Gila, NM to Reserve, NM

Photos - click here

DAY 1
The day started with the Gila Cliff Dwellings tour (see the previous section). After we left there, we hiked twelve miles along a beautiful trail to the West Fork of the Gila River, fording the river just once. It was not nearly as intense as the main vein of the Gila River, and the icy water was rather refreshing, as the day was warm and sunny. Though we’ve seen a bit of wildlife, we’ve mostly seen cows and this day was more of the same. Dave was hiking behind me at one point and did see two wild turkeys run right behind me on the trail, but I was completely oblivious. After crossing a huge tree that served as a natural bridge across another section of the West Fork we set up camp with the roar of the river next to us and relaxed for the evening.
 
DAY 2
This day we had the option of hiking up the West Fork of the Gila River, fording it many different times, or taking a non-fording alternate route. Though our one ford yesterday was not significant, the final crossing of the day across the tree was in a deep stretch of the river, and rangers suggested that further up it was still rather deep. Since we did manage 2.5 miles along the main fork last week, I suppose we could have done it, but we were still a little gun-shy and opted for the non-fording route. The weather was mostly warm in the beginning of the day, but cooled down as the day continued. As seems to be customary in New Mexico, we were greeted by winds that tempered the heat of the sun. In my recollection of other hiker accounts of the NM winds, they can be rather nasty, but that had not been the case for us at all. Interestingly on this day, the winds really whipped around by the end of the day, and the heat of the sun was rapidly replaced by the cool of the clouds.
 
We reached our camp at man-made Snow Lake, including a campground with toilets and picnic tables (a luxury for hiker folks like us). We set up camp, and as the name would suggest, it actually snowed on us- just a dusting, but definitely our coldest night yet! It soon subsided, and David went to the lake to get water, which ended up being less than ideal for drinking. As a result, Dave walked around the entire campground to see if ANY of the spigots were working, but apparently none were in service. We were accompanied at Snow Lake by one family and two camps of turkey hunters- all on the other side of the campground. So when Dave came back without water but yelling “You wanna cheeseburger?” I thought for sure he was dehydrated, or just trying to mess with my head. But sure enough as he got closer he had 2 cheeseburgers with him, and we split them three ways. David was as happy as a little kid in a candy store! They were the best burgers I’ve had in a long time, courtesy of one of the groups of turkey hunters. They also offered us fresh water, and we returned to get that as well.
 
DAY 3
We left camp a little later than expected, but were even more delayed when we went over to the hunters to thank them for their generosity. They were not only generous last night, but again this morning, as they shared with us coke, burritos, tapioca pudding, and good conversation. So far during our hike, we really have been extremely fortunate to meet such wonderful people, and these folks were icing on the cake. Eventually we wandered on, and met Tori, who worked with the Forest Service. We had a humorous moment with her as she mentioned that she usually sees ½ dozen CDT hikers a year, and our party of 3 was already 50% of her quota.…
 
We finally got on the road and promptly started hiking a cross-country route, navigating, route finding, and eventually stumbling upon a trail in the middle of the woods that we didn’t expect to see. What the heck- we followed it and it hit an old logging road. So, we followed that north, and after an hour or two realized that we were, in fact, exactly where we wanted to be. I love it when that happens!!!! (As opposed to when it doesn’t- I turn into a 5’2” Incredible Hulk. Let me tell you, it’s ugly….). We ambled on to a campsite that was somewhere near Turkey Spring, though we never really looked for the spring itself.
 
 
DAY 4
We should have looked for the spring, but what’s a little dehydration between family? We hiked this morning to a windmill we intended to use for water, but were a bit dismayed when the water was less than “pristine”. I have been telling Dave and David the whole hike that there will be more than one occasion where we will need to suck it up and drink foul water, and today seemed to be the day. At the windmill were two tanks- one about 2 feet tall and the other about 10 feet tall. The 2 foot tall tank was filled with rancid water and cow poop (what we affectionately started calling “cow poop soup”- we would see it often along the trail), so Dave climbed the ladder of the second tank. It was clear, clean water. Pure, beautiful water…with a touch of cow poop and one dead raven. Now, how a cow managed to poop in a tank 10 feet tall, I couldn’t tell you, but there it was. When Dave mentioned the dead raven, I thought “Hmm, harsh introduction to our first “bad” water, but I’m ready for the challenge”. Dave was ready to hike on in search of other water, but I was too parched.
 
Fortunately for us, lady luck was on our side and more hunters drove by and asked us if we needed water. Uh, yeah. We talked with them for a while, and they too were very kind. Turkey hunters really are our new best friends! They even offered us cokes, and when they left Dave mocked me “Oh, this hike will be hard. We’re going to have to drink bad water.” Yeah, Dave, enjoy it while you can, our time will come….
 
