The Apache Trail is under construction from Dutchman to the marina. Looks like they are doing shoulder work before a much needed repave.

After the slow and tedious Cactus Butte hike last week Bruce suggested the super highway Reavis North. 3 cars in the lot and a couple entries in the register before our 7:40am start. 2 other cars at finish.

Plow Saddle Trail #287
Old man competition needed this for his Superstition Wilderness Trails rank. New to me too. Steepish. More enjoyable than anticipated. Gets you out of seemingly barren rolling hills into a living area quick.

Reavis Playgrounds
Hunted a little for the machete I hid in 2012 after raising the nerves of @MtnBart01 & @Tortoise_Hiker with my samurai skill set. A guy we encountered before turning down Plow Saddle was in the primo camp site off Reavis Gap at the creek. Three small groups set up camp in the homestead vicinity. Just a glimpse of life, they must have been out exploring.

Castle Dome
Visible atop most peaks in the wilderness including 15 miles west along the Superstition Ridgeline, this has served as a great reference point over the years. Hands down the highlight of our hike. Bruce had us approach from the south, one saddle north of Windy Pass. The mini ridge is recommended, that said views on Castle Dome 5308 are the showstopper. Both ascents are steep and loose. The north has chaparral to help stabilize your stance when needed. The ridge on top is fairly easy travel. Keep a constant eye out for barbed wire on the ground.

Chums suggested this, being one of my favorites had me excited to go. This south route was #12 in my 20 Favorites list and it's holding steady. I'm a huge fan of the Gap-Campaign loop too. This is just more reasonable to access and feasible stats wise for most.

The history is rich. The annual apple crop is a heavy lure for nearby desert dwellers. An entry in the trailhead register stated no apples. Obvious in our minds a poor ploy to deter the masses.

Rogers Canyon Trail #110
The 1.6 miles out on this trail was typical. Easy to follow with low nagging catsclaw. Enough to constantly dodge, not remotely enough to deter.

Reavis Ranch Trail #109
Wally pointed out points of interest & Chums led a good pace to the saddle, then we took a little break. The hike easing down to Reavis Valley is always enjoyable. After Wally pointed out the obvious pond I enquired about we headed to the north orchard to indulge. Unfortunately the trail register had merit, apples were few and far between. Only a few unripened reds.

We decided to hike over to the Gap Trail and take a break at a campsite near the creek. Wally found a Paul Bunyan sized custom bow handle and modeled accordingly.

The hike back always feels longer but went well.

Synopsis
Apples or not I'll be back. It was great to see Wally and Kyle again. I tried a new pack setup to alleviate my shoulder pain which has been setting in around around 6-8 miles. Lightened my camelbak weight a tad with a medium sized fanny pack. Either that, the addition of gatorade, a mid hike aspirin or general healing worked wonders. This was the first good medium sized hike with zero shoulder pain. Also the quickest pace since my return.

Joe's been trying to get me to do this one for awhile now, but there was always something that got in the way.

It was his week to pick and the stars aligned. Dallin was looking for a place to stomp, it was on. One problem, Joe was having vehicle problems, so this hike went from 3 stooges, to only two.

Reavis Ranch 109 is still in great shape. We made a brief detour at the Grave and made our way to the top. On the way up we stopped to trade stories with a solo AZT through hiker from Maine.

Once to the top and in the pines, the route provide to us had us following a creek bed off of the #109. Easy enough. There was even some evidence of past trimming and cairns. This took us up to an alcove area we were going to check out. We decided the push through the bush, was not warranted.

Missing a turn to go up, we opted for a southern approach to White Mountain. The views from 6075 or 6100' were some of the best 360 Supes views out there.

Crappy Summit Video [ youtube video ]

Time to drop into Rough Canyon. This is a beautiful, tree covered, water filed, boulder hopping/sliding/traversing dream..... that turns into a nightmare. It took fooorrreeevvver to get through it. 4.5 miles and 4.5 hours (including lunch) to get through this monster. Don't get me wrong, this place is gorgeous, but I was so ready for it to be over. We even found plenty of "Use" tread, that kept us out of the boulders.

Frog Tanks #112 was a welcome site, but still more boulder hopping off and on. We passed a couple of backpackers here, and then two occupied campsites in Angel Basin.

The Rogers Canyon #110 was done mainly in the dark back to the car.

Great hiking with Dallin, I'm sure there will be more. It's nice to have a 6'-7" body, breaking a swath off in front of you!

I decided to do this more than manageable day hike as a backpack with Jackie and the pups, as we only had about six hours of daylight to work with on Saturday and I really like the campsite at the bottom of Reavis Creek. Besides, a warm fire is more appealing after wading up stream to the falls than a nearly 7 mile hike out and I knew Jackie and the pups would love the more tame overnighter.

I was worried about heavy and slow traffic on the 88 with such a late Saturday start, however, we seemed to have the road to ourselves and all of the slower vehicles politely pulled over pretty quickly when we approached them. A few cars at the trailhead and one couple starting for a day hike of the falls. The road to the TH after you turn off from 88 is in great shape, with evidence of a very recent grading. No snow on the main trail, or the route, and aside from a few icy spots to contend with, the trail to the falls was in very good shape. It seems to only get better with each new year. Most of the drainages were still trickling and Lime Creek was flowing strong and making some modest thunders in its narrows just before it reaches Reavis Creek, which was also flowing well.

