03/15/01: Hiking Stock Loop Trail:
Last night was downright balmy. The temperature was in the 30's when I got up. By the time I got to the trail head at 8:30am it was in the 40's. Heavy winds were blowing some dark clouds around though. On the way to the trail I saw three javelinas. Other than a few mule deer that's the only wildlife I've seen up here.
My intent was to do the 4.5 mile Stock Loop Trail. I started at TJ's Corral again and after bearing left at the first trail sign descended into a small canyon. I saw a stock gate on the other side of the canyon and a trail leading upwards. The trail on my side continued on a ways and since I saw lots of tracks I went that way. I knew I was going the wrong way but there's nothing wrong with hiking up a canyon (unless it's a flash flood) so I kept going. I went up a mile or so. By that time the clouds were looking ominous and the temperature was dropping rapidly so I aborted the hike.
03/17/01:
Temperatures in the 20's last night but a bright sun and cloudless sky quickly warmed things up. When I read the trail description for the Stock Loop Trail I saw the last section was the West Fork Trail. Oh no! All those river crossings. Oh well, since this is a short trail I could always turn around and go back if I didn't like the conditions. At least I'd get a look at the West Fork.
The trail had lots of easy ups and downs through lightly forested hills and valleys. When I got to the West Fork it was nothing but a little trickle and I was able to cross over and then cross back a little farther on with no problem. All in all this was a nice pleasant hike.
03/20/01: Hiking Gila Flats Trail:
Is it spring yet? Even though the temperatures dropped into the 20's again last night, I was greeted by four robins when I finally got up. And then I saw a white butterfly on the trail.
I dunno what's going on but I seem to have lost a another couple of days again. Maybe I'm having blackouts or sleeping extra long.
I'm working my way back out of the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument area now. I did most of the day trips in that area and its time to move on. I stopped over at the Grapevine Camping Area because of the Gila River Trail Head. Unfortunately it was on the other side of the river. So I moved on down to the Military Road Trail Head.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the 40's as I started up the trail. 1/2 mile brought me to a trail sign saying Apache Creek 7 3/4 miles one way and Gila Flats Trail the other. Since I was at 7400 feet I figured Apache Creek would be a lot of down followed by a lot of up. That's not the way I like to hike, I like to go up early on and then down at the end of the hike. The flats sounded like a lot less work for today.
A few feet from the trail sign was another proclaiming entrance to the Gila Wilderness Area of the Gila National Forest. A few feet further is a good view of distant, snow topped mountain ranges and nearby bluffs and valleys. Unfortunately, except for a small pond later on, that was the only thing of note on this hike.
It was pleasant enough though, with lots of big, alligator junipers trees alternating with small stands of pines. Most of the trail was covered with crumbled pink granite. I dunno where they came from since I was on top of a ridge and there were no ledges or anything nearby. This ridge must be eroding from the top.
Two miles into the hike I disturbed half a dozen ducks taking advantage of a small man made pond. They took off when they saw or heard me coming but came right back when I sat down to take a break. I circled the pond looking for animal tracks but didn't see as many as expected. Some were obviously deer. Some were much larger and presumed to be elk. A few round tracks might have been bear or horse that had been rained on. What I took to be elk tracks followed much of the trail. (A young couple from Maine, came back from some backcountry camping with a large, many pronged elk antler).
The Gila Flats Trail probably went on for miles and miles. I followed it for a couple of hours, stopped for lunch and made my way back in a leisurely manner.
03/23/01 Hiking Trail 96 & 74:
The other day I didn't feel like doing anything so went into Silver City to get my cracked windshield replaced and came back to Sapillo Camping Area near Lake Roberts. Last night was in the teens again, not like the 40's down at City of Rocks State Park in Deming. The water bottles were frozen solid. It warmed up pretty quickly into the 40's, once the sun came up, though.
On the way to the trail head a coyote ran across the road. This is the first one I know I've seen. It was a light tan and the size of a small German Shepard. I'd heard them yipping and howling at night but hadn't seen one before. I watched it for a minute as it ran across a field, looking every which way to see what might me gaining on it. I think I saw one a couple of weeks ago in Texas. It ran across the road being chased by 3-4 large dogs and they were all really moving.
I chose Trail 96, at 6200 feet, which follows Railroad Canyon for a ways, because of the 100 foot bluffs that can be seen from the road. I went through a gate, walking towards the bluffs and made a right on a dry creek bed at the base. I followed the creek bed and eventually came to a small gate in a barbed wire fence and went through. It had warmed up quite a bit so I shed a layer of clothes.
I soon came to a trail sign for Apache Creek, 9 1/2 miles. I think this trail runs into the Gila Flats trail I was on the other day. The trail leads through a pasture and forks in 1/2 mile. Tracks and a large rock cairn led to the right. The left looked pretty interesting too as the trail disappeared into a canyon with sloping walls.
As I moved up a hill at 10 degrees, a lot of short, fat, stubby oaks appeared along with alligator junipers. The pink, granite stones littered the trail making the upward ascent more difficult. At the top of the knoll a nice view of the bluffs in Railroad canyon appeared along with steep, heavily forested slopes.
I shed another layer of Polartec and went adjust the camera after putting on the day pack but it wasn 't there. I had left it hanging on the gate where I shed the first layer.
Back up on the trail again I noticed many Agaves (century plants) that had sprouted their long stems and died. All of them were surrounded by several younger plants that feed off the nutrients that had been stored in the parent plant.
