The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike Guidebook is available!

The guidebook can be ordered from the website here.

The guidebook is also available as of Monday in Santa Fe at Collected Works and at Travel Bug. It will be available later this week at Taos Mountain Outfitters and at the Taos Fly Shop. I will be distributing more copies to different venues around Santa Fe, Taos, in between and beyond, but those are the places I’ve been able to get to so far.

The Kindle book will be available on Amazon tomorrow, as will the paperback… if I can get Amazon KDP to accept the margins in the press file (#itsallaboutthedetails).

I encourage you to buy the guidebook from the SF2T website, though. I get a much larger cut of the sale if you buy it there. Shipping for one to three copies is $9.00 (it’s flat rate). Buy four or more copies and you get free shipping. The copies for sale from me and the local bookstores are also slightly nicer, because they use better paper, so the photographs look a bit better (than the cheap paper Amazon uses).

All the wonderful, helpful beta readers will get a free copy in a week or so. Ongoing thank yous for your help.

Save the date: May 31st, 5-6pm at Travel Bug in Santa Fe

I will be doing a short presentation and a Q&A session about the guidebook and the thru-hike at Travel Bug in Santa Fe on Saturday, May 31st, 5-6pm. I’ll also be giving out merch. It would be great to see you there! Email subscribers are extra-special people.

I am also working on getting two events scheduled at Taos and Red River at Taos Mountain Outfitters. The owner there is very supportive of the thru-hike and wants to make it happen. More about that when I have a date. I might even send an email out before two weeks from now, if the event ends up being before the Sunday after next.

Dorothy, the owner at Collected Works has also been super-supportive of the guidebook. She wrote me an actual check (MONEY! It exists!) for the 20 copies she’s bought so far. I was so dazed and amazed by the whole experience I didn’t even ask about doing an event. I think she might say yes to doing an event… it’s on my shortlist for this week to ask.

Keep an eye out for the Santa Fe New Mexican article about the thru-hike, coming out on May 19th. 👀

My guiding application for the north half of the thru-hike is APPROVED

So I will be leading two trips to do the north half of the thru-hike. This is A BIG DEAL. I am downright giddy.

But I am not going to give you the purchase link yet. Me and my amazing, brilliant contact at Carson NF are still trying to get Santa Fe NF to let me lead a group through the south half of the thru-hike route as well. If we can get their cooperation and things work out, I will be able to offer two trips this year to do the full thru-hike. Fingers crossed…

Each trip will have six “clients” plus two guides. The cost for the north half will be $1,750. If the full thru-hike gets approved, the cost for that will be $3,000. (This is on par with other thru-hike, long-distance backpacking trips of the same day count and distance.).

Itinerary by day, July trip, north half:

Day 1 (Friday, July 4): Santa Barbara Campground Day Use Parking Lot to Los Esteros. 5.7 miles, but 3,200 feet of ascent.

Day 2 (Saturday, July 5): Los Esteros to fields just short of FR 442 & off Ojitos Maes Trail. Resupply in Tres Ritos (or medical evacuation).

Day 3 (Sunday, July 6): Fields just short of FR 442 & off Ojitos Maes Trail to about 0.2 miles down Trail 124 west of the junction of Trail 124 and Forest Road FR 440. 10.6 miles; 1,679 feet ascent.

Day 4 (Monday, July 7): About 0.2 miles down Trail 124 west of the junction of Trail 124 and Forest Road FR 440 to Bernardin Lake. If needed, resupply or medical evacuation at Bernardin Lake. 9.2 miles, 2,100 feet ascent.

Day 5 (Tuesday, July 8): Bernardin Lake to fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito & FR 437, across from entrance to Drake Canyon. Resupply at the bridge over Rio Chiquito on FR 478 if necessary (or medical evacuation). 13.8 miles; 1,000 feet ascent.

Day 6 (Wednesday, July 9): Fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito & FR 437 across from entrance to Drake Canyon to Taos Plaza. Resupply or medical evacuation if required either at the fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito at Drake Canyon, or at El Nogal parking lot. 13.0 miles; 2,100 feet ascent.

Itinerary by day, August/September trip, north half:

Day 1 (Saturday, August 30): Santa Barbara Campground Day Use Parking Lot to Los Esteros. 5.7 miles, but 3,200 feet of ascent.

Day 2 (Sunday, August 31): Los Esteros to fields just short of FR 442 & off Ojitos Maes Trail. Resupply in Tres Ritos (or medical evacuation). 11.4 miles; 2,400 ft ascent.

Day 3 (Monday, September 1): Fields just short of FR 442 & off Ojitos Maes Trail to about 0.2 miles down Trail 124 west of the junction of Trail 124 and Forest Road FR 440. 10.6 miles; 1,679 feet ascent.

Day 4 (Tuesday, September 2): About 0.2 miles down Trail 124 west of the junction of Trail 124 and Forest Road FR 440 to Bernardin Lake. If needed, resupply or medical evacuation at Bernardin Lake. 9.2 miles, 2,100 feet ascent.

Day 5 (Wednesday, September 3): Bernardin Lake to fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito & FR 437, across from entrance to Drake Canyon. Resupply at the bridge over Rio Chiquito on FR 478 if necessary (or medical evacuation). 13.8 miles; 1,000 feet ascent.

Day 6 (Thursday, September 4): Fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito & FR 437 across from entrance to Drake Canyon to Taos Plaza. Resupply or medical evacuation if required either at the fields on the far side of Rio Chiquito at Drake Canyon, or at El Nogal parking lot. 13.0 miles; 2,100 feet ascent.

There’s a lot going on. More soon.

Cheers,

Pam Neely

Founder, The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike