Jack put up a pic showing the brilliant brittle bush from the Goldfield Ghost Town so I thot I would stop by and see it for myself after my hike to Fremont Saddle from Peralta TH. I picked up some lunch at McDonalds on Hwy 60 and then ate my way toward my next stop. I thot there was a short cut to Mining Camp Restaurant that Jack took back in 2011 when he picked us up after our Ridgeline hike so I asked Kemosabe to take me there from Mountain View Dr. Well that didn't work as I ended up on the 88 and would have ended up taking the regular entrance. Maybe that's the way Jack took us and I just forgot?

But I decided to get at that gold from the Lost Dutchman State Park side so I ended up taking First Water Road and pulled into the first parking area on the southside. I finished most of my food and then began to mount up. Another hiker with a very big knife strapped to his leg told me to make sure I had plenty of water. I thanked him and crossed thru the gate and on my way. I had never been on this trail before. It was a highway I tell ya. One of those hike and gawk trails that are so much fun; especially when you have great scenery to gawk at. It appears this is part of the trail that you can hike to the First Water TH per the trail sign that junctions up with the trail to what someone was calling the Apache Rd TH (that is the parking lot you see when you first pull off of First Water Road).

The cactus and trees along here were quite abundant as I made my way south with the northern part of the Nwestern Superstition Massif staring me down. I eventually came to the Jacob Crosscut/Treasure Loop and continued on Jacob's Trail. The brittle bush is mostly spent so last week was prime. Oh well. I debated which way to tackle this photo trip and decided to go to Siphon Draw Trail and then up and around. There weren't many people out on this part of the trail. However, once I got to Siphon Draw Trail the traffic picked up until I made my turn on the Palmer Mine Trail.

It was a really nice day and the last time I hiked the Palmer Mine Trail was at my birthday bash and that was in the shade. Today I was in full sun but it was a bit breezy up here so pleasant enough as I looked across toward Goldfield Ghost Town and the McDowells and Goldfields. I didn't look forward to that last bit of elevation on the Prospectors Trail but it was short. I decided to stop at the bench at the Jct with Treasure Loop and rest my laurels and finish off my apple snack. Of course the views from here are pretty nice so I did some zooming.

As I looked down on the Treasure Loop trail toward some rather large cholla trees I reflected that this was the only hike my mom did with me in the Supes, actually the only hike she did with me. It wasn't easy for her and we took our time with our friend Rose. I think this was back in my casual hiking days; I just found the picture, it was Mar 12, 2005. My mom loved those large cholla trees , I think there are only 3.

Anyway, it was getting later in the day and I still had shopping to do for Easter so I continued down the Treasure Loop Trail where I encountered a few hikers and somehow missed going by those cholla trees or they were further down. I almost hiked past the intersection with the connector trail as I thot it was further down too.

The hike back on this connector trail was real pretty; especially as the trail passes thru the thick cholla forest. I had to look back a couple times at the NWestern Superstitions Massif as the light was changing. Yep, it was a good day as I arrived back to Tonto Jr and quickly changed into my shoes. Two good hikes in the Superstitions on Good Friday... still wished I had brot a beer . Of course I have video but I'm just finishing up my Sedona videos so it will be a bit.
and six months later, here they are. Once again, this is the way Panasonic supposedly repaired my camera so the quality is not top notch. I did return the camera for them to repair their repair of which Panasonic said they didn't cause but my hiking did. Meanwhile, this is the Searchin for Gold series:
Crosscut, Jacob's Trails - https://youtu.be/SL ... 5IYg
Jacob's, Palmer Mine to Treasure Loop - https://youtu.be/oM ... cFQc
Treasure Loop to Crosscut - https://youtu.be/Ws ... HfFs

Wildflowers
waning brittle bush

Day 2, Hike 2 of the TibberFest/60th Birthday Bash. 13 of us would be hiking this Loop, well part of us anyway as some would go back from Palmer Mine to go up Siphon Draw. I can't tell you how much this made me smile to have so many people to hike with that I've hiked with over my short time hiking. I am one lucky hiker.

