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| Hiking | 10.00 Miles |
2,250 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.00 Miles | 7 Hrs 30 Mns | | 1.33 mph |
| 2,250 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Bluff Spring Trail and Terrapin trail to Weavers Needle with return via Weavers Needle Crosscut and Peralta Trail.
This was to be my first hike of 2011 and I selected it to once again burn off an excess of calories from the holidays. I wanted to go out on January 1st, but soon found out that I lacked the ambition following the partys of the night before. So I spent the day reading up on what the other HAZ,ers were logging in for trips and photos and watching college foot-bowls.
From the Peralta Trail TH, I zeroed the GPS, signed the trail log at 9:15 and headed up the Bluff Springs trail. I was getting a late start because I was procrastinating about the low temps and wind that I was observing from my home in Apache Junction. But I was feeling too guilty after sitting around the previous day so I dressed appropriately and told my wife not to expect me back for lunch.
The Bluff Spring trail had very few hikers on it so I had the whole world to myself to enjoy and photograph (just the way I like it). But it didn't take me long to realize that I had overdressed because the winds were minimal and the sun was unobstructed with only a few high clouds. The views and scenery from along the trail are worth the climb from the 2,450 ft at the parking lot to the 3,000 ft of the main trail. I'm a nut for rock formations and there was an abundance of them up here.
I was surprised at the amount of water that was flowing up in the higher elevations and the colder temps brought out a lot of ice formations, which enhanced the rocks. There were some slippery spots to watch out for, but as long as I knew it was around, I kept watching for it. At the junction of two streams I assumed that I was now on the Terrapin Trail and angled off towards Weavers Needle. The existing trails were hard to find but the landmarks were evident and I didn't have any problems working through the rocks and brush.
Finally I caught a view of the top sections of Weavers Needle and before long, I was in the saddle viewing the Needle and it's canyon far below. This being my first trip to the Needle, I was awestruck by its size and how thoroughly it commanded the immediate area. I now know why the Apache considered the Superstitions as a revered area and fought to keep all intruders from entering their sanctuary.
I worked my way down to the base of the canyon then took a Southerly heading along a little used trail that I thought would bring me to the Peralta Trail by the shortest route. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. The trail was easy to follow because of the number of cairns placed in view and soon led me to a wash lined with large boulders and a narrow slot to slip through. As I emerged on the other side, I was amazed to find that I was well above the Peralta Trail at the bottom of the canyon and the trail down was very steep and boulder strewn.
My GPS indicated I was at a 3,600 ft level and the Peralta Trail should be around 3,100 ft at this point so I had a long way to descend. It was a pretty bad trail coming down, but I made it and hooked up with the Peralta trail, turned South again and took a break to revitalize myself and then headed towards Freemont Saddle.
This trail is very easy to follow and there were lots of hikers and even some jogging couples heading down-trail towards the Needle. I continued working my way back up hill and turning frequently to get another view of the ever-changing Weavers Needle.
When I finally made it to Freemont Saddle I looked at my GPS and saw that I was at 3,808 ft and I knew the parking lot was at 2,450 ft, some 2 miles below, so it's all down hill from here. I actually passed groups of hikers while descending, which amazed me because the GPS was indicating I had traveled more than 8 miles so far.
As I arrived at the parking lot, I signed out of the logbook at 3:45 and checked the GPS one final time. The miles showed 9.9 so I walked a tour around the parking lot until it read 10.0 miles. But it took me 7.5 hours to make the Bluff Spring-Terrapin-Peralta loop and record 50 photos of my journey, and I am left with some incredible memories that should last forever. |
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| On every trip into the Superstitions, I find another Gold Mine. Today the mine was filled with Memories. I can not wait for the next trip. |
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