Hermit's Peak

Infobox Mountain
Name = Hermit's Peak
Photo =
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Elevation = convert|10263|ft|m|0
Location = New Mexico, USA
Range = Sangre de Cristo Mountains
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Topographic

Type =
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Easiest route = 9.5 mile trail from El Porvenir Trailhead

Hermit's Peak is a mountain in San Miguel County, in northern New Mexico, United States.

The peak is named for Italian religious recluse John Augustiani, who lived there in a cave he had dug into the earth around the time of the U.S. Civil War. His cave became the subject of pilgrimage by some devout New Mexicans, both during his life and for a number of years after his death."The Las Vegas Hot Springs," Harpers Weekly, June 28, 1890]

The Peak is located in the Santa Fe National Forest, and the trail to the peak is maintained by the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District. The trail to the top is approximately four miles from the El Porvenir Campground.

From El Porvenir, Hermit Peak's rocky features seem to form a man's face looking to the sky. Left to right, one sees a forehead, eye, nose, two lips, and a chin. The rugged trail to the top of the "nose" winds through the "eye." The view from the tip of the "nose" is said to include five states. There is rock overhang known as "Hermit's Cave" located on the "nose."

Literature

Hermit's Peak is the location for Michael McGarrity's suspense novel "Hermit's Peak".

References