5-20
Approximately 9.8 miles
It was light when I woke up at 5:30 to a slightly cloudy sky and 43 degrees. The plan for the day was to hike the West Fork of the Gila to White Creek Cabin to see if the trail was closed because of the Hummingbird Fire.
We crossed the Gila several times and then the trail climbed some fairly steep terrain on the east side of the river. The Ponderosa pines were beautiful and many cones covered the forest floor.
The first thing we saw in White Creek was a makeshift but functional wooden coral near a four-room concrete base. Before a forest service cabin of well-maintained logs stretched a wide flat basin. After some inspection, we crossed the creek at a beaver dam and found the intersection with the Trotter Trail we planned to take yesterday. There were no signs of closure so that would have been possible.
There were three nice chairs in the cabin, so we hung out under a big spruce tree having an afternoon picnic. Two backpacker fishermen walked by with their loaded backpacks and waved at us.
Finally we returned to camp and had a late afternoon snack. It was nice to have free time in the soft sunshine while we told stories.
Dinner was followed by more maps drawn in the dirt and a discussion about travel plans when we leave on Friday.
There was a nice evening light through the trees. We commented that Hells Hole was a pretty nice place!
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