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Hello all you intrepid hikers, I am flying in from overseas to Phoenix with a plan to hike to Reavis Ranch via the 109 North route and from there explore for a couple of weeks with others who get there before and after me. Arrival to Phoenix Airport is on April 2 or thereabouts.
As 88 is closed off at Fish Creek Hill and I wont have a hire car (I dont want to leave it 'abandoned' in a car park), I am looking for suggestions as to how to get to the trailhead

1/ Uber (if available) from Phoenix to Fish Creek Hill Scenic Overlook and cop the walk down 88 to the trailhead. Adds a few more miles but it also adds lots more hours to go around via Globe.
2/ Airport shuttle from Phoenix to Globe and Uber or similar from Globe down to the trailhead.
3/ Being packed in by horseback with the Feldmans (Have emailed them but no reply at time of posting)
4/ Any other suggestions welcome.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

109 North is an old road, now considered a trail and it is mostly high country and difficlult to hike when it is windy. Thus it can be quite boring at times, however if your planning on a side trip to Reavis Falls I would reccomend you take this route to the Reavis Ranch area.

You may want to consider taking the old road from the Tortilla Trailhead past the old ranch site until you reach the spot where there was an old (now unused and not kept up) trail that goes down into Fish Creek Canyon and follow it up to either Rogers Canyon and it's Cliff Dwllings or enter Plow Saddle trail and hike from there into Reavis Ranch. This is easily reachable by car via State Route 88.

I will monitor this thread and see what others suggest for you and will respond to any of your questions. I will also consider driving you, but cannot commit at this time as I am planning on knee surgery sometime in the near future and it depends upon when all my doctors agree and complete their plans for me. Life is full of surprises when you reach the age of 83! LOL

Has anyone been to the Reavis North TH recently? How is that last bit of road to the parking area? It used to get deeply rutted.

Before the Fish Creek Hill closure, one advantage of the North TH was that it was possible to navigate in a rental sedan. I agree that the hike is long and can be boring if you've done it too many times (like me). Before it was a road, I believe it was a trail in prehistoric times. I've found a few pottery bits wedged into a rock wall where there's a turn in the road, along with some other things.

@big_load
Wally hiked it in March 11 of 2023. I assume he drove up from SR88 to the railhead and he never mentioned any washouts of the road so I assume it is still ok to drive on.

I just read the last six HAZ trips to Reavis Falls. They also did not mention any difficluties driving up to the traihead. Which is good news.

SuperstitionGuy wrote: ↑Feb 19 2024 3:00 pm @big_load
Wally hiked it in March 11 of 2023. I assume he drove up from SR88 to the railhead and he never mentioned any washouts of the road so I assume it is still ok to drive on.

I just read the last six HAZ trips to Reavis Falls. They also did not mention any difficluties driving up to the traihead. Which is good news.

Great! I like to use the less-crowded trailheads, but clearance is always a consideration.

Regarding option 2: The road to the trailhead is open, you have to drive highway 188, turn onto to the Apache trail (88), head west, and then turn off Apache trail to the road (FR212 I think?) to the 109 North Trailhead. This would be the easiest way, but the commute is lengthy.

Usually the entirety of the Apache trail is suitable for most vehicles (extreme low clearance being the exceptions), but in contrast the road from Apache trail to the trailhead is generally washed out in sections and requires moderate clearance - SUVs, trucks, Subarus, etc. If relying on the Uber option, I would suggest making special arrangements rather than accept any Uber driver with a vehicle that may not make it.

Regarding option 1:
Walking from Fish creek hill to the trailhead adds a lot of miles, and doing it with a backpack would likely mean you do not reach any reliable water source after Fish Creek on day 1 of your trip unless you put in a substantial amount of miles and extra uphill. While possible with precautions of taking extra water, it would not be my top choice. If Lewis and Pranty creek is still flowing, which by April is debatable without another rain or two between now and then, this will help out greatly.


Regarding option 4: There used to be someone that was offering (paid) shuttle service to Superstitions trailheads that would get brought up in posts such as this, and I'd see their business come up now and then, but I haven't seen them mentioned in a few years and frankly forgot who they were. Perhaps some googling might lead you to them if they are still in that type of business. I imagine if there is a business offering shuttle service, they would be willing to do airport pickup/dropoff.

