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| Hiking | 5.27 Miles |
200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.27 Miles | 3 Hrs 41 Mns | | 1.66 mph |
| 200 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | ***************Hold on to your hats boys and girls, it's windy out there 
A nice sunny start to the day with cool temps and quite breezy as I pulled into the horse trailer parking lot off First Water Road. As I was gearing up, I was wishing I had brought along a long sleeve shirt to stave off the constant breeze and the occasional strong gusts. But, by 0630, off I went following the small narrow canyon that feeds into First Water Creek just above the gorge.
Had to make frequent grabs to keep my hat from flying away and there was no direction I headed that I wasn't being pummeled by the strong gusts even in the narrow canyons. When I finally reached the Hackberry Spring, I was out of the wind and able to take in the morning views.
Almost immediately a hiker approached me coming from Garden Valley, his first hike on this side of the mountains, so I told him what to look for on the rest of his hike back to the Trailhead. The spring pool itself was quite full and overflowing down the trail, but still only a trickle coming out from the pipe leading me to think that there may be an obstruction further back 
I continued down the path into a forest of Mesquite trees in full spring colors and filling the air with a pleasant scent when I heard a strange noise that froze me in my tracks  I continued on cautiously until I was able to make out a hammock strung up between the trees and a sleeping hiker loudly snoring the morning away  Slightly embarrassed, I continued on the trail which was now going up and away from the enchanted forest and yep, there's that darned wind again.
Before reaching the saddle where the trails split, I took a side trail that winds up the side of Hackberry Mesa to an old prospect with a large tailings pile spilling down the steep slope. The prospect is partially covered at the entrance making for a small entry hole, but quickly opens up to a full size tunnel. Without a flashlight, I didn't go very far into the dark hole, but it was a reprieve from the wind outside. I explored around the site for a bit but could only find a dumping grounds for old rusty sardine cans, a rusted out cooking pot and a few nails.
Explorations finished, I re-traced my tracks and after connecting with the Hackberry/Garden Valley trail, I continued on down into First Water Basin where I again re-traced my trail back to the large parking lot....still deserted. Sure would have been a better hike if it wasn't for that  wind and my hiking time's running out  |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Not much to see anymore. |
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Hackberry Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Might be able to get a quart/min out of the pipe. | | _____________________
| 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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Route Editor
Route Scout
