Judy writes “July 18, thru 7-22 2010 Backpack- Hiking Grand Enchantment Trail, Seg 10
Aug 7 (week of) checking out Silverton, Co for CDT, some hiking, atv’ing
Sept 12 thru 9-17 Durango Train, Co Backpack, being dropped off at Needles & hiking to Chicago Basin, scouting out the area
Oct 10 thru 10-14 Backpack Grand View Trail in the Grand Canyon
Signing up with Hikengirls.com it’s free, e mail me jjeidson@hikengirls.com
Judy writes “Grand Enchantment Trail – Segment 8, Santa Teresa Wilderness
4 1/2 to 5 hr drive from Phoenix to E. Aravaipa, once you get to Klondyke Rd & US 70 its 34 dirt miles to Aravaipa Natural Conservancy East entrance. Hiking partner was Sirena Dufault from Tucson, she invited me on this segment & was more than happy to accommodate. Now since I look at the map going from Apache Junction to Albq, NM, I have completed most of the mileage to this point & hooked on the GET, & would like to find someone to help complete the remaining with me.
Day 1 Trees were just starting to bud out so made it wonderful to see spring in action, birds migrating, tadpoles, frogs, many toads & Gila monster sunning himself. Past residence creating iron characters out of old machinery, the Detroit dinosaur we could not go by with out taking pictures. Salazar church closed except for week-ends. Beware of waypoint 08100 & 08110 on your GPS you need to zoom in about 50 ft or it will over lap, plus the road had been graded just hrs before getting there & was a burm in front. The article that Brett (Blisterfree) the founder of GET mentioned on Seg 8, plan on a 10% error, hated to start it off right from the beginning on such a silly mistake, but not complaining about a total mile, & was water where we camped.
Day 2 we hiked on a 4 WD rd for 3.2 miles, even though roads are not my favorite the wildflowers were beautiful & was climbing so the scenery was scenic. If you are following the GET website info, don’t miss the turn 50ft after passing the gate, only a cairn in high weeds, yep missed this turn only by a small ways but we would of missed the Gila Monster!
You follow a bench trail in & out of drainages, all were running with h2o, including Reef Tank. I would prefer to get my water out of the creeks vs. the dirt tank if possible. Blisterfree did an excellent job on the description for this area; read it carefully will save a lot of time. Hold Out canyon is breath taking, take time to scout this area out. It’s much like the Wilderness of the Rocks by Mt Lennon & the mts by Wilcox, Az. We camped about a mile down farther, above a flowing creek; great shadows both A.M. & P.M. The reading materials describes whimsical names as Zorro, Great Wide Face & Shamoo, we came up with dozens more names for this bouldery area. Black Rock was also another ahh moment when we looked up for the 1st view. Again keep reading the material, GPS & maps in hand at all times. Pink ribbons maybe on ground, nubs or a small cairn in the weeds, beware of cat claw in much of the area. Near the confluence (pick any ravine you want)we saw our share of tracks- Bear, Mt lion, Bob Cat, Deer etc in this small area. We got a good laugh down the creek, we came across the largest print we ever saw, elk, deer? We even took a picture of the print! After another bend we realized we were back in grazing territory again it was cow! After a few more boulder hopping & many creek crossings we made camp by a lovely Pinion Pine in the middle of the trail. Discussion was made whether to put the food bag in the lonely tree that wasn’t high enough to do much good. (Bear tracts was still on our minds) It was left that Az bears weren’t as smart as Yosemite or YellowstoneYogi bears. So went to bed with our Pot, jug & hiking sticks to bang on.
