Whitewater Creek
September 15-16, 2025
Lately scrolling through the photos on my iPad just makes me sad. There are so many photos of me and my friends crossing streams, posing by waterfalls, or soaking in tiny pools scattered throughout the Gila. But this summer, many of those special places were bone dry, even after the monsoon. I put out the SOS for a much-needed water hike. Over a beer at Open Space Brewery, Ken and Dennis hatched a plan to hike Whitewater Creek. Then we learned that Miguel and his friend Jeff were doing the same hike the same day as us, so we had a quorum!
It was a long drive with an early start, so we were delighted to discover "Cowboy Coffee", a new business in downtown Glenwood. They're open seven days a week, with a varied (and highly entertaining) menu.
Whitewater Creek is the most reliable stream in the area, and it was running clear and strong after a couple of recent rains fueled by backwash from tropical storms.
The trail wanders along the creek, on a series of crumbling walkways, stone stairs, log bridges and seriously overbuilt metal walkways.
After such a dry summer, it does the heart good to walk beside a galloping stream with countless waterfalls and jade green pools!
Although the trail only gains about 600' on its way to the old power plant, there is a lot of up-and-down.
There are also enough tight corners and steep drop-offs to excite the agoraphobes among us.
Well-worn sign at the junction with the Gold Dust Trail
The streamside vegetation is the usual mix of willows, gambel oak, Arizona sycamores and enormous Fremont cottonwoods. This robust Ponderosa pine was a standout.
Colorful leaves in the stream are a preview of fall weather!
About 2½ miles out, we reached the confluence with South Fork Whitewater Creek at the site of the old Whitewater Creek Power Plant. A nearby sign notes that it used both water and wood to supply power to the mines in Mogollon. While we were eating our lunches at a campsite in a grove of Ponderosa pines, Miguel and Jeff popped out of the woods, having just returned from an upstream hike to Angel's Roost.
Jeff guided us to the location of the old power plant, on a bench above the confluence.
Dennis and Miguel exploring the old power plant foundation.
We were captivated by this elaborately finned cylinder, which Dennis correctly identified as a "stator". A stator is the stationary part of an electric motor or generator, consisting of coils or windings mounted on an iron core, designed to create a magnetic field.
The Whitewater Power Plant was obviously a very substantial operation, as evidenced by this elaborate stone wall supporting the massive cement pad. I was unable to find any additional information online. Dennis put the question to ChatGPT, which returned a frightening amount of detail before warning Dennis that he had exhausted his quota for the day.
The Whitewater Creek Powerplant was hydroelectric plant was designed and constructed in the early 1900s by mining engineers E. Gybbon Spilsbury and John M. Sulley, to supply power to the Fannie Hill/Mogollon mining operations near Mogollon, New Mexico. The installation included a transmission line across the Mogollon ridgeline from the Whitewater Creek site to the mill, along with a water pipeline, lime kiln, narrow-gauge track, and mountain roads. The Whitewater Creek hydro plant was part of the modernization of the Mogollon mining district, which produced millions of dollars of gold and silver. The plant enabled local milling, reducing the need to haul ore long distances. Around 1911, the Whitewater Creek plant was replaced by a more efficient oil-burning electrical plant at Fannie Hill.
Stone cellar near the power plant.
We saw very few wildflowers on this hike, so I appreciated this colorful pinewoods geranium.
Toothleaf goldeneye (left), and goldeneye with a fly (right).
The five of us made a beeline for Cowboy Coffee, where we relaxed on the patio with a nice cold drink.
Then Dennis headed for a night of camping on Sacaton Mesa — something we had planned weeks ago in celebration of our 19th anniversary. Sacaton Mesa is a high, broad, gently sloping meadow on the doorstep of the Mogollon Mountains. It was a wonderfully peaceful night, with a cool breeze and a dazzling Milky Way.
We lingered over our coffee and cocoa in the morning, while a high altitude research balloon drifted overhead.
Returning to Whitewater Creek, for the first — and possibly last — of the year. At least I got one in!
