I had done this hike five years ago, with Kevin when we first moved to Arizona from New Jersey, and I've been wanting to hike this hike again. I finally got to do it!
We camped out at the Forks Campground, a few miles from the Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center. We arrived at 8am, got the information I needed (40% chance of t-storms in the afternoon) and headed out for the hike at the TJ Corral.
There were four other vehicles already parked here. Rats! That means I wasn't the first one out this morning.
At 8:25am we were on our way, up the hot and dry ridgeline toward Little Bear Canyon, where the Middle Fork of the Gila River flows through and is the first river crossing of 15 before the hotsprings.
We rambled at a quick pace, getting to Middle Fork in 80 minutes. The sign said the parking lot was 4.5 miles away. It felt more like three. And the remaining 1.5 miles to the hot springs felt more like three instead of the posted 1.5 miles!
When we arrived at the warm pool at 11:07am there were already five young people in the water, and at least three more camping right on the trail, with two dogs that came running after Sadie. The two men in the water were butt-ass naked, which prompts me to ask "How does one greet a naked man? 'Hey, how's it hanging?'"
But instead I nodded acknowledgement and sat quietly in my own little corner. There was plenty of room in this pool but we kept to ourselves, especially since the two women got naked, too. Oh dear...I had nothing else to do but close my eyes and nap, it felt so good to just lay there in the warm water.
And nap I did, for almost two hours while Sadie at first whimpered and whined and finally lay down and napped herself, while the others slowly packed up their tents and headed back to their cars at noon.
I didn't get out of the water until after 1pm. It felt so rejuvenating laying there in the warm water, away from civilization. I felt like a newborn (and looked like one, too with the white, wrinkled skin!) when I finally got out of the water. I had expected more people to be at the pools this Sunday, but instead was alone. I couldn't have asked for a better time.
But 30 minutes into our return hike I realized why no one else had joined me: Dark clouds were roaring from the southwest and thundering violently. I picked up my pace but got caught in a gentle rain just after crossing the Middle Fork creek for the last time. When it began to lightning I sought refuge under a sandstone overhang at 2:10pm, letting the last two women pass me by until I resumed my hike at 2:45pm.
"Have you been up this canyon before?" asked one woman. "The sign warned of flash floods during summer rains!"
"Yes, but flashfloods normally don't happen until hours after a rain, and it's really not raining that hard yet!"
"Oh, OK!" and the two women marched on. I eventually caught up to them when they were both in a meditative trance on an overlook.
We made it to the van at 4:10pm and drove straight into town where it once again began to pour steadily, with added lightning to the north. The overcast skies and cooler temps (it was 81F at the van) made the water-less hike easier for Sadie who pranced alongside me the entire time. The rain had strenghthened the pine-juniper-sage aroma of the forest.
A quick phone call to Kevin revealed that Lordsburg, NM was getting hit now with this rain. I updated him on my status: if it continues to rain tomorrow I'm heading back to Arizona. If this clears up, I will attempt Whitewater Baldy one more time. And then maybe scout out Dos Cabezas for a nice loop hike to lead with the club later this month.
I really lucked out with the weather all throughout my trip. What few storms there were were noting major, just hike stoppers but not trip stoppers or anything dangerous. The one thing I will have to do when I get back to Arizona is get my brakes replaced; they are squeaking now. The tires will need to be rotated, the oil changed. I'll be driving my Ford Escape again when I get back home soon.
I should be home within 72 hours. I can say I had the roadtrip of a lifetime.
We camped out at the Forks Campground, a few miles from the Cliff Dwellings Visitor Center. We arrived at 8am, got the information I needed (40% chance of t-storms in the afternoon) and headed out for the hike at the TJ Corral.
There were four other vehicles already parked here. Rats! That means I wasn't the first one out this morning.
At 8:25am we were on our way, up the hot and dry ridgeline toward Little Bear Canyon, where the Middle Fork of the Gila River flows through and is the first river crossing of 15 before the hotsprings.
We rambled at a quick pace, getting to Middle Fork in 80 minutes. The sign said the parking lot was 4.5 miles away. It felt more like three. And the remaining 1.5 miles to the hot springs felt more like three instead of the posted 1.5 miles!
When we arrived at the warm pool at 11:07am there were already five young people in the water, and at least three more camping right on the trail, with two dogs that came running after Sadie. The two men in the water were butt-ass naked, which prompts me to ask "How does one greet a naked man? 'Hey, how's it hanging?'"
But instead I nodded acknowledgement and sat quietly in my own little corner. There was plenty of room in this pool but we kept to ourselves, especially since the two women got naked, too. Oh dear...I had nothing else to do but close my eyes and nap, it felt so good to just lay there in the warm water.
And nap I did, for almost two hours while Sadie at first whimpered and whined and finally lay down and napped herself, while the others slowly packed up their tents and headed back to their cars at noon.
I didn't get out of the water until after 1pm. It felt so rejuvenating laying there in the warm water, away from civilization. I felt like a newborn (and looked like one, too with the white, wrinkled skin!) when I finally got out of the water. I had expected more people to be at the pools this Sunday, but instead was alone. I couldn't have asked for a better time.
But 30 minutes into our return hike I realized why no one else had joined me: Dark clouds were roaring from the southwest and thundering violently. I picked up my pace but got caught in a gentle rain just after crossing the Middle Fork creek for the last time. When it began to lightning I sought refuge under a sandstone overhang at 2:10pm, letting the last two women pass me by until I resumed my hike at 2:45pm.
"Have you been up this canyon before?" asked one woman. "The sign warned of flash floods during summer rains!"
"Yes, but flashfloods normally don't happen until hours after a rain, and it's really not raining that hard yet!"
"Oh, OK!" and the two women marched on. I eventually caught up to them when they were both in a meditative trance on an overlook.
We made it to the van at 4:10pm and drove straight into town where it once again began to pour steadily, with added lightning to the north. The overcast skies and cooler temps (it was 81F at the van) made the water-less hike easier for Sadie who pranced alongside me the entire time. The rain had strenghthened the pine-juniper-sage aroma of the forest.
A quick phone call to Kevin revealed that Lordsburg, NM was getting hit now with this rain. I updated him on my status: if it continues to rain tomorrow I'm heading back to Arizona. If this clears up, I will attempt Whitewater Baldy one more time. And then maybe scout out Dos Cabezas for a nice loop hike to lead with the club later this month.
I really lucked out with the weather all throughout my trip. What few storms there were were noting major, just hike stoppers but not trip stoppers or anything dangerous. The one thing I will have to do when I get back to Arizona is get my brakes replaced; they are squeaking now. The tires will need to be rotated, the oil changed. I'll be driving my Ford Escape again when I get back home soon.
I should be home within 72 hours. I can say I had the roadtrip of a lifetime.
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