Larry had the route, Larry got nominated trip leader. He got us to the mine but was a little nervous about herding 12 cats. I can't remember what my niece asked Larry but his response was, "I usually hike alone." Oh well, not today. We headed up the trail from the Main Campground via the Mining Camp restaurant trail, merged with Siphon Draw and then turned at the trail that goes to the left after the Crosscut.

It was a bit warm and we were anxiously hoping to get to the shade of the mine. We could have gone on Jacob's to Prospector to get to the shade earlier but that was a steeper climb. The mine adit has a lot more overgrowth then when I was here last with Ambika. The mine has a great history though and I forwarded that to the non-HAZers so it will hopefully make it more memorable for them (I'll test them the next time I see them ). We goofed around here and enjoyed the shade a bit before continuing on via some dips to the Prospector Trail intersection. We had the option to take it back down or continue on for a larger loop. It was no-contest as everyone opted for the bigger loop (it was a matter of time out on the trail for those that had later plans).

So the nine of us continued, visited for a moment at the Treasure Loop intersection and headed on down to the Jacob's Crosscut. Most folks had not done this trail or this hike so it was new and a nice way to start a Sunday. Larry and I lingered behind as the others picked up the pace.

Back at the campground, folks finished packing up and went their separate ways. It was nice of my brother to bring out Snowball as it came in handy for storage and late afternoon shade. Others brot food or wood or charcoal and it all worked out very well. It is a very nice campground and having the food truck come out for Saturday's meal worked perfectly. To finish off the weekend, we stopped at the Mammoth Steakhouse for lunch (great skins and wings; lucky for me Ambika gives me the leftovers to take home) with Wade & Mary Jo and Wendy & Ambika.

Thursday, Chumley got a few of us together (for those who couldn't make the weekend bash due to a backpack trip at Powers Garden) to celebrate the real 60th at the AZ Wilderness Brewery so that was a nice way to cap off my second 30th Birthday. As I've told others, I actually think I wouldn't mind turning 60 all over again cuz this was way too much fun !

Video 1: https://youtu.be/I3 ... cvI0
Video 2: https://youtu.be/XQ ... B7_Y

after running my mouth about hiking 5024/flatiron sunday morning, I found some good excuses to do the palmer mine loop with the group
started up the siphon draw trail, then cut north on a trail that went near some tailings, a piece of pipe, a filled in looking area and a couple of blast holes
wandered around a bit, then continued on
returned on treasure loop and Jacob's crosscut
first hike with wendy and sarae, nice to see ambika again, along with a non-haz member, lori
this was the right choice after all

Siphon Draw is my friend...Siphon Draw is my friend...Siphon Draw is my friend. I say that whenever I go up, but today, probably for the first time, Siphon Draw did feel like an old friend.

It was an overcast morning with occasional sprinkles to keep things cool. Only a few hikers were on the trail. Most that I saw were stuck in the basin area, trying to gain traction on the wet surface. I didn't see them again, so I assumed that was as far as they got. About half way up the draw, I noticed how quiet it was. I didn't hear a peep. Not a person, not a bird, nothing. No boom boxes, no chatter from scores of hikers. I was all alone, probably the only time that will happen. I took it all in and continued up, enjoying this hike more than any Flatiron hike I've done before.

Just before the top, right where that last climb is, the first heavy rain came. The forecast was supposed to be partly cloudy after 8am, so I was surprised by the rain. I pressed my back into a shallow alcove to at least try and keep my pack dry. I had a snack and waited it out. A few minutes later, I saw another hiker. He was wearing a cotton T and denim shorts. He was soaked to the bone. Those denim shorts must have weighed a ton!

He approached the final climb before the top. He stopped and sighed. He made a few attempts to get up the wall, each ending in failure because he couldn't get a good grip on anything. I asked if he wanted a hand. He said no. A couple of minutes later, he made it and bellowed out a "hoo rah" on his achievement. Thinking he might have been a fellow Marine, I bellowed out a Semper Fi in response. He was a brother, but from the Navy side of the house. I followed him up and we made our way over to the Flatiron.

