The Bible tells us to listen to the Land and the Animals… I have found the Wilderness is of kinship to my heart.  As my creator designed the Wilderness to teach us of his goodness, teachings, and power.

Job 12:7-10 NLT
[7] “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. [8] Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. [9] For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord. [10] For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.

Wilderness is a place that speaks to many individuals though most will never experience its peace…. An experience God certainly allowed me to find on this adventure in New Mexico.  I had left the Grand Canyon Village after work at the Visitor Center.  Jessica had stopped by to take a walk with me and see me off on this adventure.  Soon after I began my drive, I was already being packed and ready to go!  It was already late in the evening, and the sun soon set as I drove through Flagstaff, Arizona.  I fueled up in  Flagstaff and continued onward… Driving through Holbrook, Arizona, and Alpine, Arizona, before entering New Mexico around Midnight.  Before I knew it, I was driving through the little town of Alma, New Mexico, the peaks of the Mogollon Mountains far above me.  I drove until I turned off the interstate and found myself shifting into a lower gear as I came down a single-lane mountain road.  The ghost town of Mogollon, which is an old mining town, was quiet.  The town runs into a dirt Forest Service road not too far after you see the last house.

By this time, 1:00am was coming closer, and I maneuvered my Jeep up the curvy dirt Forest Service Road.  Climbing slowly over rocks and through dips, over patches of Ice, and finally to the Mogollon Crest Trail Head. The Trailhead sits high up with views for a long distance away.  A small outhouse sitting high above where civilization tends to prefer.  The temperature was well below freezing and frost covered everything by morning.  My well-loved Thermarest 0°F Mummy Bag smells well-used, as always, and is not well-cleaned.  I awoke to a frigid morning and absolute silence… To my joy, I was alone in experiencing this wilderness!

I began my walk after packing my Hyperlite Backpack and locking my Jeep.  Much of the Mogollon Crest Trail was covered in snow.  Not deep snow but a few inches.  Enough to dampen and keep my boots cold. As I walked I came across Bear Prints in the snow, a beautiful reminder of the solitude I was in…  The trees were barren and the dead and down trees were bountiful.  I climbed over many of them as I made my way in the snow.  Soon I was high enough in elevation to see my route on the crest ahead of me.  The views around me became solidified in my head as a favorite experience in this life.  God has allowed me to walk this trail and climb this mountain.  Take in the seconds in this Wild and quiet place.  I stopped to enjoy the views and have a snack… I had purchased some Freeze Dried Sour Skittles on a trip to Prescott a week or so back with Jessica.  After my snack and along the way, I came to an area where someone had left a Silkie Arborist Saw and some food Trash from a camp sometime in the past.  I ended up dropping a location pin on my Avenza Map so I could pack the items out the next day.  Along the Mogollon Crest Trail, I walked past the base of the highest Mountain in the Mogollon Range… Whitewater Bald.  My goal for this trip was the Summit and experience of Mogollon Baldy, which lay miles ahead.  I continued walking, and the water in my Hydration Reservoir had frozen in the Bladder Tube. As I hiked on.. the sun slowly thawed it out, and I drank from it and the Nalgene water bottle on and off.  After around fourteen miles I found myself at the Summit of Mogollon Baldy and the old Fire Lookout and Cabin that are on its summit as well. I took some time to rest on the summit and find where I would camp here. Eating some Salt Stick Tablets and taking in the inspiring and incredible views of Wild New Mexico! 

I soon decided to pitch my tent on a peak on the saddle of the Mogollon Baldy.  The Mogollon Crest Trail runs next to my camp and directly to the summit.  I was enamored by the feelings of solitude God let the Gila Wilderness bring me.  I ate dinner and photographed the Sunset.  The silence and desolation of this place speak to a God who could create something so impactful and beautiful.  The views of the land below and the Ranges far speak to the reflections and lessons possible here… The Mogollon Range, desolate and inspiring…. Teaching mankind that God is who made this Wild Land, a place to reflect who he is and whom he wants us to be.  A Mountainous Wild that allows us peace when we worship here.

The Mogollon is a reflection of my creator’s glory and goodness… It is only with God’s Allowance that I have climbed these mountains and had these experiences…
It will only be by his continued allowance that I will stand atop more summits and experience more of the beautiful world and its wild places.
All of these experiences, Photographs, and words are to glorify his doing and being.
All of the mental and physical restoration, the rejuvenation of my spirit and confidence.  The healing of mental fatigue found in these places of wild… These are all by the grace of Hosana and to glorify my King.
I do not deserve this life and I am completely in awe of your goodness.
Let us not focus on what was but what is, and not our doings but the credit that is deserved in the highest of positions.  Everything good is in God our Father.  These are the reflections of my adventures allowed by Him… My time walking to Gila Wilderness’s Mogollon Baldy and Camping on its saddle. 

Once the sun rose I looked out of my tent to a beautiful sunrise. The isolation and emotion of the land act as an alarm clock that works better than anything man-made. I packed my camp up and started my walk back to the Trailhead.  Soon to climb over many down trees, walk in the snow once more, enjoy a burger in Alma, New Mexico, and before I know… I will be home to my soon-to-be wife….  As I look back now, the frigid wild range of the Mogollon grasped me….  A place I have never felt so wild before.  A Range that allows you to hear your thoughts, feel the power of God through the dirt, snow, peaks, and silence.  A Wilderness Walk by God’s Grace.

-Sky