Two walks in the Gila
Last week we hiked through the Gila Wilderness, for our third annual March expedition. Our previous trip to the Gila was comparatively more extreme: the weather was harsher, the rivers' flows were very elevated, and we encountered nearly no one on the trail. This year, conditions were much milder and we crossed paths with many people: eager spring breakers skipping through the Middle Fork and drawling horseman doing trail work. We camped only one night with no one else within earshot.
The popularity of this year's route and the improved weather probably explain the number of people we saw. The Middle Fork and the West Fork are far more striking than the path we took from Little Creek to Turkey Creek, and the fact that the rivers were actually passable this year meant that many more people were attempting them. That there were so many people (we probably saw 40 over the course of the week) has altered my first impression of the Gila as an essentially desolate place. It still is remote, but you are not certain to be alone there.
By the numbers we walked roughly 33 miles with roughly 6100 feet of vertical gain. I lost a pound or two during the week but did not feel injured coming out. We had no setbacks or death marches--all in all an easy, successful trip.