HikeArizona.COM

Hey folks,

We (wifey and 2 kiddos) will be in the Phoenix area at the end of March. We're avid backpackers, but we've never been in the Supes. We'd love to get a 4 day/3 night trip in while we're there. I've been trying to dig through the information here and the web at large to come up with an itinerary that meets our group skill/endurance level and have good luck at water sources at that time of year. It's a little tricky though, mainly due to my lack of water source knowledge in the area. Hoping for some planning efficiency by picking the brains of those with the subject matter knowledge here, and would appreciate any help. Here's the main criteria aside from # of nights:

Daily mileage: ~ 5 miles, though could stretch to 7 on a "big day" if needed
Camp near water sources each night (and in an ideal world, a water source trail stop or two during each day as well )
Avoid overgrown trails and scrambling - except for the kids to play around during down times of course

Is a plan like this realistic? Recommendations?

You might start here with choosing any parameters (Length/Loop/ etc)to whittle it down some..> https://hikearizona.com/traildex.php
Hikers Guide to the Superstition Wilderness: With History and Legends of Arizona is a wonderful book with most if not all the named trails plus some of the easier 'routes'. Usually about $10 on Amazon used. Includes good maps and some lore about the area.

Plan for two routes depending upon the weather.
IE one for sunny and clear days and one for rainy or cold weather.

Start: First Water TH
Night 1: Hackberry Spring area. 1.5-3 miles. Couple different ways to choose your own adventure to get there
Night 2: Near Second Water/Boulder junction. Junction is 3.4 miles or so from Hackberry. Great camping, water is flowing. Want to add a little more distance? Go North or South; various camp sites .5 miles in either direction that are all nice.
Night 3: The junction of Cavalry/Dutchman is 4.5 miles from the junction of Second Water/Boulder. In that area and in the stretch from there to Charleboi (about a mile) there are tons of good camping spots and the creek has water.
Day 4: return to car via Dutchman/Bull Pass. 6.5-8 miles depending on the route you take.

Relatively easy from an elevation perspective. First two days have no real gains, one slightly sustained downhill. Second day will have a somewhat steep but short climb up Cavalry but then flat. From there to the Dutchman trail between cavalry and Charleboi is flat. The last day will be the longer one. Two ways to do it, trade a mile or two for a more gentle elevation gain or go shorter for a bit steeper elevation gain. After that, pretty gentle climb. Overall, the route is pretty easy with the only two places that'll have you breathing harder being the climb up Cavalry and Bull Pass. This is well trodden trail so no bushwhacking; I took my then 6 year old daughter on this route a couple years ago and she was fine.

@xsproutx
That is fantastic. This will definitely speed my route planning (if you didn't just finish it for me ). Sounds like a great kiddo friendly option too.