can anyone provide any insight into the conditions i will find hiking in the gila wilderness in mid-march. i.e. where’s the snow line? will the river be fordable? what low temps can i expect at night? can i still expect snow in mid-march? i’d appreciate any advice i can get.
thanx.
dan
danjbless
For snow levels and other weather data, check out Snotel data on the Web. I think Signal Peak is the closest site.
I hiked through there in early May in a wet year, and the river was barely fordable. March that year would probably have been lower water, but also prohibitively icy and cold for me. It was barely tolerable in May. Don’t know about the snow line, but the only snow I saw in early May was drifts on the north side of Hillsborough Pk (10,000’).
I hope you get better info. Good luck.
Garlic
Could anyone tell me if I want to hike for 40 miles without coming to civilization, could I do that in Gila.
If so… what trails.
Will there be water in late june. Enough for drinking.
Thank you.
joe
You could go up the Middle Fork from the cliff dwellings beyond the turn to Snow Lake and take one of the trails that gets you over Turkeyfeather Pass and back down the West Fork to your car. Might be a little more than 40 miles, but it’s a loop. You should have water the whole way.
maddog