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| Hiking | 14.08 Miles |
4,695 AEG |
| | Hiking | 14.08 Miles | 6 Hrs 35 Mns | | 2.33 mph |
| 4,695 ft AEG | 32 Mns Break | 5 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I've been wanting to do this for a while but the snow has been very persistent. Luckily, a week getting highs of 95+ in Tucson helped melt some snow. This weekend seemed decent enough since it's only gonna get hotter and the snow seemed mostly gone when checking satellite photos.
On the way in, I saw a White-nosed Coati and a turkey. There were plenty of birders with gigantic cameras, no doubt photographing the elegant trogon. I forgot sunscreen so I'm was gonna get sunburned. Got to the trailhead at 9:56 am. Up to Josephine saddle was uneventful. I could hear birds screaming in the distance the whole way up to the saddle. Not too many people were at the saddle, surprisingly. The Baldy Trail going up from here was fun. I could start to feel the burn. There was one vista with a wonderful view of Mount Wrightson and the peaks north of it. Birds circled the top, riding the wind. Just beyond this, snow started appearing along the edges of the trail but could easily be avoided. Bellows Spring seems to have broken pipes so the box was empty but the stream had plenty of flow. The switchbacks were fun to go up, but tiring. Views from Baldy Saddle were impressive and I took a little break. There was more snow than I expected. There were mini snow traverses and the trail was a mini stream from snowmelt. The switchbacks going up the peak were hard. My legs were really feeling the burn. After a short break, I had 10 turns to the top. I counted each and soon enough, there I was. The summit was smaller than I expected. The coolest thing was the tiny birds that flew above the summit at super speed. Someone left a can of baked beans in the summit register.
There used to be 3 benchmarks up here, only one remains. The original, set in 1903, was destroyed in 1928 when the lookout house was built on top of it. The foundation of the house still remains. A second, set in 1935 was a replacement but was removed since. The drill hole still remains. The third is still there, a reference mark for the replacement benchmark. The original benchmark had a reference point, a chiseled cross. It was a bit hard to find but it was there. I didn't even notice there was more engravings on the rock until I looked in post. It has an arrow pointing towards the cross. Underneath the arrow it says "RP" (reference point) and "USGS" but the first "S" is backwards. Close to this, the rock has "1903" engraved. In 1910 a survey was made using the original benchmark and the Superstition Mountains were observed in this survey. I could barely see the Tortilita Mountains.
After eating a PB&J sandwich I started heading back down. The Wrightson Spring had some flow from the snowmelt and I decided to filter some water for the way down the Super Trail. I only brought 2 and a bit liters and I had finished one and then some. If you do this hike, bring 4-5 liters of water if you don't bring a water filter. From the termination to Josephine Saddle I saw no other hikers along the Super Trail. And everyone who missed coming down the Super Trail missed out. This easily was the prettiest section of the hike. The views looking south on Josephine Peak and the row of pines on her west slope is so cool. The view looking up from the shrub oak to Mount Wrightson is so epic. The trail seems to have had some work done clearing some of the shrub oak from a small saddle after Baldy Spring to Riley Saddle. The trail was very enjoyable here and spacious. At Riley Saddle there was a sign that the trail to Josephine Peak was destroyed in 2005. Does anybody have photos or GPX of the route up to the peak (pre 2005)? Got to a shaded area and saw 2 deer below the trail foraging. From here on the trail felt sluggish. My legs were getting worn out and there was still a bit under 4 miles left. It was pretty hot around here when I wasn't in the shade or the wind wasn't blowing. The canyon under Bellows Spring sounded like it was really flowing. The canyon the Super Trail crosses had a bit of water and there were some cool waterfalls. Soon enough, I was finally back at the trailhead. I saw so many lizards along this hike. Got some McDonald's soft serve afterwards. 
I would say that the mountain itself is more beautiful than the views beyond it, especially on a typical hazy day like today. If you want to do this hike then do it soon because soon enough it is going to get too hot. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Saw some along the super trail near the trailhead and some along the trail above Josephine Saddle. |
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Baldy Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | Spring had quite a bit of water and was overflowing. Tank below spring was dry. |
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Bellows Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Canyon itself was running well but the spring box was dry. |
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Sprung Spring |
Gallon per minute |
Gallon per minute |
| | | Spring itself was dripping with a full tank but canyon was running well. |
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Wrightson Spring |
Dripping |
Dripping |
| | | There was some flow from the snowmelt. Filled up here for the way down on the Super Trail. | | _____________________
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