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| Hiking | 9.79 Miles |
1,145 AEG |
| | Hiking | 9.79 Miles | 3 Hrs 56 Mns | | 2.49 mph |
| 1,145 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Besides my climb up Palomino Mountain to Aylor’s Arch [ photoset ] , I have been through Garden Valley at least a half dozen times. (Less than many folks, for whom the Superstition Mountains are a home away from home.) So, Black Mesa Trail #241 would be my only new segment.
At the base of the 104 / 236 intersection sign, there were two rocks painted like ladybugs. There was some writing on the bottom of the larger rock: "Arizona Rocks [F] F.A." My wife's nickname is "Lovebug", but I left them behind, because I did not know what they were for. Any ideas? 
The next four miles of Dutchman Trail #104 had constantly varying trail surface, but nothing too bad. There were many muddy spots, especially on the way up to Parker Pass. Or they would have been mud, but were frozen over. I had fun punching holes in the ice with my hiking poles.
Weavers Needle made its first appearance, just the tip, crossing a meadow just north of Parker Pass. The best view of Weavers Needle was at Parker Pass itself, though I could only see the top half of the spire. I’ve actually seen it from as far as 43 miles away [ photo ] , while hiking Bronco Trail #245 to Seven Springs, but the closer I got to Weavers Needle the less of it I saw. By the time I got to the base of Palomino Mountain, all I could see was the summit.
West Boulder Creek wasn’t deep, but was running pretty good. I was able to cross it without getting my feet wet.
Despite it only being 10:00 a.m. when I arrived at the spaghetti, there were already a half dozen people there. I ended up chatting with a Canadian fellow for 20 minutes, before heading up Black Mesa Trail #241. He was from the Yukon! 
By the time I reached Garden Valley, I had to pee something fierce. Luckily, there was very large palo verde I could hide behind. I dumped my red hat and blaze orange backpack, so no one could see me through the tree. (By noon, there were quite a few people about Garden Valley.) When I returned to my gear, I noticed I had dropped it in the middle of rich deposit of indian pottery sherds. Most of the sherds were undecorated grey or umber. The largest was maybe 2″ across. 
(I think that might be the area Jack once showed me ...)
After checking out the sherds, I turned west onto Second Water Trail #236. Back at Dutchman Trail #104, I forgot to check if the ladybug rocks were still there, so intent was I on diddybopping back to the First Water Trailhead. (I did the 1.8 miles from Garden Valley in only 40 minutes.)  
Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/492873546 |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
