Bluff Spring Mountain Loop • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 17 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	15.29 Miles	2,760 AEG

Hiking	15.29 Miles	5 Hrs 47 Mns	2.82 mph
	2,760 ft AEG	22 Mns Break

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Always overgrown trails after a summer of minimal usage. The worst section (very brushy) of this loop was the Dutchman Trail through Needle Canyon. As we finished, several volunteers were working Bluff Springs near the parking area. Nice to see Mike again. We appreciate the group efforts! I doubt you'll see this, but Amanda Miller from South Carolina, I found your busted phone, driver license, bank and casino cards on the Peralta Road heading out.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dog

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Charlebois Spring Weavers Needle

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Charlebois Spring

Quart per minute

6 archives

Feb 04 2023

00blackout

Routes 31
Photos 4,724
Triplogs 187

50 male

Joined Mar 14 2016
Gold Canyon, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 04 2023
		00blackout • Triplogs 187

Hiking	17.30 Miles	2,610 AEG

Hiking	17.30 Miles	9 Hrs 22 Mns	1.85 mph
	2,610 ft AEG

no routes

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none

no linked trail guides

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The plan yesterday was to hike Bluff Spring Mountain with Pickles, but she has been under the weather past couple of days so plans changed, so I decided to hit up the Bluff Spring Mountain Loop. 20 cars already in the parking lot when I arrived at Peralta at 7am. Started up cardiac hill (I hate this part), headed down into Barks Canyon and started up Terrapin. It's been awhile since I've been on Terrapin, I had forgotten about the initial ascent. Made it to Terrapin Pass and started the steep, slippery section down. From there I jumped on the Dutchman. This section of the Dutchman is my favorite section of this trail in the Supes. So green, lush and full of water unlike some of the other sections. Made my way through La Barge Canyon where I encountered a larger group of campers near the creek. Hiked up Charlebois Canyon to the spring, which had a nice pool as always, however I did not stay there long as the buzzing of hundred's of bee made it a bit unsettling. I was surprised however to not see one person camping in this area, of all the time's I've been to Charlebois there are always numerous campers, weird. I did find a blue tarp and some sleeping pads that someone had left hanging. Took some time to look for the Master Map. I failed the past couple times I've been here but was not leaving today without finding it. After some bushwhacking down a hill and through some catclaw forests I found it. Spent a few minutes there then bushwhacked back up to the Dutchman. Made a side stop at La Barge Spring, which was the most disappointing area of the day. This used to be a lush riparin area with a spring box overflowing with water. While there was still water here in the creek, it was clear the creek here has flashed many times, I was not able to find the spring box and the lush bushes are mostly gone. Hopped back on the Dutchman to Bluff Spring and back to my rig, clocking in at 17.3 miles. It was one of those hikes where I just wasn't feeling it. For whatever reason I had zero energy the entire day, my legs felt dead, but I pushed through it, just made some parts a grid especially any type of climb and with the temps being in the mid 70's definitely did not help, it was warm for sure. But still a great day in my favorite wilderness!

Medium flow

Medium flow

Medium flow

Gallon + per minute

_____________________

Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.

2 archives

Dec 22 2021

LJW

Routes 154
Photos 1,505
Triplogs 266

31 male

Joined Jun 02 2019
Phoenix, AZ

Bluff - Picacho - Coffee Loop, AZ

Hiking		Dec 22 2021
		LJW • Triplogs 266

Hiking	25.19 Miles	5,623 AEG

Hiking	25.19 Miles	11 Hrs 6 Mns	2.56 mph
	5,623 ft AEG	1 Hour 15 Mns Break

Linked

10 linked trail guides

Bluff Spring Mountain Summit

Ely-Anderson Trail

Whiskey Spring Trail #238

Red Tanks Trail #107

Coffee Flat Trail #108

Dripping Springs from Peralta

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Headed to the Supes for a handful of summits I'd stared at in the beginning of the year. Wanted to loop Bluff Spring Mountain with Coffee Flat Mountain. I included Picacho Butte because it's right there, along with Miners Summit since it's on the way. Got started from Peralta an hour before sunrise and headed to Bluff Spring Mountain.

