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| Backpack | 46.85 Miles |
4,216 AEG |
| | Backpack | 46.85 Miles | 2 Days 21 Hrs 3 Mns | | |
| 4,216 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This weekend I was supposed to be doing North Bass. But the GCNP decided that rather than honoring existing backpacking permits, they should open up the first thing they closed for public health reasons. But I had a backup plan, which was to check out the Gila Wilderness.
Friday - 9 miles
Arrived at West Fork TH at around 2pm MDT, and started walking. There wasn't really much of a plan; just that I would head up West Fork and come down Middle Fork. But daily mileage would just kind of be whatever I felt like. The plan for the day was to walk until there was 2-3 hours of daylight left, then set up camp. With about 2.5 hours of daylight left, and after almost 9 miles of walking, I found a really nice campsite and called it a day. Was pretty exhausted after the 6+ hour drive.
Saturday - 19 miles
Decided as I went to bed the night before that this would probably be the longest day. White Creek Cabin was only ~8 miles away, and I wanted to make it farther than that. But I also didn't want to dry camp if at all possible, which meant making it to Middle Fork or trying my luck at Prior Cabin. I decided to take the roundabout way through the Hell's Hole bend, because I have a general policy to always check out a place called Hell's Hole (this turned out to be the least interesting of the bunch, 2/5, not worth the time - maybe it was more interesting up the side canyon). Got to the last crossing of West Fork before the cabin, and also decided to check out the little out-and-back to the falls (didn't bother dropping my pack for some reason). That was more worthwhile than Hell's Hole.
Truth be told, right at that spot, a quarter mile before the cabin, was a very appealing camping area. Reavis Ranch x2. But it was only 11:30AM MDT when I arrived. I'm keeping it in mind for a later trip in which I stay there two nights and do a day trip up Mogollon Baldy. The cabin itself is OK, not as nice as the other end of the meadow, and it was locked up. Took a 20 minute break at the creek there to fill up on water and eat a couple of snacks.
Next was the climb up to Lilley Park, which was really not too bad. Just a moderately steep, switchbacky trail up a slope that felt much higher up in the mountains than the actual elevation would indicate. This stretch provided the best views of the trip, which a great overview of the White Creek Cabin area, and great views of the Mogollon Crest towards the west. Got to Lilley Park a little after 1PM MDT, and headed east on the Woodland Park trail.
That section of Woodland Park trail was just a stroll through the woods, and by the time I hit Prior Canyon 4 miles later, I was aching a bit, somewhat exhausted, and ready to set up camp. I resolved to camp at Prior Cabin regardless of whether there was water. The canyon itself was pretty, kinda reminds me of being up on the Mogollon Rim (makes sense, similar elevation). Outside of a trickling spring in the upper part of the canyon, it was dry until about a quarter mile before the cabin. With water there, and 19 miles on the day, I was pretty thrilled to not be forced to decide whether to continue on.
Sunday - 10 miles
Planned on an easy day. Figured I should get a little rest this weekend... Hiked east to the Meadows overlook, and from there down to the Meadows. My plan was to hike until about 1:30pm MDT, and then find a campsite. I didn't want to get too close to Jordan Hot Springs in order to avoid being shut out of the good campsites. Passed a great campsite near Brothers West Canyon, but it was only 1:15pm, so I kept going. At about 1:45pm, I found a decent spot at a bend. It was a bit brushy in the area, but it was situated so that the shade came early. Saw a lot more people in Middle Fork than I had seen thus far in the trip.
Monday - 9 miles
Set out hiking early (6:30am MDT) since I'd be driving back to Phoenix afterwards. Felt much better physically, on account of the rest day. Checked out the hot springs (closer to my camp than I realized), but couldn't take a picture due to a couple of bathers who eschew their garb. The trail between the hot springs and Little Bear is a superhighway compared to anything else I saw during the trip. It was actually somewhat enjoyable walking.
Little Bear Canyon was an unexpected surprise. Slot-like in the lower part, and really pretty the whole way up. The way down the other side became "let's just get this over with" mode.
In retrospect, I'm kinda glad I didn't get to do the original trip, because I had an absolute blast out there. Gila Wilderness really checks all the boxes in terms of great areas for backpacking, and I'm already looking at other routes. |
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