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The Superstition Mountains are very rugged, volcanic mountains located just east of Phoenix - in fact they are beginning to be enveloped by suburban sprawl. They are located in Sonoran desert, which means Saguaro cactus. The Superstitions are the home of the legendary "Lost Dutchman Gold Mine". The most prominent landmark is the old volcanic core known as "Weaver's Needle" (although there are other, more colorful names for it). |
The view here is from Lost Dutchman State Park, looking NE at the Superstitions.
I have been there 3 times (obviously I like them), beginning with a trip in May, 1987, a trip in August 1989, and a quick excursion in March 2000. The 1987 trip was my first exposure to Sonoran desert and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Many of the cactus were in bloom and while it was quite hot, I did several very spectacular hikes. I did a loop hike from the First Water trailhead up onto Black Mesa, then down and out on the Dutchman's Trail. I also did the easy hike up Peralta Canyon to Fremont Saddle with spectacular views of Weaver's Needle.
The 1989 trip was also spectacular, but extremely hot! I did a hike up to Tortilla Flat and down the back side into Roger's Canyon. In a few hour hike I consumed over 1.5 gallons of water and in fact ran out about 1/2 mile from my pickup! My thermometer was pegged at 115F. Not surprisingly for the time of year and this remote part of the Superstitions, I didn't see another person.
The 2000 trip was interesting. I arrived on Saturday and the place was just crawling with people - all of the dirt access roads were jammed, the trail heads and overflow parking were all filled, just an absolute zoo. I had decided to hike West Boulder Canyon whose trailhead was not far from Peralta Canyon. Up early and on the trail by 7 AM, I followed a trail which quickly climbed up to a ridge, then skirted around the head of West Boulder Canyon, and continued on around the far side. Finally, when I got to a saddle high above Hieroglyph Canyon on one side and West Boulder on the other, with the trail headed off and away from West Boulder I figured I must have missed a trail junction, so I bushwhacked down a fairly steep mountain side on some very rotten rock - thought I was going to bring half the mountain down on top of me for a while. Got down to the bottom of West Boulder Canyon and there was no trail - topo map lied. Ah well, who needs a trail? Boulder hopped on down the aptly named West Boulder Canyon and at about 6 PM I made it to the Dutchman trail in the heart of the Superstition Wilderness. This main trail connects to the heavily used East Boulder Creek trail which heads up to Fremont Saddle, and then on down Peralta Canyon to the trailhead only a mile or so from my car. I made it about 1/2 way up the East Boulder Canyon trail by dark when I took a break to wait for the full moon to come up. Once the moon was up I continued, making back to the car by about 1 AM. All told I think it was only about 18 miles, but at least half of that was off trail and kind of slow going. Despite the crowds, I never saw another person all day. Did the entire hike in flip flops. Also, just as I finished the scramble down into West Boulder Creek, I realized I had torn the rear pocket (and my wallet) out of my jeans. Meant I had no money, id, or credit cards. My family was on vacation in Boston and unreachable. So Monday morning I had to call work and ask them to please wire me some money for gas so I could come home!
View north into the Superstitions from high above West Boulder Canyon. |
Weaver's Needle from the Dutchman's trail in the heart of the Superstitions. |
I think my favorite of these was the Black Mesa loop.