Category: Trail Projects

Water Found

  • GET 2024 day 2,  Oct 2, Wednesday
  • Start basecamp 0.5 miles below Myers Spring
  • Stop return to basecamp
  • Lopped and cleared trees lower 1/4 trail to ridge, found water

The drainage to Myers Spring had a trickle of water, great news, so I will not need to carry more water up from the car.

My short saw broke, when the nut at the hinge came loose and fell off somewhere on the trail.

Fortunately a spare saw was waiting at the car. From there half the trail to basecamp was cleared, about a quarter of the trail up to the ridge.

Shipman Trail from trailhead to Myers Cabin, about 3 miles, credit Google Earth

What a vigorous long day of lopping! Here is a podcast recommendation that helped me work: A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, by Andrew Hickey.

Plan B

  • GET 2024 day 1,  Oct 1, Tuesday
  • Start home, and drive to Shipman Trailhead
  • Stop 0.5 miles below Myers Spring
  • Lopping, searching for water

My original plan to resume a hike on the Gila X Loop fell through. But I had a crazy idea. Russ from the Forest Service sent out an email many weeks ago to several trail groups, requesting work on sections of the Grand Enchantment Trail. What if I spent the month that I had planned hiking a long trail, to instead hang out on my favorite long trail, doing sawing and lopping? I wouldn’t be putting in many miles, and the scenery wouldn’t change as often, but I would get plenty of exercise and be outdoors. I got permission from the USFS to work, through NMVFO, and here I am.

Burma Road to Shipment Trailhead is very rough, and I’m glad an entire trail crew did not have to drive on it

The last time I was at this trailhead was in 2021, as part of my MRT adventure, adding a section of the GET to return home

Lopping begins just past a private in-holding, and soon brush starts to get thick, but the tread is fairly visible.

After a few hundred feet of lopping, I stop brushing and begin hiking to the first possible water source in a drainage, now dry. Hiking towards the next water source at Myer Spring, darkness falls before reaching my goal, and I set up camp.

Grand Enchantment Trailwork 2024 Journal Index

My original plan to resume a hike on the Gila X Loop fell through. But I had a crazy idea: spend a month doing trailwork on the Grand Enchantment Trail in the Apache Kid Wilderness.