Into the Wilderness

In preparation for a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail next spring, Jim, Lily, and I head off to the nearest entrance to the Gila Wilderness for an extended hike to check out our gear and our endurance. It was a beautiful 3-hour drive of mostly back roads to Snow Lake. As we drive through the wildflower-lined road towards the forest I felt the excitement of Dorothy and her gang as they approached the Emerald City.

With our full packs we energetically begin our hike just before noon on trail 157, which follows the middle fork of the Gila River to the south. This trail was of moderate difficulty, not due to steep elevation gains or poor footing of the trail, but of the difficulty of finding and staying on the trail. Many of the meadow crossings were so overgrown with waist high wildflowers, grasses, and weeds that it was nearly impossible to discern which direction to travel as we bush whacked our way across. Also, the clear and obvious paths would frequently split into two or three different directions with no indications of which one was trail 157, causing us to do a lot of backtracking when the path we chose dead-ended or started taking us in the wrong direction. Our first human contact of the day was a couple of forest service workers who were out taking a survey of flora, fauna, and people in the wilderness. When we saw them they were very excited about having seen a very large bear print. They thought it must be at least 10 years old to have a paw that big. They told us where to look for it, but we never saw it or the bear. We were constantly on the lookout for poison ivy that we read permeates this area. When my arms started itching and burning with small welts, I thought for sure that I had some how rubbed against some. Fortunately, it was just an allergic reaction to the wildflowers and grasses that we had been walking through. The few other people we saw on the trail were all bow hunters--it being elk season for bow hunters. As we traveled further into the wilderness, the hunters we saw were on horses or mules. The hunters weren’t having that much luck, however, we saw a beautiful bull elk on our first evening coming down the mountain toward the river for a drink! Our first day of hiking met us with 7 river crossings (have I mentioned that I hate wet soggy feet?), and led us to a nice campsite near the river. We were a bit nervous as we went to sleep that night as we heard the chirp like calling of a mountain lion just up the mountain.

The next morning we packed up and set out on day 2 of what was to be a six-day trip. We had 7 more river crossings this day, though two of them were unnecessary and due to more backtracking to find the correct trail. Another day of soggy feet! After speaking with a hunter and verifying a water source, we left trail 157 for a trail that lead steeply up and over a mountain to Clear Creek. On top of this mountain, on a pristine flat forest floor trail, I tripped on the rare, elusive forest rock twisting my ankle! After a few minutes resting, I got up, dusted myself off, and continued hiking the second half of the day without any noticeable problems. After setting up camp at Clear Creek, I sat down to rest before making dinner. Unfortunately, when I tried to start moving again I discovered that I could not put any weight on my ankle. Now, Jim often says I’m pretty tough, and we laugh knowing that what I really am, is very stubborn; so we agree not to make any decisions about what to do until the next morning. Stubbornness aside, the next morning was painful enough for me to agree that it was more reasonable to take the shortest path back to our truck, which was to turn back the way we came. Fortunately, a new piece of gear we were trying out was trekking poles, as they came in quite handy for me to hobble two days out of the wilderness! In spite of our advanced age, we were not hugely excited at the prospect of carrying this recommended item. But I can tell you now that I am sold. Not sure how I could have made it out without them.

In spite of being cut short, we had a wonderful adventure and saw some amazing scenery and wildlife. In addition to the elk, we saw: tree frogs, hawks, crows, a King Fisher, some of the biggest lizards we’ve ever seen, horned toads, snakes, trout, and two beavers. Most importantly, we do not see this as a failed attempt. We made it out, and are planning another try for an extended trip after a few days rest for my ankle.

Back Into the Wilderness

Here we go again. This time we decide to enter the Gila from the south end of trail 157 and hike up the Middle Fork of the Gila River. After driving 3 hours to Silver City, we took the 45-mile road that goes up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings—a narrow winding road that took us on a hairy 2-hour drive. We decided to take the rest of the day to explore the Dwellings. They really were amazing. The Mogollon built most of the rooms in the caves in the 1280’s, though they say humans used them as shelter much earlier. It must have been amazing to live in the side of a cliff with such beautiful views of the surrounding wilderness and river below. We were surprised at how cool the caves were inside in spite of being so open in the front.

