American Journeys | Gila National Forest, New Mexico Walking a Dream of Desolation By KEITH MULVIHILL

December 12, 2008
American Journeys | Gila National Forest, New Mexico Walking a Dream of Desolation By KEITH MULVIHILL

THE sun dipped overhead, casting a thick glow of yellow-orange light that radiated off narrow canyon walls. The sound of rushing water filled the chasm, a steady, satisfying whoosh from Whitewater Creek, a stream charging over boulders and through gaps about 20 feet below me. It would have been enough just to be standing there, taking it in. But I was walking directly into this spectacle on a zigzagging metal path high over the water, angling deeper into steep-walled Whitewater Canyon.

On Day 2 of a trip in and around the Gila National Forest, I had made my way five miles to this spot outside Glenwood, a speck of a town in a far-flung area of southwestern New Mexico. I was navigating the 300-foot-long namesake section of the Catwalk National Recreation Trail — a metal walkway clinging to towering vertical slabs of rock.

In the 1890s, workers using muscle power and ropes ran a pipeline along the wall of this canyon to carry water to a mill that processed gold and silver ore. They moved along on planks above the pipes, calling this their catwalk. In the 1930s, long after the mill went defunct, the Civilian Conservation Corps was assigned the task of salvaging the 18-inch pipe and turning the support structure into a safely walkable recreation attraction.

Some of the hand-forged hardware supporting the catwalk today was drilled into the rocks in the original pipeline project, and the entire trail, though only a mile long, is visually action-packed. The last leg is an Indiana Jones-style metal suspension bridge that dangles about 40 feet above the rapid stream. Then the path ends abruptly on a rock ledge.

But the catwalk trail barely scratches the surface of the natural beauty and abundance found in this area. Just beyond this canyon, the scruffy, jagged terrain surges skyward. Steep slopes form the flanks of the Mogollon Mountains, a solid wall delineating the western edge of the sprawling Gila Wilderness, which, in 1924, under the guidance of the conservationist Aldo Leopold, became the nation's first designated wilderness area. As envisioned by Leopold, the term "wilderness" would define "a continuous stretch of country preserved in its natural state, open to lawful hunting and fishing, big enough to absorb a two weeks' pack trip, and devoid of roads, artificial trails, cottages, or other works of man."

Today, the Gila Wilderness and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness, which borders just to the east, together contain more than 750,000 acres of unspoiled land, forming the heart of the Gila National Forest — 3.3 million acres of publicly owned forest and range land. The forest, southwest of Albuquerque, straddles a 170-mile stretch of the Continental Divide and teems with wildlife. Flowing through it is the Gila, one of the few undammed rivers in the West.

This furrowed countryside, with its mix of canyons, mesas and grasslands, makes for a three- or four-day adventure with miles of vistas and a smattering of towns where meals smothered in green chilies set your tongue on fire. (After the Catwalk, hungry hikers can recharge with burgers and milkshakes amid the cowboyish ambience of the Blue Front Bar Cafe in Glenwood.)

It's farther down the road (about nine miles south) where sightseers can truly begin to appreciate the size of the magically desolate land that surrounds them. At the Aldo Leopold Vista, if you can tear yourself away from the dreamy view of the Gila Wilderness, there are plaques to read and local historical facts to ponder. But the glorious panorama beckons, the horizon taunts: "What are you doing over there? Come over here!"

On a short backpacking trip in the Mogollon (pronounced mo-go-YON) Mountains, I was lucky enough to get a taste of this rugged, wild place. About five miles in, just over Windy Gap (via Little Dry Trail No. 180), my hiking companion and unofficial guide, Michael Berman, a friend of a friend, stopped about 10 paces ahead of me to take in the view.

"This is the Gila," he announced, gesturing outward to a plunging ravine, up to craggy pinnacles, and over toward buff-colored rock faces blazing in late-afternoon sunlight. Snaking groves of ponderosa pine wended their way out of small box canyons and up steep gorges, spreading to dominate the hulking mountaintops.

Mr. Berman, an artist and photographer, lives nearby with his wife and has hiked countless miles in the Gila. He described once being startled by two bears tumbling out of a tree and, another time, coming upon a mountain lion with a freshly killed elk.

Exploring this wilderness takes patience, he said. "It can be hard to get into. There's no one place to go." But for anyone willing to devote a little time and expend the energy, there are hundreds of miles of trails and much to discover.

Mr. Berman's stark black-and-white photographs of the Gila capture the enormousness and mystery of this seemingly desolate land. A 2008 recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for a project photographing grasslands in the Chihuahuan Desert, he is drawn to barren locales. "If you attend and look closely at a place," he told me, "there is a certain magic and beauty to it." The light was fading when we set up camp in Big Dry Canyon, at the confluence of Big Dry and Spruce Creeks. The streams were gushing from a recent spate of rain; water tumbled over boulders and splashed into deep, dark brown pools. We cooked steaks on hot coals, and tequila kept the chilly night air at bay.