Bluff Spring to Terrapin to SW ridge. Got through the cliffs with minimal scrambling and only a little brush to contend with. It was very steep, but sunrise views over Weaver's Needle distracted and slowed me down. Preferred that ridge to the Ely Anderson Trail. The ascent was a fun climb and ridge walk, the other was a rough descent down a drainage and around the mountain. The route is well cairned but the grade is only good lower down, up high it's lost to the grass.

Dutchman trail passed the only folks of the day. Walked around the grassy backside of Miners Summit and decided to go up. It's steep but short-lived. Down to the trail junction and up Whiskey Springs to the saddle. Then I started the part of the day I was most looking forward to, the Coffee Flat Mountain ridgeline. Started with peak 3748. The views up there were some best of the day. The ridgeline started open and grassy but there was some maneuvering around the rocky ridgetop at times. A little bushwhacking and slow travel. There are three big ascents once on the ridge. Two are on the way to 4562. They are steep but there's really no bushwhacking.

Skirted around 4562 and went for Picacho. Surprisingly awesome summit, despite the added climb. It was cool to look over all the places I had been on the trails that wind through the bottoms of the canyons and over the passes in the labyrinth of rock we call the supes. Got back up on the high ridgeline which was tough. Went back for the sections I skipped and carried on for Coffee Flat Mountain.

There is a little peak on the ridgeline I had to climb and bushwhack around, but otherwise it's pretty straightforward. The final push to the summit is open and doesn't take long. The top is wide and flat and without going to the sides pales in comparison to the ridgeline. Went down the north ridge which is steep and a bit of a climb but there's breaks in the cliffs , so there's nothing too crazy. Down the first drainage and to Red Tanks divide. Circled back on Red Tanks, Coffee Flat, and Dutchman. One of my favorite hikes I've done in the Superstitions but a lot for one day. The Coffee Flat ridge on its own is an undertaking.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bluff Spring Mountain La Barge Canyon Malapais Mountain Miners Summit Superstition Mountain 5057

Autumn Foliage Observation Light
Peaking in La Barge and Randolph Canyons

Red Tanks Canyon

Pools to trickle

3 archives

Dec 17 2021

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,486
Photos 16,077
Triplogs 1,376

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 17 2021
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,376

Hiking	16.58 Miles	2,961 AEG

Hiking	16.58 Miles	7 Hrs 57 Mns	2.40 mph
	2,961 ft AEG	1 Hour 2 Mns Break

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I had not been to the Peralta TH in over 9 months, so I figured that I was overdue. The destination this time was Charlebois Spring. We did a lasso loop CCW from Bluff Spring>Dutchman>Terrapin>Bluff Spring.

The first part of the Bluff Spring Trail seemed to have more loose rock in it than before -- perhaps due to monsoons, but I am just guessing. I don't care too much for that trail.

Once we got to the Dutchman Trail, it was somewhat overgrown much of the way over to Charlebois. It wasn't all THAT bad, but you'd get snagged by some catclaw in a few places.

Charlebois Spring was a nice spot to have lunch. We sat by a nice pool of water. There was nobody else there, which was a bit surprising. I tried to find the master map but didn't have any luck. While looking for the map we came across a bobcat who was not camera shy.

I was reluctant to go back on the Terrapin Trail, fearing that it would be really overgrown. However, much to my surprise, there had been some recent trail maintenance on Terrapin and it was clear sailing. There was a little bit of grass that I brushed up against a time or 2, but there no catclaw to deal with. I'll dare say that the Terrapin Trail is the best trail in the Supes right now (of course that's not saying much...lol).

The weather was near perfect for hiking, and it was a nice day to be out in the Supes!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cottonwood

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bobcat

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Inscriptions

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Charlebois Canyon

	Charlebois Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	I did not go to the spring itself, but there were some nice pools of water down below the spring.

	Music Canyon	Dry	Dry
	I did not go up into Music Canyon, but the pool down below the canyon at the Dutchman Trail was bone dry.

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

Mar 27 2021

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Weaver's Needle Summit

Weaver's Needle Summit

Phoenix, AZ

Hike & Climb		Mar 27 2021
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hike & Climb	20.06 Miles	4,288 AEG

Hike & Climb	20.06 Miles	14 Hrs 48 Mns	1.57 mph
	4,288 ft AEG

Onsight II • Trad • Not good

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6 linked trail guides

Weaver's - Base of the Needle

Peralta Trail #102

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partners

Walworthjordyn

Pro: a few small cams

I finally decided to give the west side of Weavers a try and then after Weavers, Katie and I continued on for a bit of a western Supes super loop.

