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| Hiking | 20.15 Miles |
4,785 AEG |
| | Hiking | 20.15 Miles | 10 Hrs 32 Mns | | 2.33 mph |
| 4,785 ft AEG | 1 Hour 52 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | I haven't done much hiking in the Eastern Supes, and I'd had Circlestone and Mound on my list for years, so I was excited for this one. We started ~7AM to the sound of bells and turkey calls at the Reevis School. This area apparently got more rain than Phoenix over the past few days, and trail conditions were moist but not muddy. At the Campaign/Reavis Gap intersection, we debated which way to hike the loop...having never been on any of these trails, I didn't cast a vote, but we went counterclockwise and it worked out well.
We had a steady climb up to Reavis Gap with nice views overlooking the canyon to the south, and Wally pointed out a few ruins along the way. The geology and unburned sections beyond Reavis Gap were nice, and we took a snack break on the foundation at Reavis Ranch before connecting with Fireline. The early sections of the trail were in pretty good shape, but we encountered a few washed out areas farther along on the way to the Circlestone turnoff, but nothing too bad.
I didn't realize there was a social trail up to Circlestone and was expecting a bushwhack all the way to Mound, so that was a nice surprise and made things easier. We saw a deer on the way up and checked out the ruins and took a snack break there [ youtube video ] . We hadn't seen anyone up to that point and were surprised when someone walked up--a guy who'd lost his phone on the way to Mound and seemed flustered. Kelly was going to try calling his phone for him, and his initial response when she asked for his phone number was, "I don't know."  . He said he'd be fine and wouldn't have any problems navigating back to his car at Reavis North without his phone. He took off, then returned minutes later because he couldn't find the trail down from Circlestone, so Wally pointed him in the right direction. Not a great start, but hopefully the guy eventually found his way off the mountain and to a T-Mobile store...
Next up was Mound, and the brush wasn't too bad most of the way. It was a little thicker on the final push up the steep slope, then we were on top of the Superstitions. Awesome 360° views from the summit, and we identified a bunch of landmarks...Wally even spotted Mt. Ord to the south. No summit register up there, just the remnants of a shattered glass jar and no pages. [ youtube video ]
Getting back down and over to Circlestone went smoother than we expected, and we saw one more guy as we started down from Circlesone and reconnected with Fireline. The trail was still in pretty good shape until the last few tenths of a mile before the Campaign intersection, then the trail was hit-or-miss (mostly miss) all the way back to the Campaign/Reavis Gap intersection. Lots of rock-hopping in the creek bed, interspersed with brief stretches of semi-washed out trail (and one skunk sighting), but we made good time through that stretch, and Wally pointed out more sites of interest along the way. I was able to offer a helping hand or two at one of the washouts without causing a medical emergency, so that was an added bonus.
We saw two bow hunters who'd camped nearby as we got back to the trailhead a little after 5PM. Great views with long shadows on the Sierra Anchas on the drive home, then a nice sunset as we drove down into Superior. Other than some Renaissance Festival traffic, a smooth drive back and a great day with a fun group. Lots of firsts on this hike--all new trails for me, first time at Reavis Ranch, Circlestone, and Mound...wish I could've seen some of these areas before they burned, but still an awesome hike. And my first time hiking with Kelly and first time meeting Wally, which was great on both counts. I'd been dealing with some Achilles pain for the past few weeks and hadn't done much hiking, so this was a jump into the deep end as far as testing it out, but it felt good all day.
Route Scout was very generous with the distance and AEG and gave me an extra mile and 1,000' AEG compared to the rest of the group (did I climb an extra peak I forgot about?), so I adjusted the #s down to match theirs  . |
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