Day 3 As we past the ranch we met a friendly pit bull that I named Butterscotch, so we both got our doggie fix before adventuring on up the Mt, it was pretty much just finding our way in tall grass, & cactus, up to the cress where we found cell site near waypt 08320, cross to the other side of the fence here to make your way to the next waypt. (do not go thru the gate, this is where I cracked the face of my cell phone when I bellied under the fence) WE came to the junction a wooden signpost on the ground, Kane Springs to left & our Trail 66 to the right. We went to the tank to fill up & take a rest break, I would say if you have enough water keep hiking . We stopped at 24.6 in the reading material even though we had gone 29.6 miles, it was 7pm & wanted to locate the attractive camp spot but never really found it, but was happy to find good spring water. A place to lay our heads, a 2,500ft climb made it a harder, longer day, but the scenery of the mts, Safford & Mt Graham was worth while.
4-10 Our last day we started out at 7:30a.m to make our 2 mile climb to 7,250ft to the over look Hold Out Canyon where we were 2 days before, it literally makes a horseshoe trail. The path now was truly a trail so made hiking easier not to mention once we got to the top it was mostly down hill from there. WE had a delightful 1 hr break at waypt 08505 near a 30 ft waterfall, lots of Cottonwood & Sycamore. After leaving our rest spot once again we hit an old 4 wd road, it was a break from concentrating on GPS, maps, reading material, & bushwhacking. We were glad to see my jeep, total mileage 40, a great adventure in our own backyard, now a 5 hr drive home.
Things that came in handy:
New Gps Garmin Vista hcx, GET reading material for this section, maps, ( thegrandenchantmenttrail.org ) hiking poles, long pants, long sleeve shirt, cut off 1 gal water jug,(for a basin) my new tarptent-Moment.
What did not work for me
New Osprey Backpack,hurt lower back, maybe to much weight for a light belt it had.
FYI before doing this section of GET check with Blisterfree, or GET website as a portion has been closed.
Judy writes
AZT Pass 16 & 17 AZT (Arizona Trail) & part to the Grand Enchantment Trail seg 3
Started off as Nancy inching her way through the AZT, ended up calling it Glenda’s Big Girl Hike! Fun 3-day 2nighter. Starting at Picket Post shuttled by Nancy’s sisters, Carol & Maxine that were heading to Thompson Arboretum a mile down the road.
It was a 80-mile from Phoenix so got a nice start on the day. Beautiful scenery, wildflowers, & lots of water. The trail was one of the best & only got better till about the 10-mile marker. There were crews flagging, & building on the hillside, by passing the 4 wheel drive rd in the near future. We had a lovely camp & a cool evening. The next morning we started in hiking in more my type of territory, rock cairns & questionable 4 wheel drive roads & a bit of what I call Billy Goating. That is about the time the tune changed in Glenda’s 1st real backpack. The bit of quiver in her voice asking if we were doing a Big Girls Hike & not a beginner’s hike. We tried to explain that the AZT changes frequently & never really knowing what the changed are. This was to be about Nancy inching her way through the AZT but got changed quickly. Glenda’s knee started to feel sharp pains going down hill, as we’ve all experienced this sometime in our career of hiking, we did the normal, Advil, knee brace, & rest for 5 minutes & off again. We told her rest with elevation soon with trail ale would do the trick. We stopped ½ mile from the artesian well, but to our delight we got more than a good campsite. Three UTV’s were ready to leave, after nice conversation; we got more than brownie crumbs! They gave us banana’s, strawberry’s, lunchmeat, dip & vegs!! To boot, one guy’s mother made homemade zucchini muffins that we saved for breakfast! We thank you boys for the special treat. Glenda was desperate knowing she only had 4 oz of wine left so she asked if they had any wine or beer in the ice chest, with dismay they did not. We remarked they were the healthiest male eater we’ve seen! After they left we made it to the creek for our feast! The buzzards were migrating through, saw many animal prints but only saw a rock squirrel, The next morning was a relaxing one, as Possum would meet us at the Artesian Well for our shuttle home. We did 20 miles, & yes it was a Glenda’s 1st Big Girls Hike!”