We met Jordyn at the Peralta Trailhead just after six and were on our way to the west chimney shortly after. I don’t know why I thought approaching Weavers from Terrapin would be a good idea, but that is what we went with and it definitely added some work to the approach as we had to complete a sometimes attention getting high traverse around Weavers northwest corner. I was not happy about the added time, but we did come across some pretty intriguing caves/old mines along the way.

From the base of the obvious west chimney we roped and “racked” up at the chains that mark the beginning of the second pitch. The first pitch is an easy class four scramble. I placed a few small cams and exited out the left side of the chock stone for the 5.4 finish. Going under the chockstone is rated at easy 5th class and going to the right is rated 5.2. We left the ropes at the rap anchors above the chockstone and we soloed the standard route to the top.

After realizing how close Peralta was, we chose to scramble back down to Peralta for our descent vs traversing back around Weavers NW corner. From Peralta, Jordyn took our rope and small rack and headed back to the trailhead. Katie and I then headed towards the Dutchman Trail, which we took all the way to Charlebois Spring. There were several backpackers camped along the trail to Charlebois and near the spring. After an extended break at the spring, we continued on with our loop. We made a quick detour up Music Canyon along the way out and finished just before 9:00 p.m. to a bright full moon.

A nice 20 mile jaunt through the Supes with an iconic summit along the way. The lack of water out there was a little depressing, but there is enough to backpack, the desert is green and it feels like spring out there. We encountered a hillside of poppies on our descent to Peralta and encountered significant poppies lining the trail and hillside along the trail shortly after beginning the gradual climb from the LaBarge Spring area.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mexican Gold Poppy

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
A hike into La Barge Spring right now would net you a modest wildflower show along the trail as you approach the intersection of the Dutchman and Red Tanks Trail. Its short, but sweet.

Barks Canyon

Pools to trickle

	Charlebois Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	full as usual, no fire damage near.

Music Canyon

Pools to trickle

	Music Canyon Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	A few nice pools and some trickling water

	White Rock Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	A few small pools of standing water

_____________________

3 archives

Jan 30 2021

survivordude

Routes 61
Photos 1,008
Triplogs 224

44 male

Joined Aug 19 2009
The Basin

Phoenix, AZ

Backpack		Jan 30 2021
		survivordude • Triplogs 224

Backpack	14.80 Miles	2,748 AEG

Backpack	14.80 Miles	2 Days
	2,748 ft AEG

no routes

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This could have easily been a day trip, but I wanted a little more wilderness immersion so went for an overnighter. Got the last parking spot at Peralta at 7:30AM and made my way up cardiac hill. You know that feeling you get when you know when you are in good hiking shape? Yeah.. good stuff. Made it up to Bluff Saddle in one hour. After this is when the burn area starts. Pretty much all gone until the Red Tanks junction. From here down to Charliebois was hit and miss, however the beautiful Oak Spring area was hit pretty hard.. Charliebois was untouched. Made it there in 3 hours flat and had the place to myself for a few hours until all at once, it seemed, there were about 6 different groups looking to stay at my camp spot. Good thing, this area has several good camp spots w/in 1/2 mile of the spring. Master Map is still enigmatic. The whole stretch of Dutchman from Charliebois to Terrapin junction was untouched by the fire and was very lush and scenic, as usual. The Terrapin trail was a different story.. The fire break was the Terrapin. Everything to the east was good, everything to the west was burnt. Not sure if that was how the fire burned or how it was fought.. Slightly before the first saddle, it was completely burnt the rest of the way, which really sucked because after all that climbing on that trail, there was ZERO shade the whole way. Passed through the land that physics forgot on the way back. Im sure all the water is all gone by now.

_____________________

“There is nothing that exists outside the thought of the immediate moment.”

