The Catwalk Recreational Trail
I found 2 superb videos of the Catwalk Recreational Trail. The Catwalk is located about an hour and 2o minutes northwest of Silver City just east of Glenwood, NM. This canyon trail starts from a beautiful picnic area situated under giant Arizona sycamores. It has been updated with informal kiosks and a wheelchair accessible trail up to the catwalk itself.
This excellently produced video by Nick Kutler. The cinematography is wonderful and the producer gives you a real sensation of what it is like to cross over Whitewater Creek on the catwalk. He even wrote the music himself. Great video!
This next video is a slideshow with exquisite photography of Whitewater Canyon and the catwalk. Too bad 480p in youtube doesn’t do the original photographs justice.
Dragonfly Trail Loop near Silver City
This morning I took a newly marked/improved trail called Dragonfly Loop in Fort Bayard. The trail has been around for years but has been improved and the signage installed this last spring. It is fairly tame topography and passes through some nice riparian areas along Twin Sisters Creek. The trail is named after a ancient petroglyph along the trail. See Gila National Forest photo below the slideshow. I used my smartphone camera this time and the pictures are not quite focused in places, sorry.
Purgatory Chasm Trail near Lake Roberts
This hike was a pleasurable hike. You want to keep going to see what is around the next bend. The chasm is fasinating and you find yourself looking up a bit too much that you may trip over a rock or bush if you aren’t careful. The hike is a loop that takes you up through the chasm and then on the top of a ridge overlooking the chasm. It is recommended that you hike with either hiking boots or at least a good pair of walking shoes with tread. Well worth the drive to Lake Roberts for this one. It is just north of Lake Roberts on Hwy 35 east of the Mesa Campground.
Bear Mountain – Gila National Forest
This area is just west of Bear Mountain in the Silver City Range. The drive is up a forest gravel road and over the shoulder between Bear Mountain and McComas Peak. The drive is about 15-20 miles depending where you stop. The area I parked in had no official trail, but the terrain was open enough that I could wander without difficulty. The nice thing about this area is the variety of rocks encountered. Also, the views to the northwest of the Mogollon Mountains and the Gila River Valley are worthwhile.
Burro Mountains – Continental Divide Trail
This trail head is just off of Highway 90 going toward Lordsburg. The forest road turnoff is just past the Gila National Forest sign when driving south from Silver City. It is about 20 miles to the turnoff. The trail head is a large flat sandy area just above the wash. The trail isn’t really a trail for the first several hundred feet since it follows a dry sandy creekbed. You will find the trail soon though. This hike is rather aerobic since you go up in altitude the whole way to the top of Jack’s Peak. I did not get to the top the day I took these photographs. I did go high enough that I had commanding views of the deserts of New Mexico’s bootheel.
Pinos Altos Range – Continental Divide Trail
This hike takes you up high in the Pinos Altos Range about 15 miles north of Silver City. The passable forest service gravel road is another several miles to the well marked trail. This is a hike for a hot summer day as you will be at over 8,000 ft elevation. The forest is full of large pines, firs and spruce trees. Ferns and other brush grow on the ground below. The hike is rather easy since it hugs the side of the slope and slowly ascends. Once you cross the ridge, you will be overlooking a vast panorama of the entire mining district of Grant County. The trail then descends more rapidly with some switchbacks. You may want to take it as far as you can knowing that you will have to hike back up the trail over the ridge to get back to the car. Well worth the drive!
Ponderosa Loop – Gomez Peak Trail System
This is probably the easiest loop in the Gomez Peak Trails. It is a small elevation gain from the trail head and the loop itself is easy. I think that the total hike is about 2.5 miles. When I don’t have much time, I will opt for this hike first. Nice ponderosa slopes on the west and north sides of the little mountain loop give nice contrast to the pinyon, oak and juniper woods on the south and east sides. Nice easy hike. About 6 miles northwest of Silver City. A trail map of the whole trail system is available here.
Gomez Peak Loop – Little Walnut Area
This loop around the shelf of Gomez Peak is about 4 miles with kind of a steep ascent and descent to the loop from the trail head below. On the south side of the loop, you traverse a literal century plant agave forest and on the north slope, you climb through a nicely shaded trail with large Pinyons and some nice green undergrowth. Good panoramic views of the whole Silver City area can be seen from three sides. A trail map of the whole trail system is available here.
Mountain Loop – Gomez Peak Trail System
These two slideshows are both of the Mountain Loop in the Gomez Peak Trail System located just northwest of Silver City in the Gila National Forest Little Walnut area. This hike is about 4.5 miles long and ascends slowly to the top of the shoulder ridge of Eighty Mountain. The south side of the ridge is semidesert with cacti and agave galore sporting a nice view of Silver City below. The north side of the ridge is totally different. Wildflowers, ferns, Ponderosa Pines greet you and a magnificent view of the Pinos Altos Range and Mogollon Mountains beyond. The trailhead is about 6 miles northwest of Silver City proper.
Big Juniper Tree – Fort Bayard National Recreation Trails
This hike starts from the same trailhead as the mesa loop trail in Fort Bayard National Recreation Trails. This hike is rather tame and takes over small rolling hills and through a couple of intermittent creeks. The highlight of this hike is the large grove of Gambel Oaks and the big juniper. It is one of the largest Alligator Junipers in the state and it is easy to spot with a red fence surrounding the trunk. This hike is less than 3 miles total. About 10 miles northeast of Silver City.
Mesa Loop – Fort Bayard National Recreation Trails
This hiking trail is a large loop around a rock outcropping and a foothill mesa just below the Pinos Altos Range. It is about 5 miles total, but lightly travelled and has beautiful views of the mountains and deserts below. Ponderosa Pine at the top of the mesa along with pinyons, evergreen oaks, junipers, cottonwoods and walnuts decorate the trail. The trailhead has a large parking area, maps, and an composting toilet. This is about 10 miles northeast of Silver City just above Fort Bayard.
Boston Hill Open Space Park
These are pictures of the Boston Hill Open Space Park next to the historic district of Silver City. There are many marked trails and 3 trailheads from various directions easily accessible from Silver City. Many of the old tunnels and tailings are still visible from mining in the 19th century. Evergreen oaks, alligator junipers, pinyon pines, sotol, soaptree yuccas, century plants and a large variety of wildflowers grow on Boston Hill. Here is a link to more information about the open space.