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| Hiking | 9.26 Miles |
1,750 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.26 Miles | 4 Hrs 59 Mns | | 2.07 mph |
| 1,750 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Cool start to the morning so it should be a good day for hiking the Miners Needle Loop. Got started a little before 9:00 and very few cars at the Peralta Trailhead on a typically cloudless, Arizona November day. Once I topped the ridge on the Dutchman's Trail, I paused and was unable to see or hear anyone on the trail.
The trails are still damp from Sunday's rains but no standing water on the trails and very little water in the pools in the wash's. The trail following the turn at the Needle has lots of loose rocks to stumble and slip on as you gain altitude. Felt good to reach Miners Summit and start the gradual downhill into Bluff Spring Canyon.
Came across patches of Autumn color but it's pretty limited to the yellows in the Sumac, Willow and Cottonwood trees. Some brush along the trails are showing golden hues while others are still a dark green. Not worth making this trip for the colors, but haven't seen any hikers yet. Only wildlife is birds and butterfly's.
Got treated to the musical sounds of flowing water as I was passing through the Bluff Spring Canyon area and found a camping spot nestled in the brush with a campfire still smoking and no one in sight  Soon I was treated to the glimpse of Weavers Needle sticking it's rocky top through Bluff Saddle 
Finally made the turn high above Barks Canyon and was looking down at the brightly lit canyon and its awesome rock formations. After descending down into the narrow canyon, the pools were full and a trickle of water flowed between them and for the first time on this hike, I met a pair of hikers. They had lots of questions about the trail, where it went and how far was it around the loop that I was now on the home stretch of. The time was 1:00 so I told them not to attempt the loop.
Climbed the hill to the Peralta Trail overlook and could see a few hikers navigating the lower stretches. Then it was on to the downhill section of Cardiac Hill and the punishing impact on my tired knees but I could now see the parking lot and hear the voices of the people way down there. I signed out on the log and checked Route Scout. I made pretty good time and only paused once to remove my long sleeve shirt. Nice hike on a nice day.
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Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated
Some color could be found in the Bluff Spring Canyon but pretty limited. |
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Barks Canyon |
Light flow |
Light flow |
| | | It rained pretty hard over the weekend so the pools are full and flowing. |
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Crystal Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Some water trickling through the pools. | | _____________________
| 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
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