Purgatory Chasm
We had decided before not to combine any sort of hiking with our trips into Silver, but either our unbridled optimism (ha!) or our staunch determination (ha HA!) to not “waste” a long drive got the better of us, and we did it again.
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| It began nicely enough with the way clearly defined. |
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| The small canyon was pretty darn cool. |
Before long, though, the trail sort of dried up, but we thought we’d find it again without difficulty. If you’re beginning to shake your heads at our seemingly idiotic hiking decisions, fear not! We were never lost, especially since the chasm itself was a natural directional. We just weren’t on the established footpath, and I wasn’t prepared to nor did I feel like wandering around off-trail.
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| Not all those who wander — oh, cram it, Tolkien! |
We did just that, though, and despite enjoying the scenery, the sun had broken through the grayness, and it was heating up unpleasantly. We split up a bit, each looking for the trail. I actually did find it at one point, but was…ummm…redirected temporarily into another dead-end.
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| Oopsie. |
After some sweet, gentle encouragement from me (ha ha HA!) the GPS was finally fired up, and we re-located the actual trail, which is up to the left of the dead-end shown above. Yes, we climbed up the wall.
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| The babiest of prickle frogs was having a better day. (can you spot it in the center of the pic?) |
We have vowed FOR REAL this time, to not, not, not do anything other than city chores when we go to town. We look forward to finding out how that ends up.
Continental Divide Trail (CDT)
For our bigger hike later that same week, we teamed up with our neighbor-coworker-friend, Nancy. I can’t say enough good things about Nancy. I love the days when I am staffing the Trailhead, and she is either doing the tour or working at the Dwellings because I can send visitors up with complete confidence that they will have the best experience possible. She has also been a wonderful and generous neighbor, and, more recently, a perfect hiking companion. With her extensive knowledge of the Gila area, it is like having our own interpretive guide along. Her two pets, Mel, the kitty I pet-sat earlier this summer, and GG, her dog, are the icing on the cake. She has given us unfettered access to them, and we already know it is going to be heartbreaking to part ways with all three of them at summer’s end. But before we turn on the waterworks, let’s see what fun we had on our hikes.
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| A pro shows TBG how it’s done. |
For this hike, we drove down Hwy 35 to the very pretty Sapillo
campground to connect with a section of the Continental Divide Trail
which runs close enough to the GICL that through-hikers often make the
short detour to include our park in their travels.
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| Drinking in the view on a water break |
We found a nice, shaded lunch spot where TBG caught us at our finest.
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| Our interpretive guide savors the clear day. |
Spring Canyon
One week later, the three of us piled into Nancy’s car, and we motored down the highway for another adventure.
The sign had been scoured clean by time, so I used my magic computer drawing pen to remedy that.
Unlike the last hike, this one did involve several stream crossings, and poor Nancy kept taking the brunt of the foot-soaking.
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| It wasn’t easy to avoid, that’s for sure! |
As well as keeping the waterways full, the recent rains have made everything lush and green. Several new types of flowers were blooming, and our Interpretive Hiking Guide knew almost all their names (Another flower-power post coming soon to a blog near you!)
Mostly nocturnal, we were fortunate to see a hummingbird moth fueling up on nectar from the yellow primroses.
Another blank sign in real life, the presence of this one let us know we weren’t lost.
This tall, puffy cloud was leading the afternoon thunderstorms our way, and we could hear their distant rumbles on the return trip. Half-day hikes will have be our norm for the rest of the season. We weren’t quite done with our activities for the day, though.
As park workers, the local commercial hot springs, Gila Hot Springs invites us to visit for half-price. Full-price is only $5 as it is, so why we haven’t availed ourselves sooner of a nice soak, I couldn’t tell you, other than it’s been a little too hot until now.
It was still warm that evening, but we donned our suits, grabbed our towels, and headed the few miles down the road to soothe our hiking muscles and feet in a naturally-heated 103° spring-fed pool. It was a glorious way to cap off our day.
See you next week! I think. Internet has been a booger for various reasons this past week.
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| A various reason. |
COMMENTS
Chasing Dirt Yes, it is! I [mostly] like the people we meet out here while wandering around. I agree that I have fewer than one hand’s worth of fingers of “old” friends, and now more new friends than I can count with both hands! (Some still to meet in person winky-wink)I’m looking forward to hearing about your latest volunteer gig. Such a cool way to be involved 🙂
Speaking of which, I concur with Shannon. You meet the best people on the road!! Glad you guys are making the most of your quickly dwindling time at Gila. Hopefully the internet gods will be kinder to you this week.
Chasing Dirt I meant to write about that very thing, but somehow I forgot when I sat down to blog. It was a curse a that followed me out of the chasm! We, too, are thankful we didn’t end up there for eternity even though there were prickle frogs.
We have been so fortunate to have met folks like you and our new(er) friends here. As you know, our nontraditional lifestyles create such a unique community of people populated by the most fascinating characters. I feel like we’re more in the real world than ever, you know?
Hard to believe we’re down to just less than a month, isn’t it? I still have a list of all the things being in one place was going to allow me to get done hahaHA!
I’m with Shannon and Laura. We do meet the best people on the road,
including friends blogging and commenting here! BTW, Nancy sounds like a
gem.
Hey, we’ve always wanted to check out Gila Hot Springs. It looks beautiful!
Chasing Dirt We should’ve known in more ways than one. When will we learn? We’re headed into town tomorrow, so we’ll see haha!
We have made some truly good friends this summer, as you assured us we
would. We will, no doubt, be seeing all of them (you) for future
adventures.
Gila Hot Springs is very nice — rustic around the edges, but that’s the
way of it in the Gila. The “tubs” there are very pretty and set up so
nicely. You would love it! After dark is clothing-optional, if folks are
of a mind, so no need for little blue swimmie shorts LOL
TBG is looking great and so professional on his trail sign duties!
With new friends, means new trails to follow!
Chasing Dirt Good thing none of us really got lost
for good! I really don’t like aimless wandering around business. I
guess I’m not much of a trailblazer/explorer!
It’s always good when TBG gets a lesson in sign duties from another pro — it keeps him humble 😀
Friends + Trails = Pure Happiness
Now that’s some math I can live with!