Jan 17 2021

The_Dude

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 1,367
Triplogs 364

47 male

Joined Jun 10 2011
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 17 2021
		The_Dude • Triplogs 364

Hiking	17.79 Miles	2,999 AEG

Hiking	17.79 Miles	26 Hrs 22 Mns	2.18 mph
	2,999 ft AEG	18 Hrs 13 Mns Break

no photosets

Linked

linked

Weaver's Needle Loop from Peralta TH

Red Tanks Trail #107

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Falke

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

This trip was going to be after Xmas, but we had to postpone. No worries, weather was fantastic for the loop. My buddy Michael and I started out from the Peralta auxiliary lot (knew the main lot would be full) about 1030 on Saturday. Ran into a few groups on Bluff Springs, quite a few backpakers out and about. Trail was nice until about a mile in, then it was burn scar all through the Terrapin trail. We stopped for a lunch break at about 1230 where we could find some shade next to a small cliff. Views picked up once we got on the Dutchman, hiking was beautiful and untouched by fire all the way to Charlebois. Passed a bunch of good camp spots, but we wanted to get water and put on a few extra miles to make Sunday shorter. Water at Charlebois was cold and clear, quite tasty. There were 3 or 4 groups by the spring so we continued on. Took a side trip to check out the Master Map for the first time, thanks to Trekkin Gecko for her track to help get us to the right place! Passed through Oak spring area, all the sweet spots were taken there, and at La Barge. We continued onto Red Tanks for about a mile trying to find a spot, but no such luck. Circled back to Oak Spring and grabbed a solid spot after all. My buddy was trying out his hammock for the first time, and we shared a nice scrub oak and giant sugar bush to get us both hanging. Great night, probably about 43 or so overnight but we were toasty. Leisurely morning in camp, and got on trail about 930. The rest of the hike was in burn scar until we hit the downhill on Bluff. Great trip!

	Charlebois Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Fantastic water, cool, clear, and tasty.

	Crystal Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Some funky pools, but could be filtered.

	LaBarge Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Good water available as usual.

	Music Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Some small pools, looked OK.

_____________________

Feb 01 2020

jacobemerick

Guides 38
Routes 183
Photos 1,605
Triplogs 233

40 male

Joined Dec 09 2014
Gilbert, AZ

BSM Loop w Peralta, AZ

Hiking		Feb 01 2020
		jacobemerick • Triplogs 233

Hiking	16.77 Miles	3,311 AEG

Hiking	16.77 Miles	5 Hrs 52 Mns	3.10 mph
	3,311 ft AEG	27 Mns Break

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Wanted to get in more miles this weekend but still had the hard morning limit, so the inner Supes it was. Boy howdy are they pretty right now.

Started in the dark with a quick climb up to Fremont Saddle - it's one way to beat the crowds. Tumbling down the other side towards Dutchman was fairly awesome, with the nice views of Black Top Mesa and Palomino and Yellow Peak, plus the waking sky. Everything is green and the water's still flowing, etc. Dutchman felt a bit rough compared to Peralta, still easy to trot along and nothing that'll scratch too hard. Ogled up at Bluff Springs Mountain a few times, dreaming of past adventures up there. By the time I reached Charlie Boy I was starting to drift a bit so I went off-trail to that map that shows you where the gold is and had a breakfast break before tackling the long return. Starting bumping into people along Bluff Springs. Parking lot and overflow were packed, lots of people doing the saddle today.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] East Boulder Canyon

_____________________

Jan 11 2020

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,762

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 11 2020
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,762

Hiking	16.33 Miles	2,711 AEG

Hiking	16.33 Miles	8 Hrs 23 Mns		2.23 mph
	2,711 ft AEG	1 Hour 3 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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linked

Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon

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joebartels

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Another pre-dawn start, with about 20 minutes before sunrise.
Everywhere there was a wash or a canyon, there was running water on this hike.

Bluff Spring Trail
Cardiac hill seems a lot easier in the dark. It didn't take long to take the chill off the morning.

Terrapin Trail
We opted for a CW loop around Bluff Spring Mountain. This is the direction to go on this loop. Terrapin always seems to drag on going the other direction. We passed 3 groups of backpackers on their way out, after a night camping.

Dutchman Trail
In Needle Canyon, to Marsh Valley, and into La Barge Canyon. Still hints of fall color and running water everywhere.
We had to make the mandatory side trip to check out Charliebois Spring. We did lunch with a great view of La Barge Creek, just off the end of Peters Trail.

