Superstition Peak 5057 Loop via Hiero, AZ

Overview
Two thirds of the time, conditions will likely dictate hiking this loop in a CW direction. It depends mostly on the season with tolerance of heat as the most important consideration and whether you want to start with the sun directly in your eyes, complete certain bushwhacky parts before the snakes are active and/or you wish to complete the steep uphill at the beginning or middle part of the hike. America is great enough in that you get to decide what's best for you. Be prepared or this could get ugly.


Hike
The official CW route utilizes the complete Hieroglyphics Trail #101, upper Hieroglyphic Canyon, an east central section of the Superstition Ridgeline, an easy dogleg spur to the peak, a descent to the West Boulder Saddle that passes through Carney Spring Canyon and the central-eastern section of the Lost Goldmine Trail. Besides the summit block, only one section of this route (CW three-mile mark) has a scramble (maybe cl.3) that is colloquially known as Just Look Away. You'll get the drift if you've spotted a partner who'd never scrambled this type of terrain before. Someone has recently stacked some rocks at the base of this ledge to make it easier to negotiate. The rest of the route is fairly obvious to anyone with a bit of route-finding experience.Synopsis
This hike is one of the better loops in the Supes. Currently, it's somewhat overgrown with Desert Globemallow in the middle section near the Three Sisters. Overall, this doesn't qualify as a gnarly bushwhack like some of the other routes posted on HAZ, especially the far eastern trail loops.

2024-05-15 pseudalpine