7 minute read
Behind the Trails
The Gila Backcountry Horsemen of New Mexico
By Audra Labert (she/her) CDTC Communications Manager
It’s easy to take a well-maintained trail for granted. From rocky alpine to seeping lowlands, the work that goes into making public trails passable and enjoyable takes place over many miles and much planning. Non-profit organizations work with government agencies, partners, and volunteers to form a network to maintain trails on public lands. The Continental Divide landscape encompasses five states and thousands of miles of trails, and this year CDTC partnered with Gila Back Country Horsemen of New Mexico (GBCHNM or Gila BCH) in the Gila Wilderness to address post-fire and flooding trail maintenance. Their roots date back to the early 1970s, and the Gila BCH has been contributing to a legacy of stewardship and service in the Gila Wilderness.
Melissa Green is one of the Project Coordinators for the Gila BCH, a chapter of the national organization Back Country Horsemen of America with state and local chapters throughout the country. Green works year-round to plan and execute maintenance projects in the Gila, coordinate volunteers, and collaborate with partners to keep trails open and maintained.
“I like working with other organizations because they each bring in a different experience or perspective. We can learn from each other,” Green said.
The Gila Wilderness is unique because of the regular flooding that occurs on some of the trails. Seasonality, flooding potential, and accessibility are factors that help Green decide Gila BCH priorities for trail projects from season to season. Part of keeping trails open is also making sure people use them consistently. Several trails in the Gila Wilderness that were previously impassable were reopened through the work of the Gila BCH, and now the organization is working to put the word out.
“That’s the whole reason I created the Gila Trails website, to encourage people out onto the trails,” said Green. She lamented having poured work into
some trails during her previous career with the U.S. Forest Service that fell into disuse and eventually became indistinguishable again, due to the public not knowing the trail was reopened.
Access to remote, backcountry trail projects is a joint effort in the Gila, made possible–in part– by a Montana-based packer who loves the backcountry of the Gila Wilderness. Russell Lewis began visiting the Gila in 2015 when he first packed stock through the area for a documentary film called 500 Miles, part of a program called Heroes and Horses.
“We had eighteen fresh mustangs and took them on a pack trip with combat veterans along the Continental
Divide Trail through Southern New Mexico,” Lewis said, “And I was helping with the packing, trails, logistics, and camping during the film-making.”
This project was Green and Lewis’s first collaboration, and she shared her knowledge of the area and assisted Lewis and the Heroes and Horses crew throughout their travels. Lewis gave a glowing account of the help Green provided and added that he couldn’t have done it without her knowledge and experience of the Gila Wilderness. Afterward, Lewis began traveling to the Gila to work alongside Green every spring, partly to give back.
“It’s also a way to get into the backcountry in the spring when the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas in Montana are covered in snow,” Lewis admitted, chuckling.
Since retiring as a school teacher, Lewis began ranching and packing full-time, and he and his wife Sandra live on a ranch in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front near Augusta, Montana. Lewis also travels from Canada to New Mexico to teach packing and stockmanship, and teaching is another reason for the annual Gila migration.
“Packing is a dying art for sure,” said Green, dreading the day when packers might become even more scarce. Lewis also recognizes that the skill is less popular than it was historically, and his teaching experience is now put to use teaching stockmanship and packing workshops during part of his time in New Mexico.
“Most packers are over seventy years old, and the younger folks have full-time jobs. They can only go out once a year, maybe,” said Lewis. “Plus, it’s expensive to have stock and is time-consuming. It’s something you have to love and want to do.”
Lewis doesn’t anticipate the practice growing much, but he also doesn’t see it dying out. In designated Wilderness, stock use is not simply a nostalgic practice; it’s essential. Mechanized technology is prohibited in Wilderness, meaning work is done via human and literal horsepower.
Packers provide stock support for projects and pack in gear and for a growing number of volunteers. Green sees a shift to more hiking participants as a way to bolster support for the organization and educate trail users. Hikers can learn about stock use and their benefits, and packers can interact more with hikers.
Green recalled one instance of a particularly wet, muddy hike into a project area. The hikers were following the packer support, and some grumbling began about divots that the stock’s hooves were creating, making walking in the mud even more laborious.
“I took it as an opportunity to educate the hikers and shared with them some of the benefits of having stock travel these lesser-used trails,” said Green. “I’ve seen cases where trails nearly disappear from infrequent use. When the stock go through, they pack down the loose soil on the trail, especially when it’s muddy. Over time, the surface is smoothed out, and the trail is nice and clear for hikers.”
A common thread between Lewis and Green is their dedication to a labor of love. Lewis has poured himself into preserving the art of packing, and both have a passion to preserve the Gila landscape. It’s a partnership grown out of mutual appreciation and fed by the desire to share the experience of the landscape.
“She would never talk about herself, so I’m going to,” Lewis shared about Green. He emphasized her relentless efforts to fundraise, plan projects, and recruit support for the Gila.
“Melissa is the driving force to keeping the Gila open,” Lewis added. “From desk work writing grants in the winter to taking trail crews out, she is easy to like, quick to smile, and people want to work because of her love for the Gila.”
There’s more work to do, and organizations like Gila BCH and CDTC both rely on maintaining a network of people who share a passion for the land and the desire to get their hands dirty. The energy and efforts of people like Green and Lewis are a testament to the impact even one person can have to preserve a landscape.-
Continental Divide Trail Coalition proudly partners with Gila Backcountry Horsemen of New Mexico. For more info about Gila BCH, visit: Gila Trails & Equines | Gila BCH. For trail information, learn more here: Gila Trail info | Gila Trails Info
Hiking into a project in the Gila Wilderness. Photo credit Haley Gamertsfelder.
