First of all, its pronounced Hee-lah, and secondly this is not the official path of the CDT, but it seems to be more popular. We take a break from climbing high dry mountains to follow the river through the Gila National Forest. It’s a completely unique experience on the trail so most hikers go this way. The trail follows the river through the canyon, crossing it about 80 times. I just left my shoes on and trudged right through.
Besides the plentiful water, the scenery is amazing. The path is surrounded by tall cliffs that tower overhead and sometimes block out the sun.
The trail passes by several hot springs along the way, and I definitely took a dip
A couple days in, the river passes by a few campgrounds and a general store, Doc Campbell’s outpost. Selection is limited and pricey so most hikers have a box sent to them. (thanks mom)
After Doc Campbell's, I took a side trip through Little Bear canyon, which is a slot canyon which is only 10-15 feet wide in places.
Eventually the canyon meets back up with the river and we continue upstream. The river shifts course over the years making the trail hard to follow and somewhat of a bush whack in places. In one section beavers flooded the entire valley.
Following the trail was tedious, it often just went right up the river.
Eventually the trail reaches the headwaters of the middle fork and we leave the Gila River behind and resume hiking through hot dry Prarie.
Back up high. Is that smoke in the distance?
It was a wildfire, still burning from the previous night. The Forest Service had a roadblock set up and was giving rides to hikers around the containment area. It was very eerie but the firefighters had it under control.
The trail weaves through a couple of mountains before leaving Gila National Forest.
More on the way,