Posted by 24.4 miles
This was the first day that I saw absolutely no one on trail. I left Doc Campbells around 6 pm, farewelling Steady who was up and packing but wanting to wait for Tristan and Chowdah who were planning to camp back a few miles at the hot spring.
A few miles of road walking and to the Gila Cliff Dwellings Visitor Centre. They dont open until 9am but luckily the toilet block was opened. Whenever there is real toilet and you don’t have to dig a hole, use it!
I ummed and arrghed about checking out the cliff dwellings and in the end opted out. There is plenty of video and written history about these dwellings.
A short distance from the visitors centre and it was water crossing number one. Surprisingly my shoes and socks dried overnight but were about to get drenched again and remain wet all day.
The river corridor was much like yesterday. Following a beaten path along one river bank until it cliffs out and cross the other side.
One major contrast to yesterday was the amount of beaver activity. Dams galore along the river and freshly knored small trees ready to be dragged into place. The dams slow the river and make it much wider with some of the crossing points quite deep. Most had been below knee so far with a few of the dam areas above the knee to mid thigh.
Bear sign was everyone and I was cautious moving through some of the thicker patches of vegetation. In some places the thicket of vegetation allowed for a narrow corridor of the trail that could be seen on the ground with vegetation having to be pushed away as I walked through. Calling out ‘Hey Bear’ in these spots was a must.
In a more open but darker area due to shade from the cliffs I caught sound of heavy movement. Sure enough my first black bear encounter. ‘Hey Bear. I see you.’ On hearing me and more likely smelling me, it shot off like a rocket in the opposite direction.
Through the day, the rocky ground and water crossings had become a bit too much. Over 100 crossings easily. It was great for a day but a full second day was wearing a bit thin.
It was still hot but with a cold wind. Hot enough for a dip however all the large enough holes to swim were actually freezing cold and I’d last about 1 minute every time. It was a quite was to refresh. Unfortunately the water this far up river was a dark chocolate brown not the crystal clear waters of a major gorge you probably had in mind. I’m not sure why it is so dark. It filters clear for drinking.
At some point I’d injured the front top of my left ankle and the muscle that runs straight along side the shin bone. I’m thinking it was because of all the awkward foot placements in amongst the loose rocks along the river. There was absolutely nothing I could do out other than to put up with the pain and make it out of the river. I could still walk and it wasn’t an emergency so there was no way I was using the SOS function on my InReach. Just embrace the brutality and get on it. And bring on the Ibuprofen.
Tired and painfully sore I pushed as far as I could by 5pm and called it a day arriving at the base of the mesa coop trail. First thing first at camp was to soak my ankle in the cold river water.
Mick Beckers 