Jun 08, 2018 — This route is sometimes referred to as the Wheeler Cirque Route. Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico, didn't seem like enough of a hike to justify driving all the way to Taos, so I was hoping to figure out a loop to bag a few more peaks. Wheeler Peak itself is really pretty, including the official trail to its summit, but to include a traverse of Wheeler, Simpson Peak, Peak 12819 (aka Bighorn Peak or Fairchild Peak, both names seen elsewhere), Lake Fork Peak, and Kachina Peak, made the day much more interesting.
Take the Williams Lake Trail to the lake, then branch off onto the Wheeler Peak Trail to the summit. From here, continue south along the ridge to Simpson Peak. There's a Class 3 scramble with only some minor obstacles before a hump between Simpson and Peak 12819. The ascent to Peak 12819 has some more obstacles, but is mostly just a steep trudge to the summit. Continue along the ridgeline, just below the highest point, to gain Lake Fork Peak's southern summit, and continue on easy ground to the true summit. From Lake Fork Peak, you'll see a small blip of a peak before you can get to Kachina. I recommend hitting this as well and then round-finding down a Class 3 section of solid rock. The alternative is to stay west and avoid this little blip, but you'll be going down awful Class 2 scree and talus, and then ultimately have to re-gain a bunch of elevation to get back to the ridgeline. Though this Class 3 section looks like it doesn't go, it does. From the blip, walk to Kachina Peak and follow the chairlift down. There is actually a blazed trail leading you to the chairlift's start. From here, look for Lift 4 and follow this as closely as you can to make it back to the Williams Lake Trail.
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