After spending the night at a nearby campground, we got an early morning start on the trail. The trail was much more defined on the southern end, but very overgrown with grasses, weeds, and wildflowers. It was quite uncomfortable plowing through the overabundance of tumbleweeds! My arms and thighs were continuously being poked and scratched by their sharp thorns. (So of course, by that evening my legs had broken out in itchy welts!) This end of the trail also has more rocky sections making for more difficult footing. By noon we had made 20 river crossings, we lost an accurate count around 32, and at 40 river crossings we stopped caring! I guess that having wet and soggy feet all day are just part of the Gila. In spite of the discomforts and difficulties, this is some of the most spectacular and beautiful trail we have ever hiked. There are awesome views and amazing sheer rock wall cliffs and columns spiring out from the river.

We met an interesting character living just off the trail where a hot spring runs into the river. About the character, Gypsy Bow Dancer, he was very interesting. It seemed he had lived a fascinating 74 years of life, including many years in India and being arrested in Bangladesh, and had some ideas he wanted to share. However, it was difficult to keep him on track. About the hot spring, it was fascinating. The water was flowing right out of the ground so hot that I couldn’t hold my hand in it. And where it flowed into the river was spotted with dead frogs that had boiled themselves.

Hiking an exhausting nine miles the first day rewarded us with our stunning destination: Jordan Hot Springs.

After setting up camp, we were just too tired to hike back up the hill to the hot spring so decided to wait until morning. It was worth the wait and was really wonderful to take a soak. The temperature of the water was perfect body temperature, keeping us comfortable without overheating. It was quite an astonishing treat to enjoy in the middle of the wilderness.

The morning soak was worth the late start on the trail. Few people continue on the trail past Jordon Hot Springs, but we did pass a few backpackers traveling down river—each saying that we were the first people they had seen in days. One couple of backpackers told us of the ideal campsite just before the Meadows. Since our destination was the Meadows, we kept our eyes open for this “ideal” site. It turns out they were exactly right. It was a perfect place to camp: nice flat spot to pitch the tent, close access to the river, plentiful firewood, and a small fire ring with a few big rocks and logs by it for sitting. It was such a great spot, in fact, that we decided to stay for two nights. The cliffs stretching up from the river here held giant pines. It was an unbelievable sight that left us wondering about the how and where of the root structure needed for trees of that size.

On the next day of hiking we startled two large deer in the river, but I wasn’t fast enough getting my phone out to take a picture. Also, we had a snake sighting. I, gasped when I saw movement cross in front of me, and was amazed at the beauty and terrified all at once. I’m not sure if I actually said the word “snake” when Jim asked what it was, but he got the point of my incoherent mumblings of, “red, yellow, dead, fellow, red, yellow, mellow, fellow…”. I couldn’t remember the "how to know if it's a coral snake" rhyme, but it didn’t matter since it was slithering away from me, not towards me. And I did come out of my panic in time to get a picture just before he got out of sight. Of course, I did jump out of my skin at every stick I saw near the trail for the rest of the day!

As we hiked back towards Jordan Hot Springs I took another tumble. Yes, it was a nice clear section of trail. Yes, I saw the tree branch across the trail. Yes, I lifted my foot with purposeful intent (I realize that is redundant), and cleared the branch with prideful satisfaction. No, I did not lift my trailing foot high enough to clear the branch, and down I went. I caught myself on my hands before my face hit the ground, but the momentum of my pack caused quite a jarring to my gluteus medus and maximus. In spite of another long soak in the hot spring on the way back, I was destined to limp out of the woods yet again. My takeaway: Though I seem ill suited to the wilderness with all of its dangers and discomforts, I am determined (stubborn), enough to continue our plan of hiking the AT this spring. Also, it may be impossible to “train” for the trail, but these trips have given me the needed confidence that I can carry a fully loaded pack for multiple days, take a fall, and hike on through minor injuries.