The rain had stopped by now, but the wind was blowing hard on top, too hard to enjoy anything. I didn't see any breaks in the overcast and I could see rain falling in pockets all around. It looked like the rain was going to last awhile longer. My plans to go out onto the ridge line were not looking good. I headed that way anyway, asking my sailor friend if he wanted to join me. He looked cold and miserable and declined, saying he was heading down. We parted company. A few minutes later, another deluge. It was almost horizontal with the gusting wind. I ducked against a giant boulder and let the rain fly over. A few minutes later, it subsided. Just as I was about to move on, thunder boomed in the distance. This wasn't going to get any better, so I decided to head down.

I met my sailor friend back at the same place we first met. I wasn't sure if he was mustering up enough courage to go down or waiting for things to dry out. Everything was wet. Siphon Draw was no longer my friend. This was going to take some time getting down. My sailor friend and I started down, taking our time, reminiscing about jarheads and sailors on the seven seas, D-Day (71st anniversary) and anything else that came to mind. I found myself using lingo I hadn't used in 35 years.

The rained stopped by the time we reached the basin. Both of us soaked now, I dropped down onto my bum and let gravity take me down the wet slick rock. I would have ended up on my anyway, so why not!

We parted ways at the Palmer Mine trail junction. I started from the Cholla Lot in LDSP so I took the PM trail to the Prospector trail, then the east side of the Treasure Loop trail back to Cholla. I introduced myself before we parted and told him it was nice hiking with him. Turns out his name was Ray, too. Nice guy.

While I on the Prospectors trail, I ran into a gent who was parked on a bench all dressed up with no place to go (pack, trekking poles, etc). He was waiting for someone to come along and give him some directions on how to get to the top of the mountain. I pointed him towards the Siphon Draw trail and wished him luck. He was as happy as a pig in slop. It clearly made his day!

I finished my hike with a smile on my face. Despite being wet and muddied, I thoroughly enjoyed this hike.

Had to take advantage of the freakishly cool May weather and get back out to the Supes for something different.

Karma was set for a successful hike, seeing a Javilina on 56th st at City North, on the way to the hike.

This hike was inspired by the incomparable Hansenaz's (AKA Steve, The Stevinator, Steverino) 2009 loop.

Started from the Broadway TH for the first time. Not a fan of the ankle buster rocky trail leading up to another one low on the list, Jacob's Trail #58. But it's a way to get to the Hog. We kept commenting on how perfect the conditions were to see snakes in the tall grassy wash area and Joe made sure to follow me, saying that "They're known to hit the person at the back of the pack, so I'll follow to watch out for you". What a good friend he is.......

We stopped at the dry fall to check the area out and then started our climb up the Hog Canyon Ridge. For the most part pretty straight forward, but we had Steve's track to keep us on the straight and narrow. You had to continuously look back to soak in the views. The scattered clouds made the views pop. I'd say the hardest part was the initial climb to get on the ridge and there was one other section where Joe just made it by going straight up, but my legs were too short and I had to go around.

The Climb up Hog Canyon Ridge https://youtube.com ... t=vd

Finally on the Supes Ridgeline and smooth sailing. One reason for making this loop was to pick up a short section of the Ridgeline I hadn't been on yet. We saw a single hiker on the Ridgeline and then started seeing a few more as we got closer to the Flatiron.

Down the trail to the Siphon Draw and then hopped on the Palmer Mine Trail over to the Treasure Loop #56 and by Praying Hands.

My least favorite part of the day was the 4+ mile slog back on Jacob's Trail #58. That trail just never ended...
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The weather was absolutely perfect!

A fun workout hike with a friend that wants to start hiking again.

Up to the Basin, down to and across Palmer Mine, up to and past Praying Hands, down the east side and back around to Crosscut. It was a gorgeous day with lots to see along the way. We noted several nooks and crannies we'd like to come back and explore along the base of the cliffs.