Judy writes “2-24 thru 2-26-2010 Peralta Trailhead to Bluff Springs 235, Terrapin Pass 234, Weavers Cross Cut, Red Tanks, Whiskey Springs over to the Lost Dutchman Trail back to Peralta Trailhead
June Storment, & Judy Eidson did a 2 night 3 day trip
Temp’s 60’s day, 30’s night
No tent, just the rain fly & footprint, June left her backpack top at home, & pillow to try to lighten her weight. Good idea!
Great hiking weather, lots of water, trails were creeks, many rocks had surfaced from the flooding prior made hiking a bit slower. We were not out for high mileage, so that made it enjoyable. East side of Weavers needle was mesmerizing. I have only 3 more trails to do to finish every trail in the Superstitions, (if I wouldn’t keep doing the same trails I would have been done yrs ago) than I can hire someone to take me to the top of Weavers for the night.
We came across Geronimo Cave path will save that trip for another time, & 2 paths that would go up to the east side of Weavers Needle before camping at one of Al Morrows camps, one of many treasurer hunters but one that never carried a gun. (book Famous Lost Gold Mines of AZ Superstition Mt; he died in 1970 cave in.) Nice camp with lots of water & fire ring already there. June got to try out her new REI prim loft jacket that seemed to keep her warm enough. The night was pleasant & stayed warm without the tent. Mr Skunk came to visit, & Mr Hootie the owl did his calling thru the night although due to the creek sounds only heard it once in awhile.
2-24-10 Started off at 9:30a leisurely a.m.but made for a longer day, which was not expected, but when we approached Charlebois Boy Spring the creek was a river. We had lunch here & looked for the petrographs, which once again I never found. June had fairly new boots & chooses not to get them wait for the 1st 8 crossings so putting our croc’s on each time was very time consuming! Thank goodness a decision was made “new experience for her” get the boots wets! We are very spoiled living in Az not having to deal with being wet, only from sweat! I did my usual which always works for me, I do not have gortex boots, I just put baggies over my socks then put them in the boots, & I keep warm & hike just fine. We had a beautiful day elev approx 2700 ft. & came across many nice camp spots- La Barge, Bluff Springs intersections, Music Canyon but we made camp at Trap Canyon. I’ve always heard that was called Kitty Canyon, probably for good reason. Again very beautiful, but no shade if you needed it, lots of water this time & our scenery was of Herman Mt named after Hermann Petrash, again a miner. Mr Skunk came to visit but only his presents of smell & no spraying.
2-25-10 Much easier day & twice the mileage only crossed the creek 12 x’s but not up to the calf as the previous day, so could rock hop. Lupine & poppies were near Peralta Trailhead, got home early to celebrate my husband’s retirement. Great 3 days!”
| Judy writes “Nancy Vail, Nicole, & Judy Eidson did the in Nov, Proceedes went to Pnx Parks & Recreation.
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SNOW BOWL TO MORMON LAKE 7-25-09
We left Phoenix about 5:30 AM. Drove to Marshall Lake first and cached 3 gallons of water, lots of food for Connie and Nancy. There was absolutely no water in Marshall Lake! Drove to Mormon Lake Village and left car for end of trip. There was a Hell’s Angel Biker Convention going on. Packed! We than drove to Walnut Canyon and cached 3 more gallons of water and more food. Both places were very easy to get to. Surprise Connie! Don’t think we will have any trouble finding. David and Ronnie did a fine job shuttling.
We made it to the Snow Bowl by 12:30! Connie didn’t need to worry so much after all. We couldn’t find the exact Az trail. We thought we were on the right trail, but according to Connie’s new GPS, we were parallel to it.
We hiked the Kachina Trail to Schultz Tank where we intended to go. It was 9700 elevation most of the way. A lot of huffing and puffing. Going up hill was a killer! Kachina trail was covered with fern up to our waist and many flowers in full bloom – Lupine (the biggest I’ve ever seen), owls clover, fire crackers, and many more. Connie was doing a great job on the GPS, but found out not to walk and read at the same time. She surfed down hill and not on her feet. No major injuries, scrapped elbow and knees. And hates to get dirty! Got that over with the first day.
