The Gila is my favorite spot on the planet, and you have a beautiful video. Unfortunately videos as nice as this will do to the Gila what REI did to the outdoors.
I hear you, but the Gila is already well known in the Tucson hiking community. It is remote enough that most folks won't make the drive. I am also not famous enough to attract enough viewers to lure into the area. Thanks for the nice words on the video though!!
Thanks Kurt, I really appreciate the specific trail information you give in this video. The foot torture of hiking on small rocks made me chuckle and reminded me of the AT in Pennsylvania, aka Rocksylvania.
Kurt - wonderful video! I've been binge watching your channel since I discovered it! I spent 5 days / 4 nights in Gila at the beginning of June 2017. I went with a couple of buddies and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Watching your video brought back many good memories. Our route was somewhat similar, only in reverse. Our loop took us from the visitors center up the Middle Fork to the Meadows, where we crossed over to the West Fork via Big Bear Canyon trail (#28). Once on the West Fork we hiked back to the visitors center. I loved your retrospect at the end of the video. If I were to do it all over again I would do your exact route in reverse. I feel like we missed out on some of the nicer parts of the West Fork entering it from Big Bear Canyon Trail.
Really enjoy your videos. I spend a lot of time at Guadalupe Mountains NP in West Texas but have been wanting to give New Mexico a try. Thanks for the great info and tips.
Nice job with video and commentary. Considering this loop -- can you comment on +/- of travel in a clockwise direction as you did (West Fork to Middle Fork) versus counterclockwise? Thanks.
That is a great question! I wanted the Jordan warm springs near the end of the hike so I could wash off several days of grime. The stretch between the springs and the TH are also the most heavily trafficked, so depends if you want to see people at the beginning or the end.
Nice video Kurt! I'm looking for something in the 40 mile range for May and this seems like a good option. It's about a 12 hour drive from here in Houston. I noticed you did about 10 miles on your 2nd day and 16 miles on the 3rd day. Are there logistical reasons for that (i.e. better campsites, more rugged terrain one day, etc.) or did you just feel like going farther that day? Trying to get a feel for if I could do it with 2 over-nights and what my best camping strategy would look like. Cheers!
It was a 4 day hike for me, you must be combining the last 2 days to come up with 16 miles. I did decide to not spend the night at Jordan Warm Springs, it was too crowded so that did extend the 3rd day a bit. It's doable in 3 full days (my first and last days were 1/2 days), but that would mean camping near the trailhead.
I did an almost identical route last May, just a little more distance. Started at the Cliff Dwellings parking lot and went all the way up the WestFork to Hells Hole to camp for day one. Day two, I went up to Woodland Park, then along Lilley Mountain and back to Prior Creek cabin to camp. Day three I went down to the Middle Fork all the way back to Little Bear and camped there before walking out on day four. Lessons Learned: probably should've left my pant legs zipped on (grassy river banks and flies were annoying), don't leave bug juice in the truck, Trail 29 sucks, watch out for big groups at Little Bear.
Well done, thank you for sharing! I'd like to do a winter trip in the Gila Wilderness. Can anyone comment on what conditions might be encountered in late February and into March? I'm guessing daily highs in the 40s-60s and overnight lows in the 20s or 30s? What about issues with icy trails?
The climate data for the Cliff Dwellings will be very close to what you will see on this hike: www.nps.gov/gicl/planyourvisit/weather.htm The water will be freezing cold though.
A little late on your question but another thing to consider is the flow of the river. If there's a decent snowpack the river can be up at that time, even flood stage at certain times.
I thought that was the case, based on your previous videos. I know you were testing a new rugged camera a while ago. I am about to upgrade my iPhone 6 also, probably to the 8 Plus. It is really amazing what these devices can do.
Hi Kurt, very informative video. I'm looking at doing something similar and was wondering if you found your distances to be fairly accurate? I guess constantly crossing the river and all the little back and forths add up because cal topo estimates the route you took as about 35 miles compared to the 45 miles on your GPS file. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and plan a route that looks like 50 miles on paper and ends up being 65. Was the extra distance a reality of the trail? Or do you think funny GPS shots because of the canyons? Thanks!
Great question. I don’t think the Gila canyons are deep enough to cause GPS bounce, so I think the distances are accurate. Because of the terrain and lack of a well defined trail there is a lot of zigzagging. All those little wanderings add up after a while!
@@KurtPapke Thanks, appreciate the response. Looks like there are enough connecting trails I can plan two routes and pick which I'll do based on the first day's mileage. Thanks!
@@trooper2221 FWIW, I spent a night in Tucumcari on my last road trip. That might be a little closer to 1/2 way. The last stretch through the Gila Wilderness is slow going.
Great video. I love New Mexico and spent some time there with my daughter who lives in Carlsbad. We climbed Guadalupe Peak (I know it's in Texas but it seems like New Mexico) and loved the whole area.
Awesome video, Kurt! Very informative. Being from the north I don't have any desert hiking experience. Is this in a spot where it could be comfortably hiked in, say, February? Or is it pretty cold in winter?
Doable, but FWIW when I camped above The Meadows at altitude it got down to 25F. The water, in the West Fork particularly, was pretty darn cold. You could do it, just be prepared for the cold. I'd recommend neoprene socks to keep your feet warm. I describe the technique in my video on Aravaipa Canyon.
