We headed to the Gila National Forest over Labor Day to do a shake-down run in preparation for running the Mojave Trail in less than 2 months. This was our first trip where we actually camped in the Pinz and traveled exclusively in Pinzgauer style. Overall the trip was wildly successful. We camped for three nights and had no major problems. There are a few things that we need to tweak, but overall we were very impressed with how it went.

We left early Friday morning and drove part of the historic Rt. 66 west. Our goal for the night was to camp at Snow Lake in the Gila. We had a great drive, the weather was beautiful and the scenery was nothing short of what I have come to expect from New Mexico.We made a quick stop in Pie Town, NM to have some pie and hit the road. We arrived at Snow Lake after driving through a burn area and set up camp.

The next morning we woke up and the lake looked like it was on fire. It was a pretty neat sight. We hit the road pretty early and headed south. We had several things planned for the day. Our first stop was the town of Mogollon and the Catwalk Trail, a really neat hiking trail built by the Conservation Corps. We hiked the entire trail and headed for the Gila Cliff Dwellings. That night we camped at the Grapevine campground, not to far from the Gila Cliff Dwellings. The afternoon was awesome. We camped next to the river and the dogs got to have some fun and play in the water.

We headed out early the next morning and headed for Monticello Canyon. Monticello is a really fun, and sometimes challenging trail. The trail follows a riverbed for several miles with tons of water crossings. There are times that the river bed becomes the trail. Depending on the water level, this trail can be easy to difficult. Our last big stop of the day before heading back up the I25 corridor was the VLA. We did not get the chance to walk around, but it was definitely worth the stop.


Our first stop down Historic Rt. 66 was at the casino for fuel and food.


Several wideload trucks passed us carrying the blades for the wind turbines.


beautiful New Mexico red rocks


a neat rock formation


lava flows left all this rock


one of the antennaes which is part of the Very Large Baseline Array. here is the Wikipedia link to information about the VLA and VBLA


it's probably not every day a Pinzgauer stops for Pie at Pie Town, NM.


the sunflowers were in bloom along the side of every road we drove on


headed through the Negrito burn area


Snow Lake on fire


Negrito burn area


Mogollon, NM


a little stop for some engine work on the trail


the entrance to the Catwalk


part of the Catwalk trail


walking on top of the river


some rock stairs on the trail


one of the many waterfalls and pools on the trail


more stairs


us at the end of the trail


let's just say Harley wasn't having as much fun as us.


Gila Cliff Dwellings








Bella the little water dog


We had a great afternoon sitting in the river relaxing


the Pinz at our camping spot


camping neighbors trying to dam the river


on the trail in Monticello






coming out of Monitcello, the landscape changes drastically


this yellow stuff was EVERYWHERE!


The VLA