Introduction to the Gila

[Shawn]

Introduction to the Gila Wilderness

Three of us did the Jerky Mountain Loop in the Gila Wilderness over the July 4, 2008 weekend. Tour guide was Queen of the Walkabout-Redroxx, Tim and I were invited to come along.

The most striking aspect of the trip, for me, was seeing first hand what all the talk about “fire” in the forests is about. We walked through all stages of forest fire ecology, from the overgrown, dense thickets wanting only ignition, to the majestic, open grassy woods of mature old growth Ponderosa. The evidence of ground fires that thin out the underbrush and kill back the intruding growth is clear. We saw huge old pine trees with fire scars at their base, standing amid remnants of downed trees that had burned in the ground fires. We walked through small lighting strike burns of a few acres. The thick deep grass under the widely-spaced old yellow pine is luxurious; it’s easy to imagine a fire moving quickly and lightly through this ground cover, while leaving the big trees relatively untouched.

The route is a lollipop into the West Fork of the Gila, up over the Jerky Mountain, looping back to the trail we walked in on. It’s a great mix of rather gentle and short ups and downs, much of it along flowing streams. Short afternoon showers cooled the air and settled the dust. A few thunder booms hastened our descent off the Jerky Mountains.

This was my first trip “solo-ing”with a GPS. I created a route in TOPO over the trails on the maps, and transferred it to the Garmin before heading out. I realized that the trails on the maps are only a close approximation to a track laid down by a receiver going over the route, so a few feet on either side of the route in the receiver were of little concern. For the first day everything was fine, the unit tracked our route right along the one I created. The second day as we climbed the Jerky’s the unit showed we were on switchbacks not envisioned when the map was made. The trail became obscure in spots but the receiver showed which way we should go to find it, and several times this brought back to the remains of the old trail.

Then things seemed to go awry. On top of the Jerkys, in rolling wooded cover with a few open spots, the trail disappeared and the pre-loaded route went cross-country. Trusting technology, we bush-whacked in the rain more or less along the pre-loaded route, finally converging back to the trail we came in on (remember, it’s a loop). The signed trail we were supposed to be on was a half mile north. What went wrong? Back home I checked the TOPO map version from which I made the route to load into the Garmin—1965; the paper version we had was 1999! And the US Forest Service Gila Wilderness map version was based on something else, showing the trail in yet another location. I assumed the paper version and the TOPO would be the same. You know what happens when you assume. Lesson learned-GPS adds a great dimension to the sport, but there always seems to be a catch.

Back to the trip report . . .
We camped both nights in great spots, Friday on the thick grass under an open stand of old growth Ponderosa, Saturday along Iron Creek. Water was readily available most of the way, with streams and pretty little springs flowing along the way. The temps were mild, cool at night and shorts-and-tshirt weather daytimes. We did roughly 12 miles each of Friday and Saturday, followed by a quick ~4 miles Sunday morning, putting us back at the cars in time to stop in Glenwood for breakfast.
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The bear went over the mountain to see what he could see.

[Davis2001R6]

Well said Shawn! I had a great time and it was a fun loop. Even the trail finding while being chased off by a thunderstorm was some fun. I put my pictures up but Letty's are amazing as usual.

-TIM-

[RedRoxx44]

Great companions on a great trip. Lots of aspects to this area to like, the massive forest, the great wilderness views, the canopy enclosures by the stream, the lack of crowds and the lack of footprints along even the well established trails. Likely to see more elk prints than human prints.
We saw two other hikers the whole loop, and no evidence of recent use along the Jerky mtn loop, just the way I like it ( except the where is the trail?? part).
Thanks both Tim and Shawn for coming along and allowing me to catch up when I was dragging. I can always use the picture excuse
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You can rest when you're dead

[Arizonaheat]

Glad you had a great time in a wonderful place.

I was just there the week before for 5 days and didn't see a single other person the whole time.

Covered a lot of interesting territory and yes got into a challenging situation in a burn area coming off Skeleton Ridge into East Fork. Those burn areas get me everytime with the dead fall and thick undergrowth of raspberries and ferns. I have learned to forget what the topo says, but as you guys, try to use it as a rough guide of what used to be.

Went South Fork to Golden Link to Big Dry Creek to Black Mtn (what a climb San Jancinto ain't nothin), Spider Ridge Ridge, Skeleton Ridge, East fork. 9980 vertical for the day. Also did Camp Creek Saddle Trail and a bunch of other stuff.

Letty, I couldn't believe the flooding that happened in Spider Creek, wow!!! Any idea when that took place?

Shawn I may see you in the Chiricahuas this coming weekend. Thinking of heading there Thursday afternoon if all goes well. Another place burn areas can cause havoc on ones route finding.
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Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.