A TRIP TO THE TRUCHAS PEAKS. NEW 

 MEXICO. 



WILMATTE PORTER COCKERELL. 



The high mountains of Colorado arc continued southward into 

 New Mexico without a break as far as the region of Santa 

 Fe and Fas Vegas. Sonic distance north of this, however, 

 the range forks, presenting roughly the form of a reversed Y. 

 One of the arms of the Y is known as the Fas Vegas 

 Range, the other as the Sante Fe range. The Truchas 

 Peaks are in the Sante Fe Range and represent almost the 

 southernmost extension of the Arctic-alpine zone. 



The first week in August, 1902, I visited these peaks and 

 collected both flowers and insects. There is no road into the 

 region; and from Blake's ranch, which is just inside the Pecos 

 Forest Reservation we secured a guide, saddle horses and pack 

 animals. The first day we passed over the Fas Vegas Range, 

 travelling through beautiful alpine meadows and great stretches 

 of spruce forests. Travelling through this country was very 

 delightful and the long vistas of mountain slopes, with here and 

 there the sparkle of an alpine lake, more than compensated for 

 hard parts of the trail where the horses must be guided carefully 

 as they jumped over the fallen trees. In places where the fire 

 had destroyed the trees the hillsides looked much like a board 

 covered with jack straws and even our skilful guide sometimes 

 led us into boxes out of which our horses could not climb and 

 we were obliged to retrace our steps and try a new path. 



Our first camp was on the Mora fork of the Pecos River : this 

 is a small but very rapid stream that heads in the Truchas, and 

 it is famous through all northern New Mexico for the size and 

 number of trout that it contains. We saw trout (Salmo spilu- 



so that only a few were hooked. 



