We woke after a nice warm night and waited around until the sun hit
our camp to really start moving. A morning fire helped with the
motivation, along with multiple cups of coffee.The paddling was really
smooth yesterday, and we would find the opposite today!
For all of our effort, we didn’t seem to be moving efficiently down
the river. We had a few swims, but all people and gear were recovered,
and even though a few folks were shaken up from the cold immersion, we
all rallied and kept going.The water at this level kept us busy, and the
previous flooding had left tons of strainers in the water. Granted,
most of these strainers didn’t span the width of the river, so we were
able to paddle by them, however, they could be a real problem if you
floated into them wrong.
We saw one other group on the river today, a group of three, each in
their own cataraft. Those were ambitious boats because we encountered
tons of low-hanging branches that surely resulted in tree branch slaps
in the face as those boats sit much higher in the water.
At the end of the day, we rounded a corner to find them portaging a river-wide tree blocking the way, and so we did the same.
We hadn’t made the mileage we had wanted, but our safety and
enjoyment were more important, so we pulled up at Sapillo Creek to make
camp. This is where (I think) I came down on the CDT five years ago and
started walking upstream. I guess we just did a paddle alternate to the
hiking route!
We spread out and put on dry clothes. The water in the creek was much
cleaner than the Gila, so that would be a good option for filtering,
but then we discovered a little waterfall that had even cleaner water.
Score!
Then it was time for happy hour on the beach. I passed out cans of
Greyhound, a mixed cocktail drink made by a brewery in Bend. We sat on
boats and watched the sun go down before retiring to the fire and our
dehydrated/freeze-dried meals.
I was almost warm enough last night. My thick inflatable bargin
sleeping pad was only thick enough if I lay my whole body evenly on the
pad…curling into my usual side position dipped my hip to the ground, and
that ground sucked the warmth out of me.
When we did finally emerge outside the tents everything was covered
in frost and ice. Brrrr. Our friends were warm blooded and were not
excited by the frosty morning warning.
Eventually the sun hit camp, and made the duffle shuffle go a little
faster. How would we possibly fit all the food, beer and gear into our
little boats? The inflatable kayak folks had a much easier time as they
can strap just about anything to the tops of their long boats. We
packrafters have to fit it inside our boats, or smartly strapped to the
outside. Mike was in the other packraft, and this would be his first
overnight trip in his craft.
Somehow we were packed and almost ready to go when our shuttle driver
came and gave us some useful beta on the river (he had just paddled it a
few weeks before) but the spike in the river level after the heavy
rains of the days before would provide a wild card. Would the flows have
lodged some trees across the river? New strainers, log jams or hazard
trees? We all got a safety talk from Kirk who has taught, guided, and
explored flooded rivers like this for years. We are in good hands with
Kirk at the helm.
The water was a chocolate brown, but not thick with dirt and mud. The
brunt of the flooding was over and the water levels were going down
now. We paddled past cliffs and treed flats, noticing where the water
had crested in a much bigger flood. Folks were getting used to their
boats, and we had clear sailing for the whole day.
Numerous
cairns marked where a trail crossed the river back and forth, and Slow
Ride, Shake n Bake and myself were pretty sure we had hiked some of this
on the CDT gila alternate years before…and I could even have sworn that
I had a cold wet camp at this very spot 5 years ago on my thru-hike.
I’ll have to go back and check my blog; my camp at this spot ended with a
windy sleepless night on the river….I woke to snow and high tailed it
to Doc Campbell’s that next morning with promise of a food box and the
stellar Gila Hot Springs.
Our
afternoon at camp consisted of a few lazy hours in the sun in hammocks
or laid out horizontal in some fashion. Slow Ride lent me a book about
the Gila river, so I read a few pages before closing my eyes too.
Later around the campfire we passed bags of wine and told stories.
It was time for a river adventure. Our friends in Tuscon, Slow Ride
and Shake n Bake (two thru hikers I met in 2008 when I was giving trail
magic on the PCT near Elk Lake – and who have since become my trail
angels numerous times) suggested a Gila River paddle about a year ago,
and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since. Add in a global
pandemic, the first coronavirus cases found in our communities, paired
with a plea for people to isolate themselves, and we knew disappearing
into the wilderness for a week was probably the smartest thing we could
do. (We started our trip March 12)…
Slow Ride (SR) and Shake n Bake (SB) invited a few friends of theirs
on the trip, all teachers in Tucson. Mike, a music teacher, was in a
packraft and relatively new to paddling rivers. JJ had been on a few
rivers, including our beloved Umpqua River, and was in an IK (inflatable
kayak) and had just escaped his science classroom and was ready for a
break. Mika, a middle school teacher (and former peace corps volunteer
who had stationed in West Africa like me) who was also in an IK and was
ready for some down time.
We were all guessing at what kind of world we would encounter after
our float…the United States had just started to isolate and quarantine,
the lines at Target were still civilized, but we all knew that the thin
veneer of human decency can be punctured by panic and fear….both
emotions increasing in the collective consciousness by the minute.
To the river!!
Kirk and I had spent two days driving down from Oregon through
numerous torrential downpours, and knew the water levels in our
wilderness float were bound to go up. Desert rivers don’t always run, so
the influx of water would give us a nice push down the river.
The Gila was the first designated Wilderness area in the United
States, and is one of the largest. It is truly amazing terrain, and the
Continental Divide runs right through it. SR, SB and I had all hiked the
CDT and had many memories of fording the Gila River on our treks. They
had also hiked the Grand Enchantment Trail, which traverses the area. We
were eager to get back and track some of our steps, but from moving
water this time.
There have been numerous efforts to dam this free-flowing river. The
pressures of too many people living in the desert with too little water
was increasing each year, but so far the dams have been held off. This
place is the perfect opportunity for humankind to put a pause on our
greed and need to control everything, and just let it be for the
animals, plants, for the possibility of a huge tract of rich wilderness
that can be left without our imprint. There are actually very few like
this…. almost none.
The Gila is also being considered for Wild and Scenic River
Designation, which seems an obvious moniker. I will be supporting that
designation however I can, although there is a lot of local resistance
to this. Read more here, and get involved if you can!
So we made it to Tucson on a Friday. Met for dinner and drinks and
nervously joked about the pandemic all around us, and decided to stop
all the conjecturing, and try to be in the moment.
The next day we drove to Silver City New Mexico…on the way admiring
the yellow super bloom that had carpeted the desert around the highway…a
benefit from all the recent rain.
Kirk and I made a quick stop in Silver City to see Erika, a good
friend, and one of my trail crew members from a summer in Durango
Colorado 13 years ago. I seem to make it to Silver City every few years,
so we’ve been able to stay in touch….the kind of touch that’s easier
when you see each other in person every so often.
After lunch and a quick walk around town we headed up the notoriously
windy and steep road that takes you into the heart of the Gila
Wilderness. On the CDT I encountered this section and stopped at the
Gila Hot Springs, got a resupply box at Doc Cambells, and took in the
history of the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
We all rendezvoused at the Grapevine Campground for our launch in the morning.
It's been a minute since Kirk or I have posted here. We've been packrafting...a lot, but many of the trips over the past year or so have been adventures we've done before and written about, or are day-run road-side runs. Often Kirk will be in his hardshell while I'm in my Alpacka.
Anyway, we got down to NM at the start of March (before the shelter in place stuff...but at the start of everything), and did a multi-day trip on the Gila River.
