[Cdt-l] Fwd: Gila River route water levels and Black Mtn route snow levels

[ks1007 at aol.com]

guess I have to have one out of 19 that is rude


el coyote
Keith
Deming, NM



-----Original Message-----
From: Bill <luttge.bill at gmail.com>
To: ks1007 at aol.com
Sent: Wed, Mar 17, 2010 1:50 pm
Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] Gila River route water levels and Black Mtn route snow levels


On 3/17/2010 3:21 PM, ks1007 at aol.com wrote: 
well? which route?


el coyote
Keith
Deming, NM



-----Original Message-----
From: Bill <luttge.bill at gmail.com>
To: ks1007 at aol.com
Sent: Wed, Mar 17, 2010 8:25 am
Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] Gila River route water levels and Black Mtn route snow levels


On 3/17/2010 2:15 AM, ks1007 at aol.com wrote: 
are you doing the columbus route? have we spoken about it if you are? apparently from what I have heard the water will be worse in the southern portion - as it gets closer to april 5th I will contact a USFS ranger to find out what's happening and the routes - roads and trails


el coyote
Keith
Deming, NM



-----Original Message-----
From: Bill <luttge.bill at gmail.com>
To: cdt-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Tue, Mar 16, 2010 2:55 pm
Subject: [Cdt-l] Gila River route water levels and Black Mtn route snow levels


I'm planning on a NOBO thru-hike starting mid-April and I'd sure like 
ome advice on the best route to take between Silver City and Pie Town.
I know that most folks take the beautiful Gila River route, but from the 
ostholer.com reports I see that NM has a lot of snow this year, so the 
ila River should be flowing fast and deep - a definite concern for an 
ld/short guy like me.  The obvious alternative is take the Black Mtn 
ange route (aka, CDTS official route), but this would put the trail up 
igh enough that snow could be a real problem.  I don't mind snow, but 
t would be nice to know what to expect.
Yogi's Town Guide mentions a NM-15 road walk option to Gila Hot Springs 
hereby avoiding the southern part of the Gila River. Wouild this solve 
he high water problems?
In a cdt-l report El Coyote suggests taking NM-35 (from NM-15 or from 
DTS route?) to FR-150 and then hiking north on forest roads to Pie 
own.  Would this solve the high water problems?
Any suggestions or corrections would be appreciated.
FireBall
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Keith (El Coyote),

Thanks for your comments.  I'm still studying the various options.  My friend (30-30) and I will be leaving from CrazyCook on April 15 or 16.  My wife (Hot Chocolate) will be driving us to the trailhead and helping with the water cache drop offs.

Bill (FireBall)
Cross Creek, FL


Keith (El Coyote),

Thanks for your continuing interest.

As I thought my e-mail above explained, my friend 30-30 and I will be leaving from the CrazyCook monument and hiking north to Lordsburg, NM.  From there we will follow JLey's route to Silver City, NM.  From there we will hike JLey's route north until we have to decide to follow the Gila River north or head east over the Black Mountain range route -- and eventually arrive in Pie Town.  My original e-mail was a request for advice on the pros and cons of these latter two routes.  I now realize that the Gila River water depth may well be different below and above its confluence with Sapillo Creek and/or above and below the cliff dwellings.  These added complications generate a series of potential options.

If the southern portion of the Gila River is deep, but that above the cliff dwellings is passable we have at least four options.  1) We could take the Black Mtn route (i.e., the "official" CDT), or 2) we could follow JLey's route to Sapillo Creek and then head east on Tr-247 (Spring Canyon Trail) to NM-15, turn north and road walk to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, or 3) we could follow the Black Mtn route until it junctions with NM-15 and then proceed north to the cliff dwellings, or 4) we could follow NM-15 all the way from Silver City to the cliff dwellings.

If the southern portion of the Gila River is deep, AND the northern portion is also impassable, then we have a least three options. 1) We could take the Black Mtn route, or 2) we could take JLey's route to Sapillo Creek, turn east on TR-247, turn north on NM-15, turn east on NM-35, and finally turn north on FT-150 until Pie Town, or 3) leaving Silver City take NM-15 north, turn east on NM-35 and finish after turning north on FT-150.

Just today, I've ordered copies of USFS topos for the Gila Wilderness and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness.  I also have down-loaded the waypoints for both the JLey route up the Gila River and the official CDTA route through the Black Mountain range.

So in addition to deciding which of the various routes to take, I now need to decide if I want to purchase snow shoes to supplement my ice axe and crampons...

Best wishes,

Bill (FireBall)
Cross Creek, FL

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