Hiking New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness: A Guide to the Area’s Greatest Hiking Adventures

361 Pages·2017·58.75 MB·English

by  Bill Cunningham

HIKING
NEW MEXICO’S
GILA WILDERNESS

HIKING
NEW MEXICO’S
GILA WILDERNESS
A GUIDE TO THE AREA’S GREATEST HIKING ADVENTURES
SECOND EDITION
Bill and Polly Cunningham
FALCONGGUUIIDDEESS®
An imprint of Globe Pequot
Falcon and FalconGuides are registered trademarks and Make Adventure Your Story is a
trademark of Rowman & Littlefield.
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2018 Rowman & Littlefield
A previous edition of this book was published by Falcon Publishing, Inc., in 1999.
Published in cooperation with The Wilderness Society
TOPO! Maps copyright © 2018 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Maps © Rowman & Littlefield
All photos by the authors unless otherwise noted
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data available
ISBN 978-1-4930-2781-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4930-2782-8 (e- book)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
The author and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents happening to, or
injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.
To all of you with enough gumption to lace up a pair of hiking boots and to
venture beyond the roads into the Gila Wilderness, and with enough heartfelt
commitment to fight for the freedom of wild country. May your spirit, and it,
endure forever. And to the timeless vision of Aldo Leopold, who started it all.
Alma
159
61
142 59
180 Mogollon Bursam Road63 62 GGiilliittaa SSLLnnaaookkwwee60–61 59LMLMooooccuuoonnttaaiinn 142 WWoo5llff6 HH–5oo7llllooww 59
RReeddssttoonnee WWiillllooww
159 6 5 1–4 CCrreeeekk 58
Glenwood LWLWii7tthhttiillCtCteeeeLaawwttiwwtaatttlaaeeell rrWkkhitewater SCWoutrhh. iFteowrkater Creek SSPPaaoonniiddnnttyyWhBitaelwdyater Middle FoHHrkoorrssee CCaammpp MoBulanctkain
East Fork
SShhCCeeoorrrriirrddaaaallnn Mogollon West Fork TTrraaiillss EEnndd 54–55 225
8–9 Baldy
TTJJ CCoorrrraall
180
146 WWFFooeerrsskktt35–3738–4041–46MFMFooiiddrrkkddllee
196 RRaaiinn CCrreeeekk Mogollon Creek WWoo2CCoo8oodd–rr3yyrraa4''ssll GGiillaa CCooTTrroorrmamall CCMMaaoonnooyyrrooeenn––53
147 10 HHoott SSpprriinnggss
BBllaacckk CCaannyyoonn
Seventy-four GGiillaa BBrriiddggee26–2747GGrraappeevviinnee FFoorreesstt CCaammpp52
Mountain
GILA WILDERNESS 23–25 AAlluumm CCaammpp
MMooggoolllloonn
11–13CCrreeeekk 48MTMTrriiaalliiiittllaarryy
RRoocckkyy CCaannyyoonn
FFoorreesstt CCaammpp51
LLoowweerr Gila River
147 14–18GGiillaa RRiivveerr
180
PPuurrggaattoorryy
N 155 SSCCaapprreeiilleellookk20–22 35 CC4hh9aassmm CC5RR0aaoonnccyykkooyynn 150
Lake
293 15 Roberts
0 Kilometer 10 153 SSCChhooeerrrreeaappll19
CCaannyyoonn 282
0 Mile 10 Gila
Cliff
35
OVERVIEW 180
15
To Silver City To Silver City To Mimbres
Alma
159
61
142 59
180 Mogollon Bursam Road63 62 GGiilliittaa SSLLnnaaookkwwee60–61 59LMLMooooccuuoonnttaaiinn 142 WWoo5llff6 HH–5oo7llllooww 59
RReeddssttoonnee WWiillllooww
159 6 5 1–4 CCrreeeekk 58
Glenwood LWLWii7tthhttiillCCtteeeeLaawwttiwwtaatttlaaeeell rrWkkhitewater SCWoutrhh. iFteowrkater Creek SSPPaaoonniiddnnttyyWhBitaelwdyater Middle FoHHrkoorrssee CCaammpp MoBulanctkain
East Fork
SShhCCeeoorrrriirrddaaaallnn Mogollon West Fork TTrraaiillss EEnndd 54–55 225
8–9 Baldy
TTJJ CCoorrrraall
180
146 WWFFooeerrsskktt35–3738–4041–46MFMFooiiddrrkkddllee
196 RRaaiinn CCrreeeekk Mogollon Creek WWoo2CCoo8oodd–rr3yyrraa4''ssll GGiillaa CCooTTrroorrmmaall CCMMaaoonnooyyrrooeenn––53
147 10 HHoott SSpprriinnggss
BBllaacckk CCaannyyoonn
Seventy-four GGiillaa BBrriiddggee26–2747GGrraappeevviinnee FFoorreesstt CCaammpp52
Mountain
GILA WILDERNESS 23–25 AAlluumm CCaammpp
MMooggoolllloonn
11–13CCrreeeekk 48MTMTrriiaalliiiittllaarryy
RRoocckkyy CCaannyyoonn
FFoorreesstt CCaammpp51
LLoowweerr Gila River
147 14–18GGiillaa RRiivveerr
180
PPuurrggaattoorryy
N 155 SSCCaapprreeiilleellookk20–22 35 CC4hh9aassmm CC5RR0aaoonnccyykkooyynn 150
Lake
293 15 Roberts
0 Kilometer 10 153 SSCChhooeerrrreeaappll19
CCaannyyoonn 282
0 Mile 10 Gila
Cliff
35
OVERVIEW 180
15
To Silver City To Silver City To Mimbres

The Hikes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xIII
MEET YOUR GUIDES xv
MAP AND ICON LEGENDS xvI
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE xvII
TOP 5 HIKES xx
BEFORE YOU HIT THE TRAIL xxII
THE HIKES
West: The Mogollon Range
SANDY POINT TRAILHEAD
 1. Whitewater Baldy 2
 2. Mogollon Crest 6
 3. Sandy Point–Willow Creek 12
 4. Sandy Point–West Fork Gila 17
REDSTONE TRAILHEAD
 5. Redstone Park 24
CATWALK TRAILHEAD
 6. The Catwalk 28
LITTLE WHITEWATER TRAILHEAD
 7. South Fork Whitewater Creek 32
SHERIDAN CORRAL TRAILHEAD
 8. Skunk Johnson Cabin 38
 9. Holt Mountain 42
RAIN CREEK TRAILHEAD
10. Rain Creek 45
MOGOLLON CREEK TRAILHEAD
11. Buds Hole 48
12. Mogollon–Rain Creek 52
13. Mogollon Creek–Sandy Point 57
ix