In the heart of the Gila Wilderness, my backcountry journey continued with a mix of trail work, wildlife encounters, and the thrill of navigating unknown terrain. Strap in as I share the adventures through McKenna Park and beyond.
Trail Work on the CDT between Trips
Between backcountry trips, I seized the opportunity to contribute to trail maintenance. Armed with newfound knowledge about logging trails, I tackled a sizable fallen tree. However, a rookie mistake was made when I opted for cheap Walmart boots, resulting in sore feet and blisters. Lesson learned, and my trusty hiking boots were soon en route for any upcoming trail maintenance opportunities.
First Day to Little Springs
My next trip went through McKenna Park, which I had heard lots of lovely things about. I heard of wolf and elk sightings and a peaceful and remote landscape. My first day was a hike to Little Springs, which I learned, was a very consistent water source. It pooled in a little well area and was clear, sitting water.
My plan was to make camp in a clearing near the spring and then hike up Granite Peak. The wind played tricks during camp setup, and I grappled with choosing a tent site amidst the dancing trees. All the trees were blowing in the wind, and all of them looked like potential widow makers – a tree that can fall on you in the night while camping. Identifying and avoiding widow makers is a sometimes- overlooked step in picking a good tent spot. I finally picked a spot and left some rocks on my tent stakes in case the already rowdy wind picked up more. The weather stayed a bit questionable as I hiked towards Granite Peak, and my feet were very sore after the long day of hiking on my already hurting feet from all the recent activities and misadventures. I do not know if it was just me being tired and not wanting to be far from camp, but I was having trouble keeping the trail and decided to turn around and head back to camp for the night – skipping Granite Peak.
Second Day through McKenna Park to Whitecreek
Even though the skies stayed cloudy and dark with a distant rumble, the night remained dry at camp. As I was hiking towards McKenna Park on Turkey Creek Trail the next morning, I was walking up some winding switchbacks and stumbled upon a very large brown bear. She noticed me first, and my first realization of the encounter was from her high-tailing it out of there. It was like a scene from a cartoon, she was running in place, building up a cloud of dust before she took off fast! I was confused by the color of the bear, and later read that there are brown – “Black Bears” in the Gila, and I did not in fact see a Grizzly. Just like my previous encounter, I never thought to try to get a picture, I just stared in awe at the beautiful beast until the sighting was over. At least this time, the bear ran downhill and away from the trail I was on, so I was not worried about a future confrontation with the same bear.
Unlike my first encounter the previous week when the bears ran up the trail from me and I maintained an out loud conversation with myself for quite some time so they would always be aware of my whereabouts. When I got to the McKenna Spring area, I turned East on Ring Canyon Trail and then took a left into McKenna Creek. The creek was dry but easy to follow.
After a bit, I hiked out of the creek into a higher open field to the east. I could not find a footpath to follow, but it was clear, and I practiced my land navigation to head towards where I expected to find a trail intersection. It was fun playing with and practicing with my compass. I would estimate the direction I wanted to travel by looking at my GPS dot on my digital map and estimating the angle I needed to travel for the shortest path to my destination.
I found the trail, just where I was expecting and continued walking on a nice footpath. I passed McKenna Creek again from the north and accidentally turned to walk on the creek bed again in the opposite direction but caught my mistake quickly. When I found the McKenna Park Trailhead sign, I lost the trail again and played around at land navigation some more. I would estimate the direction I wanted to walk, find a tree in that direction as far out as I could, walk to the tree, and repeat. I also used the contour lines on the map and land features to guide me and finally found a trail again – happy that I had taken a Land Navigation class with Nature Reliance School before heading into the wilderness solo. The day turned out to feel like a treasure hunt and I was having tons of fun.
When I made it to Whitecreek, I left my bag at the first campsite east on the West Fork. I played in the waterfalls and swimming hole down the trail for a bit, and then I heard thunder coming. I hurried back to set up camp just in time! Thank goodness I did because it ended up raining from 4 pm – 9 pm.
I was packing out Lost and Found in the Gila: Search and Rescue in New Mexico, a book about search and rescue (SAR) in the area and enjoyed reading about rescues along the very river I was camping. Happy with the distance up from the river I set camp, I enjoyed being in my tent and the peace of the storm around me. The rain let up enough for me to have a quick dinner and stash my bear canister. After my experience with hanging a bear bag while ignorant of the huge pile of bear poo under it, I decided to go with a canister for the rest of the summer and was happy with that decision.
West Fork to West Fork
The next day I hiked up Trotter Trail, across Lilley Park, down Big Bear, and camped on the West Fork again a bit further east. Trotter Trail was very steep and narrow and made me a bit nervous. I had about a 19-mile day altogether, but it was pretty straightforward.
Have I ever told you? – I love trees!
My last camp of the trip had a beautiful backdrop. The weather was still holding up and I had plenty of day left to clean up, rinse my clothes and shoes, and filter water for the next day and the remainder of my trip.
As I contemplated leaving the rainfly off, the distant rumbles insisted I cover up. Good call, because the lightning show that followed included a grand finale. I could hear the thunder echoing through canyons and the night sky was lit up bright with lightning. I pushed all my belongings to the edge of the tent and sat on my foam mat without contact with my tent or other belongings while the storm passed directly over me. Again, I snuggled up with my SAR book for the night and welcomed the field experience nature provided.
Quick Finish back to the Dorms
I got an early start the next day, went through EE Canyon, and was back at the dorms before 11 am.
It was kind of bittersweet to end early, but I had plenty of time to get my gear cleaned up and packed up to go camp near Silver City again. I enjoyed a Monday morning working at Javalina Coffee and ran errands in town. I headed back to the dorms because I heard we were getting Starlink and I may be able to get work done there. The satellite internet worked great! That is, if we had power, which the storms took out sometimes. Working at the dorms allowed me to also make a trip out to the Gila Hot Springs for a mid-week soak.
Stay tuned for more trail tales from the wild!
Backcountry Essentials1
Compass – the trails were not always easy to follow. I am providing the Amazon link here. However I ordered direct from the manufacturer because I heard there can be fakes on Amazon sometimes and wanted to make sure I got the real deal. I would suggest doing the same if you want a Cammenga Compass. I, of course, got a pink one 🙂
Good Book to Read – the start of Monsoon Season had me in my tent for long afternoon storms
- Affiliate Disclosure:
This post may contain affiliate links, including links to Amazon. If you choose to purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I share these products because I use them myself or believe they are genuinely useful. Please only use affiliate links if the product is something you already intend to buy and Amazon is your preferred retailer. Your support helps maintain this site and continue sharing future adventures. ↩︎