After setting up camp and prepping a fire for quick starting upon what we expected would be a cold return, we headed up stream. The hike up stream seems to get a little easier every year and I feel like the trails along the creek's benches have become more defined. Even with the higher water, we were able to make it to the falls with dry feet, well three dry feet anyways. The dogs had a couple of faster crossing to contend with and some precarious bypasses, but they excelled as usual. The falls were great and probably close to the fullest I have seen them and very scenic in its icy state. After snapping some photos and a quick break, it was back down stream to camp, which as is the norm seemed to go by much quicker than the trudge up.

A great night of star gazing, eating and enjoying a nice fire at camp. Then a lazy wake up and start Sunday morning for the hike out which was pretty standard, we passed two groups of hikers going to the falls on the way out and got lucky again with traffic on the 88 on the way out.

Some areas may simply never get old for me, just a very nice weekend, its always nice to show someone Reavis Falls for the first time.

Me and Nick checked out some new territory in the Supes. Frog Tanks and Reavis Falls was on my mind, and this made for a great opportunity to pick up the northern part of the Reavis Ranch Trail.

Frog Tanks is a little gnarly. Plenty of cat claw and cactus dodging to keep you on your toes. Well worth the battle scars for the views down Fish Canyon, and the boulder hopping up Rogers Canyon. Back-to-back waterfalls up Rogers Canyon. This was by far my most favorite part of the hike. Having running water down the entire length of these canyons was a real treat.

We had Reavis Ranch all to ourselves for the night, which was nice, except when it came to finding fire wood. We hit the sleeping bags after it started to drizzle which continued on and off for most of the night. Around 3AM the wind kicked up for several hours and you could hear big gusts make their way from the top of valley all the way down to the ranch.

The next morning we hit Reavis Falls on the way out. The fall was running good, but nothing like some of the pictures I've seen on here. Well worth the side trip, and I actually really enjoyed the climb out, despite all the complaining I made on the way down . Near Maple Spring you see Juniper, Pine, and Saguaro all within 50 yards of one another, which I found to be pretty cool. The area feels very diverse.

Water is plentiful at the moment. Started with 3L, but eventually carried 0L - 1L between water sources. For a good portion of this hike, we were walking near, hopping over, or listening to flowing water. It felt more like spring than winter out there. It's getting green, the bugs are out, and the temperatures were mild.

This has been one of my favorite Superstitions trips to date.

Me and Alex headed to the Superstitions to tackle some new areas we haven't visited before. I wanted hit as much new stuff as possible, and I think I did well clocking in at about 75% new trail vs 25% already visited.

I liked Bluff Springs, western end of Peters Trail, JF Trail, and Rogers Canyon. Tortilla Pass to Rogers Trough was the highlight for both of us. Probably won't be visiting Peters Mesa, Woodbury, or Coffee Flats again anytime soon. Alex had similar opinions. We both felt this route was mostly drab and little flash, I probably wouldn't do this route again as it is plotted, I would take the parts I like and combine them with something else.

We checked out the Peralta Map and Rogers Canyon Ruins. Both were well worth the small side trips. Probably the 2 easiest ruins to "find" in the Supes, but still exciting and has us craving more.

The biggest surprise for both of us was how long these fall colors are holding on. Probably another week of good color.

We were fighting against the limited amount daylight the entire trip. Comfortable 20+ mile days this time of year, for me personally, is probably a little too optimistic. 10 hours of daylight, 2 mph, hard to get up early because its cold. You do the math. 15-17 mile per-day would probably be more enjoyable.

Water was not plentiful but the reliable sources are going strong after the rain. Bluff Springs to Kane Spring is pretty wet. Kane Spring to Clove Spring is dry. Pools near Clove Spring. Clove Spring to Reavis Ranch JCT is dry as a bone. Reavis Ranch JCT to Rogers Trough had the most water out of any drainage. Intermittent, varying sized pools along Coffee Flat Trail.

Trail Conditions
Peters Trail generally easy to follow, a couple of hiccups on top of the Mesa and near Tortilla Creek. A few spots of dodging prickly pear and agave on the Mesa, but mostly clean trail.

JF Trail Great trail from Tortilla Creek TH to Hoolie Bacon JCT. Several hiccups along ridge between Clove Spring and Tortilla Pass. Wear long pants.

Rogers Canyon Immaculate from Tortilla Pass to Angel Basin. A little brushy, and a couple hiccups between Roger Canyon Ruins and Reavis Ranch Trail JCT.

Woodbury Trail A couple of hiccups, vague tread at times. Lots of cattle activity...

Coffee Flat Several hiccups, usually just best to follow the wash. Lots of cattle activity...

Foliage
Nice colors at the lowest elevations, near La Barge and along Coffee Flat.

