Jordan Hot Springs in the Gila Wilderness

Old hiking friends from our time in New Jersey, Alison and Mike, were visiting Mike's son in Ruidoso in mid August. Last week Alison wrote me an email inviting me to join them on a hike with them on Saturday, and I was allowed to pick the hike. I chose the Jordan Hot Springs, a 12-mile (r/t) hike to one of the prettier hot springs in the area. Knowing that Alison and Mike like a good challenge, and also knowing that they had already bagged a peak and done some mountain biking, I opted for this hike. It's one of my favorites and I hadn't done this hike since I was last in the area with Sadie in 2009. It was time to go back!

But this time I kept Sadie at home. Her epilepsy is making her easily restless, much like how she was on the last hike in Slavin Gulch, so with some guilt I left her at home and took Minnie along instead.

Minnie is a quiet traveler. She doesn't whine much and her only flaw is that she doesn't like to give up her spot on the cot when it's my turn to rest for a while. I had gotten so used to Sadie's incessant whining that I thought all GSDs were like her. I'm now learning that Sadie is not normal. While she may not be "retarded, clumsy and annoying" like Eric said, she does have special needs that can be misunderstood among strangers. I also knew that the Jordan Hot Springs has 2.3 miles of exposed ascent at the start, which could be uncomfortable for her.

Minnie proved her worth on her first road trip to California last month. I packed her food, leash and doggie bed and left at 9:45pm Friday night. It was perhaps three hours too late for a decent road trip, but I always have a hard time getting going. When I left I soon realized that I was tired, pulled over in Benson 40 miles away, at the Love's Truck stop, and snoozed for 90 minutes. Once I was back on the road at 12:30am, I drove straight through with a pit stop in Lordsburg before stopping outside the Rodeway Inn in Silver City, NM where Alison and Mike had a room. We met outside at the planned 6:30am time and drove to the trailhead with a short pit stop at the ranger station nearby.

"The trail is overgrown with weeds!" said Ranger Amy. She was right about that. She failed to mention, however, that recent monsoonal rains had also made the Middle Fork of the Gila higher than normal. But the river crossings, all 16 of them to get to the hot springs, is part of the joy of this part river hike. Luckily the last two wildfires in the region two years in a row have spared this part of the wilderness, although there are some burned trees in the higher meadow.

The Jordan Hot Springs is not noted on the signs. One must know where it is and google directions off the internet. Trailhead is at the TJ Corral, the first corral as one drives toward the Gila Cliff Dwellings. (The cliff swellings are two miles further). There were two trucks already parked in the shade, telling us we wouldn't have the hot springs to ourselves.

Minnie is so used to having Sadie to chase, but this time she stayed mostly by my side. She did better than expected.

Both Alison and Mike weren't sure whether to take their water sandals with them or hike in boots. Alison opted to wear her water sandals with socks. Mike insisted on his boots. Later Alison was glad she wore her sandals as the constant draining of Mike's heavy boots after each water crossing slowed us down. But it's not like we were hiking for time.

The hike starts out with a gentle climb, offering open meadows and vistas of the Gila. The grasses were green, much to our surprise. It's my first time seeing the trail so green! Arizona poppies, mallows and other wild flowers were in bloom, along with a very fragrant sage brush, and Mike, the great photographer that he is, stopped many times to capture the desert beauty with his Nikon D800, his new toy. His passion for wildflowers grew while in New Jersey, and he does take beautiful photographs.

We all took turns leading, although I was the guide. Mike stopped a lot for photos, Alison and I chatted about old friends in New Jersey and the Outdoors Club of South Jersey were we met and they still lead the Friday Night Hikes in the Pine Barrens, and we all enjoyed the scenery.

This hike starts out boring with dry desert terrain on an old burned-out hillside, and I told them to wait until we entered Bear Canyon, just before crossing the Middle Fork. They were pleasantly surprised at how lush green everything in the canyon was, and I was delighted as well because two miles of hot exposure was getting to Minnie; once we were nearing the lush canyon floor she came back to life.

The Middle Fork was rushing but not white white water, and was very muddy. While in the off season the water reaches one's calves, this time the murky water reached our knees and higher. Even Minnie had to swim a few times across, but she didn't seemed bothered by that at all. Unlike Sadie, Minnie loves getting wet. She also likes fetching for river rocks on the river bottom at the most inopportune times. By the third river crossing I chose to find a stick to help me hold my balance, and I also removed my right sandal as it was loose and almost got washed away at the second crossing. I couldn't afford to lose that sandal just yet!

We met a party of three on their way back from the Hot Springs. They had camped overnight there with their aging Pekinese, which they surely had to carry across the water. "The hot springs are beautiful!" said the bearded man, and also reminded me that we had eight more river crossings to make before getting there.

Alison and Mike enjoyed the hoodoos, the Ponderosas, the tall overgrowth and the lush, green shade. We ended up not coming across anyone else on this hike, which surprised me with it being a Saturday. Were people scared off by a storm? While we did hear thunder as we neared the hot springs, it never rained on us, although the thunder was one reason why we didn't stay at the hot springs for long. I was the only one who went into the warm water; the other two just soaked their feet. Minnie ran along the side of the pool frantically barking at me, much like Sadie did four years earlier. I wore all quick-drying clothes for this hike, but getting out did chill me a bit.

This was nature at its best. Alison enjoyed videotaping the hot springs, Mike just sat back and soaked his feet, and we all enjoyed the unique splendor of this wet hide-out. Leftover wax from overnight bathers lined the spring's sides, but there was no other litter. Water was warm but not too hot to enjoy, but most of all, the water was clear. I could see my feet. The only noises came from us, as thunder rumbled north of us.

We had our lunch and then returned the way we came. We started off at 12:30pm. It had taken us almost four hours to get to the six-mile mark?! The return seemed faster, but we still took our time, with Alison yelling out how many river crossings we had, and all of us watching the river for hidden rocks or uneven bottoms. Minnie was still full of energy and at times wanted me to throw my hiking stick for her. I refused, and at the final river crossing Minnie had chewed that stick into smaller pieces that it couldn't be used for the next willing river crosser.

I knew that Minnie would lose her energy once we were out of the lush canyon and back on the exposed descent. Sure enough, in the heat of the day by 4pm she was panting quickly, requiring us to stop a few times for her just to get her to drink. Storm clouds overhead provided for some relief, but it was still hot and dry for her. She wanted to rest and dig her feet into the cool sandy soil, and I had to coax her to move on that last 1/4 mile. The 12.56 miles were Minie's limit and she had reached her limit. By then we were all glad it was over and headed back to Silver City where we enjoyed a meal at Jalisco's, perhaps one of the best Mexican restaurants in the Southwest.

Jordan Hot Springs in the Gila National Forest

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.