The Catwalk

Well off we went once again on a hike way back into tin buck too to view some wonderous sights and look at the history of this land called New Mexico... amazing. We went 63 miles west of Silver City to the Gila National Forest by Glenwood. The park has built suspension bridges of every kind way up in the air in the middle of the old mining country. I am a rock hound from the word go, due to a father who loved to  take us on outings digging in the earth, examining rocks, breaking them open and looking at the substances inside (minerals, precious gems, etc.) This country was full of every imaginable substance you could name. Mined for silver and gold, copper and turquoise. I know I will have re up my memory on geology again. We entered a box canyon which was filled with waterfalls and green blue waters pouring forth. The water is at a low level right now. People were fishing and swimming but during certain times of the year the water rushes through these canyons rising at levels that reach the catwalks and floods below. The bird life, butterflies, and the disedous trees were beautiful in this area. We loved every minute. We came upon crystals of varying sizes, spots of turquoise but soon ran out of town. Poor bosty was bushwalked and her feet were raw so we came back!




The Catwalk, a National Recreation trail along the canyon of Whitewater Creek, is a unique feature of southwestern New Mexico. Located five miles east of Glenwood (take Hwy. 180 to 174), it presents an always vibrant journey along a path reflecting the region's mining history. The canyon was used as a hideout by both Geronimo and Butch Cassidy.

The Catwalk follows the path of the pipeline built in the 1890s to deliver water to the mining town of Graham. Workmen who had to enter the canyon by crawling atop the narrow pipeline named the route the "Catwalk."

In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt the Catwalk as a recreation area for the Gila National Forest. The Forest Service built the metal walkway in the 1960s. Parts of the trail have been rebuilt several times since then due to the flooding of Whitewater Creek.