It was good to see the Az trail signs going to Schultz Tank. The water level was a lot lower than it was when Connie and Judy came through last April and a lot muddier. We were able to strain the water OK. We found a nice place just a little down the road. A very nice first night camp. Had just a little spitting of rain while we set up camp. A cute little fire just enough for our dinner and tea. Nancy was really tuckered out but was able to stay up till 8:30 PM. It was a good long day.
Had a nice morning with birds all around. Started hiking about 8:30 AM. Hiked down the road for a couple of miles till we finally found the trail. Connie doing great with that GPS. We had some more uphill, but not too bad. Getting a little lower in elevation. Than it started raining, not just spitting! We waited it out under some low trees and our umbrellas, but still got very wet. Really came down hard. Finally let up enough to start walking again. Trail was good. Got to the underpass at Hwy 89. Followed an old road a little way to a gas station and started raining again. The thunder started that morning and didn’t stop the rest of the day. We had intended to fill up with water at the gas station and have lunch/dinner at Mary’s Café. Connie went in to ask about a motel and was told one was about a mile further done the road. Connie called a friend’s daughter who lives in Flagstaff and she rescued us. Patty took us to her place for a nice shower and chance to wash our wet cloths. Had a chicken dinner and dry night in a house. It rained the rest of the day. Patty took us back to the gas station in the morning for us to start up again.
Started hiking about 7:45 AM. Clear skies. Crossed old dirt roads many times. Went by several homes and rows of mailboxes. Never far from civilization. While we took a break close to the railroad we heard a really funny noise. Looked around and saw a big white chicken! Started crowing at us when we started leaving. What unusual wild life to see! We saw a lot of trains go by. It was hotter today, but did have some rain that cooled us off. Also had hail!! Made it to Walnut Canyon and found our cached water and food. Couldn’t quite carry it all but did go about another mile before making camp. Stopped about 3:30 PM. Had a very small fire because of the wind. A beautiful camp spot!
Started out in the morning about 8:30 AM. Just can’t seem to get going very early and really should have this day. Both feeling good. Downhill into a canyon that was spectacular. Since we went downhill we knew what was coming! Steep climbing out but not too long. Hiked through Walnut Canyon meadows covered in flowers and surrounded by colorful rock formations. Saw a couple of horny toads. They were colorful, too. There was no shade for most of the day and no clouds in the sky. We were wishing for rain! The book says this is an easy hike, but we were going the opposite way. Mostly uphill and hot. Wasn’t that easy. After one long climb, we took a break and put our feet up on a log. Nancy got sick to her stomach which didn’t help with hiking. Heat and her do not get along! Because we weren’t able to carry all the water and knew there wouldn’t be any water through this canyon, continued hiking all the way to Marshall Lake and our cached water. We were a day early.Made it there about 5:00 PM. Set up another nice camp but no fire. We couldn’t eat much dinner either. It was just good to be able to wash up. We were both very tired. Got a cell site so called Judy to make sure she was really coming. Nancy said if she wasn’t, she was DONE. It was a good thing we called her. She was going to surprise us and come a day earlier so we would have missed her. She was coming the morning to bring us water and treats. YIPPEE!
Connie and Nancy had a leisurely morning. Had a good rest after such a hard day. Heard elk bugling all night but didn’t see them. Judy came about 10:45 AM for the rescue. It was soo good to see her. We drove to Double Spring Campground to check out camp sites. Very nice. Cost $16 a night. Nancy treated. Judy drove Connie and Nancy to road south of railroad tank so they could hike back to Double Spring camp. Judy drove back to camp and set up camp and met Connie and Nancy about a mile away. Only hiked about 4 miles and only carried day packs. A nice easy hike after the day before. Judy brought lots of treats. Had celery, carrots, chips and humus. For dinner we had bread, apples, veggies with gorgonzola fondue and a bottle of wine. A great fire for the evening. A very good day was had by all.
