Just got back from the Gila Wilderness last night. We had a great time but the weather definately made it challenging. Saturday we had 30-40 mph winds all day long with temps in the 30-45 range. Sunday morning we woke up to about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground and temps in the high 20s. Sunday night I didn't sleep much and my little thermometer had a temperature of -2F! Frozen boots aren't much fun either. And on Monday, we had highs in the 70s and ended up a little sunburnt! Here is my trip report:

For spring break I decided to avoid the typical college student destinations and instead go backpacking. My roomate decided he also wanted to do something and would be trying backpacking for the first time.

Our route was basically to head up the west fork of the Gila river and eventually come back down the middle fork. We did not set a specific point for crossing over between the canyons.

The first thing we noticed about this trip was the amount of river crossings. It seemed as though I crossed the river every 200 yards. Definately not a trip for those who like to keep their feet dry. Luckily, the water was never much higher than our knees.

The first day we went something like 10-12 miles, but I think our average speed was about 1.5 miles an hour due to the river crossings. We were exhausted after the the first day, our own fault for driving the last 24 hours straight.

Late that night it started snowing and when we finally awoke, there was approximately five inches of snow on the ground. We were not really expecting this much snow for the trip based upon the dry winter and being from Wisconsin, it wasn't too much to handle; although we did decide to take our shortest route option.

The second day was characterized by blowing snow and a climb out of the west fork valley at Hell's hole. Temperatures were in the mid 20's F and wind gusts were probably in the 20-30 mph range. Eventually we made it to some more sheltered areas and found a great spot to rest near Prior Cabin. We continued another 2 miles before finding a decent spot to camp at.

The second night was by far the coldest night I have ever camped in. The temperature dropped down to -2F and I was literally frozen. I ended up starting a fire in the middle of the night and dragging my bag out next to it. Miraculously I kept ash from burning holes in it. We ended up cooking breakfast at 4:30 and started hiking at about 6. The first few miles were painful as my boots were frozen stiff even after sitting by the fire for a few hours.

The third day was definately the highlight of the trip as we made our way to the Meadows on the middle fork of the Gila River. We had an amazing view from above and quickly forgot about the temperature.(It was still in the single digits).

Anyhow, we proceeded down the canyon side and into the river valley on our hike out. It was clear blue skies and the sun was beginning to warm things up. At about 2 in the afternoon, the temperature was 70F and were both in shorts. At this point, we wished we would have taken one of the longer route options, but I guess thats how things go.

Eventually we made it near Jordan Hot Springs, but I wasn't impressed and somewhat disgusted with the impact on the canyon there. It looked like a park... So we kept on hiking until Little Bear Canyon and began a little climb back to our car at West Fork Trailhead.

Overall, I definately enjoyed this trip. I really wish the temperatures would have been a little nicer throughout, but that's how March is.

I've recently started the planning stage for my 2006 spring break backpacking trip. I have decided to check out the Gila Wildernes and ere is some advice I have received from the backpacking community online regarding that area so far:

For a 5 to 6 day trip w/o a shuttle I suggest to start at the Visitor center/cliff dwellings, go up the west fork for two days until Hell's hole or if you are really fast White Creek. From here cross over to the Middle fork to the Meadows. you can stay at Prior's cabin as a way stop. From the meadows go down to Jordon's Hot Springs which are real nice though could be a little hotter. You can soak here into the night. Tis is a really nice hot springs. From here its an easy out to the corrals and your vehicle.

Lots of the trails follow the riverbeds, so any flooding will make them impassible. You'll have to watch the temperatures and stream guages to get an idea whether run off from snowmelt is beginning.

So, in Gila, understand that along any of the river trails, all you can really hope for is maybe a mile to a mile and a half per hour. You will spend a lot of time handling the stream crossings safely, since they are so darn frequent (30 crossings or more in a mile of trail..ack!!!). There were also a few washouts, and downed big trees from a previous flash flood, made for some fun Wilderness Gymnastics experiments...

Here is one of the routes that I am considering for my spring break trip to the Gila Wilderness. Click on map to enlarge.

There will be almost 100 river crossings on this route and you can go to this USGS site to check Gila River levels. Luckily there is no snow to swell the rivers. Here is a chart showing the snow pack for the region...Nothing in the Gila...

The following is a 3d map looking West Northwest up the West and Middle Forks of the Gila River. It gives a good impression of the layout of the land. The one peak there is Lilley Mountain with the rest of the Mogollon Mountains beyond that. It would be nice to do a peak ascent on Lilley, but that will depend upon the amount of time we have and snow.