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Activities during the Gila Regional Fly-in at Reserve, NM Sept 2023

Fun Flying Task and Frisco Box Hike during the Gila Regional Fly-in at Reserve, NM (T16), September 1,2,3 2023

If you have not done so, please register for the 2023 Gila Regional Fly-in first.

Flying Task

A fun flying task will be held over the Gila Regional Fly-in at Reserve Airport (T16), this Labor Day weekend. This will be the third time we have conducted this task. There is no fee for this activity. No need to register for this activity either, just add your name, passengers, airports overflown on the form that will be under the shade structure at the Reserve Airport. Any questions, contact jeff_trike@nmpilots.org The details are as follows:

Contest starts Friday morning and ends Saturday at dinner time.

For each of the Gila Area Airstrips you overfly (Reserve, Jewett Mesa, Negrito, Rainy Mesa, Beaverhead, MeOwn, Sacaton, Glenwood, Double Circle) you get one entry to a raffle.

Overflight is all that is needed. Landing is not required.

Task completion is based the honor code, no photo or GPS verification needed. If you can't trust a pilot, who can you trust.

Any passengers (including dogs) on the flight can separately enter the raffle.

Winners will be chose at random. The more airstrips you overfly, the better your odds. Prize is your choice of an item from the NMPA apparel collection.

2023 Winners below, Brandon Fryar (represented by his plane), Elizabeth Hunke (left), Ziva the dog (held by owner Marcia Gamino).

Frisco Box Hike

I first became aware of the "Frisco Box" on a flight during the 2022 Reserve Fly-in. A deep narrow canyon with vertical rock walls emerged from the west. It was a looked like a slot canyon with 500 foot walls. At the bottom of the canyon was the San Francisco River, which continues downstream past the towns of Reserve and Glenwood, before turning west to merge with the Gila River in Arizona. If you have time, check out the canyon from the air on your way into Reserve.

I mentioned this canyon at dinner and the locals immediately knew the place I had spotted. The "Frisco Box". John Pierson said it was an impressive and beautiful canyon to hike through. Maybe we could do something next year.

I called up John in August and he graciously agreed to organize a hike to the "Box" during our upcoming Gila Regional Fly-in. We will leave after lunch on Saturday and be back by dinner time. With the help of some friends from the Reserve area, John will arrange ground transportation from the Reserve Airport to the the trailhead and back.

Check out the links below to help you prepare for the hike and give you some ideas of what you are getting into. The trail is described as moderately difficult and "the most beautiful hike in New Mexico". Note that you will get your feet wet. Bring a small daypack with a water bottle, snacks, some spare socks, and warm clothing. It is about 2 miles from the trail head to the entrance of the "Box" and another 1.8 miles along the bottom of the Box canyon. Since we will need to be back in time for dinner, we will probably hike in about 2 hours then return, retracing our path to the trailhead. You can find the trailhead on Google Earth at latitude = 33.7879, longitude = -108.771503.

If you want join us on the hike, please register by clicking the "RSVP for Frisco Box" button on the upper right so we can get a headcount to help arrange for ground transportation. Don't forget to click "Next" to complete your registration. There will be no fee for this activity. Any questions, contact jeff_trike@nmpilots.org

  New Mexico Meanders
  US Forest Service
  All Trails

Update 1 (August 23) John Pierson informed me that he will not be able to lead us on the hike. The trail is well marked and I would be comfortable with us doing the hike ourselves. I am working on arranging ground transportation.

Update 2, (August 26) It looks like we will have a USFS Forest Ranger guide us on the hike. Brad Gable has offered to provide some ground transportation as well. If you are driving to Reserve and can help out with transportation, please contact me.

Update 3, (August 28) USFS Ranger Rick Guffy will be providing transportation to the Frisco Box trailhead for this hike, although we will be doing the hike by ourselves. I plan on hiking in for 2 hours and returning back to the cars. If you feel you have hiked enough, you can stop at any point and we will meet you on the way back. Please register by click the "RSVP for Frisco Box" button on the upper right so we can arrange enough vehicles.

-- Jeff