At La Barge Spring I noticed a couple of trail cams aimed at the spring box. I did my best to help them fill up the memory card. There are no signs of fire in this area, other than all the rocks being shaded in Slurry Red.

Back on Bluff Spring trail we took a break on a rock out cropping with a nice viewpoint into Barks Canyon.

Great to be out in the Supes again

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Charlebois Spring

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

	Barks Canyon	Light flow	Light flow

	Bluff Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Spring is back another 50 ft pipe is broken they still have it directed into a bucket

Light flow

	LaBarge Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute

Peralta Creek at #102 Crossing

Light flow

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Jan 11 2020

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,798
Photos 14,514
Triplogs 5,895

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 11 2020
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,895

Hiking	16.05 Miles	2,520 AEG

Hiking	16.05 Miles	8 Hrs 22 Mns	2.20 mph
	2,520 ft AEG	1 Hour 4 Mns Break

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The_Eagle

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Wave Cave trailhead was like Kaibab trailhead an hour before sunrise. Kinna cool IMHO, kinna funny. Peralta trailhead was maybe a lonesome dozen cars. Cardiac Hill is virtually effortless in mid to upper thirty degree temps fending off sweat and filling the lungs with crisp air.

Creeks were easy to ford with light flow. At the Terrapin junction we made a decision to go CW instead of CCW as we've done many times. Albeit no less traveled, the experience felt refreshingly new. Only minor nuisance catclaw(entire hike), overhangs declawed from use. Wore shorts because that's how we roll in paradise. Not a scratch.

Transitioning from Needle Canyon to LaBarge Canyon the hike grasped my attention. Perfect temps, light, landscape and Autumn on the farewell pendulum swing of the season.

Marsh Valley to LaBarge Spring was the prime bite. We explored Charlebois, lunched on the outcrop at Peter's junction then checked on LaBarge Spring.

A quarter mile of the easternmost bend of Bluff Spring Canyon was the only burn area on the entire loop. Singed chaparral. Cheatgrass is blanketing the area. Bust out the purple spray paint, it's invasive!

Great hike.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Catclaw Acacia

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bluff Spring Charlebois Spring

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

	Bluff Spring	Quart per minute	Quart per minute
	Further back now since pipe is broke

	LaBarge Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	20 gallons a minute

_____________________

- joe

Jan 04 2020

AndrewAZ

Guides 1
Routes 1
Triplogs 24

45 male

Joined Feb 27 2012
Cochise County

Boulder Canyon Trail #103

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 04 2020
		AndrewAZ • Triplogs 24

Hiking	19.70 Miles	2,748 AEG

Hiking	19.70 Miles	9 Hrs 45 Mns	2.02 mph
	2,748 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Cavalry Trail #239

Peralta Trail #102

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From the Peralta TH on the way out: Bluff Spring Mtn Tr to Dutchman, then past Red Tanks Jxn and Peters Jxn on Dutchman to Cavalry and turning around at the Calvary/Boulder Jxn. On the way back: Boulder Canyon to Dutchman to Peralta to the TH. My Green Mountain map says it's 19.7 miles.

Cold at the start, but a little too warm in the late morning and the afternoon once the sun was on me. As I expected/hoped for, there was plenty of water everywhere. Many water crossings, including some tricky ones. I managed to keep my feet dry all day, but had there been another 2 inches of water in some of them, staying dry would've been impossible.

I encountered a group of ~15 women at the Dutchman/Cavalry Jxn. That's the exact same spot I encountered a group of women hikers a few years ago when doing a super loop. Whichever hiking club that is, they're consistent (as am I, apparently).

I don't think I had hiked that stretch of Boulder Canyon Tr before. That was the only brushy trail of the day, although it wasn't too bad.

I didn't see much wildlife. I blame that on the repeated helicopter flyovers, including lots of hovering around a mountain more towards AZ 88. I assume that was related to the road closure.

This was the first hike in my Topo Ultraventure 2s. One small hot spot on the outside of my left heel, but that's it. Not bad for new shoes. I'm not sure about their durability, and who knows how they'll feel after a week straight on a long trip, but so far I'm a fan. Much better than the Sportivas I had or the Altras I have.

