Customer Reviews

Gila Descending: A Southwestern Journey

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This is a story about guy crazy enough to load himself, a dog and an errant tom-cat into a canoe and paddle down the New Mexico's Gila River. A well-told tale that includes near-fatal upsets, suspense, hilarity and terrific insight into the characters that live around one of America's last truly wild rivers. A good read.

"Gila Descending" by M.H. Salmon is as great a spiritual trip, as it is a river trip. Salmon's canoe route down the Gila along with his dog and..."tom cat" make for great adventure, and self-exploration.

Sometimes, the simplicity of things becomes more exciting than all the "special affects" or, "shock and awe" we usually like to inject into our lives. Author, M.H. Salmon understands this concept and imparts that knowledge to the reader through this delightful book.

A great, and simple read.

GILA DESCENDING is a relaxed and entertaining account of the author's three-week, 220-mile descent of the Gila River from near its source in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico to about 80 miles into Arizona. This stretch of the Gila is one of the longest undammed, free-running stretches of river in the lower 48 states. The trip was taken in 1983, during a spring run-off of unusually high water. Because the Gila has been spared from much development over the last quarter-century, the book is not badly outdated. (If anything, the Gila is now healthier, more natural, than it was in 1983.)

The author M.H. Salmon descended the river first by foot and then, for most of the journey, by canoe, accompanied by a hound and a tomcat. He and his "crew" encounter a number of entertaining mishaps and adventures. Interspersed throughout the account of the trip itself are digressions and ruminations on a number of subjects, such as conservation, hunting and fishing, the "Myth of the West", and the Apache Indians that once ruled the region.

As an example of these digressions, and the author's style, consider these comments in response to the charge that conservationists and wilderness buffs are more concerned about land, habitat, and animals than about people: "I think this is largely true. It is certainly true in my case. In an affluent society like ours, where abject poverty is, with rare exceptions, a thing of the past, most of the difficulties we accrue in our lives, from penury to abortive romances, are our own foolish fault. Options exist for our recovery and revival. Yet land, habitat, the creatures of the wild, these have only such options as we allow. People rule the natural world today and everywhere you look we've made a hash of it. A rare gem like the pristine Gila only serves to balance otherwise overzealous commercial interests. In juxtaposition, a free-flowing stream may be the most civilized item within our realm."

As this passage suggests, Salmon is somewhat of a maverick. Yet he is knowledgeable, he has a sense of self-deprecating humor, and he writes well enough. To be sure, GILA DESCENDING is not as well-written and lyrical as John Graves' "Goodbye to a River" (an obvious model, to which Salmon pays homage), but that probably is an unfair comparison. At least the Gila, unlike Graves' Brazos River in Texas, still runs free, and if you can't enjoy it in person, reading GILA DESCENDING is a mighty fine substitute.

This is a remarkable book for a variety of reasons. At first glance it is what it appears to be: A story of a 200 mile journey down the Gila River in New Mexico in a canoe. Together with a lovable, mixed breed hound named Rojo and a most unlikely feline Tomcat of questionable lineage, the author floated and occasionally portaged a jewel of a natural river. In a reader friendly style that is a joy to read the author treats the reader to an unforgettable description of his leisurely river trip. If his stories of fishing (check out the catfish, his favorite!), learning to paddle a canoe in both calm and the ever thrilling whitewater, his being mistaken for a "narc" in Duncan, Arizona, and his encounter with illegal aliens don't peak your interest then the antics of Rojo and the Tomcat will make the price of the book worthwhile. Their antics are equal parts humor, exasperation, and love and are an indispensable part of the story.

There is another part of the book that kind of sneaks up on you and leaves an impression long after the book is finished. Salmon is the type of writer, very rare these days, that writes in a manner that makes you feel you are in the boat with hm and the two of you are discussing matters such as the environment much as old friends would do. Issues such as the importance of Wilderness areas; the effort to save Wild areas as a philosophical question rather than an economic one; and the possibility that a person can have an informed environmental conscience and still pay dues to the National Rifle Association are just a few of the thoughtful subjects interspersed throughout the book. Salmon writes in a down to earth yet professional manner tht educates, entertains, and leaves one feeling they have just visited with an old friend. His love of the wilderness is evident and his musings on how to preserve it are sometimes subtle, sometimes irritating, but always from the heart and a joy to read. What a remarkable book!

