Iron Creek- Black Range, Gila National Forest

Iron Creek

If you look through the posts on this blog, you'll notice that many of places I've written about over the years have been  burned, are burning right now or are about to be burned by the Silver Fire.It's very sad, and despite what some people think, completely inevitable. This fire was  never a question of"if" just "when." Most of the places that I've written about in the Black Range, I haven't just visited once,but multiple times. This was our forest stomping grounds for camping, hiking, fishing and the occasional backpack. I'm so glad these peaks,forests and canyons were such an important part of my life for the last 15 years. I take joy in the beauty that was there, and that will return slowly- perhaps too slowly for my lifetime- for future generations to enjoy. We have camped at Upper Gallinas( at least 4 times), Iron Creek(2 times), Railroad Canyon, Carbonate Creek( at least 6 times)  Spring Canyon and Sawpit Canyon. We  have hiked over  all the trails:  Tierra Blanca Creek, Trujillo Canyon, Silver Creek( Grandview Trail), Sawyer's Peak,  South Percha, Drummond Canyon,Spring Canyon, Railroad Canyon, Gallinas Canyon, East Railroad Canyon, Hillsboro Peak, Hillsboro Peak Bypass, Crest Trail, Holden Prong, Ladrone Trail, Water Canyon, Middle Percha, Sawpit Canyon, Carbonate Creek, Mineral Creek, North Percha, Cave Creek(FT 307), Rabb Park, Noonday Canyon,North Fork Mimbres, Mimbres, Powderhorn Ridge Trail, Black Canyon, North Seco , Morgan Creek, Circle Seven Creek, Turkey Run, Diamond Creek, Mcknight Canyon and many old mine roads and other little side roads to nowhere.  I'm still hoping that it won't burn into Mcknight,Mimbres or North Seco Canyons.( Update: it did burn into the upper reaches of Mcknight, Mimbres and Black Canyon. It burned through a section of North Seco as well.) Time will tell. If it continues further north I may be writing about all memories  I have of the northern half of the Black Range as well. I leave off with a few words about  Iron Creek. I remember my first time, as a vacationer from Texas, driving on the winding, spectacular NM 152  and looking down  at the cool water of the creek rushing beside the highway and thinking I wanted to be part of this up and down, wild place that was so, so different from the flat urban expanse of Houston. Our first winter after moving here we drove up to the campground and slid around in the snow, using the same disks we had bought for playing at White Sands. We tried to make it a regular thing, coming up in the winter. One of the last times we sat in camping chairs drinking cocoa as a snowflakes started to fall. Ah well, here are some photos from happier, wetter times.

Emory Pass

 Emory Pass

Gallinas Creek

Gallinas Creek