_____________________

Nov 03 2019

johnlp

Guides 1
Routes 14
Photos 7,202
Triplogs 5,208

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 03 2019
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	15.64 Miles	3,150 AEG

Hiking	15.64 Miles	6 Hrs 16 Mns	2.62 mph
	3,150 ft AEG	18 Mns Break

no routes

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trekkin_gecko

Kelly suggested getting away from South Mountain
The nerve!
Been too long since we did a good Supes hike
Chatted with Wally in the parking lot
Very little fire damage seen all day
La Barge and Charlebois springs are both doing fine
catclaw per usual
Fun hike
Thanks Kelly

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Sycamore

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Charlebois Spring LaBarge Spring

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Charlebois Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Looks good

	LaBarge Spring	Gallon per minute	Gallon per minute
	Excellent flow

_____________________

“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson

Nov 03 2019

trekkin_gecko

Guides 10
Routes 673
Photos 7,281
Triplogs 4,660

67 female

Joined Nov 17 2008
phoenix, az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 03 2019
		trekkin_gecko • Triplogs 4,660

Hiking	15.64 Miles	3,150 AEG

Hiking	15.64 Miles	6 Hrs 16 Mns	2.62 mph
	3,150 ft AEG	18 Mns Break

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johnlp

hit john up for a hike in the supes this morning
originally discussed weaver's needle loop, but decided on bluff spring mountain loop once we got to peralta
we found waldo at the trailhead

nice to see you, wally
up bluff spring, then dutchman
checked out labarge spring, the master map and charlebois spring along the way
terrapin and back on bluff spring
nice temps all day with some high clouds and a breeze later on
trails were mostly good with a bit of catclaw encroachment so shorts were fine
nice to be back out on some of these trails; it's been awhile
saw just a little bit of fire damage along dutchman, shortly after the end of bluff spring trail
some retardant dropped in labarge canyon and on the mountains above
bluff spring is a big mountain
good audible on this one, john

Charlebois Spring

Gallon per minute

LaBarge Spring

Gallon per minute

_____________________

hazhole

1 archive

Feb 23 2019

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 183
Photos 5,612
Triplogs 1,647

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 23 2019
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Hiking	16.00 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	16.00 Miles
	3,000 ft AEG

no routes

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Blanco

FOTG

Met up with Lee, Carrie and my friend Laura for a fun filled day in the Supes. The area received a ton of snow the previous two days and we wanted to enjoy the conditions. Lee had wrestling practice in the morning so we started relatively late at 11:30am. The good thing, this gave the sun some time to melt the snow. We started from the Peralta overflow lot and headed up and signed the register at a very busy trailhead and started hiking up the Bluff Spring Trail.

The first two miles went really well. The lower mile had no snow at all while the rest of the trail was wet and mostly clear of snow. The rest of the generally area was covered. We had some wet crossings in Barks Canyon and connected onto the Terrapin Trail. Everyone felt good and conditions were fine so we decided to start the loop around Bluff Spring Mountain. The rest of the hike along Terrapin was smooth sailing. The trail was wet and surrounded by snow as we neared Terrapin Pass. From there the trail drops down and the lower elevation had no snow at all. It was like it didn't snow over here at all. We cruised to Charlebois & took a short lunch.

After Charlebois, things got interesting. We had at least 4-5 wet crossings that ranged from knee to thigh deep. A couple of them had fast moving water that was a bit dicey. At one point, Lee carried Chloe across and Blanco followed. He was swept about 15 feet down current but was able to get just enough footing to cross. My heart dropped for a brief moment when the current fist took him away. The rest of us were able to safely cross. By the last crossing, we're cold & wet and the sun was starting to set. From La Barge Spring, we pretty much put our heads down and cruised south for the next few miles.

We connected back onto the Bluff Springs Trail as dusk set in. We kept moving and had to walk through flowing ankle deep water several times. By this point all of us are done and want to get back to the vehicle. We also noticed the snow was becoming crunchy because it was refreezing with the temps dropping. The last 1-2 miles were completed with our headlamps and we were all glad to get back to the 4Runner at 7:40pm. Lee cranked the heat and we made the drive home.

