Another beautiful 10 AM morning. I drove down to the trail to Gilita Creek (I think), found a walking stick left for the next person (me) at the trailhead sign, and I started walking up the trail. After a ¼ mile or so, the trail disappeared at a fish barrier. I was confused as Willow Creek has a fish barrier, but this wasn’t Willow Creek? Moving above the barrier the creek widened, had deeper pools and runs, and I spent 30-45 minutes working upstream, fishing all likely fish holding spots, with no success.
Suddenly, I heard a truck on a nearby road, and then I saw it move by. Crap. I was two hundred yards on Willow Creek above the fish barrier. Crawling up to the road, literally, I could see my parked van down the road. Shit. I wasn’t on LLLL creek and had no idea, nor the energy to get there if I did. Willow Creek had beaten me, so time to give up on reaching the highest level of the WNTC. I’d have to get my Gila Trout on another trip. Two hours out to Reserve, again, and time to figure out my route to Arizona.
Disappointed, I kept remembering the video of the two founders of the Tenkara Rod Company who caught Gila Trout in New Mexico. They have a series of videos of their quests for the WNTC and they caught their New Mexico Gila Trout in an area with much more water than I was finding. Watching their video again I realized that: 1) they fished from the Catwalk Recreation Area in New Mexico; and 2) that the Catwalk Recreation Area was only 30 miles from Reserve. AARRGGHH Number ????
The van made quick work of the road trip from Reserve to the Catwalk Recreation Area near Glenwood. I recognized the parking lot from their video and there was enough time in the day to walk the Catwalk, go down several stories of stairs to the creek (Whitewater Creek, the same one I tried getting to from the North), fish, climb back up, walk out, and drive away.
I got my gear on and started walking the trail to the Catwalk. After about 50 yards and two sitting, resting stops, I realized that I would not be able to walk 1 to 1.5 miles, go down flights of stairs, fish, hike up the stairs and 1 to 1.5 miles back to the van. Not today after using my energy up on Willow Creek. Not on this trip. (Edit: It turns out the the stairs down to the river are only 1/4 mile from the trailhead. Still, No Way I could make it back up the stairs).
To complete the highest level of the WNTC I would have to come back another time to catch my Gila Trout in New Mexico. When I get stronger and healthier, I can fly to New Mexico, rent a car and hotel room, drive to the Catwalk Recreation Area, walk in, catch a trout, get out, and go home having completed the Challenge. Or better yet, I can come back in the winter or next fall and fish for the Arizona and New Mexico Trout Challenges. I just have to come back another time. It will be another adventure. Until Then.
Tight Lines!