Peralta Master Map/ Largest Saguaro in AZ

Nancy, Jane & Judy  19 miles loop 40’s to 70’s

We were to do Dogie & Sycamore Canyon but do to the cold front that was bringing in snow, wind & rain we changed our plans to Superstitions. Jane came down from Flagstaff, we had never met but knew a mutual friend & had conversations over the phone. Since she was tired of the cold & wind this was ideal for her. Jane was trying out her new Gossamer backpack, Nancy with her new Exped Synmat UL7, & I my new schnozzel bag that works with the mat. Each of us loved our new purchase & the comfort outweighed the cost. Water started to show up near Whiskey Springs, & pots here & there to La Barge Trough. It was a perfect time of the year for the cactus to be in full bloom, beautiful! Once we got to our camp Nancy found out that she wore one old Keen & one new Keen boot, thank goodness it was for the right feet! We ooed & ah’d over Jane’s extremely light weight BP. She had a Big Sky 2 person tent, mat, sleeping bag etc & all fit very nicely. I got to demonstrate how my schnozzel bag was a compression bag for my clothes & also filled up our mats with ease. It had predicted rain thru the evening so we nestled our tents in the brush/trees & tied them off as they were predicting high winds with 60% chance of rain, & it did hit, but we all stayed dry. Nancy & I had made Ray Jardine’s quilt last year for our trip to Hermit Canyon so with the new matt, my new Reactor from Sea & Summit stayed extra warm. (now we need to make Ray’s bomber hat). Sat morning we had heavy clouds a good day to do our day trip to find the Peralta Master Map. (the story behind Peralta Master Map is detailing the location of 18 gold mines but others believe they are Indian Petroglyphs) The volunteer ranger at the trailhead advised us don’t look at the springs & do exactly what the book tells us, which to my surprised after looking for them 3 other times & was able to locate them. Nancy & Jane had hiked over to the Charliebois Spring & came across 3 hikers that advised the location of another set of Pet’s back by Bull Pass, so made note for the next time. Bruce was the owner of www.360-Adventure.com , Cameron (wore a fun kilt) the owner of the cutest goat named Winston, he had carried in 13#’s & was in training, then Mike, & 2 dogs. They had come back after 3 yrs of caching some goodies & wanted to see if they were still there, so departed our ways & went to show the girls my findings. My day was complete, by the time we got back to camp it had pelted ice & rain & was time to find some wood for our campfire. The rain moved on & we were in a paradise of cardinals. The 3 guys was making their way back to their camp when they stopped off to give us one of their caches, yea who would ever think we would be gifted with happy hour! That night was a little cooler as Nancy did not sleep as warm, I was cozy maybe do to the reactor, Jane was fine in her tent. The clouds had lifted & was predicting a warmer day. It was fun swapping dehydrated recipe (such as dehydrated yogurt, black bean chili, super-terrific bars & spackle), & hiking stories with a new hiking friend. Never understand why people that like the wilderness has to be such slops, so I went around & picked up a lot of broken glass they shot up. Was not able to take out the cans that was left, but maybe if each hiker would pick up just one it will be cleared up by the next time they go back. We set off on Bluff Springs Trail to find what the internet is saying is the largest Saguaro in the state at this time. It is not difficult to locate, the Saguaro is Az state flower. I would like to see the 50 arms in bloom, but not sure I will be back in June. Fun by all!

p.s. Jane Jackson “Clamity Jane” & Tom Conover “silver” completed  the AT Sept, 2013 6 months to complete, yea you two!!