Awesome Hike: Gila Wilderness – Jordan Hot Springs
Awesome Hike: Gila Wilderness – Jordan Hot Springs
The trailhead to Little Bear Canyon started off on the South side of a mountain. It was late May with temperatures in the upper 90’s on the sun-baked hillside. We were sweating like crazy. The first two miles of the hike were a constant slope going up, my legs were burning. I was already feeling exhausted. Why the hell did I agree to do a 12-mile roundtrip hike?
Negative thoughts were flowing through my head, which meant that this was a good time for a break. We sat down and drank some water. There, relaxed and refreshed under the shade of a Ponderosa Pine, I remembered that all of this was within my ability. Those feelings of exhaustion were just an illusion, the fear of failure and of the unknown, materializing in my mind as “I can’t”.
We got up, put on our packs, and put one foot in front of the other, over and over again. Eventually we made it to the crest, and got our first view of the canyon below.
The next two miles took us down the narrow winding canyons. The air was cool, shaded by the towering trees and rock walls. A stream of water followed us as we hiked down into what seemed like an entirely different place from where we had just been. Suddenly, the narrow walls opened up around us and we saw a massive rock spire in the distance.
We were entering the canyon of the Middle Fork River. Its swift current can turn dangerous during rainstorms, and over the eons had carved the surrounding mountains into amazing cathedral-like formations. We were entering the final two miles of the journey, following the river upstream. At first, the cold water felt good on my tired and hot feet. However, after crossing the river a couple dozen times, and hiking for hours in heavy wet shoes, I changed my mind.
Hiking through the wilderness does something amazing to your brain. Without a cell phone buzzing in your pocket, you start to hear the birds in the trees, the rush of the water, and the crunch of vegetation beneath your feet. You stop worrying about bills and your job, and start planning to make it to camp with enough time to build a fire before dark. You stop asking what you should be doing in your life, and instead ask, “Are those rain clouds going to hit us?”
Yes they did. And we got drenched. In that situation, there is really nothing else you can do but keep going. Fortunately, the rain stopped soon after and we continued trudging along the river. Suddenly I felt something warm at my feet. It was water from the hot springs. It must be nearby. We followed the warmth, until we found its source, up on a hillside the hot spring was flowing.
We set up camp first, ate dinner and hung out around the fire until the dark settled in around us. Then, in the light of the moon we made our way into the hot springs. The water was so perfectly warm against my skin in the cool night air. I could smell the pine trees around me, and see the full moon bright against the dark outline of the forest. My bare feet rubbed into the pebbles on the bottom of the pool, the soreness melting away.
It was there, in the middle of the wilderness, that I was able to let everything go.
Johnny Ramirez
