Gila Wilderness Ideas

BUMP

I have been wanting to do a trip out there as well for a long weekend, would love to hear any suggestions or trip ideas. My criteria are basically the same as the OP.

I stared at some trail maps for awhile, but couldn't seem to put anything together that didn't require higher mileages or potential long water carries. I may go to the Gila in the spring, when my knees should feel better and there should be some snowmelt to count on.

For this weekend, I've put together what should be a pretty cool tour of the Galiuro Wilderness and Redfield Canyon Wilderness. It will be a mix of day-hiking, car camping, and lots of rough Forest Road driving.

John…please let me know about your trips….I am still new to Arizona and am always looking for good places to go backpacking and car camping!

John and Dan,
If you get a chance to hike the Gila it is fantastic. I hiked it in April
with Doug and we are two old guys,65 and 68. If you would like to see some
photos look at this http://s266.photobucket.com/user/Larry_Swearingen/library/CDT%20New%20Mexico?sort=2&page=1
We started at the Crazy Cook Monument on the border in the bootheel but pages 4-5-6 show
Gila river pics. There isn't much actual Trail tread left after the flood but it wasn't as
bad as the local Rangers made it sound.
The Southwest "Monsoon Season" is late summer to early Fall. That's when the Mexican hurricanes
move up into the SW US bringing lot's of precip. Spring Snowmelt can cause difficulty with
the many river fords but this was a very low water year and we didn't have any crossing
deeper than thigh deep from Sapillo Cr. all the way north to Snow Lake.

Larry (OldnSlow)

Great, thanks for the pictures!

I've hiked sections of the Middle Fork before the flood, and those backpacks remain as some of my favorites. I find that canyon to be particularly special. The ranger seemed to think hiking from Little Bear Canyon to The Meadows would be pretty miserable now, but it seems like that's not the case.

I didn't say that it wasn't miserable at times. I just said that we did it.
{:>) Take a look at some of those Logjam, boulder field, flood damage pictures.
The beauty made it worth it. IMO.

Larry (OldnSlow)

The area has been getting rain off and on … some fairly massive a few wks ago (just got a 5-month contract nearby). Instead of hanging out in the river fork channels, you may try looping Woodland Park between the West and Middle Forks. You may need to carry your hiking water to refill at West and Middle Fork camps at night, plus maybe go down to the Meadows and switchback up being pretty scenic (though it's an hour or so of switchbacks) Except in the dry months of May and June, this should be a backup plan anyways.

Add Bring some warm gear. I'm writing this a bit south wearing a Nanopuff.

I don't have any ideas, but I was just there this past spring (march) and while it wasn't MISERABLE per se, there was literally not 10 feet of trail anywhere, and we ended up just walking the river. It was such slow going (of course, I had broken my ankle three weeks prior and SHOULD have still been in my boot, but I really wanted to go hiking…) that we probably only did about 5 miles of the canyon, then turned around and hiked back out over the course of the whole weekend. It was quite pretty, but the rangers I spoke with beforehand actually undersold the enormity of the damage. We did more than 100 stream crossings – and much of our hike was actually walking IN the river since there was so much damage along the sides there was nowhere else to hike.

We did pass some spring break trippers who were there to rebuild some of the trails, so hopefully after a summer of work they were able to make some good improvements.

Between the recent fire and the flash floods, I am sure there are lots of trails in the Gila that need rebuilding.

As for my planned tour of the Galiuros, the first half went great, but I returned early yesterday. On the way to Redfield Canyon, my Subaru was unable to make it up a steep hill with a boulder in the middle of it. I was still 12 miles from the trailhead and not even on public land yet, so I was unable to legally park my car and hike in (I was crossing on private ranch land which you have to sign in and out of).

I just finished up this loop, took the Little Bear trail to the Middle Fork up to Jordan Hot Spring, then up the the Meadows for two nights, then back out on the Big Bear and Lilley Park trails. The trails along the river have been more or less cleared, though they are by no means easy to follow. This was my first time, so I can't compare it to how it was before, but I didn't think it was that bad, just bring good water shoes! I left from TJ Corral in the early afternoon on Tuesday, and was able to make it to Jordan Spring in about 4 hours. From there to the Meadows the next day took about 5 hours. Again, not easy, but lots of clear trail, many of the rock cairns have been rebuilt. The 10 miles out today was a bit of a hump, but after climbing out of the canyon the trail was gently rolling and beautiful. The slog up the river was tough going, but an absolutely amazing trip, with more solitude than I have experienced in a long time. I had the entire Middle Fork virtually to myself.

It has been years since I did it, but I have done the middle for twice. Both times in Spring. Once after floods.

The year we did it after the floods that trail, especially in the canyon was impossible to follow. But he river was ankle/knee deep most of the way so we schlogged in the water for 5 or 6 miles. It was summer but it sure slowed things down.

Trout fishing was excellent. Carried half rations and hoped for fish and we were not disappointed.

Really pleasant place. We had it all to ourselves, even the hot springs.