The Gila's Secrets: A Hiker Discovers New Mexico's Hidden Past

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The weathered footings of a washed-away bridge stand as silent sentinels on either side of the Tularosa River in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. Most hikers would turn back at this obstacle, but those who wade across discover something extraordinary—centuries-old petroglyphs etched into stone walls whisper stories from a distant past.

My journey along the Walking the Past Trail began with an easy-to-miss trailhead northeast of Reserve, NM. The three-mile round-trip hike presents two remarkable historical treasures. First, an authentic forest ranger cabin built in 1905 for just $50 stands as the last remnant of the original Tularosa Ranger Station. Walking through its modest doorway, I couldn't help but marvel at the lives of those early rangers who earned only $60 monthly while supplying their horses and equipment. These pioneers of conservation built trails, fought fires, and established the foundations of modern forest management.

Beyond the cabin lies the prize that draws most visitors—extensive petroglyph panels that require a river crossing to access. These aren't simple graffiti but complex symbols pecked into stone using primitive tools. Birds, anthropomorphic figures, animals, and geometric patterns cover the rock faces in a protected alcove. Unlike some more accessible sites, these remain remarkably free from modern vandalism, creating an intimate connection with those ancient artists who left their mark here centuries ago.

The petroglyphs raise fascinating questions: Were they purely artistic expression or practical communication? Did they record essential events, spiritual beliefs, or daily observations? While interpretive panels offer some insights, much remains mysterious, inviting visitors to form their connections with these enduring messages from the past.

Have you explored the hidden historical treasures of the Southwest? Please share your discoveries of ancient sites or historical landmarks in the comments below, and subscribe to join me on future adventures through America's remarkable landscapes and cultural heritage. Could you send us an email?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Okay, I'm at the Walking the Pass trailhead in
the Gila, just a little to thenortheast of Reserve, new Mexico
.
You can see me parking behind.
I drove past this initially,but it is the way because here's
the trailhead sign.
It's a three mile round triphike.
There is a note here that saysthe trail bridge over the river

(00:27):
has washed down the stream so Ihave to wade the river if I want
to get to the petroglyph panels, which is kind of what I'm here
for in the first place.
That was a couple of years ago,so I guess it's not been
replaced.
Still there's the old rangercabin right there.
Let's go check out the Walk inthe Past Trail here in the Gila

(00:50):
National Forest.
Hope you'll follow me.
I've got to the top of theridge line here.
I can see this ridge acrossfrom me.
The river must be down below.
There's a really cool littlebench here.
You can see the forest behindme, the Gila, and in front of me
.
Let's go down the hill and seewhat we can see.

(01:11):
First glimpse at the oldTularosa Ranger Station.
Looks like a log cabin that wasbuilt at this time in a lot of
other places in the UnitedStates.
Interesting, very interesting.
Let's get a closer look.
It only took me about 30minutes.

(01:31):
I feel like there's some panelson the other side of the cabin,
so let's take a look and seewhat they say.
Then we'll continue to thePetroglyphs.
Since we're on a walk into thepast, let's talk about this
ranger station cabin.
This is the last remainingbuilding of the Tularosa Ranger

(01:55):
Station called the DatilNational Forest in the early
20th century.
It cost $50 to build this in1905 for the first forest
rangers.
This is where they lived.
They were stationed here on theTularosa Ranger District.
We got Supervisor John Kerr,raymond Trujillo, forest Rangers

(02:20):
William Mundy, allen S Peckshortly after this cabin was
built.
The picture, but they dividedthis original name of the
National Forest of Adel.
Some places say we're insouthwestern New Mexico.
I think we're in west centralmyself.
It was transferred to ApacheNational Forest 1923 and Gila
1931.

(02:40):
Take a gander at this, guys.
In the past, $60 a month iswhat were paid these early
forest rangers.
They supplied their own horses,built fences, strung telephone
lines, fought forest fires,monitored logging activities,
administered grazing permits onthe natural forest system lands

(03:02):
Life in this remote area was achallenge.
System lands Life in this remotearea was a challenge.
Just an example.
Let's look at some photographsthat show different work that
they did Surveying.
They were building trails,building fences, managing the
resource.
This is an archaeological sitethey have restored this.
Talks about this on the nextpanel.
So don't take anything you findif you come down here.

(03:25):
There is a gate that you can goin over there, which I think
protects this area from grazing.
This area is grazed by cows.
There's natural range land forelk and deer and other range
type animals.
Now let's talk about therestoration.
In the 90s they were trying tonot lose this cabin because it
was degrading, falling down, itwas about to collapse.

(03:48):
So they restored it, excavated,documented the site as an
archaeological site At thatpoint it was almost a hundred
years old and discoveredartifacts that shed light on
life at the Ranger Stationduring the early 20th century
Quite a bit different thannowadays.
Using traditional materials andtechniques, as shown in the
photographs at the right, theywere able to preserve it in

(04:16):
traditional methods to get itback.
Some things they found here inthe picture old bottles, prince
Albert window, glass, ceramicshards, wooden knife handle,
horse tack nails Very cool.
Remember this is a historicalsite and it's protected by law.
Do not take anything that youfind.
Leave it where you found it.
So I'm standing inside theranger cabin.

(04:36):
This is pretty neat, y'allPretty neat.
I'm not sure if they hadwindows made from glass, they
may have had some other ways tocover up their windows.
But what do you think aboutlife In this place?
What an interesting thing tovisit.
You can see it doesn't have afoundation.