Next morning of course was leisurely with Judy making coffee for us always. Judy left her car at the entrance to the camp ground and we all hike together. Another easy day of hiking. Judy gave Connie some more lessons on her GPS. Was a very pretty hike following very old remnants of a railroad. There were two signs along the way explaining the history. Very interesting. We hiked to Navajo Springs where water was coming out of a pipe. Very easy water duty! Judy and Connie had stopped here last April. We had a very nice afternoon. Was able to finally do some reading, word searches and beading. A beautiful place with all the aspen and pine and flowers. A wonderful finish. We late rising the next morning. There was no hurry. We only had about 1 ½ miles to Mormon Lake village. When we arrived at the village, we ran into Dale Shewalter. Told him we were hiking the AZT and hoped to see him in September. Connie’s car was just where we left it. So we all took off for home again. Was another great hiking adventure. Even with the hard parts, Nancy kept telling herself it was better than being at work! Another great time had by all!
3-14 through 3-19 2009 Upper Horrell Trail Head to Picket Post
Nancy, Connie, & Judy
3-14-09 It’s spring & we were all ready to do a big hike. Since my goal for years was to do all the trails in the Superstition’s it was my chance to do the 4 miles from Fire Line Trail to Oak Flats. Connie had done the Spencer Trail with me yrs ago but couldn’t remember it, good thing as she would of not gone. This was all new to Nancy, what she didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt her.
So off we went with hubbies dropping us off at Upper Horrell, south of Roosevelt Lake. We made good time getting up there, as we started at 10a.m. Sunny to partly cloudy in the 60’s. The hike skirts around Reavis Mt School, a beauty spot of heaven! The trail starts off quite nice, follows Campaign Trail & creek, eventually gets rocker & more difficult. It was warm so glad to see clouds coming in. A comment was made at 1 point if we didn’t know better they looked like thunderclouds. Beautiful green, lot of water but next to no wildflowers but a flock of Robin’s flew over. We came to the y of the Fire line Trail & Campaign Creek. A large nice fire ring. A couple just stopped with their 2 dogs, we continued on the trail about ½ miles. We found a nice camp spot across the creek & by this time no blue sky & while we were sitting up Conies new REI tent there was a crack of thunder, which was a shock, no prediction of storms! We finished cleaning up, firewood etc when it started to rain. Good time to check out the interior of the tent. Nancy brought cheese, crackers & the cutest shot of liquor in a bag she bought at AJ”S, Wow what a treat! We had covered the wood so after about 45 min it had cleared up so had a nice campfire & evening.
3-15 Woke up in the 30’s some ice in our water bottles. Connie slept cold, but she brought no sleep wear top & ¾ air mattress, she had nothing under her feet, of course we gave her a hard time of bringing a pillow but no trail ale or warm evening wear. From this point to Oak Flats we only averaged 1 mile an hour. It was a rocky, steep trail, with some cat claw, but we had time so enjoyed the fresh air, Sycamore trees, creek & by now more wildflowers. Once we got to the fence line it was down hill from there. Once we got to Oak Flats someone left a fire going with a log in it, very disturbing. I went to look for Spence Trail, Connie made several trips to the creek to down the foolish mistake on some ones part. We found a lovely sandy spot for camp. We are trying out a new water tablet that Fred Gaudet told us about called Aqua Mira, Nancy sent for them as we could not find them in Phoenix, this certainly makes water duty a snap.