SuperstitionGuy wrote:You may want to consider taking the old road from the Tortilla Trailhead past the old ranch site until you reach the spot where there was an old (now unused and not kept up) trail that goes down into Fish Creek Canyon and follow it up to either Rogers Canyon and it's Cliff Dwllings

Thanks for the suggestion - I hadn't really looked at alternatives coming down off Fish Creek Hill. Will definitely look further into these trails. Much more interesting than hiking along 88.

On the maps, it looks much of a muchness distance wise to do Fish Creek Hill - JF- Rogers Canyon - Frog Tanks - Reavis Ranch109 North - Reavis Ranch
or Fish Creek Hill - JF - Rogers Canyon - Reavis Ranch 109 South - Reavis Ranch

I will need to look into the elevations a bit more - but it certainly looks attractive. And shouldn't be too hard to get out to Fish Creek Hill. Thank you for your kind offer - I may take you up on it closer to the time if your knee is not giving you trouble. See how I go.

nonot wrote:Walking from Fish creek hill to the trailhead adds a lot of miles,

Yes lots of miles and Superstitionguy has kindly pointed out some trails off of Fish Creek Hill that I hadn't looked at, so I will explore them further.

Re shuttle services, I haven't found anything yet but have joined up a couple of Fb pages based on trails in Arizona, so will ask around a bit there. Would be pretty neat to get a lift in to the Rogers Trough Trailhead.

Thanks for the suggestions and the reminder about water. Quite different hiking where water is not freely available.

April is a bit of an oddball time here, as well; sometimes great temperatures, sometimes you'll get days that are entirely too hot. May be good to have a backup plan of sorts that would put you at higher elevation like the mazatzals.
Note, that side of the wilderness sees a lot less traffic and trail conditions reflect that. Frog Tanks, for example, is basically non-existent these days, and just an overgrown mess. Still can be a fun adventure, I just like giving people a heads up as sometimes people think that just because a trail is on a map that it's going to be nice an maintained. Similarly, just because there's a blue line or circle saying a creek or spring exists... it's probably dry (well, not right now because of all the rain but *normally*)

Getting a lift to Rogers Trough will be a lot easier than the northern approach. There's at least one trail angel in Superior that's been known to do it and I've personally gotten a lift from; his name is Al and he's active on the different AZT facebook groups.

I agree that in April, heat could be a concern. I'd want to reach the TH not long after dawn in order to finish off most of the climbing under open skies before it warms up.

I'll play devil's advocate here and suggest that April is prime backpacking time in the eastern part of the Superstition Wilderness. It's unlikely you'll see temperatures over 80 degrees, and the major creeks will still have good flow in an average year.

@ShatteredArm
Thank you for that comment.
The second week in April the apple trees will be loaded with blossoms as well.
Its a great time to visit the Ranch and surrounding area.

ShatteredArm wrote: ↑Feb 20 2024 8:40 pm I'll play devil's advocate here and suggest that April is prime backpacking time in the eastern part of the Superstition Wilderness. It's unlikely you'll see temperatures over 80 degrees, and the major creeks will still have good flow in an average year.

Yes, that is quite likely, although punishing heat creeps earlier year by year.

@big_load
Does it, though? Summers have been getting hotter and hotter, but spring hasn't. Last June was one of the coolest on record.

I wouldn't be worried about heat in the eastern Superstitions in April as of yet.

@ShatteredArm
Heat is relative. Depends on where you're from. This guy is coming from overseas. England, Iceland, South Africa? 80 might be pretty hot depending on where you actually live.

outdoor_lover wrote:This guy is coming from overseas. England, Iceland, South Africa?

Actually, this GAL is from Australia.
How do I know? We're still working out details but it appears I will be providing the transportation she requires.

CannondaleKid wrote: ↑Feb 22 2024 8:20 pm

outdoor_lover wrote:This guy is coming from overseas. England, Iceland, South Africa?

Actually, this GAL is from Australia.
How do I know? We're still working out details but it appears I will be providing the transportation she requires.

In that case, neither heat nor venomous critters should be a problem.

Is her name Linda Kozlowski by the way?

big_load wrote:In that case, neither heat nor venomous critters should be a problem.

A wise man once told me to be careful not to trip while jumping to conclusions... not all of Australia is like the Outback
Check it out... Mansfield has been described as a small town in the foothills of the Victorian Alps.

@SuperstitionGuy No