(04:59):
It's up on some rocks atintervals here, very cool and
the doorways are not super tall,but they're not super short
either.
Imagine the things theyexperienced out here in the
early 19th.
That was a long time ago andthey didn't have much to

(05:20):
entertain themselves.
So they probably worked a lotand then came home, ate a meal
and went to bed.
So right here in front of me youhave the remnants of the bridge
.
The bridge is still intact, butit came loose.
From these footings, similar towhat I saw at the catwalk
yesterday.
You have lots of deals where itcame loose.

(05:40):
This is the Tularosa River,which right now looks more like
a creek, but this is how youcross over to get to the
petroglyphs.
There's a little walking pathright here.
Plus, I have my hiking poles.
Today I did not yesterday whenI went to the catwalk, so I

(06:04):
should be able to film and notfall in the water.
I hope.
Yep, I did it.
We've got the footings.
Like I say right here, let's gocheck out these petroglyphs.
Look, there's a well-worn pathleading us there.
It is very windy today.

(06:25):
Hopefully you can hear me.
Let's take a look at thesepetroglyphs.
They're super cool.
So you have petroglyphs all overthe rocks here, bunches of
different shapes.
According to the panel, they'renot art.
In my mind, I can imagineartistic expression in a way,

(06:46):
because they have a style, a wayof being done, but with that in
mind, these were pecked intothe rock using other rocks or
animal bones or what have you,and because of that, they're

(07:07):
fragile and irreplaceable.
So don't harm them in any way,don't touch them, don't make a
rubbing.
The oils in our skin can causethem to erode prematurely or be
damaged, so let's not do that.
On this particular rock, you cansee several different things.
You have a figure that lookslike a bird, up higher on the

(07:29):
rock.
You have other animals, verycool.
Another angle of the same rockface.
Zoom out, got bird figures.
You have looks almost like anant head, but I think it's
something else, maybe a littlefigure.
Then you have some creatures upthe top, a spiral up there.
You've got some other things ontop of that rock.

(07:51):
So, yes, there's definitely astyle that individual
contributors did to make all ofthese.
But is it solely art?
No, I guess not.
I would say it's more along thelines of ancient writing.

(08:13):
A lot of the native languages,as far as I understand, are not
written, so they used symbols inthe past to denote different
things they saw in their world.
I believe the circle stands fora journey.
You have different figures uphere.
You have figures standingtogether over here.

(08:40):
There's all kinds of stuff thatyou can see in this little
alcove here, some way back upthere in the corner.
So cool.
These have no fence, nobarriers, so we need to be extra
careful when you're visitingthese to make sure that you

(09:04):
don't harm them and they'rearound for future generations.
Of course.
Where I come from in East Texas,there were native groups there
before Spanish and Europeansother Europeans moved into the
area, but there was no rockstrata for people to leave their
mark on.
This is one of the mostfascinating things about living

(09:27):
in the West now, really enjoy.
There's just so many here Idon't know if I can photograph
all of them in my short timehere, but this gives you an idea
of what I'm seeing.
Go further down the rock faceyou have several anthropomorphic
type figures.
You have some animal lookingfigures here Wow.

(09:53):
And then some over here Veryclose, very close.
And then some over here on thisrock Wow.
And then some over here veryclose, very close.
And then some over here on thisrock Wow Super cool.
Over time they have weathered,but considering I think they're
standing up pretty well, so I'mgonna eat a little snack and

(10:14):
head back.
Not sure if the recording isbetter or worse with the lapel
mic, so let's try something.
This is with the lapel mic,this is without the lapel mic.
Can you tell a difference?
Let me know I'm departing thepetroglyph area.

(10:36):
I guess this was known about,but they are rather remote.
I was rather surprised, andpleasantly so, that none of the
glyphs here were like I've seenat Chaco and El Morro and other
places where the glyphs actuallyhad graffiti intermixed with

(10:56):
them had graffiti intermixedwith them.
So I'm glad that was not thecase here.
It is a pretty good trail to getdown here.
It's about a mile and a half inand you can't really drive here
.
There is a road by the cabinarea that I'm sure is for
grazing access.
There's somebody's house overthere too, but this turned out

(11:21):
to be a pretty good day.
It is rather windy, though, soI think I'm going to skip
camping tonight.
I was going to camp out in theCosmic Campground, but I'll save
that for another time when theweather is a little more
favorable Not quite as cold atnight and not as windy during
the day.
It is super windy out there.

(11:43):
Okay, let's go back to the truck.
I'm about there at 2.67 miles.
Take a look at 2.67 miles.
Take a look at this view.
Wow, isn't that great.
Here's the National Forest infront of us to the north.
So pretty cool.
Interesting little gate there.

(12:05):
It's got a big weight on it.
I guess they have livestockthat comes through here.
That was toward the beginningof the hike, so I know I'm
getting back close to thevehicle.
Okay, I'm back at the truck.
It was windy out there, butwhat a great hike.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Let me know your favorite thingabout the hike.

(12:26):
Did you like seeing the sceneryand the terrain?
Did you like the about the hike?
Did you like seeing the sceneryand the terrain?
Did you like the cabin, or didyou like the petroglyphs, or did
you like all of it or acombination thereof?
Make sure you give a thumbs upso it gets out to other people
if you feel like this couldbenefit you from seeing more
videos.
I definitely appreciate thatand share this with your friends
.
Until next time, bye, bye.

(12:48):
Take a look at one of thesevideos over here.
Okay, bye.