I also began noticing lots of big animal droppings in some of the flatter areas along the trail, similar, but different, to that of a horse. Horse crap kinda plops out while these kinda oozed out in layers, kinda like Tastee-Freeze ice cream cones. Horses and riders really had no reason to go to these clearings and there was just too much to be horses. My guess is this was a feeding or sleeping or resting spot of elk. There were just too many rocks to get any good track impressions.
Speaking of rocks. I hit a mile long stretch of trail angling upwards at 5-10 degrees and rocks covered the entire trail. I was slipping and sliding and tripping and stepping and stumbling all over the place and my ankles were turning and the bottoms of my feet were getting bruised. I was cussing the rocks pretty good when they got me back and I went down with a thump. I just lay there in less than a minute.
I followed the top of the ridge for a mile or so, stopped for lunch at 7200 feet and then turned back.
03/24/01 Trail 74:
Today I thought I was going to hike a portion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Instead, though sitting on the Continental Divide, Trail 74 turned out to be a dirt road leading to a wood cutting area. Last night was warmer than normal, in the upper 20's with just a little frost. It warmed up into the 40's with not a cloud in the sky as I started up the trail at 6700 feet.
Although this was a dirt road, nothing short of a 4X4 was going up it. Aside from a few deep ruts, it also had several stretches of 10-15+ degree inclines. More than enough to give the heart and lungs a workout. I got pissed off at all the bottles and cans thrown out windows into the brush. I started throwing them back into the middle of the road. After a while I realized that was probably not a good thing to do but kept dragging them out of the brush and left them along the side of the road.
Lots of elk crap as I headed down the road to Elk Pasture. 1.5 hours into the hike I realized I didn't have any chewing gum after I had spit my only piece out. I don't go no where without my gum, man. So I turned back.
03/26/01: Purgatory Chasm:
Yesterday I didn't feel like doing much of anything... so I didn't.
This morning everything is frosted over as the temperatures dip into the mid-20's or so. I'm on my way back to Silver City to get my windshield replaced and to do some other chores.
I had seen trail signs earlier for Purgatory Chasm across from the Lake Roberts boat ramp on NM 35. That sounds like my kind of trail. I thought it was only 1.0-1.5 miles long so saved it for today. It turned out to be what I expected.
1/2 mile of trail leading to 1/2 mile of pink granite canyons. They're between 15-50 feet high and 10-30 feet wide. Very nice. You could continue up one canyon further, how far I don't know. Then there's another 1/2 mile return to complete the loop.
03/31/01: Hiking Holt Spring Trail:
I don't know where the past week has gone. I do know I raised the income level of Silver City though. This past month I've gotten a new tail pipe and muffler, had a windshield replaced and had some general service such as pack wheel bearings, change transmission fluid, etc. I still need a new radiator.
I drove up US 180 to the Glenwood District of the Gila National Forest. Last night I drove a steep, narrow dirt road four miles to the Holt/Apache Trailheads and found a level spot to camp for the night. Bright and early this morning I was ready to hit the trail. Holt Mountain is 10,000 feet but I don't think the trail goes that way.
The trailhead starts at 6400 feet and by 8am the temperature was in the 40's, at least in the sun. As I headed onto the northwest side of a mountain out of the sun it dropped back down into the lower 30's. A few minutes into the hike some nice views presented themselves. Nearby peaks and pinnacles and valleys and bluffs were complimented by mountain ranges and ridges in the distance. The trail was only about 18 inches wide with some very steep slopes below. If you fell there you'd bounce a few times before slamming into a tree somewhere below.
The trail descended to the valley floor and followed beside Holt Spring from that point on. Ponderosa pine and other conifers were pretty thick down there. I crossed back and forth over the spring several times. Lots of rocks helped keep the feet dry. It was even colder way down in this valley, even with the sun shining.
I crapped out 2+ hours into the hike. Once down in the valley it was nothing but up at 6-8 degrees. I wasn't particularly tired and the 8000 foot altitude didn't bother me. It was just tiresome with continuous ups.
04/01/01: Catwalk Trail & Whitewater Canyon Trail:
I fooled around most of this Sunday morning, bathing, shaving and reading. After noon I thought it time to move. I knew I'd be going through Glenwood and hoped I'd find my way to the Catwalk Trail I had missed earlier when I had been up this way.
The Catwalk was built in 1893 to service a pipeline moving water from upper Whitewater Canyon, where there were several gold and silver mines, to an electric generator in the town of Glenwood.
Whitewater Canyon is something else. 100-200+ foot walls made of volcanic material and sandstone that were created from erosion by the Whitewater River. The Catwalk Trail is an easy trail along the catwalks for 1.1 miles, almost exclusively through narrow canyons.
The Whitewater Canyon Trail continues another 1.5 miles. Here the walls sit further back and conifers find good footholds. Whitewater River had pretty good water flow through the entire hike. While not enough water for any kind of boating at this level, it does have the look of a good trout stream. The Whitewater Canyon Trail ends where several more trails branch off.
All in all a great hike not to be missed. Sneakers are OK for the Catwalk Trail but not for the Whitewater Canyon Trail. The bottom of my feet got bruised wearing sneakers. I also got some sunburn by not wearing my floppy hat. I did wear an old long sleeve dress shirt to keep the sun off my arms.
04/02/01:
Spent last night at the Cottonwood Campground in the Apache National Forest. Today I headed north to Quemado Lake, also in the Apache National Forest. I'm camping at 7900 feet and feeling shortness of breath just sitting around. The temperature is in the low 40's or upper 30's and there's lots of snow patches on the slopes. Wind and overcast skies don't help much. Bear, mountain lions, elk and coyotes are supposed to be in this area too.