Earlier in the week I had climbed four prominent peaks in south-central New Mexico, roughly centered down by Carrizozo. After doing four peaks in three days I decided to take a day off to relax. From my simple old-time hotel room in Vaughn, I did some sight-seeing driving, then slowly worked my way up north via Las Vegas (where I stopped at their Wal-Mart) and then up highway NM-518, which works its way into the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Range and eventually into Taos, although I wasn't going that far. My objective(s) were two peaks along the highway near the Picuris Pueblo called Cerro Vista and Picuris Peak. Cerro Vista would be the first of the two, then I would figure out what to do afterwards. The drive is fun and very scenic. I spent some time in the community of Mora, which is just a small town tucked into a canyon cutting into the big peaks. It's a small place, maybe just 400 people, but it is the county seat of Mora County, which means it has the peculiar effect of having fancy-looking county buildings like a courthouse plopped in with the little beat-up and boarded-up storefronts that date from about a hundred years ago. I had some time to kill so I had a nice lunch at "Kristy's Korner Kafe". This is the second or third such "KKK" establishment I've come across (one being "Kustom Kar Kare" in Houston). Do they realize the meaning of the acronym? In this case, the food was traditional Mexican - not American Mexican, but old-time Mexican, and very good. I doubt they meant anything bad by the KKK, other than trying to be clever.

Cerro Vista is a big peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, but it is relatively unknown as the big 13ers to the north and south - Wheeler and Truchas - get all the glory. However, Cerro Vista is a highly prominent peak, the highest peak in the section of the range hemmed in by a rough triangle with Taos to the north, and Mora and Venado (Picuris Pueblo) to the south. The map showed some promising road access options, with the potential for some easy short hikes. Access did not appear to be an issue.

It was getting late in the afternoon so I decided to drive up to Cerro Vista to scout it and get a good campspace. From Mora I went about 20-something miles up into the range, eventually turning off onto Carson National Forest Road 76, signed for "La Junta Canyon Area". Forest Road 76 is well-maintained and parallels Rio La Junta for about 10 miles. The area is apparently a very popular ATV recreational area. Lots of big trailers and RVs - the kind you see at NASCAR events - and ATV trailers, all brought up by big pickups. Lots of ATV riders on the road, too. The camping areas were all filled and I knew I wouldn't be getting much quiet time in these camping areas, so I drove up and up, past a Y-junction at about 9.5 miles in, where the roads get worse and effectively bar these uber-RVs further passage. I went right and bashed and banged up the rocky road another mile or so. I had spotty rain and plenty of late-day storm clouds, but nothing severe. I found a small clearing and pull-out and decided it would make a good camp-space. So I grabbed it. Cerro Vista was in view just a mile northwest. It was maybe 4:00 p.m. so I simply stayed put and relaxed, spending a lot of the time in the cab of my truck to stay out of the drizzle and occasional downpours. About an hour later, by which time I had moved myself to the shell and bed of my truck, cattle started to assemble, just slowly ambling in, mooing, checking me out. Two adolescent bulls seemed most interested, nosing and licking my truck (presumably for the salts on it). They even rocked the truck back and forth! Apparently this is one of 'their' areas, perhaps their bed-down place. Not wanting a full night of mooing and truck-rocking, I figured I would find another place.

The weather seemed to improve so I drove up the remaining mile or so to the saddle directly east of the peak, but there were no good camping pullouts up here (in drier weather, perhaps, but the few pullouts up here were big mud bogs). I drove back down past my old spot (and all the cattle) and found a great spot not too much farther down. It was open, with no trees, but hidden from the road by a small rise and with neat rock outcrops that I scampered up for views. It was peaceful and quiet up here. No ATVs to spoil the solitude. I turned in when it got dark, about 8:30 p.m. The rain had stopped an hour ago and the clouds were beginning to thin and clear out, too. I had a great night and spent some time staring at the stars.

I awoke at sun-up the next morning and spent a few minutes getting ready, then broke camp and drove up the road to the aforementioned saddle, arriving around 7 a.m. in clear, very nice weather. A climb of Cerro Vista looked simple enough: a 700 foot gain up a mixed slope of trees, grass and stumps, plus some roads possibly. I didn't waste much time and started the hike within minutes of arriving to the saddle, which is marked as 11,230 feet elevation. From the road I walked up a very gentle grass slope and within minutes had arrived onto the first thick batch of forest. The fir trees here all looked about the same size and age, and the presence of many stumps and clean lines between trees and open spaces strongly suggested the area had been logged some time ago. Presumably what I was walking through was some section where saplings had been replanted, probably about 10 years ago judging by their uniform size. Walking through the trees was easy enough, since there was plenty of room between them and little undergrowth, and I was surprised to come upon an old road after a few minutes. This road was way overgrown in grasses and showed no hint of recent vehicular (e.g. ATV) travel. I suspected it to be one of the old logging roads. These were visible on other hillsides and generally didn't go anywhere other than to stay level. Even so, I followed this one for a bit as it gained gently uphill, more north than west. I wasn't too concerned as long as I went up, but after awhile I grew suspicious the road wasn't actually going anywhere of interest to me, so I broke from it and resumed the direct uphill approach. I soon left the trees and entered onto a long steep open area of grass and old stumps. Closer to the top there stood a mature stand of fir, obviously unlogged. I came upon a fence line that led through some trees very near the summit crown. I followed the fence through the trees into a clearing and onto a substantial dirt road that is obviously used by ATVs. I was essentially on top of Cerro Vista, the one-way hike having covered about a mile and about 45 minutes. The top is very broad; a cairn seems to mark the highest point, although some trees to the west deserved some inspection. I walked over to this little area to be sure, but saw nothing that seemed higher, so I concur that the cairn pile is the highest point.

I stayed on top about 20 minutes to shoot photos of the higher peaks - mainly Wheeler Peak to the north and the Truchas Peaks to the south - and enjoy some solitude and quiet. The weather was very nice and surprisingly moderate, given I was near 12,000 feet at 8 in the morning. A nearby peak, Cerro Olla to the immediate southwest, is listed at 11,232 feet - just 7 feet lower than Cerro Vista. I thought about hiking over to it but chose not to. After enjoying Cerro Vista's views I walked down the ATV road through the trees and back down the eastern hillside, curious to where it was heading. I could see that it swept well to the south of where my truck was so I left the track to hike cross-country by sight down the open slopes and through the younger trees. And quickly I was back to my truck, the time still not yet 9 a.m. Cerro Vista had proven to be a fun quicky hike, and quite pretty. As I drove out I spotted where the ATV track met with the road, about a mile south of the saddle and not marked on the map. From there I just drove on out to the paved highway. Picuris Peak is up the road just a few miles but I decided against it this trip, since I was looking at a long hike, one I would prefer to do at dawn if I can (and it didn't look that interesting anyway, at least from below). Instead I drove into Espanola for some grub and to kill time before my fateful tangle with Chicoma Mountain that evening (and night).