Todays goal was to reach New Mexico and explore the Gila National Forest. This was a big bucket list area for me, as the research of ‘Top National Forests’ rendered the Gila as one of the best. One of the sites for us to explore is not only the beautiful landscape but the locally famous ‘Catwalk’ that was built into the side of a slot canyon, where a river has carved through for thousands of years. This river is still flowing and we will explore the short hike for what is known as the Gila catwalk.
We started the day from Chiracahua National Monument and headed west slightly to get to the interstate. We had to head back east 20 miles after connecting with I-10 to reach US191 northbound and head towards Safford, Arizona. This is a large town for the area, and has quite a scenic landscape. This was where the trip started to get mountainous, and we were starting to get excited, as we had begun our section of the trip that would lead us to the Rockies of Colorado. We had breakfast in this town and filled up with gas as well. As with any other day we didn’t know where we were going to camp or when we were going to stop but we had an itinerary of what to see and get done for the day.
First on the schedule was the Gila Catwalk and it took 2 1/2 hours to get to. The drive was extremely scenic and enjoyable however, as we drove over mountains at the beginning of the West Gila Forrest. The road itself was not highly driven, which made from a pleasant experience. This was the beginning of really getting into the trip, as the landscape has started to change from dessert and large hills to the Rocky mountains! We finally reached out destination of the Catwalk and parked. This area did accept the National Park Pass, thus it was free to park for day use!
This was a unique hike as it is suspended above the river in a metal cage, which was very different for the region. The trail extends for about 2 miles and reaches a point where a sign was posted not go any further. However as any adventurer would, we hopped the fence and continued down the river. This hike ended up being rather short for us, as climbing broken trees, and metal shards didn’t appeal to us, however we did find a nice pool where there was a waterfall.
Now, since we are very budget conscious on this trip, we decided to hop in the river and swim once we got towards the waterfall at the very end of this hike. We decided not to go any further, as it appeared to be dangerous and not very interesting compared to what we had seen.
So, after swimming, we headed back to the car and found a water faucet where we were able to wash our hair with shampoo and finish what we started. This is also where we had lunch by having pre-made sandwiches and snacks.
As noon approached, our next part of the day was to head to the Gila Cliff Dwellers National Monument, however, due to unfortunate time constraints and itinerary we decided this portion of the day would not be as interesting, and skipped this. We headed to a state park to camp, through the remainder of the scenic road of the forest. We drove to the entire Gila National forest which was a dramatic ride featuring cliffs very similar to Colorado canyons but less forests which gave plenty of camping opportunities for off-road vehicles. We did not take advantage of this due to the vehicle we had (Toyota Corolla) and the fact we wanted to get more miles covered on the day. Had I known what I know now upon writing this, I would have absolutely camped there for the night.
After connecting with I-25, we ended up stopping at a place called Elephant Butte State Park (unplanned) and camped for $8. This is about 70 miles south of Albuquerque and we were able to have a great view of Elephant lake where you can fish, swim, and do many outdoor recreational activities, such as Kayaking or Boating. The campsite itself was different as we had a concrete tent platform. At night time, it became quite windy to the point we had to anchor the tent down with spikes and water bottles, but we were able to get through the night without blowing away. This was the perfect position for the next morning to get up early and head towards Santa Fe. WE cooked a great dinner of Salmon and Rice with vegetables, and were able to watch the sunset in the distance, all the while getting excited to explore more scenic, and magical terrain the next day!
June 5 Expenses
20 Breakfast in Safford
19.80 Gas
7 Mcdonalds
22.56 Walmart
10 Camping
Total – 69.39
Chiracahua to Elephant Butte – MILES DRIVEN- 336
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