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Gila Cliff Dwellings and Day Hikes

 
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gpsjoe





Joined: 01 Feb 2004
Posts: 535
Location: Mesa AZ

PostPosted: 5/24/2009, 7:29 am    Post subject: Gila Cliff Dwellings and Day Hikes Reply to topic Reply with quote

Gila Dwellings & Day Hikes
I stopped at the Gila Visitor Center a mile from the Cliff Dwellings and asked about day hikes there. They gave me a sheet with descriptions of 5 day hikes. I did their hike #1, Little Bear Canyon/Middle Fork Loop and hike #3, West Fork Loop and several others not on this list. Some 94 pictures are on Webshots.

Gila Cliff Dwellings - Tuesday, May 19
I did the easy 1 mile, 1 hour tour of the impressive cliff dwellings after driving in from Mesa, AZ and camped at the Upper Scorpion Campground. My photos have some pictographs from the dwellings that were pointed out to me by the volunteer guides at the dwellings. The estimates are that some 40 to 60 people lived in these structures until around year 1300.

Trail To The Past – Tuesday, May 19
Just 200 yards from the Upper Campground is the Lower Campground and this trail. It is less than 1/2 mile and there is a small ruin along with many pictographs. Since everybody has their own theory about who lived there, I can think the small ruin was the resident artist who was antisocial and wanted some nice walls to create his/her artwork.

Little Bear Canyon/Middle Fork Loop – Wednesday, May 20
As described by the Gila National Forest Service this hike starts at the TJ Corral trailhead about ˝ mile from the campground. The first 3.5 miles feature panoramic views of the surrounding topography. The views change nicely as I entered Little Bear Canyon hiking the last mile to its intersection with the Middle Fork of the Gila River. The last ˝ mile of this canyon is particularly beautiful with huge rock walls, a flowing stream and vegetation typical of a riparian area. Next is a 6 mile journey along the Middle Fork. The hike description says there are many stream crossings but no number is provided. I attempted to keep track of the number and ended with 30 crossings. This is either accurate or very close to the true number. These crossings were easy with the highest water just below knee cap level. Some of the best unobstructed views are standing in the middle of the river and looking both ways so I found the crossings enjoyable hiking the whole way in my TEVA sandals. There is a final mile to hike on the road from the visitor center to the trailhead which is a price that must be paid to do the loop. Total GPS distance for this hike is 11.5 miles. This hike has a good mix of changing scenery.

West Fork Loop – Thursday, May 21
The hike description starts this one at the TJ Corral trailhead but I started it at the parking lot for the Gila Cliff Dwellings. That way I could hike the mile on the road in the early morning and not at the end of the hike. From TJ the first 2.4 miles is the same as for the previous day’s hike. Then I turned left and hiked 4 miles toward “The Meadows” and turned left on a trail that goes 3 miles to the West Fork. Once at the West Fork I added mileage to the described hike by turning right and going out and back down the West Fork about a mile each way. I finished with 13.5 miles for the day. The best part of this hike is the West Fork but there is about 9.5 miles of hiking before getting to the West Fork which is a bit much of panoramic scenery and not enough change in the process. A better hike might be to hike out and back on the West Fork and go down the West Fork farther than I did.

Tadpole Ridge – Friday, May 22
After the Thursday hike I drove about 31 miles down the difficult route 15 to the McMillen campground (at mile marker 12.8 ). Stayed there overnight and was hoping to hike the Tadpole Ridge trail to Tadpole Lake and back for a 14 mile round tripper. In the past 2 days the weather was cloudy with off and on drizzle that was not bothersome but Friday’s weather featured low clouds, fog and finally rain. About 2.9 miles on the trail rain started but I continued anyway. After 30 minutes it stopped for a while and started again and never stopped after that. I made it in 5.6 miles before turning back. My torso and backpack had good rain protection. Everything else got soaked including my boots and socks. I liked this trail but my views were impeded by fog and rain so I must do it again under better conditions. This would make an easy shuttle hike of 8.5 miles one-way since there is a dirt road accessible trailhead at the end of the trail. Or it would be a long 17 out and back hike to do the whole trail or 14 miles round trip if the lake is the turnaround point. Elevations on this trip were from 7.300 feet to a high of 8,600 feet.

My plan for Saturday was to do a short 5 mile hike to Signal Peak (and lookout tower) that has a trailhead almost directly across route 15 from the Tadpole Ridge trailhead. I then would drive home after that. But the Friday rain did me in. When I got back to camp everything was very wet. I threw my tent and all the wet stuff into my 4Runner and drove directly home to a hot shower and dry warm bed. I guess I’m just a weenie after all. I will go back there.
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 5/24/2009, 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Thanks for the info. Have hiked to the dwellings, but that was it. Had hoped to get back there sometime but still haven't done so.
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Deborah





Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 297
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 5/26/2009, 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Love that area! I want to do a backpack in the West fork this summer. I usually end up going through Little Bear canyon, and then up the Middle fork to Jordan Warm Springs. I never end up doing that loop.
So much to do in the Park. Last year we did a great hike on EE Canyon Trail.
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SpiderMonkey





Joined: 05 Dec 2007
Posts: 3
Location: Columbia, MD

PostPosted: 7/8/2009, 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I went to the c and o canal and went on the billy goat A trail we went on a good hike. There was also this big rock that we climbed up it was great.
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wanderingsoul





Joined: 19 Jul 2004
Posts: 2285
Location: Gilbert AZ

PostPosted: 7/9/2009, 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Good Deal SpiderMonkey.. Sound like you had a good time
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beckett





Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 1066

PostPosted: 7/10/2009, 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Joe, thanks for putting all these hikes in such a organized place. It will be easy to add them all to my list! I always enjoy your write ups.

Brian, I hope you
re keeping a good log of all the hikes you have completed. With your early start, you'll be able to get a very impressive list of accomplished hikes!
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thesuperstitions
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PostPosted: 7/10/2009, 6:54 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I had hoped to make it to the Gila Cliff Dwellings with Kelly & Brian next week but the logistics of the trip just wouldn't allow it. We'll be getting to New Mexico next Tuesday night and will spend the next 2 weeks exploring. One week will be at Philmont, the BSA Scout Ranch up near Cimarron.

Along the way, we'll hit Elephant Butte state park, Albuquerque, Chaco Canyon, Bisti Wilderness, Four Corners, Mesa Verde (Colorado), Heron Lake state park, Philmont, Santa Rosa, Three Rivers Petroglyph site, White Sands National Monument and Aguirre Springs.

Should be a GREAT trip! I'll post pictures when I can...
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gpsjoe





Joined: 01 Feb 2004
Posts: 535
Location: Mesa AZ

PostPosted: 7/10/2009, 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Keep up the good work Brian. Hope to meet you on the trail some day.

Those considering the Gila Dwellings trip should know that there is a 1 hour time difference between AZ and NM. The Dwellings and visitor center closes at 4:30 PM NM time (3:30 PM AZ time). I got in under the wire on my day of arrival but there were others who got shut out not anticipating the closing time.

Also stop at the visitor center and ask about day hikes. The will give you a sheet of paper with about 8 of them listed. Most of those are shorter than the ones I chose.
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