This was an amazing hike! By far one of my most memorable in the Supes. Thanks Lee for guiding and showing off some sweet waterfalls. If the Supes were like this all winter, they would be a national park. On a side note, Route Scout cut out at least five times while hiking. I'm sorry to say I might stop using it.

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Feb 23 2019

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 556
Photos 10,872
Triplogs 1,052

43 male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 23 2019
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,052

Hiking	16.00 Miles	3,000 AEG

Hiking	16.00 Miles
	3,000 ft AEG

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Bluff Spring Mountain Canyon

Partners

partners

Blanco

John9L

I decided to give a complimentary premium tour (with a 30 waterfall guarantee) of the western Supes to a small group of lucky hikers on Saturday. The tour was a hit and we just met the guaranteed waterfall count with 31 waterfalls.

There is no shortage of water in the Supes. The major creeks were flowing, every side drainage was flowing, and the trail was trickling along in most spots at about 5-10 cfs. As expected, La Barge was absolutely raging. In fact, one crossing required a little bit of human chain action and we lost Blanco in the swift current. He narrowly, but calmly missed going down a little cascade of boulders that might have led to a pretty bad day for him. The hike got cold towards the end and the snow got crunchy. We were all happy to be back to the warm car, after hiking about 7 miles in wet pants and wet footwear without the presence of the sun.

Overall, we did not run into many hikers or backpackers. Charlebois had no backpackers and the premium spots along La Barge were all empty, which I assume was due to the high crossings. I really do not think there are too many better hiking options than the western Supes when there is water and snow like this.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Barks Canyon Charlebois Spring La Barge Creek

Barks Canyon

Heavy flow

Heavy flow

Heavy flow

Heavy flow

Heavy flow

Gallon + per minute

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Feb 16 2019

hanmart

Routes 1
Triplogs 3

female

Joined Apr 08 2016
Phoenix

Phoenix, AZ

Backpack		Feb 16 2019
		hanmart • Triplogs 3

Backpack	14.80 Miles	2,748 AEG

Backpack	14.80 Miles	2 Days
	2,748 ft AEG		25 LBS Pack

no routes

no photosets

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What a great weekend of backpacking! I don't think I've ever seen so much water in the Superstitions. My group of 4 started from Peralta Trailhead onto Bluff Springs on Saturday morning, making it up Cardiac Hill in pretty good time. We saw water flowing down the trail in a few spots and knew we were in for a lovely trip. Tons of water at the bottom of Barks Canyon. Then we headed up Terrapin, which we wanted to revisit because our first experience of it was on our first ever backpacking trip — a hot and cloudless day in which that trail felt endless. I highly recommend coming down, not up, this one! Views were awesome with lots of big clouds, some of them looking a little stormy but never quite intersecting our path. We then headed onto Dutchman #104, a stretch that was new to us. We intended to scope out Charlebois and then camp farther on but in the end we peeked around and then missed the turnoff for it.

Oh well, we'll see it next time.

So far, none of the creek crossings were anything to sweat. Not so on the next 7. The first, just past Charlebois was the widest bit of water I've ever seen in the Superstitions. We all had opted to leave our camp shoes behind to allow for warmer layers (we reasoned we would be too cold to wear our sandals at camp) which we realized was a big mistake. We ended up crossing this creek, and the next few, barefoot.

It was cold but the sharp rocks were worse. Some of the crossings were deeper than you could see bottom of, others had strong currents. And all of them had some stepping stones, but nothing anywhere near resembling a path you could hop across. Sometimes looking across to where the cairn showed the trail picked back up was just hilarious.

Lesson learned. We found a great campsite on this stretch and warmed up with hot food and some strong cocktails after over 9 miles of hiking and negotiating cold creek crossings. We were beat.

Sunday morning hike out was beautiful. We were worried we would see rain but it was a really nice day. We finished Dutchman back over to Bluff Springs. In the crook of Barks Canyon, on the way out, there is a little cairn and trail leading up...anyone know where that goes? Anyway, we continued up out and in good time, still enjoying all the water along the way and the views up on the bluffs. I added a couple water reports. Unfortunately we had to switch between devices on the way and some data got lost. But basically, it's all flowing. Almost all the creek beds we walked through had flow.

Really great trip overall.

	Barks Canyon	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Lots of flowing water!

