Day 17 San Pedro Parks backpacking

"Good dog. Bad dog." -JohnToday marked the start of our hiatus off the bikes to do some backpacking. Originally, we planned to hike in the Gila Wilderness along a classic loop that included the Middle and West Forks of the Gila River. The Miller fire that began mid May closed these trails so we switched plans. Mary and John met us in Cuba and we headed up to the nearby San Pedro Wilderness with their dogs Joule (like the unit of energy) and Cooper. Bart came too to get a first hand account of the trip but, unfortunately, did not stay to backpack.

The Parks were an amazing green oasis. Situated at 10000 feet and full of rollings valleys, gurgling streams and cool forest of fir and spruce they were a complete contrast to what we'd been traveling. We even came across a few snow banks.

The dogs had a great time, especially Joule who loved to jump in every marsh and mud hole we encountered (hence the above quote). It was really nice to see Mary and John again. John talked about how, once he got home, he'd slept for 24 hours and then, inspired by our visit to Pie Town, started a baking frenzy. I know Cassi was glad to have some female companionship, or at least someone other than her dad to talk to. John did some fly fishing in a nice pool we came across.

We camped next to the CDT on a gentle ridge. Two horseback riders and their dog came by. The dog stopped at our camp and did not want to go on even as his owners kept riding. Mary went down the trail to see if she could find the horseback riders with no success. As night fell, we figured they'd come back in the AM.

new plants seen- golden pea, shooting star, pale mt dandelion, marsh marigold, corn lily

animals identified- willow flycatcher, Clark's nutcracker, cutthroat trout