My third trip to the eastern Superstitions in the past 30 days. Trekkin_gecko joined me on this adventure, our first time hiking together. I often hike alone, but it's nice to have a hiking partner along to enjoy a hike as wonderful as this one, and having Kelly along made it all the more enjoyable.

It was two hours to the trail head from Higley in Gilbert. FR 449 is in great shape (we made it in with a 2WD Explorer with no problem - thanks for the scouting report, Wally!). It was 30 degrees upon arrival.

We got started a little after 8. The hike up Reavis Gap took the chill off in no time. Nice views along this segment, including that of a deep gorge a couple of miles in. Great views at Two Bar Ridge and Reavis Gap. A quick walk past Reavis Ranch and then up Fireline. We pondered taking a side trip to Circlestone, but Kelly had already been there and 17 miles was plenty enough for today. We stopped for lunch about 10 miles in, picking a sunny spot along Campaign Creek where we took a nice long break before continuing down the trail.

The trek down along Campaign Creek went by quickly. We missed a couple of turns on the way down, but only because we were chatty and having a good time. The trails are easy to follow and in pretty good shape. Water was scarce along most of the route; there is water in Campaign Creek near the start/end and at Reavis Ranch of course.

Although a bit cool and breezy at times, the weather could not have been better. Clear, blue skies all day. We stopped for dinner at Guayos restaurant just north of the SR 188/ SR 60 junction. The green chile chicken enchiladas are muy bueno! We had nice silhouettes of Picket Post mountain both at sunrise and sunset during the drive out and back, and a beautiful orange horizon as we headed over Gonzalez Pass shortly after sunset. I think we timed the drive perfectly.

It could not have been a better day and the same goes for the company. It was nice to finally meet and hike with you, Kelly. I had a great time!

the eastern supes have been on my radar since our backpack to reavis ranch last year
noticed that ray (and others) have been doing some cool hikes out that way, so i cold-called him for a hike
he had in mind this loop, which is a good long intro to and sampler of the east side
his silver bullet easily made it to the trailhead, and it was about 30 degrees when we set out on campaign trail
after reading about the climb up fireline, we did the loop counterclockwise, taking reavis gap trail at about a mile and a quarter in
sustained and at times steep climb up to reavis gap/two bar ridge
great views from there, with grassy terrain, rocky outcroppings, lots of landmarks i've yet to learn the names of
a gentle descent and another climb to the point where reavis ranch is visible, simply an amazing view
we took a short snack break somewhere in there, ray sharing half of his sandwich
familiar ground on a short section of reavis gap, the piece through reavis ranch, and fireline up to the circlestone
turnoff
we considered going up to circlestone, but both felt that was pushing it so we continued along fireline
ray says he'll be back
found the steep drop into campaign creek, had lunch toward the end of fireline, and eventually hit the intersection with campaign trail
while very pretty with the almost bare sycamores, the creek crossings made for more difficult travel
we got off trail a couple of times even with cairns at each crossing
oh, and i blew one of the later crossings, dunking a foot; never my strong suit
there was quite of bit of bear scat through here
closed the loop and finished above reavis mountain school, enjoying late fall color and lush vegetation in the creek, which held quite a bit of water on the eastern end
great hike and i'd do it again but clockwise, to see the views going the other way
excellent choice ray, even with a long drive and a committing hike with someone you've never met before
we did quite well together and even felt like having dinner at guayo's on the way into globe
thanks for agreeing to a hike, for driving and for the chocolate milk/pringle's combo as a post-hike snack
enjoyed the hike and your company

This . . . this was a hike.

We started up the Reavis Gap out of Reavis Ranch in the late morning and made our way out of the valley. Then we descended to the junction with Campaign and took a little break. I couldn't keep up with Todd and Linda much further after this point, so they moved on. I took a break to get some water from a standing pool . . . was kicking myself for not bringing water treatment or filtration supplies. I downed a liter of creek water--hoping the giardia nasties won't be making residence with me anyhow There were plenty of clear pools along the Campaign. Following the Campaign--however--was a bit difficult. I think God was watching my back (and perhaps Saint Chumley of Dickarrow, too) because I didn't ever lose the trail though I certainly felt like I did at points. It doesn't seem Campaign gets too much play--people must be tired of such things this election season

I junctioned with the Fireline and began the steep 2 mile ascent. Let me tell ya--it was slow-going. After reaching the high point, it was smooth sailing from there. You then junction with the Reavis Ranch trail. I was pleased to get back to camp only an hour after the speed hikers, and I was greeted with some fresh, wild apples at Reavis Ranch. They're great!

This was a fun three days and a great group. We got a late start with the two dogs on Friday and didn't make it to camp until just after dark. Luckily, they had the fire going for us already. Day two we hit Circlestone with some others from the group. Most of them went up Mound but we stayed and napped and lounged at the ruins for a bit before heading down. On the way back we ran into Chumley and Linda completing their hike and then 9L, Claire, and Karl who had dropped off their stuff after hiking in and were heading up Circlestone. Day three we headed back to the north. It turned out to be a just a little warm for the dogs on the way out. They both slowed down for the last few miles but they powered through like champs.