Southwest Pack Trips

Introduction
New Mexico USA

"This National Forest is America's undiscovered treasure, offering endless trail riding in some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere."

You will explore its breathtaking canyons, creeks and meadows as you navigate the 'Blue Range' or the 'Middle Fork' of the Gila wilderness!

The Gila and the Blue are places of spectacular beauty tucked away in the Southwest corner of New Mexico and into Arizona. Dependent of the season, we will explore one or the other Gila wilderness areas on unforgettable pack trips with our sure footed horses and experienced guides. Ride some of America's most pristine and unique country during the day — then relax and have some fun in our luxury camp during the evening.

The Gila Wilderness Middle Fork Pack Trips . . .
One of the richest and most stunning landscapes in America, the Gila Wilderness is one of  the world's largest and premier wilderness destinations.
The mountains and deep canyons of the Gila are rich with human history, wildlife and adventure. Ancient Indians dating back 1000 years lived along the Middle Fork, leaving behind inspiring and interesting cliff dwellings. The Apaches called the Gila home — and one of our stops is at the birthplace of Geronimo. 
The Gila lays claim to the title of America's first and most expansive wilderness region, but this unique distinction does not begin to brush the surface of this powerful country, with the extraordinary diversity, tranquility and enchantment guarded at its heart.
Until recently, the Gila National Forest, with its 3.3 million acres of awe-inspiring vistas, peaceful meadows, majestic rivers and deep, carved out canyons was a hidden treasure experienced by rugged trappers of the past and only the hardiest adventurers of today.
Riding the Middle Fork is like losing yourself to the beauty of our planet — the inspiration you receive starts the moment we begin our journey to the moment we arrive at the trail head. This natural inspiration will renew and enrich your daily life even after you're back home.

Accomodation

Our luxury base camp has everything set up and is ready for you to relax after a day of riding. Camp includes tents, cots, hot showers and private toilet facilities. Hot showers at the end of each day's ride are available. Just like home, with a wonderful view.
Some trips will also include some progressive rides with overnights in "spike camps" that will be set up each day (not permanent camps) and therefore have less comforts.

All the creature comforts in the world — a deluxe kitchen with delicious all-you-can-eat Chuck Wagon Style Dutch oven cooking. Enjoy your choice of adult beverages. Plentiful and delicious, our meals are home cooked and can be tailored to your requests and special eating needs. Our campfire chef, Lance, with his special flare for pack trip meals, prepares the meals.

This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding

Gentle, experienced and sure-footed, our riding horses are members of our family. We have horses to match every type of rider, from beginners and children to the advanced  and adventure-seeking riders. We have Quarter horses, Mustangs, Draft, Arabs and Appaloosas making up the herd!

Itinerary

Basic Itinerary:

Day 1: Afternoon transfer from Silver City (extra) and check into the guesthouse. Dinner is not included.

Day 2 to 6:  Early morning pick up from guesthouse and breakfast along the way to the trail head. Packing all gear on the pack horses and departure into the wilderness for full five riding days with overnights in tents. Visit the high country of the Gila Wilderness or into the Blue Wilderness of Arizona. Swim in the most spectacular pools. Learn about the historic administrative centers.
Ride the birthplace of Geronimo. See these little-known and hidden ancient Indian Cliff Dwellings. Ride along the most unusual and unique canyon walls in America -- spectacular hoodoo's and caves. Observe 1000 year-old petroglyphs See the remains of late 1800's homesteaders.  Hear and see the newly introduced Mexican Gray Wolf See where the Apache's hide from the Calvary Observe the best of the wildlife. A true wilderness - adventure experience
Return to trail head between 3 and 5 PM on last day and departure (optional transfer to Silver City).

Sample trail description below:

Blue Wilderness, AZ
Spring or Late Fall trips…
Our journey will begin at the trailhead on the very western edge of New Mexico. We collect all the gear and supplies and load up the pack mules. Riders are fitted to horses, and given riding instructions.
We begin riding and soon cross over into Arizona climbing our way steadily toward the mountains ahead.We ride about 6 miles to our lower base camp located along Little Blue Creek.  Once we arrive, we set up tents and square away the gear and highline the animals. Later in the afternoon, we ride up Yam Canyon a narrow and spectacular canyon with cascading waterfalls and unique rock formations.
Our final destination is to a site marked by a historic Spanish Mining symbol. More than 340 years ago, Spaniards mined for gold and silver in this part of America and left the unusual tree marking. In addition, Apache Indians used this same trail to make there way back to the mountains of New Mexico during their continual escapes from the government reservation in San Carlos, AZ.
A great meal awaits riders at the end of each day – steaks cooked over an open fire, chicken stir-fry, burritos, and pasta dishes, will all the trimmings. A warm camp fire each evening to cheer our hearts and tell tall stories.
Our journey continues on the next day, giving riders a sense of the unique beauty and sheer size of the Blue Wilderness area. We ride along the Little Blue River on our way to Bear Valley. The ride traverses beautiful water filled canyon, passing beneath some breath-taking hoodoos, and a slot canyon.  We take a break at the corrals in Bear Valley where we explore an old homestead site containing many interesting artifacts, including old china, bottles and wagon wheel parts. After our break, we get back into the saddle and begin our climb into higher country where grand vistas abound in every direction. This ride sets the tone for the rest of our adventure in this unique, remote and expansive wilderness area.  There is a good possibility that riders will observe some of the abundant wildlife, including mule deer and herds of elk. The ride ends with a loop back to camp.
On the next day we journey to lower country, an area that offers a completely different landscape that is more open and has unusual geological formations with grand vistas. Our final destination is Winter Cabin - a line shack that is used by cowboys to this day as they work to gather and brand cattle. Winter Cabin sits along a slow moving spring surrounded by large oak trees. This is great place to get off the horse and explore. We sometimes spike camp at Winter Cabin.
Another day ride may take us into the high country, where we ride to the tallest point in the Blue Range, Bear Mountain. 
From there, we’ll follow the razor back Telegraph Ridge, where riders get a fantastic view of the expansive mountain range lying to the east and the deep canyons that lie to the west. Bring your camera. Again, we are swallowed up in the beauty, remoteness and size of this uncivilized country.
We return to camp by about 3 p.m., following the same trail we rode in on.

