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| Middle West Gila Loop, NM | |
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| | Middle West Gila Loop, NM | | | |
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Middle West Gila Loop, NM
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| Backpack | 40.69 Miles |
3,300 AEG |
| | Backpack | 40.69 Miles | 4 Days | | |
| 3,300 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | We had a larger loop planned, but dialed it back a bit to shave a day off the total trip. We set out from Phoenix for the 6 hour drive. Google Maps doesn't even pretend this is a place you can drive to LOL. Apple Maps at least realizes there's a road. Reports of up to 2 hours to make the drive from Silver City to Cliff Dwellings proved a bit conservative for us. We managed it in just over an hour, though the whiplash induced vomiting was a bit of a negative. :/
Day 1: Middle Fork to Little Bear 7.61 mi - 300 aeg - 2:34
We set off at the crack of 2:45 for our planned short day. Middle Fork features 32 river crossings, so the warm afternoon sun was easily offset with constant splashing. West Fork was running around 9cfs and crossings were never more than knee deep. This one just gets better the farther upstream you get. We arrived at our planned camp near the junction with Little Bear, but it was a very popular spot and we decided to continue on a bit, camping at a peaceful spot about 10 minutes farther upstream.
Day 1 Extra: Little Bear 1.9 mi - 150 aeg - 0:58
I had read that the last half mile or so of Little Bear was really special, so Ryan and I headed back from camp to check it out. It really is a special little slot canyon with a trickle of water flowing through it. Definitely worth the visit.
Day 2: Little Bear to The Meadows 11.1 mi - 500 aeg - 4:42
We continued upstream on the Middle Fork trail to start the day. After another 15 river crossings, we took a break to soak in the Jordan Hot Spring, a really nice hot spring with clear blue-tinged water and a nice gravel floor. There were a few groups camped in the area and we were happy to have avoided a night here. Heading upstream, the route progressively deteriorated until the final 2 miles were just straight bushwhacking misery through shoulder high brush and complete mystery of route-finding. The Meadows promised good camping opportunities, but all but one spot was overgrown. Thankfully we were the first arrivals on the day so we were able to take advantage of this one.
Day 2 Extra: Meadows explore 2.25 mi - 200 ft - 1:40
I had planned to continue upstream and check out some more of Middle Fork, but I gave up on that after seeing the condition of the route just to get this far. Instead I tried to piece together some of the original route from before the post-fire flooding, as well as map out the reconstructed route. I figured it all out, but it's a mess that nobody carrying a backpack wants to deal with. I found a nice spot overlooking the valley, and hit a couple hundred yards of Meadows Trail #53 ... it doesn't look like it's had any maintenance (or use) in recent memory.
Day 3: Meadows to West Fork 8.88 mi - 1700 aeg - 4:00
We set out from the Meadows to cross up and over the plateau via Big Bear #28. The initial climb is steep and steady but tops out with some stunning views across the Middle Fork to the north. There's a couple of miles of pleasant ponderosa forest strolling up at 7,000 feet before dropping down to the West Fork. This south-facing ridge was hot and more exposed, with first class views across the Gila. Once we reached the river, it was like being in a whole different world. We headed upstream less than a mile before setting up camp in a nice riverside site.
Day 3 Extra: West Fork Upstream 4.14 mi - 200 aeg - 2:01
After some well-deserved afternoon nap time, it was time to explore a bit more upstream on West Fork 151. While this West Fork also suffered from post-fire flooding, the trail was a much more pleasant hike than Middle Fork. Oh, there was no less poison ivy to wade through, but the trail was nicely trodden and overall a more pleasant cut that was more of a trail through a beautiful forest with occasional river crossings compared to the flatter, riverside, rocky, scoured floodplain over on Middle Fork. After a couple of miles, we enjoyed an afternoon beverage before turning back downstream to camp.
Day 4: West Fork back 4.73 mi - 250 ft - 1:36
Another planned easy day took us downstream along the West Fork. A couple more river crossings brought our trip total to just over 100 (add 20+ for the daily "extra" hikes!). There's a mile or so east of EE canyon where the trail is far away from the river, before dropping back down and leading to the national monument. We took the horse trail along the river to avoid the road walk that lead us back to the visitor center and the end of our loop.
Notes: Poison Ivy: Tons of it. Lots of scrubbing at the end of every day and some luck are your friends. Bears: We only saw a few piles of scat. This seems to be the exception. Everybody we talked to who were frequent visitors or had been here before reported numerous encounters. Rattlesnakes: Beautiful black-tails. Big, healthy, and plentiful. Keep your eyes open as you push through that knee high grass! (After swimming the river or in wet grass, soggy rattles are almost impossible to hear. That was fun!) |
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| I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies. |
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