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| Hiking | 7.56 Miles |
1,898 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.56 Miles | 4 Hrs 25 Mns | | 2.37 mph |
| 1,898 ft AEG | 1 Hour 14 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Day 2 of our trip to Alpine. Abby woke up with a slightly upset stomach but was still interested in trying to make it to Skunk Johnson's cabin. The trailhead is at the end of Sheridan Corral Rd. (FS 146) 8 miles south of Glenwood. Bill and Polly Cunningham, authors of 'Hiking New Mexico's Gila Wilderness' (which I highly recommend) have this trailhead as one of the entry points to the Gila at a lower elevation and easier to access throughout the year.
We arrived at the trailhead at 11 AM MST and shared the decent sized parking lot with two other vehicles. Holt Apache Trail leads up through Sheridan Gulch which is a canyon that is partially burned, but the areas that aren't burned are quite beautiful. There were even a few very stout firs to be found on the way up. There was running water at points that looked decent, but also some stagnant, algae filled pools.
The turnoff for Johnson Cabin Trail was a little tough to figure out at first. There was a sign laying on the ground that pointed towards Skunk Johnson Cabin, but the sign had the trail as North Fork Big Dry Trail (#225). Once past the turnoff and across the creek the trail was very clear to follow with some excellent switchbacks. We made it over the saddle and decided to rest in a very pretty pine glade at the top of the switchbacks leading down to the cabin and Dry Creek. Abby's stomach was really not feeling well so we decided to eat and ended up falling asleep for about an hour. When we woke up, we decided to head back to the trailhead as her stomach was feeling worse not better.
This was my third hike into the Gila Wilderness, but the first in the Western portion which encompasses the Mogollon Mountains. These mountains are really pretty amazing and warrant further attention. I made the decision on the way down that some time this summer I am going to make it back out to the Gila Wilderness for a week to do some longer hikes and a 2-3 backpack. It is a really far drive getting over here, but I think is probably my favorite area to explore in the southwest. |
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Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again |
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