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| Reavis-Frog Tanks-Rogers Loop, AZ | | -
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| | Reavis-Frog Tanks-Rogers Loop, AZ | | | |
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Reavis-Frog Tanks-Rogers Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 20.59 Miles |
3,538 AEG |
| | Hiking | 20.59 Miles | 11 Hrs 46 Mns | | 2.01 mph |
| 3,538 ft AEG | 1 Hour 31 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Jason needed to hit Frog Tanks Trail to finish his quest to hike every trail in the Superstitions. The remote location requires either a long loop or out and back. We opted for the long loop. The plan was to start at Rogers Trough TH and do the loop CCW - Reavis Ranch Trail to Frog Tanks Trail and then back up Rogers Canyon. Wally and Scott came along as well.
We arrived at the trailhead about 7am and Jason discovered he left his hiking shoes at home in Gold Canyon. All he had was flip flops. I showed him my Hoka sandals and he decided to see if he could make them work. The sandals are size 11 and he has a size 13 feet. He somehow got them on and we decided to give it a try. After some “adjustments”, i.e. cutting bits off and removing the laces, he made them work.
The hike up Reavis Ranch Trail was eye opening. I haven’t done this trail since the early 90’s. The fires really roasted the beautiful pine forest up on the saddle. Lots of tree skeletons and new undergrowth, but the nice shady trail was gone. The further you go down, the pines return. We made it to the big alligator juniper and although it had signs of fire damage, there is new growth sprouting.
Reavis Ranch is a grassland now, chest high in some areas. We came across a couple of groups hiking out and a very large group of young people towards the orchard. After that, we saw no other humans the entire hike.
Frog Tanks Trail branches off the Reavis Ranch Trail and heads west. The beginning part of the trail was a wide-open valley. Lots of signs of fire in the area as well. The grassy hills are dotted with burnt out tree skeletons. This trail starts off kinda “ho-hum”, but towards the end when it reached Rogers Canyon, it turns beautiful. We ran into a giant catclaw forest about a mile from the Rogers Canyon junction. That was a rough section. I received a proper Superstition catclaw mauling for sure. My yellow long sleeve shirt had a nice collection of red “polka-dots”. I also spent some time last night extracting thorns and cactus needles out of my legs that I collected in this part of the hike.
Rogers Canyon was the highlight of the hike. So beautiful, almost all the way back up to the trailhead. The “trail” crisscrosses the creek, it was sometimes easier to just hike up the middle of the creek rather than hike up a steep section, only to hike right back down to the creek again a 100 yards later.
We made it Angel Basin, took one last snack and hydration break, and started up the long death march up to the TH. I was feeling it for sure. This part of the hike was a continuation of the canyon until you start climbing up. In spite of being exhausted and feeling it in my now “problem” hip, I did ok going up.
This ended up being an epic loop in an amazing area. I still cannot believe Jason did this 20+ mile hike in sandals (2 sizes too small). Kudos to you. I am guessing he will be feeling that for a while.
Thanks for the invite Jason, it was an honor to help you complete your Superstitions Trail goal. As always, it’s great to hike with Wally. I always learn something new when I hike with him. And, it was good to see Scott as well. It’s been a while. A very excellent day in the Wilderness. |
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"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."
instagram: @andydilling |
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