Started at the McKellips TH. Apparently some neighborhood vigilantes don't like the hikers or horseback riders on "HIS" road and have made several handmade signs warning not to enter or park at this trailhead, with some not so subtle threats against it. They had even made a wall of rocks across the road but someone had cleared much of it prior to my arrival. Not sure what the problem is but someone is not happy with this trail head. Entered and parked. When I returned there were five more trucks parked with me. Nice day.

Got to the TH about 6:20AM, the temperature wasn't bad but with the breeze the windchill was uncomfortable. By the time I got to peak 3039 the wind at the saddle had to be in excess of 50 mph. Explored the area around the 3 peaks closest to peak 3039. Nice views. Then missed the possible trails to Praying Hands so pretty much bushwhacked and used game trails. This was actually the best as I discovered an old garbage dump full of very rusted tin cans. And an interesting boulder fairly hollowed out that had been used as a camping spot. Of course not all was good, as I was navigating down a small drop with my primary handhold being the left hand and the right on a secondary. The primary suddenly came loose. The secondary ended up being a lot sharper than planned. It wasn't until 15 minutes later that I found I had been leaving a trail of blood from my right index finger that had been torn open.

At Praying Hands and the other peak just to the west did more exploring. Then took a route that kept me high on the hill until I dropped onto the Treasure Loop trail.

My plans were to then go on the Prospectors View trail to the Palmer Mine trail. First I got distracted about a quarter of the way along the Prospectors View trail with a small side trail heading up to the cliff face. Didn't really find a good reason for the trail but the couple hundred feet plus of elevation was great for the views. Then back on the Pros Views trail I missed the Palmer mine trail. Just as I got down to the Crosscut I finally faced the realization that it had to be behind me. So I had to climb back up to locate it. Not much of a trail at the point it breaks off. But it was an interesting place to explore around the old mine area and tailings.

Took the Syphon Draw trail back to the Crosscut then took a detour to check out the western portion of the Treasure Loop. Finished with the Crosscut back to the TH.

Ambika just wanted to do something short as she had things to take care of. So we met my cousin Connie at SanTan Village and had a great lunch and conversation. We then headed over to the Mining Camp Restaurant Trailhead to do a quick loop. Of course, I left the hike desc in Tonto back at the Q-T but fortunately, Ambika had her phone so we could get the directions on there. Otherwise, I would have had us going to Broadway Cave direction.

I didn't realize as we got out on the Siphon Draw Trail that Palmer Mine was just up there to the left where the tailings, that just really look like a long pile of dirt now, were. I did, however, know where the in-ground cement structure was as that particular place is where during spring, a couple globe mallow put on one heck of a display... but not this year.

On the way we were lucky to enjoy some pretty clouds hovering over the Flatiron and toward the Four Peaks so we snapped a few photos. It's a good thing we did too as the clouds only hung around for a very short time. We made our way over to the mine walking by the KEEP OUT boulder and just past the tailings to the mine. At least the rock around the adit was quite pretty.

We continued on the loop and hooked on with the Prospector View Trail before heading back to the TH. They are doing some trail maintenance by putting in some treated wood blooks. As we were taking pics of the budded mistletoe, I looked over and saw Chumley (I have the hardest time remembering his real name Todd and then I called his dog Chai and it's Kai) but then again he says, "Hi Tibber" . He had just come down from the Flatiron.

It was a great day for a quick hike. We hoped to stop by the Museum, something we usually never have time to do but sadly, it was closed.

Quick post lunch walk in the Supes with Angela ...Magically the clouds appeared over Ridgeline for a while & provided good photo ops. Ate a bunch of really ripe wolfberries, saw a road runner, a few quail & a squirell chasing them! Poppies are trying to make a valiant stand against the wilting sun, Brittle bush and a few assorted usuals blooming as well .....
I taked about doing the ridge line, camping on Flatiron, we admired the hazy downtown skyline ( or lack there of!)....breezy delightful amble after wrapping up taxes & feeling a bid blue about how hard I work to pay the gummint!

Tried to go to the Supes Museum -- they closed at 4:00 pm

Twas good to get out & Oh I got meet chumley!!