The Gila Wilderness: A Hiking Guide

The Gila Wilderness was the first official wilderness area of the United States and at about 900 square miles is one of the largest. It's also one of the most diverse with terrain from semi-desert at 4,800 feet up to sub-alpine spruce, fir, and aspen forest at a top of 10,892 feet. The Gila River is floatable during the spring melt and old Indian cliff dwellings are found in the canyons. Trout fishing in the Gila and its tributaries is pretty good, and wildlife is abundant. Hiking and solitude are the major attractions. You can walk for a week or more and never cross your path twice. The scenery may not be quite as rugged and spectacular as the Rockies or the canyonlands to the north, but there's plenty of beauty to be enjoyed. This is an excellent guide to hiking in the Gila Wilderness Area. The author describes 25 hiking trails and routes, some of them more than 30 miles long. Each of the trails has a topo map that goes along with it plus a description. A lengthy introduction acquaints you with the history and natural history of the Gila, including the Apaches and other Indians who lived here. Appendices provide lists of birds, plants, mammals, and reptiles found in the Gila. An interesting study concerning the reintroduction of the Grizzly Bear to the Gila is reprinted in the appendices. Possibly the most spectacular of the trails in the Gila is the Whitewater Trail which follows a narrow "catwalk" through a steep sided canyon. The catwalk was built more than a century ago to facilitate mining operations -- now long abandoned. The Three Forks area (Wilderness Ranger District) offers hot springs, cliff dwellings, and long, easy trails that lead into the heart of the wilderness. At lower elevations, the Gila can be visited and hiked year round, barring the rare snowstorm. Smallchief