Today was 15 tough miles consisting of around 80 river crossings of the Gila middle fork, numerous bushwhacks where the trail was washed out, soft sand, and rocks, rocks, rocks. Boulders, cobbles, gravel all work in harmony to twist my ankles and break my will. But even with all that this place is just beautiful. The canyon walls shoot straight up from the river while forested banks occupy the inner meanders.
We found Jordan hot springs and had it all to ourselves. What an amazing place! We soaked for an hour in the warm bathtub temperature water before continuing our way.
We saw a turkey today and what I think are frog eggs. They are ropes about 1/4 inch wide and many feet long swirling in the shallows. If you look carefully you can see little periodic dots which I think are the egg yolks. I also found a baby scorpion, and many fish about 14 inches long at the base of some falls.
Tonight I am seeing my first mosquitoes. We are still camping under the stars so I hope I don’t get too bit up. My bad ankle is doing amazingly well. It hurts but remains functional and tolerable. I am so happy, but I miss Barb (my wife) and Katie (my dog). I’m starting to shiver so time for sleep.