up.

I’ve winter hiked before. Can someone give me an idea of what temperatures I can expect in February, March time frame? From what I can gather a 20-degree sleeping bag should be fine. Should I plan for colder temperatures or expect around 20 degrees for an average?

I know in many areas along the CDT, there is no trail. Is New Mexico section fairly well established or is it mostly get out the map and compass and find a path that will get you through from one point to the next? I’m expecting some areas are better than others. I’m really liking for just an idea of what to expect.

Wolf

[Ercoupe]

For temperature check the accuweather website for historical averages, and recent years past weather. A quick glance shows quite a few days dipping to ten degrees or lower.

Guthooks app details the official trail and most of the alternatives. Quite a bit of road walk because of the private lands.

Many people flip at Charma after completing NM. If the snow if too bad past ghost ranch, there is a bus service to Ghost ranch.

[Spirit Walker]

Night time temperatures in New Mexico in late fall - early spring are frequently around 0-20 degrees. You can expect snow from October to late May. Remember, the CDT is at elevation. Low is about 7000', high around 10,000. You would probably want to avoid the river routes through the Gila, unless it was during a warmer spell, but even then, we had frozen boots when we woke up in November and some of the springs in the high country were frozen solid. That was in the Black Range. OTOH, we had daytime temps in the 60's. The trail in the north part of the state is likely to have snow on the ground, deepest in the San Pedro Parks area north of Cuba all the way to the border.

New Mexico navigation isn't that difficult. A lot of it is jeep track. The land is open, so getting lost isn't that big a deal.

[cbxx]

A lot of difference between Southern New Mexico and Northern, also there is desert and there are mountains. 20 degree should be OK everywhere but the mountains, however in Feb it could drop to zero, so have a puffy or something to make up for that. Then again it could be in the 70's.... sorry, not helpful but that's the way it is. High and dry country, vast temp swings. Beautiful place to hike but you need to plan on water sources, which are not always available (usually NOT available).
If you get into the mountains around Toas, in Feb, it will be full on winter. By mid March, the desert warms up some USUALLY but still could be cold snaps. Very desolate in places.
Upside is you probably wont have rain (to cold) and it will be dry, usually sunny cool days. No bugs. I would thing a good baselayer and a 20 degree bag would be OK MOST of the time.

[burger]

This just isn't doable in winter. The northernmost sections get up near 10,000 feet (ditto for Mt. Taylor, which is 11,000). There will be feet and feet of snow in winter. A hiker died just off the trail a few years back, and they didn't find him untiil the snow had mostly melted in late spring.

There is very little marked trail. And a lot of it will be under snow. You will need a map and compass for almost every mile.

Why bother yo-yoing NM anyway? It's not that great to start. There's a lot of roadwalking. The desert will be nice in winter, but everything else will be freezing (like sub-zero nights). The dozens of crossings of the Gila will feel like stepping into an ice bath each time. Find somewhere else to hike if winter is your only free time. Or just save it for your thru in 2019.

[Dogwood]

feb -mar - snow above 7k ft or so, choosing alternate routes that avoids some of the snow travel above 8K ft should be predetermined(use Ley's maps&notes & elev profiles of various routes(if you can find them)) or expect a snow slogfest of miles in length requiring high ability to navigate without noticeable trail, snow shoes might be needed but weather varies from yr to yr just like the PCT, you do not need to yo yo as a purist, yo NOBO one route yo SOBO a different route(Tapon did some of this), you say nothing of what routes you expect to take

You'll need to be able to increase the warmth of a 20* sleep system at times

[Wolf - 23000]

Thank you for everyone responds. I’m still a little under 2 years until GO TIME! For now, I’m just looking at possible options to get me out there as soon as possible and in the planning stages. I’ve been waiting a LONG time to get final get back out there.

Ercoupe, I thought about using Guthooks app but on a hike in the winter, paper maps/compass might be a better option. Cold weather are cell phone battery killers. When I winter hiked Maine, my cell phone went from full charged to dead in less than 20 minutes. I was planning on using a GPS instead as a backup and use batteries design to handle the extreme cold.

Burger to answer your question about why yo-yo NM. I’ve spent a lot of time hiking the AT and PCT but little time on the CDT. I figure it about time I made it out there. NM has always seem to me as a very dry state. I drove through it in the winter and even stayed over briefly. NM didn’t see that cold to me in walking around town. I wasn’t sure how much snow I should expect in the mountains. Yes I am aware that some areas in the higher elevations would involve snow travel. It would take some addition planning for those sections. I wanted to see if anyone had done it before.

Spirit Walker, that was some good information! The temperatures you mention are colder than what I was expecting for river crossings. I’ve done it before but crossing a river in 0 – 20 degrees is still COLD. I was thinking the river route would be lower in elevation with less snow. I could use them to get around the higher elevation areas.

Wolf

[Venchka]

This graph of snow conditions speaks volumes about winter conditions. Ironically, New Mexico and southern Colorado seem to be below the April 1 norm this year. That still translates into several feet of snow on the ground.
http://www.postholer.com/postholer/c...we_current.png
I carry a 20 degree bag, personally verified comfortable at 12 degrees without extra down clothing, in August and September just across the border in Colorado. I would want my 0 degree bag in the northern half of New Mexico in February-March.
Winter in the Rockies is not hiking. It's survival.
Wayne


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[bearcreek]

This graph of snow conditions speaks volumes about winter conditions. Ironically, New Mexico and southern Colorado seem to be below the April 1 norm this year. That still translates into several feet of snow on the ground.
http://www.postholer.com/postholer/c...we_current.png
I carry a 20 degree bag, personally verified comfortable at 12 degrees without extra down clothing, in August and September just across the border in Colorado. I would want my 0 degree bag in the northern half of New Mexico in February-March.
Winter in the Rockies is not hiking. It's survival.
Wayne


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Actually, northern New Mexico and the South San Juans have the highest snowfall and snow water totals in nine years. The only place on the southern CDT that is below normal is the New Mexico bootheel area near Mexico, which is considered to be in a drouth.

image.png


The dark line is the current level. The red line is the mean average. The other lines are recent years. The San Juans peaked at 131% of normal and are currently 118% of normal.

[Venchka]

Thanks. Apparently your source and Postholer's source don't agree. Or I'm not reading the graph I posted correctly.
No worries. Even in an average year the trail is buried.
I was in the Three Forks and Williams Creek drainages last September and they were both soggy. I hope to be back in late August.
Wayne


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[burger]

A 0 degree bag will not cut it for the high-elevation sections north of Ghost Ranch. I live at 7000 feet in northern Arizona, and regularly get down to 0 or just below in winter. For the much higher elevations in NM you could be looking at -10 or -20 if not colder occasionally.

[Venchka]

Northeast NM got clobbered by a blizzard in the last 48 hours.
Wayne


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