Summer Trips…
Depending of the length of summer trips we will move to our higher camp, either on day two or day three. One of our summer camps is located at Franz Springs. A wonderful old log cabin and corrals are located here.
From Franz Springs we journey the next two days through some of the grandest country in America. We take the Tige Rim Ride, where we follow the very edge of sheer cliffs, soaking in endless views of the Gila Wilderness, which lies to the east. This ride continues in a loop. We take a lunch break along a beautiful running creek. There is a nice hike up the narrow creek to some great pools of water and spectacular wildflowers. After lunch, we continue the loop and make a stop as some of the most unusual geological formations yet seen: white spirals of rock jutting straight up in towers. Walking around this site is like a trip into Utah, or to the Moon! After a day of exploring, we make our way back to camp for another tasty meal.
The next day we tackle the awesome loop to Devil’s Monument. This crown of white rock can be seen from miles in every direction and is the crown jewel of wilderness riding. We’ll travel along the inside of ridges, up and down crazy and beautiful rock formations, and, again taking in the vistas in every direction. From Devil’s Monument, we’ll complete the loop viewing the monument at its best, stopping at a small lake on the return journey toward camp.
The final day of the summer trip may be the best ride of the trip.
We journey a different route back to new trailhead.  We ride along Bear Canyon and drop from 8000’ to 5000’ in approximately 7 miles. The 3000’ drop covers diverse terrain as we drop in elevation. Once we break out of the high country we’ll ride through juniper and pinion scrub to a set of corrals where we transport guests back. We’ll return to the trailhead by about 5 p.m.

Sample trail description below:

Middle Fork Of The Gila River, NM
Summer Trips…
Our journey begins at the Snow Lake trailhead located approximately 40 miles from Reserve, NM. We collect all the gear and supplies and load up the pack mules. Riders are fitted to horses and given riding instructions.
We ride one of the longest continuous canyons in America – the Middle Fork of the Gila River. It is journey back into the 1800s- the time of Geronimo, legendary trappers, hunters and homesteaders.
The headwaters of the Middle Fork flow from Snow Lake, located at about 8500’ in elevation. This is high mountain meadow country.  Rolling grassy hills are dotted with stands of ponderosa pine; it is not uncommon to see herds of elk grazing on a distant knoll.  From Snow Lake, we follow the trail down to Iron Creek through a lush meadow filled with old cottonwoods. The canyon bottom is wide and we’ll pass the remains of several homesteads as the canyon begins its decent, slowly becoming more narrow and deep.
We take a break at a place called Trodder homestead, about 7 miles from the trailhead.  This is the last meadow we will see for 5 miles. From this point, the canyon will narrow and the canyon walls increase in height to over 1500’.  The Middle Fork has been referred to as the Little Grand Canyon and is perhaps New Mexico’s best kept secret. The scenery changes at every turn and time of day affects the color and feel of the canyon. It is truly breathtaking.
We’ll ride to our base camp located above the confluence of Canyon Creek and the Middle Fork. Canyon creek is a great place for a base camp with a steady, clean source of water, lots of room for tents, and plenty of grazing for the animals. Also known as the birthplace of Geronimo, it is easy to see why Canyon Creek was a favorite Apache site: an endless steady supply of spring water, canyon walls that are accessible to the top country and open meadows with abundant wildlife. Riding Canyon Creek maybe the best day in the Southwest!
Even the ancient Mogollon Indians found Canyon Creek favorable – many old cliff dwellings line the canyon walls. We have a favorite one we hike to too – a well preserved site where questions abound as to how these people lived and thrived, and why they disappeared, leaving no clues as to where they went.
A great meal awaits riders at the end of each day – steaks cooked over an open fire, chicken stir-fry, burritos, and pasta dishes, will all the trimmings. A warm camp fire each evening to cheer our hearts and tell tall stories.
We continue our journey down the Middle Fork passing the most amazing hoodoos imaginable. Caves, outcroppings, and rock formations - it is impossible to take in at one time. The Middle Fork is a special place of majesty, awe and wonder for all visitors. We take a break at the best swimming holes in the Gila – cascading water into deep pools that we can dive into. This is the most impressive display of water and rock formations anywhere in America.  We’ll ride back to camp later that day.
Another ride takes us along a switchback trail up out of the Middle Fork. The views down into the Middle Fork are breathtaking. Once on top, we ride to Prior Cabin, an historic landmark. Still in use by the Forest Service today, it is easy to see why past homesteaders called this place home -- lush grass and flowers abound thanks to an eternal spring of water. We’ll rest and explore this site then ride back to camp following the same trail.
Sometimes we spike camp past the cascading pools and ride about 7 miles down the Middle Fork to the most beautiful hot springs in the Gila. These springs are deep enough and large enough to swim in and guests can enjoy a great soak with the night stars above. We’ll ride back to Canyon Creek the same way.
The return home is back up the Middle Fork to Snow Lake.  The country is so diverse that riding the same route along the Middle Fork is a new journey – the sights and views are entirely different on the way back out of the canyon.  We arrive back to the Snow Lake trailhead at approximately 5 p.m. returning to Glenwood by about 7 p.m.

Rates and Dates for Southwest Pack Trips

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Glenwood
Airport: Silver City or El Paso
Transfer: Silver City

Climate: