The Pecos is the quintessential New Mexico mountain wilderness- high, wide, and beautiful, a wonderland of wildflower-filled meadows, still lakes, deep conifer forests, shimmering aspen groves, many of the state's highest mountains, and abundant wildlife. Yet this seemingly pristine wilderness has suffered a sobering number of changes and environmental indignities. As the New Mexico outdoor writer Kay Matthews put it, "Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Pecos is the fact that there is a Pecos Wilderness at all."

For centuries, the Pecos high country had been a resource for Native American peoples, a place to hunt, fish, cut fuelwood and timber, and gather medicinal and edible plants. On the west lived Tewa and Keresan Puebloan peoples; on the north lived Tiwa Pueblos and nomadic mountain peoples such as the Utes; on the east Plains Indians roamed; and on the south Towa Indians inhabited the pueblo the Spaniards called Pecos, from a Keresan word meaning "place where there is water." From the pueblo the name spread to the nearby river, thence to the headwaters in the mountains. When the Spaniards arrived in 1540, they established villages around the periphery of the wilderness and used the wilderness much as the Indians had.

But even when grazing commenced in the wilderness possibly as early as 1825, its impact on the land was relatively small. That changed, however, when English-speaking settlers arrived after the American annexation of New Mexico in 1846, bringing with them new and vastly more powerful technologies and a philoso- phy that combined market rather than subsistence economics with an impetus to "conquer" the West.

Because the Pecos area was relatively free of valuable minerals, and perhaps because of the region's remoteness, Pecos was spared the worst ravages of mining. (Nevertheless, mine dumps persist at Terrero, and the Jacks Creek Trailhead recently underwent a lengthy closure to remove toxic soil from the parking area.) But the wilderness's vastness could not protect its wildlife. By 1888 elk had been exterminated in the Pecos Country. By 1900 they were gone from the rest of the state. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep had disappeared by 1900. The last grizzly in the Pecos Wilderness was killed in 1923. Perhaps the most telling example of the wildlife devastation is that during the 1915 hunting season on the one million acres of the Carson National Forest (which includes much of the Pecos Wilderness), only eight deer were taken.

But even as this wildlife holocaust occurred, conservationists were acting to protect the area and its resources. In 1892 President Harrison proclaimed the upper Pecos watershed a timberland reserve for watershed protection (a proclamation not implemented until 1898). The area was set aside and withdrawn from every use including logging, grazing, and mining, and it was closed completely to the public. The Pecos Primitive Area of 133,640 acres was established by the Chief of the Forest Service in 1933. It was declared a Forest Service wilderness in 1955 and became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System on September 3, 1964, when President Johnson signed the Wilderness Act. In 1980, the New Mexico Wilderness Act added 55,000 acres to include more lands with wilderness character.

Concurrent with wilderness preservation was wildlife restoration. In the Pecos Wilderness much of this resulted from the leadership of Elliott Barker, who had grown up on a ranch near the wilderness. Other changes were occurring. In 1911, when Barker was a young assistant forest ranger, fewer than 300 people visited the high country solely for recreation during the year. By 1970, based upon wilderness travel permits (now no longer required), the total exceeded 20,000 a year, and the Pecos was among the top five most heavily used wilderness areas in the Forest Service system.

The nature of the use was also changing. In 1948 two young men attempted something novel: they would spend two weeks camping and fishing in the wilderness on foot! Previously, almost all travel in the wilderness was by horse and pack animals. Their backpacking was so unusual that New Mexico Magazine ran a feature article about the trip. By 1960, backpackers outnumbered horse riders in the wilderness.

But while portions of the Pecos Wilderness receive very heavy use, 85 percent of the hikers use 15 percent of the wilderness-other areas seldom receive visitors.  The most frequently traveled trails are those leading to Beattys, Puerto Nambe, Hermits Peak, the high peaks, the lake basins, and even Pecos Falls. But after Labor Day, visits to these areas decline precipitously, and early fall in the Pecos is magnificent and tranquil.

Because of its elevation, the Pecos Country is cooler than surrounding areas. Summer daytime temperatures average 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with nighttime averages in the 30s. Average annual precipitation is 35 to 40 inches, half from summer rain, half from winter snow. May and June generally are dry months, but heavy snowpack in the high country and on north slopes can impede travel into June. From mid-July through August, daily thundershowers are often heavy. September and October typically are dry, although snow can come to the high country during these months.

Only above timberline do hikers have to be concerned about availability of water, but because cattle grazing continues in the Pecos Wilderness, all water must be treated. Unfortunately, each year the wilderness is ravaged by mountain man wannabes convinced their outdoor experience won't be complete unless they've used their hatchets to hack down a few trees to make a lean-to, a huge fire, or whatever. Trails in the Pecos Wilderness are generally well-marked and easy to follow. Several excellent guidebooks for the area are available.

The southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains within the Pecos Wilderness are the southern end of the great Rocky Mountain chain whose northern end stretches to Alaska. Certainly, the wilderness more closely fits the image of the Rocky Mountains than the desert Southwest. The dominant trees here are Engelmann spruce. At lower elevations blue spruce, corkbark fir, and aspen thrive, while lower still live Douglas fir, white fir, limber pine, and ponderosa pine. The Pecos Wilderness is the southern limit of the long-lived bristlecone pine.

The wilderness also marks the southern limit of the American marten. While you're not likely to observe a pine marten, on any trip in the Pecos of two days or more your chances of seeing elk are excellent, as are your chances of seeing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep near the Truchas Peaks. The Pecos Wilderness is a true wilderness jewel. Trite though the metaphor may seem, it will feel appropriate when you're actually in the Pecos High Country, perhaps on a ridge looking down upon the river's headwaters where emerald meadows intermingle with crystalline ponds. On the grass a herd of elk are lying, absorbing the warmth of a sunset in a turquoise New Mexico sky. Looking around at the mountains and the valley extending to the horizon, you realize that in this supposedly crowded wilderness you haven't seen another person all day. A wilderness jewel-yes, indeed!