Mr Salmon bundles a large helping of wit and detail into this interesting hike and float down the Gila country!

His observations on his cat and dog companions are hilarious!

The information about the country valuable for those planning to go there.

Really wants me, a kayaker and hiker, to try it myself. But I'm up here in Idaho tied down to work and obligations. Someday maybe! This book is the next best thing.

"Gila Descending" is a story about the author's hike and canoe trip down the Gila River in New Mexico and Arizona. Accompanied by his dog, and at times "that damn cat," the author travels 220 miles of the river in order to see it in its entirety before a proposed dam is built in one of the most beautiful canyons along the river.

The similarities between this book to "Goodbye to a River" by John Graves are many. Both involved a canoe trip down a river that was threatened with proposed dams, both included a solo passenger with a dog, and the authors in both delve into topics such as history, the ethics of hunting, wilderness preservation, and self-reflection. But Salmon's book brings plenty of fresh material and insight to the genre of Western outdoor literature. Salmon shares the wonderful experience of hiking and paddling through the Gila Wilderness and beyond in a narrative form that is interesting and easy to follow. He also provides some very interesting and informative insights into topics such as wilderness preservation, fishing (particularly catfish), hunting, Western development, and Southwestern history.

The book was written in 1986, but the issues Salmon discusses are just as alive and relevant today.

Bottom line: if you enjoyed Graves' classic "Goodbye to a River," or you love the Southwest in general, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

What a wonderful book! Salmon captures the beauty of a place (the upper Gila) and a time (the early eighties). He mixes the natural progression of a river story with lessons about life zone transitions, the Apache, fishing, and many other topics. He attempts to find a common ground between what he calls "consumptive" and "non-consumptive" conservation types, a distinction which many can appreciate. His descriptions of the river and its environs are crystal clear in my mind and spot on.

Having just visited southwestern New Mexico and hiked several day trips in and around the Gila Wilderness, I looked forward with anticipation to reading "Gila Descending." In the end, I was a bit disappointed. I didn't much like the author as he portrayed himself. He's a self-described "houndsman" and coyote hunter, and he never lets you forget it. I have no problem with hunting for meat or to maintain an ecological balance, but M.H. Salmon clearly loves to pursue and kill coyotes (whose pelts he does sell, at least). Nevertheless, his love of hunting was a turn-off for me.

I also disliked his writing style. He informs his readers that he writes for outdoors magazines, so clearly he is able to sell his writing, but I found his style to be affectedly "down-homey"; it didn't ring true to me.

It was also irresponsible of him to bring a cat along with him on this trip. The cat could easily have wandered off, and in one instance, the cat nearly drowned when the canoe capsized with the cat leashed to the struts. But, like nearly everything else in the author's life (according to irritating little hints dropped throughout), he had a truly ambivalent relationship with the cat.

Salmon is not good at describing the landscape and the countryside. I did not come away from the book with a clear, well-developed picture of the rugged landscape of the upper Gila.

Though Salmon reports that the Gila disappears well short of its historic mouth at the Colorado River, he cuts his trip short of the de facto "end" of the river. I kept waiting for him to discuss the river's demise in the irrigated deserts of Arizona, but he didn't.

The book, divided into three sections, would benefit from more maps. This is one map of the entire drainage at the beginning of the book, but a more detailed map of each of the individual sections would have been a welcome addition.

While I have gone into great detail about why I was disappointed by the book, it was by no means a waste of time. The trip was interesting and depicted with enough sense of adventure that I'd like to try it myself some time. Furthermore, the author's heart is certainly in the right place when it comes to enjoying and defending the Gila in particular and wilderness in general. So, all in all, the book's a good--but not a great--read.