Gila R- Middle Fork Loop Day 3

It was 34° this morning. A bit colder than the forecast of 40° and a lot closer to freezing. Most of us were tolerably warm, although Old Truck was not as warm as he would have liked. Breakfast and hot coffee helped a lot as did the early sunshine in camp.

Today we were leaving the Middle Fork canyon and traveling overland to drop into the West Fork canyon where we would spend our last night of the trip. About a 7 mile journey, we would first climb almost a thousand feet in 1.6 miles of switchbacks. Then a couple miles of gradually rising rolling hills to the top of the ridge. Finally we would drop about 1,200 feet in 3 miles to the West Fork. This last part is notoriously, rocky, exposed, and hot.

We also had two river crossings, one right away through the Middle Fork and one at the end of the day across the West Fork. Perfect! Wet shoes all day and all night.

So about a hundred yards from camp we made that first crossing and almost immediately started to climb out of the canyon. Although not a sheer rock face, the trail climbs a very steep slope for just shy of a thousand vertical feet. Attaining the rim, the view is awesome. It seems like you can see the whole Wilderness from there.

We proceeded through rolling terrain of Ponderosa forests for a while, eventually breaking out on the south slope. From there it was rocky and sun baked scrub down to the West Fork. We got to the river and forded. Another quarter mile was a campsite we knew of, that could accommodate all of us, and we set up there.

Dinner was at a couple of blocky boulders and a log that we carried over for a kitchen spot. After eating, JR read an intro to essays he may write and we had a spirited discussion about the definition of “indigenous.” By the time we broke away for bed, the stars were out in profusion and amazingly bright in this dark sky area.

Until tomorrow, safe travels and happy trails…