Charlebois Canyon

Heavy flow

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Dec 11 2018

Yoder

Guides 8
Routes 70
Photos 3,208
Triplogs 273

59 male

Joined Oct 07 2017
Chandler, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 11 2018
		Yoder • Triplogs 273

Hiking	15.80 Miles	2,957 AEG

Hiking	15.80 Miles	6 Hrs 22 Mns		2.66 mph
	2,957 ft AEG	25 Mns Break	10 LBS Pack

no routes

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no linked trail guides

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Nephew dropped in, so I thought I would offer to take him out on to see some the the best of the sups' This is a great hike. Clouds the whole time we were out. 6:30 to about 1:30.

Great time.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Some areas the brittle bush is starting up. (Love them).

_____________________

J. Yoder

1 archive

Mar 17 2018

adenium

Guides 4
Routes 93
Photos 302
Triplogs 698

51 male

Joined Jul 05 2008
Gilbert, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Backpack		Mar 17 2018
		adenium • Triplogs 698

Backpack	15.58 Miles	2,748 AEG

Backpack	15.58 Miles	2 Days
	2,748 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Quick overnight trip to Charlebois Spring and back around to complete this loop. Started a little after 8am on Friday morning and arrived at Charlebois before lunch. The campsite right off the main trail was unoccupied so I set up my tent and went to explore Charlbois Canyon a bit. Saturday morning I headed around the north end of Bluff Spring Mtn and back toward the car on Terrapin Trail. Could not have asked for better weather, although I did get a bit chilly when the wind kicked up.

	Barks Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	A few full potholes here and there.

	Charlebois Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Big pools. Lots of water available to filter.

Charlebois Spring

Gallon + per minute

LaBarge Spring

Gallon + per minute

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Jan 20 2018

parkeraph

Photos 9
Triplogs 6

27 male

Joined Dec 28 2017
Tempe, Az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 20 2018
		parkeraph • Triplogs 6

Hiking	14.80 Miles	2,748 AEG

Hiking	14.80 Miles	11 Hrs		2.47 mph
	2,748 ft AEG	5 Hrs Break	30 LBS Pack

no routes

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I arrived at the trail around 8:30 AM, parking lot was almost full. I would recommend arriving before 8:00 AM to guarantee parking at the Peralta Trail Head. Starting on Bluff Springs Trail you get a nice warm up ascending cardiac hill. I found the trail to be easy to find even when crossing washes. This is mainly due to the rock stack markers. My hiking partner and did this trail clock-wise, taking Terrapin Trail to Dutchman Trail. By the time my partner and I arrived to the base of weavers needle, the clouds started to get dark. I set up the tarp to keep us dry in case it started to pour. It only seemed to sprinkle so we continued on. Arriving at Dutchman Trail from Terrapin the clouds started to lower making for great pictures. From here to Charlebois Springs the trail become somewhat flat. Crossing wash to wash it was easy to loose the trail due to a lot of of shoots to dispersed camping. My buddy and I collected some water from the upper pool of CharleBois Springs and continued to music canyon. There were a bunch of campers the the springs so we decided to stay at music canyon. We found a camp spot at 4:30 about 5 yards off the trail, however we started to notice that since the wood is wet, we wont be able to start a fire. We noticed it was going to be a miserable night so we decided to continue the trail and not camp. Complete darkness fell upon us at Holmes Springs and we were felling discouraged about making it back to the trail head. We kept a 3.2 mph pace all the way back to the car. By the time I started my descend upon cardiac hill my feet felt like they need to be amputated. I really recommend this hike for people are not far to over their heads as I am.

	Charlebois Canyon	Light flow	Light flow
	Light flow to bottom pool

	Charlebois Spring	Dripping	Dripping
	Didn't find spring. Upper pool is full and clear

Music Canyon

Dry

Music Canyon Spring

Dry

3 archives

Jan 16 2018

nathanbrisk

Routes 27
Photos 279
Triplogs 56

39 male

Joined Aug 06 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 16 2018
		nathanbrisk • Triplogs 56

Hiking	10.97 Miles	1,841 AEG

Hiking	10.97 Miles	6 Hrs 46 Mns	1.98 mph
	1,841 ft AEG	1 Hour 14 Mns Break

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