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| Hiking | 11.25 Miles |
835 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.25 Miles | 8 Hrs 10 Mns | | 1.69 mph |
| 835 ft AEG | 1 Hour 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Ya gotta believe it.....everything Fritzski wrote about this hike is gospel, the good, the bad and the excitement along the way.
The Forest Service was tipped off to a stash of supplies that were found in the vicinity of Willow Springs so we put a team together to locate the stash and remove it from the Wilderness. The team consisted of 6 Forest Service employees, some of us were volunteers, to make the hike into West Boulder Canyon and try to find this stash without specific coordinates to go by.
We left First Water TH shortly after 0800 and made good time down the Dutchman's Trail to Parker Pass where we left the main trail. From this point on, there are no more trail markers, only the existing seldom used trails (yes, there are still seldom used trails out here). We followed the trail to Tim's Saddle where we had a breathtaking view of the West Boulder Canyon below us in the yet early morning.
There were high, broken, wispy clouds tearing across the sky, signaling an omen of an approaching weather front. But today the sun was bright and the temps in the low 70's as we made our way down the rocky hills to Boulder Creek. Now the luxury of hiking trails is past and we are now confronted with bushwhacking, boulder hopping and climbing around obstacles that nature has placed at some of the worst locations. But it's a beautiful journey into the history rich canyon that seems to be bypassed by the speed hikers of today.
The trail(?) appears and disappears as we wound our way through the ever present Catclaw and hungry Prickley Pear cactus, and when the trails ran out, it was down to the creek bed.We found the remains of an old Barbed Wire Corral that barely exists today. The wooden posts are aged and will soon be consumed by the desert, but the wire will remain for several more decades. A short distance away is an awesome campsite along the creek with benches made from the local rocks and even a flag pole.
From this point on, the canyon narrowed and it was strictly rock hopping and rock climbing until we were confronted with the Giant Boulder that Fritzski mentioned in his hike description. We decided that this was a good place to have lunch and enjoy the serenity of the moment and the incredible scenery that was all around us  I was the only one of the group that wore a short sleeve shirt so for the second day in a row, my forearms were bloodied by the unending Catclaw and I had to wash off before I could enjoy my lunch 
Following the break, it was off and around the Giant Boulder and after more rock hopping, we arrived at Willow Spring. This is a magical spot along the creek with a large expanse of flat rock and the clear water slowly spilling across its surface. We would like to have spent more time here, but the hour was getting late and we still had the return trip facing us, so we slipped into our packs again and wearily (now) began retracing our breadcrumb trail.
The wind was whipping up now, the clouds had vanished and the sun seemed a lot warmer than the 72 degrees that had been predicted, but we pushed on until we finally arrived back at the trail head. Yes, we did find a large plastic drum of supplies hidden back there along the way and plans are being made for its removal.
We have an amazing wilderness at our front door and it's the duty of all of us to maintain the quality of this resource so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy it as much as we have. Sometimes I think I'm  while  but that's my  |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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Old West Boulder Canyon |
Pools to trickle |
Pools to trickle |
| | | A steady trickle of water was coming out of the mouth of the canyon. |
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Willow Spring |
Gallon + per minute |
Gallon + per minute |
| | | A good steady flow of water flowed across the expanse of flat rock. | | _____________________
| 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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