Mark’s Photos #13
On September seventh 2010 Tropical Storm Hermina moved out of Mexico and into south Texas. It brought with it winds of up to 64 miles an hour and 6.24 inches of rain which caused...
SlowBro's Blog Posts
Gila Wilderness Loop-Day 6
Another 5 a.m. wake-up for the group. Packing up for the last time, we had breakfast and were on our way by 6:30. Following the well-worn trail along the West Fork as it rose...
Gila Wilderness Loop-Day 5
It was 5:30 a.m. and I was loading up my pack when Cappuccino walked over from her hammock in stocking feet. “I have a small issue,” she said evenly. “What is the small issue?”...
Gila Wilderness Loop-Day 4
Slept in until almost 6 a.m. this morning. Our plan was to do a day hike up the West Fork 5 miles to White Creek Cabin. So we had a leisurely breakfast and pulled...
Mark’s Photos #12
In March of 2017 I started my hike of the 800 mile Arizona Trail. Five hundred miles along, I injured my right big toe making it painful to walk. Of course I walked another...
Gila Wilderness Loop-Day 3
We were up at 5AM and on our way by 6:15. Our goal today is to get over to the West Fork drainage. Our original plans to hike up near the head of the...
2 responses to “Gila Wilderness Loop-Day 3”
Gotta love having a Plan C. Your first photo of ponderosa pines reminds me of Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, Arizona. And yes, Buffalo Park is a city park! Great to hear you build in time to rest and take a blue blaze trail for the view. Wise beyond your years! Your “end of the day on the log” photo makes me think you wisely had no campfire. Too hot? Likely that the Hummingbird Fire made flames a less than brilliant choice?
Always good to have a plan “C” 😁 the forest in the Gila, that is not on fire, is beautiful. The reason the understory here is so clean is that they have let small fires burn through the forest in the past preventing a build up of downed limbs and brush that would be fuel for a much bigger fire. Speaking of fire, I never build a fire for cooking of entertainment. Just too risky in today’s drought stricken forests. Besides there is a fire ban in the New Mexican National Forests. I like the idea of a campfire, but the reality is extra work, a risky liability, and everything smells of smoke. So I never build a fire with two exceptions: survival and extreme cold weather.