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| Hiking | 11.37 Miles |
1,361 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.37 Miles | 7 Hrs 54 Mns | | 1.68 mph |
| 1,361 ft AEG | 1 Hour 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | With the heat slated to make a comeback and the hopefully gradual climb towards summertime temps, I've been trying to maximize my time in the superstitions and other low desert areas. Was combing through a few options when Jason mentioned his previous attempt at Willow Spring - having read Wally's recent trip report and then going back and reading reports from before the burn, I quickly concluded that now would be the best chance for me to make it to the spring and the corral while taking minimal damage from the brush that is sure to grow back.
We had a somewhat leisurely start to the day, arriving at First Water trailhead to find only a handful of cars there. Grasses and new growth are starting to green up the area, though it will take years for the surroundings to recover from the recent burn, likely with a change of character, depending on what plants win the race to reestablish fastest. Given the conditions and previous visits to the area, I was surprised to see a number of plants flowering and was happy to see the ocotillo all floofed out with leaves. We made it to the turnoff quickly (slowed somewhat by my stopping to capture photos of available blooms), and found the trail surprisingly easy to follow, though perhaps not unexpected given how much of the brush is now gone, making the path much easier to spot, allowing us to make good time to Tim's Saddle and down into West Boulder Canyon.
Once we dropped into the drainage proper, we opted to stay predominantly in the watercourse. At one point, we found some horse tracks to follow on canyon right (looking up canyon) - these tracks led us past the remains of the old wire corral. We eventually resumed the rock hopping, admiring the pools of water as we passed them. Eventually, some larger sections of bedrock make an appearance, making the walking even easier, with willow spring not much further along.
The area around willow spring is beautiful - an expanse of slickrock, with a clump of cattails and grasses marking the spring area, along with large clusters of seep monkey flower downstream. After a brief stop, we continued up canyon to have a look at the impressively large stacked stone corral. With all the brush burned away, it was easy to walk around and have a closer look. After wandering around the corral, we returned to the spring to soak up what sun we could before making our way back to the trailhead. Somehow the hike started with very pleasant partly cloudy skies with low winds - but it morphed into steady high winds with strong enough gusts to push me off course at least once or twice with dark clouds building...not only that but we somehow managed to be hiking into the wind both coming and going 
Aside from the winds, it was a great day to be out - the clouds made for a striking sky! I appear to be picking up some of Jason's affliction for catclaw, as I managed to get caught in some at least once 
Wildlife: A couple desert cottontails, a cardinal, a squirrel, and a garter snake!
Other hikers: only three - surprisingly all near Parker Pass - two hiking out while we were on our way in and one hiking onward as we were descending to rejoin the trail on our way back. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Surprisingly, only one brittle bush - a variety of other blooms with common storks bill most prevalent. |
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| Happier when hiking....I may not move fast (and I'm often distracted by wildflowers), but I'll get there eventually |
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