Gila R- Middle Fork Loop Day 4

It was 29° at 7 AM. There was frost on tarps and it was challenging to get out of a warm bed. Even Old Truck did pretty well with warmth overnight. But we all rose to the occasion and soon were in the “kitchen” drinking hot coffee and some kind of breakfast.

Today we only had 4 miles to walk and part of that was a road walk. The hike would take us back to TJ Coral, our starting point. Unfortunately, there were three or four water crossings we had to make to get to the road. And, as it turned out, a bit of swamp to negotiate .

After breakfast, with numb hands, we packed up our gear and were ready to go just as the sun finally hit our campsite at 8AM. But hiking warmed us up as we walked the flood plane of the West Fork 3 miles to the end of the trailhead. The crossings were not bad because the water in the river was considerably warmer than the air temperature. However, right near the end much of the trail was a boggy swamp that required close attention to navigate.

At the trailhead, we took an end of hike picture and then walked another mile to Scatman‘s truck. From there, we drove a mile or two to the little general store known as Docs. There we grabbed a snack and something to drink before starting our long journey back to home. We walked away from another one!

Safe travels and happy trails…

PS- I just want to add what a pleasure it was to first spend 5 days hiking with Cappuccino and exploring new territory in the Gila. And then to come back to this amazing place, with a wonderful group of friends, and do a second trip with them was frosting on the cake.