January 5th, 2015 First hike of the year is always amazing in the Superstitions. Started hiking the Peralta Trail to Freemont Saddle around 10. The terrain is always rocky but that is what gives the Superstitions so much character. Along the trail we met Mike, a volunteer, trimming the bushes along the path. Later, at the Saddle he showed up again just in time to show us how to get to Geronimo’s Cave. It’s about 1 mile from the Saddle. You can also access it from the lower trail on the Peralta. What a great lookout place for Geronimo! You can see in all directions. No wonder he liked it here. Almost stepped on a Bull snake on the way back. Continued over the Saddle to find a compact, icy, snowy path. With perseverance we were able to get down to an altitude with little evidence of snow. However, the trail was in dire need of maintenance. We camped at the base of Weaver’s Needle. We thought the creek would be running but could only find water in the holes. Our water filter, Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System, quit working. Nothing would come through it even though it worked on several trips in the past and it has always been cleaned out after every trip. The weather couldn’t have been better even though it was 82 degrees hiking out.