The Gila Wilderness is the ancestral home of the Mimbres and Chiricahua Apache, and the world’s first federally-protected Wilderness Area, protecting it from any development or extractive industry. This trip will focus on the ecosystem and incredible species diversity. Eight artists will hike together, enjoying hot springs and discovering the rich cultural history and biological diversity of the world’s first wilderness area. We will visit with local naturalists and advocates for the area. Our route will travel to some of the Gila’s famous hot springs and dwellings and include a day of self-directed exploration and retreat.
Located in southwestern New Mexico, the Gila is a diverse forested ecosystem that falls in a transition zone between the Chihuahuan Desert to the south and the Rocky Mountain region to the north. Filled with Ponderosa pine, Quaking aspen, pinyon-juniper woodland, the lowlands host desert communities and deep slot canyons. Since reintroduction in 1988, several packs of the endangered Mexican Wolf roam the forest, as well as Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, elk and the largest population of Mexican Spotted Owls.
Participants: Nina Barnett, Robert Beam, Lindsay Clark, Katy Davidson, Emily Detrick, Nina Elder, Eduardo Gabrieloff, Miki Saito
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