HikeArizona.COM

Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster. I thought I’d throw this question out while I’m combing through the archives/doing my own research today.

We decided to change our original backpacking plans next week from a GC trip to a Superstitions trip. We have very little recent experience in the Superstitions aside from one day hike last month (JF trail/Rogers Canyon from Woodbury). I hiked in the Superstitions a lot as a kid, but haven’t backpacked there since 2013.

What we’re looking for:

-Three days / two nights
-Water sources: we can carry enough water for the whole group day 1/night 1/morning 2 but ideally would like a water source on day 2/night 2.
-Dog-friendly (rock scrambling is fine, they love scrambling, but no class IV stuff, or very limited class IV that’s short enough to pass dogs between us).
-We will drive down to the trailhead from Flag & camp there the night before day 1 of route. We’ll be in a high-clearance 4x4.

Group resume:
I am an experienced GC backpacker (over 100 nights below the rim in the last four years, all off-corridor). I hike 30-40 miles a week for work in Northern AZ. I have backpacked all over the west, though I tend to spend most of my time in GC these days. My partner is also an experienced backpacker. We both have professional experience with map/compass/navigation & enjoy route finding. We do not like busy trails. Coming across the occasional other person/group is totally fine, but we would like to avoid crowded areas.

We will have two dogs with us, both seasoned hikers/backpackers themselves. One of them struggles with catclaw (he is very fine haired & low to the ground — adventure Chihuahua), but we can easily carry him if needed. The other dog is a double-coated wrecking ball who has no issue pushing through brush. Yes, both will be on leash & we will pack out their waste (I’m a ranger on a different forest — we behave). Their only Sonoran desert hiking experience is that 13 mile day hike on JF Trail/Rogers Canyon from Woodbury & one overnight in the Skull Mesa area, but they hike/trail run regularly in Flagstaff/Sedona (both have summitted all our highest peaks up here multiple times). The current catclaw situation in Rogers Canyon (west side) is probably the thickest the dogs can handle, if that’s a helpful gauge.

The whole group is good for ~10 mile days, but we’d probably like to keep it there or under for each day on the trip. Shorter days are fine. We like side trips to see cool things, but we don’t visit archy sites with the dogs.

I normally spend more time doing my own research before asking strangers for suggestions, but there’s just SO MUCH to explore. I figured I’d fire off this question & spend the day doing some reading & hopefully get some good guiding recs from people in the know.

I’ve got the 1995 edition of Hiker’s Guide to the Superstition Wilderness & the Beartooth Superstition Wilderness topo map, which I will be perusing this morning, as well as posts on this forum.

So … if you made it through this long & rambling post … any recommendations?

Thanks!

Overall the Superstitions are higher on the east side, with snow possible/likely in the cold weather like we are having now. So current recommendations will be for the western side, generally, stay anywhere west of Woodbury trailhead.

Most triplogs are speaking to pretty dry conditions, so I'd recommend structuring your itinerary around the reliable springs, such as Charlesbois, La Barge, and Bluff Spring. There are probably hundreds of trail and trip descriptions including backpacking loops for the western Superstitions on the website, and since you don't seem to have done much of any of them, at least recently, your options are open.

The crowds will thin out once you get about 3 miles from any trailhead.

@cssndrp
Similar to what Nonot said, the eastern half would be pretty cold and may have some snow depending on your elevation. This time of the year backpacking is better in the western half. Once you get to March, April ish Reavis is always a great place to backpack to. The eastern side does tend to have more catclaw however, as the trail maintance is pretty much non existent over there.