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| Hiking | 3.78 Miles |
555 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.78 Miles | 2 Hrs 15 Mns | | 1.68 mph |
| 555 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | It was four years ago that I said the final goodbye's to my brother as he had just died of Liver Cancer but we siblings were celebrating his passing by remembering the good time we all shared with Doug. Fast forward to this morning when I took my small vial of Doug's ashes, put it in my camera bag and took Doug for another hike in the Superstition Mountains, the same mountains that we hiked so many times together. I chose to hike a short loop that took us through the Hackberry Spring area, a hike that always pleased him because it offered so many pleasant scenes alongside the First Water Creek.
I parked my little red truck in the horse trailer lot along First Water Road, and hiked down to the old corral that still sits beside the Creek, crossed the creek and headed across the desert on the trail that takes us up to Garden Valley. Along the way, I crossed an unnamed wash that still had pools full of clear water... so clear and still that there was an almost perfect reflection of the mountainous ridge along the edge of Garden Valley above me. Thanks to July's Monsoon, the desert is flourishing with green bushes and frequent bouquets of yellow flowers. The trails show the damage from the torrents of rain brought on by the Monsoon and several sections of the trail have washouts that can easily be crossed as long as you keep an eye out for them. As the trail continues up the hillside, I keep watching for the adjoining trail that takes me around the rock and drops down to the creek.
As I round the corner, I'm finally exposed to the morning sun and I can feel it's full strength as there isn't a cloud in the sky. The humidity is comfortable but there isn't a breath of a breeze to dry the sweat now glistening on my exposed arms, but before long, I'm hiking the shaded trails through the Hackberry Spring area. The peace and quiet down here is addicting, I brushed against a bush and disturbed a group of Monarch Butterfly's but they lingered long enough to pose for my camera. The grass and weeds are overgrowing the trail in places and the Prickly Pear cactus is extending its reach so that I have to be careful not to brush against the sharp thorns. The Catsclaw bushes are thriving thanks to the rains and I paid my dues in fresh blood flowing from puncture wounds on my arms.
A narrow canyon finally comes into view that I recognize as the route that takes me back to the parking lot, it's a beautiful canyon with steep sides that provides sections of shade once again. Along the way, I come across a large Rattler soaking up the sun and taking up most of the wash. I got off a couple of shots of it then bumped it's tail with my tripod to get it to move out of the way, it quickly hustled under a creekside boulder but it shook its tail to let me know it didn't appreciate my impatience. Before long, the wash ended and I was back in full sunshine again but the parking lot was now coming into view and my morning's hike would soon be over. The red truck was still sitting there and I opened the tailgate to empty my pockets of the trailtrash that I had picked up along the way, then hopped inside and had another short conversation with Doug before heading home.
I hope you enjoy the photos and the short story from this mornings hike, it's always my pleasure to share my experience with you. Visit my Facebook page and click on the "Like" and "Follow" buttons and you will be linked to future adventures.
Jack Olson "Photos by Jack"
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
The Monsoon season has brought out enough flowers to resemble a second spring season. |
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Hackberry Spring |
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| | | The pool is filled to overflowing and it's filled with frogs and tadpoles while only a trickle of water flows from the end 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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