The 1st part of the hike is the old road 305, that leads into the trail. Past the Wildcat Canyon that we hiked a portion of it from Miles Ranch 2 weeks prior. The trail follows the Creek, which was flowing & from my understanding is usually dry. The feeder box near Thicket springs looks like it still maybe used. Once we approached where the corral was to be if we had not looked closely we could of hiked right on by, as it was covered in Cat claw.N33 27’16” W111 05’13” Once we got up on the North bench it was a much better standing corral than the one in Rock Creek. Actually this may be used at times also. There was evidence of cows everywhere but saw none, so made drinking out of the creek much nicer experience. We camped not far from here by a lovely pinyon pine tree.

tarp tent worked well, won from AZT meeting, used twice & both times worked fine.

Almost full moon, 3-19 would be the closest moon to earth in over 19 yrs.

Day hiked on St Patty’s day, took most of the day to hike to the ridge looking down on Oak Flats, & back, which was a great feeling, we made our destination. This was not easy going on portions of the trail as it was so over grown. Our legs looked no different than they did on Rock Creek, chewed up from the brutal thorns, we joked about having a blood transfusion when we get home. Lots of scrub oak, Sycamore, & sharp Mt Laurel, even though a warm day, nice breeze that made it doable. Only wildlife was a Horney Toad, & tracks. Trip back was a breeze as we knew where we were going & mostly down hill.

Green Bandana compliments from Colleen, Green Rice Crispy Treats compliments from Judy & Irish whiskey awaited us. Tried a new tea out from Stash called Chai Spice Black Tea, very good.

Nice sand pit fire (my favorite), running creek near.

Colleen slept cool, but determined she needed a new sleeping bag, as she washes it frequently & thinks the loft was warn out.

3-18 started hiking by 8:30 as we wanted to check out Horrell Trailhead on rd 306 called trail 213 which is now abandoned. The sign at the junction says 1/2 mile, this is incorrect. We parked our jeep at this point, & walked another 1/2 mile & from my GPS it still was another 1mile down the rd before hitting the trailhead. This will be a future hike most likely going in from Upper Horrell Trailhead.

Made better time going out, & had lunch at Jade Grill Asian BBQ. AZT Meeting had them cater & was very good.

Judy writes “

Siphon Draw to Flat Iron 1-24-2011

Colleen Hunt, June Storment & Judy Eidson

Counting down on the last few hikes left to do in the Superstitions. Not sure why I left this for last , other than I focus normally on backpack trips, & at the time thanking the good lord that I did not have a pack on this trip. It was a beautiful day, with rabbits, birds singing. We entered in at Lost Dutchman State Park, but next time will go in from Mc Kellips St. A fairly easy hike up to the slick rock where we started to see more people, as they must of started at dawn, no water at the waterfall but I could see it would be beautiful if you could time it right. Once we got to the saddle we now could see where the DRAW comes in at, a very steep, rocky ravine, the Flat Iron looked so far away. There was really only one obstacle & was lucky to have 3 people coming down & gave us a boost up. Once we got to the top it was a piece of cake, beautiful dessert up there with every thing so green & healthy looking. We had lunch on the tip of Flat Iron with the birthday boy Ben, he had told us that he & a friend had to be rescued last yr when they did the death march across the top. He was fine but got lost on a wrong trail & took them much longer so had to spend the night. His wife did what all good responsible people do & called sheriff as he did not come home. He had met Colleen coming in as she was turning around. She had a ankle fused earlier in the year, & had done this trip many times before so her map was already highlighted. We had a nice visit, lunch, break & was ready to head down.

Judy writes “

Peralta Trail Loop, Whiskey Springs, LaBarge, Charliebois, Bluff Springs

Nancy, Connie, June & Judy backpacked 1-15 to17 2011

21 miles backpack, 40 to 70 degrees

1 ½ hr from N. Pnx, 169 miles

Water started to show up near Whiskey Springs, we planned on camping near LaBarge Springs, but to many people so we continued until Oak Springs. 10 miles of course, rocky terrain, but we were glad we continued on as we had a private campsite with good water. Two days from a full moon, so it was like the lights were on all night. Once again, did not fine the petroglyphs near Peters Mesa & Charliebois. Sirena was doing this part of the G.E.T. when a day hiker came through & showed her where they were at, obviously I did not get good enough info as lonely saguaro cactus & cross section did not show up any pet’s. So a good reason to go back again, as I never get tired of the Superstitions. We had a nice fire, owls hooting a Mr Skunk visit us through the night, other than that no wildlife other than the many birds that sang to us. I brought a happy hour snack called Tasty Bite-Punjab Eggplant with chips that was good, June & Nancy dessert, & Connie Laughing Cow cheese & crackers, so we were all happy! The next day was a 7 miles trip out through Bluff Springs. We stopped off for a fill up before continuing on to Peralta Trailhead. Someday would like to visit Williams Camp in the area.

Great trip, but no trip into the Superstition Wilderness is complete without the jumping cholla making a mark on 1 or 2 of us. More people than normal, maybe do to MLK Holiday.

“

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!”

3-14 through 3-19 2009 Upper Horrell Trail Head to Picket Post

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!

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

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 Marsh Valley 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

Superstition Hike
2-2-2007     54 degrees Groundhog Day    (He did not see his shadow)

Connie, Nancy & Judy started hiking at 11am on trail 104 Dutchmen’s Trail to Bluff Springs 6 miles.  ¾ of this trail is uphill so a good work out & beautiful scenery, passing Miners Needle. Arrived at 2:30p & made up a nice camp near the spring that has spring water trickling out of a pipe. We went lighter than normal, leaving our water filter at home & just taking purified tablets. Along with this Judy left her air mattress at home, & Connie bringing the wrong fuel. We worked around it by laying a layer of clothes underneath & cooking off of the fire. It got down to 31 degrees.
.

2-3 Decided to have a leisurely am so left at 11 still on trail 104 towards La Barge Canyon. About 2 ½ miles found beautiful campsites & water running into a trough. Stopped off at Charlebois Spring for lunch. Again the spring was running in the trough, at both locations no water in creek. The day was warmer in the 70’s. As we passed Marsh Valley we saw no water. We continued pass Black Top Mesa towards Terrapin Pass. We decided due that water not running in the creeks prior we would go on to East Boulder Creek to camp. A lovely camping area with nice trees in area. But again water was scare. Walked about 2/10 of a mile down creek before finding water in potholes, it was doable. 8-mile day got down to high 40’s.

2-4 A day to lay around, read, bead, & journal. In the low 70’s.

2-5 Woke up in the 50’s 6a.m. Started to get ready early due to the long upward stretch pass Weaver’s Needle & over Fremont Saddle. Left camp at 7:30a.m. in the shade for a couple of hours. Beautiful day but warming up. Reached Fremont Saddle in 3 ½ hrs time for lunch, along many other people up there. Started down an came across a dog that looked like he was heat stressed, & a man that had fell & busted his head open with lots of blood around. Reached the trailhead at 12:30 with refreshments a waiting. After putting clean shirts over dirty bodies & croc’s on we headed to get real food. A hot day in mid 80’s 6 ½ miles

Great trip, would have liked to have my therma rest, & more water running in the creeks. Heard owls hooting each night & lots of quail & other birds but no animals other than tracks.