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| | Broadway Canyon Superstition Mountains, AZ | | | |
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Broadway Canyon Superstition Mountains, AZ
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| Canyoneering | 10.00 Miles |
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| | Canyoneering | 10.00 Miles | | | |
| | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Broadway Canyon. Bouldering, some canyoneering, catclaw, shifting rocks and no trail.
Rain in Gold Canyon Thurs 2-01-24 was reported to be 2”. That means the falls are flowing. I hit Carney Springs Fri and had awesome time with strong flow and nobody else there. Today Saturday 2-3-24 there will surely be a frenzy in the canyons and at the falls. Massacre, Canyon of the Waterfalls and Carney Springs. Today was a good day to ditch the crowd and to go to a hidden gem. My bud Tim and I trekked up to Broadway Canyon. That’s what we’ve always called that canyon between Broadway Cave and Hog for obvious reasons. It’s accessible either Broadway via Jacobs #58 to the Lost Goldmine #60 (a little farther), or up from Cloudview. They are building custom homes around Cloudview and I saw a sign stating “Private Drive” but wanted to check the old jeep trail up to the fence. A good 4WD with all terrain tires and clearance will shave a couple miles off the hike. That’s the first part of my route. Not an early start but I allocated plenty of time for our calculated 10 miles with no trail. It was 50s cloudy sky and good for hiking. Side note, cell service is pretty good for much of the hike.
I searched trips and other things and could not find any other HAZ trip here or pictures. I have a theory that it is because the beginning of the canyon is very discouraging. The hike to the fence is easy but boring. The hike after the fence into the canyon is choked. In a way, it is much like Hog Canyon with tall grass and rocks. Further up the canyon is bouldering some slick and loose boulders and a catclaw fest. The water goes underground around the 4 mile mark and does not reappear. You really don’t know it’s there until you put it the work to get past that spot. After that, things really change. You kind of realize you are heading for a sheer vertical wall that is the ridgeline and then the beautiful sound of water. At times it is almost thundering with pool after pool.
There are dozens of cascades and pools that it’s hard to keep track of them all. The very best ones in my opinion are what we call the Lower Veil and the Upper Falls. The upper canyon is just a really cool hidden gem. The difficulty getting there will most certainly continue to preserve the pristine nature. We spent quite a lot of time climbing around looking for petroglyphs without success. Where are the petros?? Maybe a second opinion, but honestly I’ve seen many, and know how they look. Surely they are here somewhere, but we came up empty as in previous trips. This trip was all about the water and little else. Saw lots of birds, few insects, a butterfly, a lizard and somehow a cow got into the wilderness. Tim thought he heard the click of Bighorn Sheep but I didn’t.
The hike could have been done in considerably less time bypassing the meandering and exploring. It’s truly beautiful up top, as good as anything else the mountains have to offer. There is most certainly a passage up to the ridgeline. I may try it someday, but for now, I’ll leave it to the younger or more fit than I. There is at least one nice pool above where we stopped today that I saw on previous trip here. It was decided that turnaround time would be 2:30 or so and we stuck to it. Wow time flies when you’re getting scratched up, falling down, and rolling your ankles. Made reasonably quick trip back and arrived at the truck before dark. I’m posting the entire route in case anybody is interested. It was actually 10 miles, but I ended Route Scout early where the homes were and reduced interval cuts distance way down. I recommend if anyone wants to follow the route, that you should use more-or-less the route back, rather than the route up. If you jump the fence (but don't hurt it) there is an old horse trail that will save considerable time over going into the "Hog wash" of the official Hog route. We were mostly on that trail that is cairned and if you follow my track you will see it. Then cut over from Hog to Broadway. Overall it was another epic day in the wilderness with one of my oldest friends.
Standard disclaimer: rough terrain, treacherous rocks, no trail, some climbing with risk of injury. Please do not try this if you are not up to it. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Few isolated flowers. Saw Christmas Cholla berries. |
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