3-16 Once again we had ice in out water containers, so the fire felt good! Not a maintained or used trail we knew it was going to be a long day, & that it was. It is one of the most beautiful Superstition hikes, if you can handle the bushwhacking, cat claw, & scarce amount of cairns. I’m thankful for my GPS, but being off even 3 ft & weeds up to your waist or brush still makes it hard. We did our best for the next hikers to build the cairns a bit higher or break a branch once in awhile. There was lots of water in Spencer Creek, waterfalls & again beautiful large Sycamore Tree. By the time we made it to Rd 650 I calculated it took 1.5 hrs per mile. It was a 1-mile on 650 to Reavis Trail, which is part of the AZT. We were happy to see a well-maintained trail! It is now 4:30p.m & the 1st spot that we find water will be camp. We bee lined it quickly the next 3 miles making a joke doing 3 miles an hr which took us most to the day on the other trail, we occasionally glanced at more wildflowers going down in elevation, we even came across a tinajas Spanish meaning large earthen jar. My sites was looking out for water, I’m sure Sirena (a gal from Tucson hiking the AZT) ears were ringing as she hiked this passage the week before & had told me water was every where, we laughed as everywhere-where? At 5:30p.m. I walked right by a 3 ft Western Diamond Back Rattlesnake; the 2nd hiker Connie let the canyon know it was there. It had time to coil, rattle & strike her boot; she said it felt like a tap, all at the same time. By the time the 3rd hiker Nancy came by it was so camouflaged it took her minutes to spot it, although that rattle never stopped. I had to do a “Get A Way Snake Dance” with my hiking stick around a boulder to get her through. Thank goodness we found water at 6p.m. with frogs croaking, & mosquitos! We camped on a huge slanted boulder as there was no other place to camp, but that was ok as we were ready to settle down for the night. Once 8p.m I took a P.M. Tablet & went to sleep, yea a good night sleep for the 1st time in a couple of nights.
3-17-09 Happy St Patty’s Day! Wegreeted the morning with green ankle bracelets, Irish stickers; it was going to be a great day! By 11:30a.m.we came across another Rattlesnake about the same size of the day before but this time he was smart enough to rattle all the way to the bushes! We were happy to see Whitford Canyon with all the water, wildflowers, cardinals & large Cottonwood trees. It was very hot day in the high 80s, we camped near Barnett Camp an old rock house that included 2 huge boulders for the 2 sides, & rock every where else including window frames but no roof. Nancy brought green rice crispy treats for desert-yea, I brought Irish whisky, so we had an enjoyable evening!3-18 We knew it was going to be another hot day so we got started at 8a.m., lots of wildflowers & the scenery of Picket Post was unbelievable! We stopped off at a large Saguaro to put a pick ribbon on it for pictures. We reached picket post at a good time, almost to early, but we cleaned up as much as possible with a damp cloth, clean clothes & off for a cold beer at Dos Hernandez. The bartender was telling us about the day before how a guy came in a laid a headless rattlesnake on the bar & started to skin it. We continue on to the Mexican restaurant a block east of there to have lunch then on to Superior to see what shopping we could do. We made a nice camp near Picket Post as we were meeting up with the Old Back Country Hiking Club the next morning. 3-19 By 10a.m.7 of us, Hal, Marilyn, Al, Jack, Linda, Nancy & I were hiking the AZT south of Picket Post, the higher we got up the more flowers we saw, including a desert tortoise. We stopped at the dry creek bed where we went down the Riverbed a few feet to the area Orphan Boy Mine was. Jack & I hiked to a hole above the creek to fine a great mine with a ladder, and a wheel going down to a shaft, then horizontally was another shaft, it was pretty exciting as we both wanted flashlights to go farther! But we ended up turning around & going back the same way we came. I picked up a thistle to show the group a great desert celery plant to eat. We then made our way to Dos Hernandez for Mexican Food, made it home by 4 p.m. A great 5 days! Umbrella came in handy for rain & sunHiking sticksAqua Mira tablets REI Tent worked well with 2 doors Oh I don’t want to forget the rice crispy treats, was a treat!
