Mora Flats, Pecos Wilderness

The Mora Flats are a large marshy meadow crossed by several streams. Starting from Iron Gate Campground (18 miles in on NM 63, past the town of Terrero) it is an easy 2.5 to 3 miles to the flats. (We selected to hike in the Pecos because the Sandias, Manzanos and Mount Taylor areas are all closed due to drought.) The first 1/2 mile of the trail led to the junction of Hamilton Mesa and Mora Flats. As we arrived at the junction, a hiker reminded us that the great views are from Hamilton Mesa. We hesitated a moment and then decided to go ahead with our original plan. Most of the Mora Flats trail has a very gently, mostly down grade and was lined by Aspen. The most challenging part of the day was not the hiking but the 4.5-mile drive to the trailhead on a bumpy, unimproved road that really required a high clearance 4WD vehicle. Thanks to Jim's skillful driving, we got stuck only once. (I was reminded that we attempted to camp at Iron Gate Campground on a 4th of July weekend with Kenli and Shaw a few years back and had to turn back because we got stuck in mud.)

To our dismay, we discovered that the Flats and surrounding hills have been badly affected by the drought. The Flats looked dry and the trees, as you can see in more detail in the picture below, are dying.

This area is supposed to be covered with wildflowers in spring: false pine lupines, wild irises, geraniums and wild strawberries. We found irises and lupines. They were attractive but small and clearly suffering from the drought.