The Gila River and its three forks; the West, the Middle, and the East; are the main artery of the New Mexico drainage basin west of the continental divide. Gathering runoff from all its tributaries, it meanders its way through southwest New Mexico crossing into Arizona west of Virden. Once in Arizona, it heads north, then west, then northwest resting in San Carlos Lake before continuing its journey. It then zigs and zags and flips and flops across the state in a general westernly direction. It collects and slows in numerous lakes and reservoirs. It is diverted in canals and pumped from wells. At the end of its 649 mile trip, it meets the mighty Colorado River just east of Yuma and surrenders whatever water it has retained.

This group of images was captured on the middle fork of the Gila upstream from the trailhead near the Gila River Visitors Center. The trail is easy to follow but a bit overgrown in places. A short ways in, there is a hot springs at river's edge near the trail which is easy to access. The day I hiked there was a fairly hot day so I decided to forgo a jump in the warm pools. However, the river water was crystal clear and cool. Inviting, but will also leave for another day. The river flow was on the low side and the numerous crossings were fairly easy with some caution as a swim could be a bit devastating for my camera equipment.