Trail of the Mountain Spirit: Finding My Way in the Gila

After a fun long weekend in Phoenix Baxter and I hit the road again. Destination: New Mexico again (Round Three).

In my research I found and got my heart set on a hot springs campground in the Gila National Forest that I really wanted to stay at. They don’t have online reservations so I emailed and asked about availability and the only available night that week was Tuesday. Taking it meant back-tracking and adding mileage to my trip, but the promise of a natural soak in the wilderness made the extra time and mileage worth it.

On my last night in Phoenix, while my friend and I were grabbing pints at a Blink-182-themed brewery (hey, to each their own), the now-familiar "pre-trip panic" started to set in.

I was looking at a six-hour drive into a forest I didn't know, aiming for a first-come, first-served site with zero recent info online. Then I checked the weather. Tuesday looked grim—windy, rainy, and potentially messy. My "ditch trauma" spoke up loud and clear.

I called an audible - there was a KOA in the town outside of where I would enter the Gila NF. I’m trying to avoid KOA’s unless I needed a shower and laundry (which I didn’t), what I actually needed that night was peace of mind. I needed to know that after a long haul, I had a guaranteed spot. No regrets. Sometimes, you have to work your way back to "off-the-grid" confidence in stages.

Tuesday arrived exactly as promised: miserable. Rain turned to heavy snow as I wound along the Trail of the Mountain Spirit scenic byway. Bob Seeger handled it fine, but the clouds swallowed the scenery whole. I made a mental note to take it slow on the way out the next day to actually see the mountains and forest I was driving through.

My first stop was Gila Cave Dwelling National Monument, as I pulled up to it, the rain stopped, the wind died down, and the sun broke through.

In the late 1200s, the Mogollon (Ancestral Pueblo) people built these dwellings and made these cliffs their home. The Visitor Center video shared a sentiment from a Pueblo man that stuck with me: our ancestors are still here, and they are allowing us to visit. I think this is an important perspective. These aren't just ruins; they are sacred spaces. Its important when visiting these places that we give them the respect and reverence they deserve. That we honor the and learn as much about the culture as we can.

The hike to the cave dwellings was beautiful. Desert like rocks in the forest next to the Gila River.

There are stairs.

More stairs.

A few more stairs.

When you reach the third dwelling, you can climb into the structures. Remembering the video, I walked through the ancient rooms quietly and respectfully. It was magical—a powerful reminder of the deep history etched into this landscape.

You have the option of walking down a ladder or the stairs you came up and then a short hike back to the trail head.

Finding my campsite wasn’t as easy as I expected. I was out of cell service and faced with two similarly named spots across the road from each other. One looked... questionable. I pulled in anyway, hoping for the best.

The camp host was sitting in her car, and as she rolled down the window, a literal cloud of pot smoke billowed out (again, to each their own). "I'm not on shift yet," she croaked. "I think I have a reservation?" I ventured. "We don't do that here," she said. "You want the place across the street."

I drove to the place across the street, through a farm with chickens and goats. and down toward the river There I met Carla, who has run the place since the 90s. She showed me my spot on a map, and I realized I’d found heaven

The campsites were secluded, surrounded by trees. My spot was next to the river. The best part - three natural hot springs open all hours. I set up camp, grabbed my towel and went for a soak.

This campsite is what you hope for when you choose this life. Beautiful and relaxing. I plugged in my Starling long enough to let people know I was alive, then spent the next 24 hours unplugged. I don’t have the right words to articulate how appreciative I was for this experience other than to say: this is why I’m doing this.

I’m glad I got that downtime because next up would be a busy few days back in Arizona.