Our route started at 1st water, then through the very green lush Garden Valley Trail, then of course got rocky & bouldery as we approached Boulder Creek & the Calvary Trail. It was a good work out for Connie’s new repaired knee. Would like to camp in this area sometime as water was really flowing much more than normal but always seem to soon to stop, maybe going in on a afternoon sometime to get settled, then next day scout out the area to the south. We did have lunch here, as it was beautiful but not many wildflowers or shade, but the water flowing was mesmerizing. We hiked out the short but steep hill of the Calvary Trail to MarshValley which Nancy was more that happy to see. It was 8.1 miles found a really nice campsite about ½ mile from Dutchman Trail; it took 6 hrs to do the hike. A nice way to do the Superstitions & enjoy it. Beautiful evening, creek at ear distance, nice fire, & sliver of a moon with Venus bright as ever!We didn’t bring a rain fly or a footprint & worked out well. We did have 2 young boys hike thru looking completely exhausted as we chatted thru our airing out laundry! 3-1-09 Warm a.m., because we only had 1 night to enjoy camp we decided to spend it there till about 11a.m.before heading back to the truck. So we brought projects & enjoyed the morning. Hiking out on the Dutchman Trail means going over Bull Pass, (it always brings back memories of my 1st hike into the Superstitions with hubby). We passed some horseback riders on the top that took a short cut to the south to Black Mesa that I would like to do sometime. We made it back to the truck in 5 hrs a warm day of 91 degrees, but thank goodness a cold beer with chips was waiting for us! This would be a good hike to take walking sticks & even an umbrella. Judy
Superstition Hike from 1st Water –2nd Water, Boulder Trail, Calvary Trail, Marsh Valley to Dutchman back to 1st Water 2-28, 29, 2009 58 degree’s to 91 degrees, 16 miles, Nancy, Connie & Judy Warm day at 6:30a.m. was 58degree’s, took much longer to get thru Phoenix even though it was a Sat due to freeway closed down in 2 different areas.A great day when we started with seeing puddles & then creeks with flowing water, as it’s always a big concern in Az.
Our route started at 1st water, then through the very green lush Garden Valley Trail, then of course got rocky & bouldery as we approached Boulder Creek & the Calvary Trail. It was a good work out for Connie’s new repaired knee. Would like to camp in this area sometime as water was really flowing much more than normal but always seem to soon to stop, maybe going in on a afternoon sometime to get settled, then next day scout out the area to the south. We did have lunch here, as it was beautiful but not many wildflowers or shade, but the water flowing was mesmerizing. We hiked out the short but steep hill of the Calvary Trail to MarshValley which Nancy was more that happy to see. It was 8.1 miles found a really nice campsite about ½ mile from Dutchman Trail; it took 6 hrs to do the hike. A nice way to do the Superstitions & enjoy it. Beautiful evening, creek at ear distance, nice fire, & sliver of a moon with Venus bright as ever!We didn’t bring a rain fly or a footprint & worked out well. We did have 2 young boys hike thru looking completely exhausted as we chatted thru our airing out laundry! 3-1-09 Warm a.m., because we only had 1 night to enjoy camp we decided to spend it there till about 11a.m.before heading back to the truck. So we brought projects & enjoyed the morning. Hiking out on the Dutchman Trail means going over Bull Pass, (it always brings back memories of my 1st hike into the Superstitions with hubby). We passed some horseback riders on the top that took a short cut to the south to Black Mesa that I would like to do sometime. We made it back to the truck in 5 hrs a warm day of 91 degrees, but thank goodness a cold beer with chips was waiting for us! This would be a good hike to take walking sticks & even an umbrella. Judy
10.6 miles round trip
It was unseasonably warm for this time of the year. We didn’t get started till 10am, & of course all up hill with lots of garbage on the way. Every time I go up these Mts I wish I would bring a huge garbage bag to fill up. We saw no one as we climbed up, but we did talk a lot just in case some one wanted to hide before we got to them. The trail I figured would be better in parts, but was still quite rocky. We made it to the top of Miller Peak had lunch & started our beautiful hike down. The sun was just perfect to hit the Mts, bushes etc to make beautiful pictures. We heard voices so started to talk louder, but here it was runners, making us feel pretty wimpy as they ran up hill. We reached the bottom right about sunset 5:30p & headed off to meet Colleen Hunt & Barb Bayless for a great meal at her place. Great pic’s don’t forget to check them out.
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