June in the White Mountains
June 15-26,2026
West Baldy
We chose the right day for West Baldy. It was clear with a few puffy clouds all day, with a temperature in the low 80s and a cool breeze to compensate. Starting up the trail, these well-worn Gila hikers were amazed by the gentle grade and the cushy tread of of packed earth and pine straw. The forest is dark and dense — mostly tightly packed Doug firs — with an impossible number of downed logs just off the trail. Someone is doing some earnest trail maintenance — with hand tools since this is a wilderness area! The tea-colored West Fork Little Colorado River is never far from the trail. Time and again, the forest yields to breathtaking alpine meadows. Summer wildflowers carpet the slopes: Lewis flax, yarrow, Thompson's geranium, penstemon, columbine, shrubby cinquefoil and monument flowers as tall as a person! The Lewis flax here are almost purple. Thompson's geranium Bee look-alike Unusual deep orange western wallflower Arizona columbine Higher up, the firs give way to perky Engelmann spruce, so dense that you have to weave your way between them. xxx Buoyed by the spectacular views and the easy tread, we logged 8&12frac; miles, turning back just below 10,000 feet.
