Today's goal was bagging Whitewater Baldy, the highest peak in the Gila National Forest at 10,895 ft (3,321 m).
Clouds looked generally clear, so after a triple-shot cappuccino in Silver City I drove the 57 miles north to Glenwood. A quick stop at the Glenwood Ranger station affirmed a mere 20% chance of rain. Perfect!
I continued on NM159 into the town of Mongollon. Today this town clearly was a "Ghost town" as businesses are only open Fridays through Sundays for tourists. No one was in town, so up to Sandy Point I drove to start the trail head of #182. We arrived to clear skies and started our gentle ascent up Trail #182 at 10:24am. I was the first one to sign in today, and the first one to register in the folder since the 18th.
This truly was an easy hike, despite the mileage. There was one switchback but after that the trail hit the ridge line and climbed gently for the next three miles. Bead Springs was trickling but Sadie wasn't thirsty. The trail was covered in pine needles, but also had its share of large tree roots across the trail, and lichen-covered volcanic rock strewn all across the mountains.
At the 9132' start elevation the trail finally hit the lower Hummingbird Saddle 4.75 miles later, with the steep ascent up the rather nondescript summit of Whitewater Baldy 1683' higher than the trail head at 10895'. A pile of cairns marked the highpoint, with a subtle view of Mongollon Baldy seven miles further to the SE. Overcast skies prevented me from seeing too much further.
I loved the serenity of this hike. Although there were few vistas, the cool alpine air refreshed Sadie, who pounced the entire way. Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines, interspersed with young aspens dotted this entire hike. Many older and dead trees lay off the trail from older blow-downs, but none were serious enough to be hiking hassles.
But then at 1:49pm, while sitting near the summit and enjoying the sweetness of a few Bing Cherries under some sunlight, dark clouds to my south rumbled in. Oh shit! I apparently didn't look too carefully to the sky in that direction, and beat feet down back to the trail head in 1:50 hours. I don't mind rain, but I do mind thunderstorms.
The unusual part about this hike was the plane wreckage right off the trail, a Cessna that had crashed on 21 December 2007. I walked around this site, a few minutes south of Bead Spring at the 2.1 mile mark. The plane must have hit a storm, as the debris was all close by; no sign of explosion except the fuselage was wrapped around several strong pines. Were there any survivors of this crash?
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N28836.html
We were all alone on the trail. Despite recognizing two cars parked at the parking lot from Saturday, I saw no one. I didn't see people until the last mile, on the descent, when I came across Chris and Mario who were on their way to the saddle, and then Chuck from Benson, a retiree who didn't leave his house until 11am AZ time after checking his stocks. He had last hiked up this trail in October 2007 and didn't see any plane wreckage. Chuck loves to hike in storms and that's why he waited so late in the day to start.
"I'm not worried, I'll be back before dark!" as he donned his hat, flashlight and long-sleeved shirt. "I'd love to talk to you some more but I better get going!" and off Chuck went, hiking pole in hand.
Now alone again, I washed up in the shadows of tall pines while Sadie rested and ate her last chicken leg, food I got for her yesterday to protein up. We stayed at the parking lot for over 30 minutes and never saw another person once Chuck took off.
I must do this hike again! Perhaps I can lead it as a hike for club members, making it a car camp this fall in the Gila Wilderness?!
Whitewater Baldy is now officially my second-highest peak ever bagged, behind Mount Taylor and ahead of California's Mount Lassen, another easy 10,000-footer.
I continued on NM159 into the town of Mongollon. Today this town clearly was a "Ghost town" as businesses are only open Fridays through Sundays for tourists. No one was in town, so up to Sandy Point I drove to start the trail head of #182. We arrived to clear skies and started our gentle ascent up Trail #182 at 10:24am. I was the first one to sign in today, and the first one to register in the folder since the 18th.
This truly was an easy hike, despite the mileage. There was one switchback but after that the trail hit the ridge line and climbed gently for the next three miles. Bead Springs was trickling but Sadie wasn't thirsty. The trail was covered in pine needles, but also had its share of large tree roots across the trail, and lichen-covered volcanic rock strewn all across the mountains.
At the 9132' start elevation the trail finally hit the lower Hummingbird Saddle 4.75 miles later, with the steep ascent up the rather nondescript summit of Whitewater Baldy 1683' higher than the trail head at 10895'. A pile of cairns marked the highpoint, with a subtle view of Mongollon Baldy seven miles further to the SE. Overcast skies prevented me from seeing too much further.
I loved the serenity of this hike. Although there were few vistas, the cool alpine air refreshed Sadie, who pounced the entire way. Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines, interspersed with young aspens dotted this entire hike. Many older and dead trees lay off the trail from older blow-downs, but none were serious enough to be hiking hassles.
But then at 1:49pm, while sitting near the summit and enjoying the sweetness of a few Bing Cherries under some sunlight, dark clouds to my south rumbled in. Oh shit! I apparently didn't look too carefully to the sky in that direction, and beat feet down back to the trail head in 1:50 hours. I don't mind rain, but I do mind thunderstorms.
The unusual part about this hike was the plane wreckage right off the trail, a Cessna that had crashed on 21 December 2007. I walked around this site, a few minutes south of Bead Spring at the 2.1 mile mark. The plane must have hit a storm, as the debris was all close by; no sign of explosion except the fuselage was wrapped around several strong pines. Were there any survivors of this crash?
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N28836.html
We were all alone on the trail. Despite recognizing two cars parked at the parking lot from Saturday, I saw no one. I didn't see people until the last mile, on the descent, when I came across Chris and Mario who were on their way to the saddle, and then Chuck from Benson, a retiree who didn't leave his house until 11am AZ time after checking his stocks. He had last hiked up this trail in October 2007 and didn't see any plane wreckage. Chuck loves to hike in storms and that's why he waited so late in the day to start.
"I'm not worried, I'll be back before dark!" as he donned his hat, flashlight and long-sleeved shirt. "I'd love to talk to you some more but I better get going!" and off Chuck went, hiking pole in hand.
Now alone again, I washed up in the shadows of tall pines while Sadie rested and ate her last chicken leg, food I got for her yesterday to protein up. We stayed at the parking lot for over 30 minutes and never saw another person once Chuck took off.
I must do this hike again! Perhaps I can lead it as a hike for club members, making it a car camp this fall in the Gila Wilderness?!
Whitewater Baldy is now officially my second-highest peak ever bagged, behind Mount Taylor and ahead of California's Mount Lassen, another easy 10,000-footer.
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