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| Hiking | 3.91 Miles |
678 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.91 Miles | 2 Hrs 48 Mns | | 1.40 mph |
| 678 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Although First Water Road has been graded since the Monsoon storm, it's still pretty rough and slow going but the washouts have been filled. I parked at the horse trailer lot as the sun was still beyond the horizon but had enough light and color to light things up and outline Weavers Needle off in the distance.
I walked to the old road leading down to the tin-covered corral to start my hike only to find that the big storm had washed out the road making it kinda tricky in spots. The old rusty water tank by the corral has been attacked by spray-can wielding graffiti artists, that crap is completely out of place down here.
First Water creek is running kinda high, thanks to another inch of rain on Friday so I got my shoes wet for the first time as I crossed to continue on to the trail that leads up to Garden Valley via Hackberry Butte. The trail was wet in places and has minor washouts but it's still easy to find. Once up at the saddle, where the trails split, I opted not to go on up to Garden Valley cause I had heard stories about ankle deep mud and instead, went on towards Hackberry Spring.
The trail system that follows the creek, is washed out in places and getting close to the creek several feet below. The horses are making a wide swing around some of the washed out areas. Got my feet wet again crossing into the large camping area by the spring but just gotta pay attention to the rocks that move when you step on em. The narrow, boulder-strewn Gorge has changed a lot thanks to high water levels following the storm which moved a lot of boulders and left debris high in the trees.
As I was working my way through the boulders, I reached a dead-end but was presented with a small, but scenic, waterfall that was flowing nicely but was too deep to continue on so I had to re-trace my tracks and find another way around. Got my feet wet again crossing the bedrock sections but still worth the wet feet to hear the water rushing through the rocks.
I followed the small, narrow almost-slot canyon that leads back to the parking lot but had to get through the area of deep pools by carefully walking the steep sides where one slip could put me into the knee-deep cold pools. Then it was just a matter of following the canyon to the horse trails and back to the parking lot. It was during this part of my hike that I ran into my first pair of hikers.... can't beat that for a good day.
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| 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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