The Gila complex. Roughly 3.3 million acres of the Gila National Forest—the sixth-largest national forest in the country—spanning 5,500 to 10,895 feet on Whitewater Baldy. Everything from cedar-juniper flats and ponderosa parkland to dense mixed conifer, spruce-fir, and alpine meadows. The Gila Wilderness, the nation's first designated wilderness area since 1924, and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness together encompass roughly 762,000 roadless acres where all access is by foot or horseback. The Gila River forks, Whitewater Creek, and countless tributary canyons drain this massive block of wild country. Land is overwhelmingly USFS with BLM and state trust at lower elevations and scattered private ranches. Supply towns depend on which subunit you're hunting: Silver City, Glenwood, Reserve, or Truth or Consequences. US 180, NM 15, NM 35, and NM 59 are the primary paved roads. Cell service is limited to town corridors and nonexistant in the wilderness. This is remote, self-reliant country—carry a satellite communicator, plan your pack-out logistics before the hunt, and be prepared for anything from September heat to October blizzards. The Gila doesn't care about your schedule. The Gila complex as a whole. The Gila Wilderness was the nation's first designated wilderness (1924). Units 16A and 16D are the state's premier trophy bull elk units — 16D is the toughest draw in New Mexico and produces a good majority of record book bulls annually. Most bulls taken in 16A/16D score 320+ with regular opportunities at 340-360 class animals. Unit 16B is exclusively within designated wilderness — foot or horseback access only. 16C has excellent draw odds in the outfitter pool with strong trophy potential. 16E is the eastern edge along the Continental Divide. The entire complex has very little hunting pressure relative to its size.