The Gila

This weekend Brianne and I decided to go to the Gila National Forest in southeast New Mexico. I'd never been and Brianne supposedly has been but didn't remember much. We brought our bikes and running shoes and the plan was to do a neat new ride, a run, and then return home to Las Cruces on Sunday.

My big biking idea was to park in the small town of Kingston (elevation: 6,200 feet) and ride to the top of Emory Pass (elevation: 8,226 feet). It was only 7.9 miles but it took me nearly 45 minutes to slog up the 5.3% grade to the top.I can't believe the average was really that low! Actually there was a mile mid way up that was basically flat so maybe it would be closer to 6%. Anyway, my legs didn't seem to have that spark they normally do, but hey! I need to remember I was biking well above the effects of altitude. Descending back down was fun but I definitely need to work on those descending skills. I feel like I'm on ice going around corners. I'm never too sure how far to lean into the curves and trust that my tires will stay grounded.

After the ride we made our way deeper into the Gila to see the Gila cliff dwellings. They were pretty neat but I don't think I need to see them again. We set up a camp at the edge of the Gila River and went for a swim/rinse. We ate a a hearty dinner of cold oatmeal and jam upon returning to the campsite and slept out under the stars.

In the morning we tried to go for a trail run up Little Creek just up the road from out camp site. However, the trail run quickly became more of a jungle trek since it had obviously been quite some time since anyone had used it or put some effort into maintaining it. There were tree roots to trip over, wild rose bushes to scrape across, raging rivers to navigate (ok, so it was called "Little Creek for a reason), stinging nettles to get into, and misquotes to swat at. Yes, I hadn't run like that since high school cross-country and I almost forgot how much fun it was to have muddy shoes again.

The Gila was great. I plan to go back sometime and for sure one of the times I return I hope to be doing the Tour of the Gila. That is right everyone, I am going to plan on doing the Tour of the Gila this spring.