Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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36.64280°N / 105.4545°W |
Route Type:
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Hike |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Difficulty:
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Walk-up |
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Approach
[img:143163:alignleft:small:]You can begin hiking up Goose Lake Trail #66 from the pavement three miles south of Red River on highway 578 or if you like four-wheeling you can begin by driving the Goose Lake Jeep trail about half a mile out of Red River on highway 578. This is a very rough road and you will absolutely have to have a high clearance vehicle. The four-wheel drive trail is seven miles long one way and it takes two and a half hours to drive it one way. The Goose Lake (hiking) Trail #66 is approx. seven miles long as well.Route Description
[img:36302:alignleft:small:]To hike to Goose Lake from the pavement three miles outside of Red River you cross the stream on a wooden bridge and follow the very obvious trail which meanders through the forest for seven miles and covers 2800 ft. This trail consists of lots of tree root steps that head directly up the mountain, so conditioning is very important, but the trail is not technically difficult. There is always a stream near by, so save some weight by utilizing water filters and treatment to avoid carrying so much weight.Starting from Goose Lake (either by the hiking trail or by the Jeep trail), you begin by heading south around the shoreline of Goose Lake (you will already be on the south side of the lake if you have hiked up). You cross the streams feeding Goose Lake and you will see the clearly visible switchbacks heading up the saddle directly south of Goose Lake. Following these switchbacks you will climb 800 ft to the saddle and turn right, or northwest. Follow the ridgeline until you meet the Gold Hill Trail #64. Follow this trail north to the summit of Gold Hill. The hike from Goose Lake is approx. 4 miles long and covers an additional 1100 ft. This is a beautiful hike with lots of big horn sheep. The view of Wheeler Peak and Goose Lake is awesome.