We hiked onward, skirting just a small corner of the to the Plains of San Augustin, which was beautiful. One of the interesting things about the Plains of San Augustin is that this is the location of the massively oversized SETI radio telescopes. We did not see any of the telescopes, and it would only be later when looking at the maps that the area that we hiked through was incredibly small (though it looked so vast!) compared to the entire Plains area. We camped in the Plains for the night, and would head to Reserve, NM the next day.
 
DAY 5
We passed time during the 10 miles to the road by walking the Plains, taunting cows, and observing pronghorns/ antelope. Some of the cows were all black with white faces and we started referring to them as the “Elusive Gila Wilderness Panda Bears” because from a distance, they almost looked like panda bears. Yes, we may have been a bit dehydrated…. The pronghorns are very agile deer-like animals that raced through the ranch lands. They seemed so beautiful, but they never let us get close enough to them to even recognize distinguishing features, and they moved so fast!
 
Now, our guidebooks say that the hitch to Reserve is a difficult one, and when we saw the road about 30 minutes before we reached it- it was apparent as to why- there were no cars heading our direction, and about 5 cars heading in the other direction. Yikes! I was envisioning the hitch taking up to 24 hours, but Dave nipped that problem in the bud very quickly. There was a church up the way across the street with many men working outside. He went to them and asked if any of them would be going to Reserve (about a 50 mile hitch) later in the day. They were not, but they were going half way there and would take us that far. In the meantime, we could have lunch with them. Wow. It was all homemade. The bread rolls, the elk burgers, potato salad, salad, green bean casserole and even ice cream. Wow. We talked about our hike, the work they were doing on their church (wind damage repairs) and of course, religion. They were wonderful people, and at the end of the meal they decided to drive us all of the way into Reserve instead of only ½ way. Can you believe it? People’s generosity never ceases to amaze me! This entire leg of our hike was highlighted by the complete kindness of strangers. We were so fortunate!
 
 
~Leslie
 
Info on the Gila National Forest from: http://www.geronimotrail.com/gila_national_forest.html
 
The GILA NATIONAL FOREST is one of the nation's largest (approximately 3.3 million acres, nearly one-fourth of which is set aside as designated wilderness) and most scenic year-round recreation and natural areas. It contains more federal land than any other national forest outside Alaska, providing a diverse, accessible landscape offering wide-ranging recreational experiences including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, hunting, almost 500 miles worth of fishing streams, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, and jeeping.

Twenty campgrounds are available in the national forest; seven with drinking water and toilets. With few exceptions, visitors can roam the woods at will, wrapped in a cloak of peace and quiet.

Abundant wildlife includes elk, deer, antelope, black bear, mountain lion, big horn sheep, javelina, wild turkey, hawks (including red-tailed hawks), eagles (including bald eagles), cranes, and songbirds. Some species occur nowhere else in New Mexico.
 
This topographically rugged area, with elevations ranging from 4,200 to 10,900 feet that cover four distinct life zones, was part of the traditional hunting and gathering land for the Warm Springs Apache, but - as will become evident during your travels - created an impressive barrier to early American settlement. The area includes the convergence of the southern Rocky and northern Sierra Madre mountain systems, covered with forests of spruce, fir, ponderosa, aspen, juniper and pinon. Lower elevations witness an overlap of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran desert ecosystems supporting ocatilla and other cacti.
 
Note that the legislated wilderness areas within the Gila National Forest - the Gila Wilderness and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness - are restricted to foot or horseback travel. The 1964 Wilderness Act states that a wilderness is "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

This undeveloped natural country can refresh the human spirit simply by its grandeur, purity, and remoteness. An extensive system of trails offers pleasant hikes through cool forested mountains or along shady streams. Backpackers will find plenty of beautiful, wild, rugged, and remote country for long trips in quiet solitude. Day hikers will find good trails and many opportunities for pleasant explorations and wildlife viewing.

The Gila Wilderness encompasses 558,065 acres: the first wilderness designated by act of Congress (1924), and still the largest. The Aldo Leopold Wilderness is another vast wilderness (202,016 acres) along the Continental Divide, named for the early naturalist who encouraged preservation of wildlands.

Of the many wilderness trails, the most popular are in the Gila Wilderness between the Middle Fork of the Gila River and the southwestern rim of the Mogollon Mountain Range. Since this area contains more water and high mountains than other parts of the forest, visitor use is heavier. There are, however, many trails throughout the forest that are as wild and lonesome in character as those in designated wilderness