I spent most of today in the Library in the Town of Reserve, New Mexico. Caught up with my blog posts and heading back into the woods to pursue the elusive Gila Trout. Vigorous research was done in the library (writing down all the waters in New Mexico that have Gila Trout eligible for the Western Native Trout Challenge–about 10 places). It turns out that Whitewater Creek is only 40 miles away and has roads, paved roads to it. Looks like Willow Creek just got a challenger.
However, I learned that one should NEVER let Google Maps be your guide when traveling on wilderness roads and locations. Following Google Maps I drove all the way into Mogollon, a very interesting town, something out of a movie sci-fi plot. The buildings are all elevated above a water raceway which evidently fills in the winter with flash floods. A very interesting place.
So, Google Maps took me through the town of Mogollon and 6 miles up a very, very bad dirt road. My van should never had traveled the road. At the peak of the mountain, with a canyon hundreds of feet below the road, Google Maps proudly announced that I had made it to Whitewater Creek. What the Hell? Then, two motocross bikers passed me and gave me very quizzical looks as if to say “What the hell are you doing here?”
Backtracking back towards the town of Reserve, I switched to OsmAnd which I had just installed on my phone. OsmAnd uses your phone’s GPS and is active after Google Maps has quit. OsmAnd showed that Google Maps missed a turnoff 5 miles before entering the town of Magollon. The turnoff consisted of a very nice dirt road for several miles, leading to Whitewater Creek.
One thing that both Google Maps and OsmAnd do is plot the quickest route based on roads in their data bases. However, those roads may be good, 4 wheel drive, or even overgrown and not present anymore. It turns out the last leg of roads to Whitewater Creek are not passable by vehicles, even 4 wheel drives. AARRGGHH Too Many To Count.
I drove the 90 minutes back to Reserve, picked up some snacks, and then headed back out the Willow Creek to fish it hard the next day. I got into the campground just after dark and collapsed into the back of the van. Tomorrow will be the day that I get a photo of a Gila Trout. No Biggee!
Tight Lines!