The next morning, we made the strenuous climb back out of the canyon. "The Gila always makes you pay to get into good places," Mr. Berman said.

Later we drove north on Highway 180 to the small cattle ranching and timber town of Reserve, where Ella's Cafe, on Main Street, serves up tasty jalapeño poppers and green chili cheeseburgers. A few doors down is Uncle Bill's Bar, where the ceiling is adorned by T-shirts from teams of forest-fire fighters — called hotshot crews — and a smattering of suspended guns and rifles. A sign near the bar announced a pool tournament every Friday night.

Accessible from Reserve is a web of gravel timber and ranch roads crisscrossing the northern section of the national forest. Up here, grasslands spread out atop a high plateau, forming magnificent golden vistas: rolling hills dotted with piñons and junipers, dark green stands of conifers in deep crevices. Driving east along Forest Road 141, in the T-Bar grasslands, we spotted a lone pronghorn antelope in the distance, its white-blazed flanks flashing as it ambled in the bright sunlight.

Most people who visit the Gila make Silver City their home base. A former mining town, it oozes Old West charm, especially along Bullard Street, where handsome adobe and brick buildings line the pavement. Galleries, bars and restaurants are plentiful, and the Javalina Coffee House serves up strong brew and snacks. Down the road, Nancy's Silver City Cafe specializes in New Mexican food.

The most accessible way into the Gila Wilderness is Route 15, a narrow and winding road that heads north out of Silver City, stretching over 42 scenic miles. Visitors can stop along the way to bask in natural hot springs. Gila Hot Springs Campground has three large ones, varying in temperature, nestled along the banks of the Gila River. The spot is open to day-trippers and campers alike.

"Wow, this is a cool place," I said to a couple of soakers. "Actually, it's pretty hot," a tie-dyed-bikini-clad woman cracked. Her male companion grinned. "If you want to get cool," she said, "get in here a few minutes and then sit up on the edge in the breeze."

Two hot springs away. I chatted with Abel Hinojosa, who was relaxing, au naturel, in the steamy water. He and his wife, who live near Las Cruces, were on a three-day respite, camping no more than 50 yards from the hot springs. "This is a lot more rustic than the more developed spots," Mr. Hinojosa said. "We like that." The previous night's full moon had made their nighttime soak especially memorable. "It was awesome," he said. "You could see the outline of the mountain ridge, and the whole area was filled with moonlight."

At the end of Route 15 is Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, a spectacular collection of American Indian ruins. A one-mile loop trail gracefully ascends about 180 feet above a narrow canyon. Walking inside enormous south-facing caves, among the pale stone walls, it's easy to see the appeal of living in such a place. The serene, pleasingly minimalist structures and the jaw-dropping view of the adjacent rocky-canyon walls, decked out in tall pine trees, gave the feeling of being in a heavenly penthouse.

A trickle of water over the cave's gaping archway created tiny water droplets that sparkled like falling diamonds in the late morning sun. Zump Urycki, 33, a volunteer guide, summed it up nicely: "The perfectness of all this is pretty unbelievable."

OLD TIMES IN NEW MEXICO

INFORMATION about the Gila National Forest and the Gila Wilderness can be found at www2.srs.fs.fed.us/r3/gila/. Maps ($9) are available at any of the six ranger district offices listed on the Web site. The Silver City office is at 3005 East Camino del Bosque (575-388-8201).

The Catwalk National Recreation Trail is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Parking is $3 a vehicle.

The Blue Front Bar Cafe (575-539-2561) is on Highway 180 in Glenwood.

The turnoff for the Little Dry Trail 180 is about a mile north of the Aldo Leopold Vista on Highway 180. Turn right on Sacaton Road (Forest Road 147). When the road forks, turn left onto Forest Road 196 and drive to the trailhead.

In Reserve, Ella's Cafe (575-533-6111) at 96 Main Street and Uncle Bill's Bar (575-533-6369) at 230 Main Street are good stops. Rooms at the Rode Inn Motel, 200 Main Street (575-533-6661) are $58 to $79 a night.

Silver City offers numerous lodging options for a variety of budgets. The Palace Hotel (106 West Broadway; 575-388-1811; www.zianet.com/palacehotel; $48 to $79) is within walking distance of restaurants, bars and art galleries. On North Bullard Street are the Javalina Coffee House (No. 201; 575-388-1350) and Nancy's Silver City Cafe (No. 514; 575-388-3480).

The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument (575-536-9461; www.nps.gov/gicl) accepts visitors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; $3 a person and $10 a family

Gila Hot Springs Campground (575-536-9551; $3 a person for day use and $4 overnight) is on Access Road off Highway 15, about 3.5 miles south of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument visitor center.

Works by Michael Berman (www.fragmentedimages.com) are currently being exhibited at the Santa Fe Art Institute and Lannan Foundation Gallery in Santa Fe.

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