Gila Wilderness- Whitewater Loop

[Mike M]

First I'd like to thank Eugene for all his help in planning this hike :) My wife and I were looking for something a little "different" , but also the fact that our hiking season usually doesn't get into full swing until July. The Gila definitely met our expectations and then some.

We started out at the Catwalk- it was very hot that day (close to 100)- a little shock to our systems especially as Montana up to that point had been unusually cool.

Right away we were into rugged high desert terrain- yucca, cholla, prickly pear, barrel cactus- most of it in bloom- very neat (and beautiful) country.

After ~ four miles of climbing in rather open/dry terrain the trail starts to drop into the creek bottom and it cooled significantly. Our first camp was on Whitewater Ck near Winn Canyon

While we quite a few stream crossing the first day, the second was in the neighborhood of 40-50!

We camped at Redstone Park- we had plenty of time to explore and I caught quite a few small rainbows (kept four for dinner).

The next day we headed up via Lipsey Canyon to Spruce Creek Saddle- the country changed with the elevation, lots of big Doug Fir and Ponderosa Pine (looked a lot like Montana) a beautiful stand of Aspen and Fern awaited us at the saddle.

From there we headed to Spider Saddle for night three. We had watered up good before we left Whitewater Creek, but took advantage of Nabours Spring (about a 1.5 detour off the main trail). We had some cow elk talking around camp for several hours in the evening. The temps really drop up high, it was in the upper 30's in the morning.

Day four had us headed for the South Fork of the Whitewater- we followed the trail to Camp Creek Saddle where the headwaters of the S Fork start. While none of the trail up to this point had been in great shape (the Gila doesn't do a lot of maintenance apparently)- this was by far the worse stretch. We had several miles of constant windfall, but more concerning was staying on the trail- several times I wandered onto game trails.

Once we hit the S Fork the trail improved significantly. We camped at Tennessee Meadows along the South Fork for night 4. Found some really good brookie fishing :)

the South Fork was gorgeous, lots of deep pools and fall, with lots of nice scenery away from the creek as well

near the end of our loop leaving the Gila Wilderness

it was a great trip, the poor trail maintenance was fine by us, slows you down, but you learn to take it in stride- it's a true wilderness experience- not lots of signs, hard to follow trails in many instances, lots and lots of windfall, a myriad of stream crossings and very few people- we ran into three small parties in five days

we'll definitely be visiting the Gila again!

[Eugene Smith]

Most excellent Mike! I've been eagerly awaiting this trip report. It sure looks like you two were rewarded with amazing weather and one memorable experience. I'm quite envious of your brookie catch on the S. Fork Whitewater, I'll definitely be heading up there within the next couple weeks with my Iwana rod before the monsoons hit the Mogollons.

I believe you nailed it, the Gila is a true wilderness experience, no crowds, no tourists, no permits, no bear canisters, no designated sites, demanding trails and miles of mountain wilderness for even the most ravenous of backcountry hunger pains. Thanks for sharing Mike!

[Justin McMinn]

Great report Mike! Jumping from Montana summer to NM summer is pretty drastic! How close was the route to Eugene's route? I have been wanting to check the Whitewater drainage ever since his report. I have been showing my buddies Eugene's pictures of the water slide to persuade them. I'll show them your catches to add fuel to the fire. What did you catch them with?

@Eugene – When do the monsoons settle down out there?

[Mike M]

yup- the heat was a little shock, but while a lot of the country was very different, much of it felt very familiar

our routes were similar- we both started @ the Catwalk to Redstone, we both went up Lipsey Canyon to Spruce Ck Saddle- we continued on the Apache-Holt trail to Spider Saddle, Eugene and crew parted ways there to take the "long way around", but ran into a little trouble w/ that trail and went cross country around Black Mtn and down Spruce Ck- looking into that drainage I'd suggest not going that route- I'm sure Eugene would agree :)

both us ended up at Camp Creek Saddle and then went down the South Fork of the Whitewater

I was using a small spinning rod w/ the 1/32 oz panther martins- the brookies in the S Fork were very veracious, the rainbows in the main Whitewater, much less so

Mike

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