We got up at 6:00am.  After getting everyone’s packs reloaded into the trailers, we went for breakfast at the hotel at 7:30am.  We overwhelmed the dinning room and staff, but they were very helpful, and we got out of the hotel at 8:30am and headed for Taos Ski Valley. 

The trailhead we were looking for was located at an elevation of 10,200 feet, about two miles up Twining Road (a very rugged, rough, and bumpy gravel road that runs up the Taos ski mountain).  We unloaded the trailers and took a few pictures before starting our 4-mile round trip hike.

The first part of the trail passed a couple of ski lifts and a hillside restaurant, then begins to gain elevation rapidly as it enters the pine forest.  The view near the top was great.  The lake is located right near tree line at a little over 11,400 feet, so the scenery was mixed pine forest and  rock fields.  We crossed paths with many locals, and stopped to talk to them often.  We began hiking at about 9:50am and reached Williams Lake at 11:15am.  The boys immediately broke out lunch, so we ate, then spent about an hour  just walking around the area enjoying the views.  

There was a huge rock outcrop near the lake that everyone hiked to the top of.  The view was even better than that down at the lakeshore, although the steep hike up was hard with little acclimation done so far.  Justin, Allen, and Steve tried to coax some fish out of the lake, but none were to be had.  David and Jill left us while we were at Williams Lake.  They were going to continue their vacation in New Mexico before he returned to work next week. 

We started hiking back down to the vehicles at 12:40pm, and reached the vehicles at about 1:30pm.  We reloaded the trailers, and then had a surprise birthday party for Josh.  Robin had sent hats and party favors along with a box of goodies for the whole group.  Some of the people in the parking lot must have thought we were a little nuts.