Sunday Burro Group - Nambe Lake

PLEASE NOTE 8:30 START TIME. SANDY IS OUR LEAD FOR TODAY'S HIKE.

SANDY WILL BE LEADING US ALONG THE SAME ROUTE AS HE DID LAST SUMMER, WHICH ELIMINATES SOME OF THE WINSOR TRAIL, SUBSTITUTING FOR THAT STRETCH AN OFF TRAIL SEGMENT. WE LIKED IT MUCH BETTER, ALTHO WE WON'T HIKE IT FOR OUR RETURN, FOR REASONS WE'LL EXPLAIN IN PERSON.

Nambe Lake is one of our classic hikes, it's on the strenuous end of Burro Group hikes, so only strong, sturdy, fit for altitude and a steep climb, hikers should sign up for this one. 7 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of 1900 ft. Starting at the ski basin, on the Winsor Trail, we hike up the first 3/4 mile of switchbacks to the Wilderness Gate. Here's where the change in route comes in: Instead of going through the Gate & continuing on the Winsor Trail, we turn right just before going through the gate, onto the trail towards Raven's Ridge. When we reach the large meadow on our left, we turn into it, & begin the off trail segment of the hike. We remove the bulk of the Winsor Trail from our route by so doing. It's downhill from the meadow to the first water crossing, & then proceeds on the customary trail to Nambe Lake. From the water crossing, the trail climbs steeply all the way to the lake, which is a great destination, very pretty place for our mid-hike snack, rest time. We'll do our Intention Circle here, then return to the TH on the more customary trail. bringing us back onto the Winsor, as to return the way we came involves quite a steep bushwhack climb back up to the meadow, effectively adding an unnecessary 200+ ft of elevation gain on the return.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT DUE TO RECENT RAINS, WATER CROSSING WILL LIKELY BE MORE CHALLENGING THAN USUAL; IT SHOULD NOT BE BEYOND ANYONE'S ABILITY, BUT EXPECT HIGHER, STRONGER CURRENT.

Burro Hikes are for experienced hikers, we customarily hike 4-6 miles on designated trails, unless otherwise specified. Newcomers are welcome in my Group, I do ask that prior to signing up for a Burro Hike you test your fitness by hiking up and down Atalaya which you should be able to do comfortably in less than 3 1/2 hours (from staircase or Wilderness Gate, using Steep Route option). Please text Ronnie at 617-331-1838 with any questions about Atalaya or about my hikes in general.

Non-aggressive, well mannered dogs are welcome on all my hikes.

We meet at the DeVargas Mall parking lot, in the back lot, behind the stores. Please park in a lane near the bowling alley, but not right up against the mall wall. We car pool to all THs. Please offer your driver $2 to cover gas expense for this hike. We leave promptly, so if you're running just a few minutes late, text me & we'll wait up to 5 minutes for you.

Please be considerate of those on the Wait List and sign off hike as soon as you know you cannot attend, preferably 24 hours in advance if at all possible. Please DO NOT NO SHOW! Repeated No Shows have consequences.