Gila Backpacking
June 2005

Rick never wants to go to the cool, big mountains in northern New Mexico because it is such a long drive. Instead, he always plans a trip to the hot Gila Wilderness which, he claims, is half-way between Albuquerque (where I live) and Las Cruces (where he lives).

This time there were four of us and a dog heading south from Albuquerque and two of us and a dog heading north from Las Cruces. We planned the trip and the night before we left one of the Albuquerque folk failed to return the copious calls we'd made to him. We assumed he was dropping out and I quickly came up with a meal plan to replace the one he was supposed to be dealing with.

The Albuquerque contigent was now three plus a dog, so we could all fit into Joe's truck, though big Eric barely fit. We were on the road around seven Thursday morning and we arrived at the trailhead at about 1:00, over an hour behind schedule. Our tardiness was alright though, since the Las Cruces contingent didn't show up until 45 minutes later (they'd left at 9:00 and stopped for a relaxing lunch in Silver City).

We quickly dealt with gear then hopped into Joe's truck to go to another trailhead. Paolo left his car at the first trailhead, as this would be our exit from the wilderness in a few days. We eventually made it to the trail and started hiking. Unfortunately, we immediately started to climb and this was pretty consistent until we hit 10,270 feet. Then we continued on up until we got our first great view into the Whitwater Creek watershed - the way we'd be hiking out in a couple of days.

After about three hours we got to Hummingbird Saddle and set up camp not too far from the spring. The spring was not very impressive - just a trickle coming out of a few pipes - but it was enough to fill up our water bottles. A couple backpackers from Colorado arrived not long after us and camped nearby on the saddle. We got off to bed after a great Paulo Pasta meal and awoke Friday morning ready for a day hike.

The next morning we ate breakfast and got ready for our day. Paolo's spare stove canister did not fit his stove, so he hiked back to the truck with the hope that a spare Rick had along would work. Eric didn't feel like hiking, so he stayed at camp. Joe, Rick, and I took off toward Hobo Springs and the 10,000-foot peaks to the south.

Rick grew concerned about the problem he might have growing on his foot, so he turned back to join Eric at camp. Joe and I pushed on...

We made it to Hobo Springs, which was a muddy puddle with no flow at all. There was only one campsite that we saw nearby, with a few tent sites carved into the hillside. Overall we were very glad we didn't try to push our backpacking trip to here. The site we got was much, much better. On our way back to camp Joe and I topped out on Center Baldy.

A few forest service employees who were clearing trail passed us on our way back to camp. We'd seen them the day before and they were quite freindly. Some "howdy-doos" were exchanged as we continued on our way. Rick and Eric woke up when we got back, and we were suprised that Paolo hadn't returned yet. He arrived soon enough though, saying he'd gotten turned around and hiked an extra couple miles. The really good news was that the fuel canisters were a proper fit for the stove. A great evening ensued, with some filling grub as well as a few enjoyable beverages.

Saturday morning came bright and early, so we all got up. It was then that we made our bacon to eat with our breakfast of oatmeal and pop-tarts toasted in butter. We spent a leisurly time packing up before striking out for Redstone Flats. This was past Hummingbird Spring and down in the Whitewater Creek watershed.

The hike was hot and tiring, as it seemed to go on for way too long before the trail hit the stream. When we did get to the stream, the trail got harder to follow. It crossed the stream a number of times and it was quite apparant the trail-clearing crew hadn't been on this section of trail yet.

The hike was well worth it. There was a great camp site along the stream just as we got to the trail we were going to leave on, so we stopped and set up. It was early still, and we all had a great time hanging out in this wonderful spot. Joe and Eric did some fishing, casting and reeling a lure be hand, and caught more than 20 small trout. Most weren't keepers, but a few were cleaned, cooked, and enjoyed.

Sunday morning we had a delicious pancake breakfast, then packed up again to hike on out. This leg of the trip was typical Gila - hike up and out of the canyon on a hot, dry, steep, and incredibly scenic trail. At one point a jet flew below us into up the valley. It was a cool thing to see, despite the noisy disturbance to the wilderness environment.

Several hours after starting and we were at the trailhead. Joe and Paolo went off to get Joe's truck, then we all loaded up and headed home. Eric, Joe, and I stopped just south of Reserve to eat at The Little Adobe Cafe. Not fast food that we were hoping for, but certainly good food - worth the wait.

At Eric's request, I've put all the photos from this trip in a zip file. You can have them if you want, but beware: the file is about 100 Megabytes. I hope you have a high-speed connection and some time to spare if you try to download it.