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