The Continental Divide Trail 2012: May 4th--- Bear Creek to Gila River Camp

Slept in just a bit to avoid the cold in this little canyon, but that didn't take the nip off my fingers as I started walking along the jeep road that paralleled Bear Creek. Wasn't too long before I came across a couple cooking breakfast over an open fire. On seeing me they asked if I was hiking the CDT. Answering affirmatively, they mentioned that a couple of hikers had come through the day before, but had had trouble finding the true path so they had followed the jeep road out to the main. One had been Wyoming. I was glad to hear that name because I had met her briefly at Mazama Village while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2010. With me being a southbounder and her a northbounder on that particular trek the encounter was a fleeting one. I believe she stood out in my memory because of her close-cropped red hair. Thanking the couple for the timely info, I was focused on finding the elusive path which branched north from the jeep road.

The junction was only a mile and a half from where I had camped so I knew approximately how much time it would require to get there. When that time passed and I found myself still on the jeep road I knew I had overshot it. However, I had no clue how I'd missed it. I'd had my eyes peeled and spider sense on alert. Digging out the maps, I noticed a prominent feature, Preachers Point that was almost directly south of where I was supposed to turn. I retraced my steps and with compass in hand stopped at the point on the road where the craggy rock was due south. Believing I was near the junction, there were no cairns or signage to confirm my beliefs. A little green grass and white gravel like a creek bed slanted into a stand of small deciduous trees. With no better idea, I decided to follow it and do a little exploring. After a few moments I saw what at first appeared to be a narrow game trail that led up into a gully headed north. At least the direction was right I told myself. The further I followed it into the pine the more confident I was that this indeed was TR234. A little pile of stones forming a mini-cairn eased my apprehension and the trickle of water from Bear Creek Spring that appeared in the gully bottom below put any remaining doubts to rest.

Climbing higher, the trail comes back to what looked to me like a jeep road that had some deeply weathered ruts caused by heavy ATV use. Maybe its a popular road with the recreational motorists because it leads toward the Devils Garden, an area of interestingly shaped rock outcroppings similar to hoodoos. The trail passes onto hard reddish rock and is generally well-marked with cairns. Dipping down into Moore Canyon, I was about to make a sharp right until I saw a cairn that led up the other side. Before long I was under the cover of evergreens following cairns and blazes up the Sycamore Creek drainage jumping the little water way from time to time as necessary. Enjoyed a short break there in the shade and drank the cool water.

A nice trail traversed the south slope of the Altos Range taking me up and and over Tadpole Ridge then descending through Sheep Corral Canyon. At one point I was a little confused because the trail seemed to come to an abrupt end at another jeep road. Below me, on the other side of the road, was a grassy area beneath scattered pine that had an old caravan in it. There was some wooden fencing up, which led me to assume that this was the sheep corral for which the canyon was named and that the caravan was the shepherd's home. The strange thing was that there were no sheep. Wrong time of year for the woolly heads? I could only guess. Continuing downhill through the grassy area, the trail picked up again complete with a sign posted on the trunk of a large ponderosa pine.

Out of the canyon, the trail joined a forest road that ran evenly over fairly flat ground before ending at the switchbacks that led to Sapillo Creek, the gateway to the Gila River. With each descending step my excitement grew. I'd read about the uniqueness of this accepted and universally approved alternate to the official CDT and couldn't wait to dive in both literally and figuratively. At mid-afternoon, Sapillo Creek was a gorgeous palette---the azure sky, the silver-white trunks and spring-green leaves of the sycamore trees, the ochre of the canyon wall, the mottled grays of the rounded creek bed stones as the clear water rolled over them, birds and butterflies adding their own flashing dash of color. Perfect time for a break to breathe it all in.

Rest over, it was time to get my feet wet. The trail follows the meandering path of the river and often at a bend the flat ground you're walking on runs out, so you must cross to the other side. The crossings are frequent and in the relative heat of the late afternoon most refreshing. At this time of year the water reached knee-level at most of the fords. Reeds grow along some parts of the river as the rate of flow is not powerful at all. No need to fear about falling and being swept away by the current. I saw schools of little fish and hordes of squirming tadpoles with older counterpoints, the frogs, leaping into shallow water as I passed. At one crossing I was startled by a honking big fish that darted past. I'm sure if I were a fisherman, I'd have loved to have had that one in the frying pan for a tasty and filling dinner.

The sides of the canyon in this part of the Lower Gila are not very steep. It seemed to me that I was surrounded more by rolling semi-arid hills covered with sage, cacti, and juniper. The trees providing shade at times along the watercourse itself are sycamores, cottonwoods, pine and the occasional stand of aspen. I suppose I could have gone a couple of more hours along the trail, but decided to pull up early at a nice camp to enjoy the beauty surrounding me. Besides, I'm making much faster progress than I'd thought I would. Except for a few blips, navigation has been much less of a problem than I had anticipated. Time for a swim!!!!!

21 Miles