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| | | trans-Supes (Miles to First Water), AZ | | | |
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trans-Supes (Miles to First Water), AZ
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| Hiking | 37.30 Miles |
6,300 AEG |
| | Hiking | 37.30 Miles | 16 Hrs 51 Mns | | 2.54 mph |
| 6,300 ft AEG | 2 Hrs 9 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Originally planned to take a couple of days to do the Highline from end to end in Payson, but weather nixed that last minute as the first snow system of the year blew in 3-6". So, decided the day before to divert to the Supes and do a trans-Superstitions hike from east to west, and I decided on Miles as the start and First Water as the end.
There are lots of possibilities for something like this. Actually, if we had had a little bit more time, I would rather have taken a route that included Rogers Canyon Trail rather than the forest road between Rogers TH and Woodbury E TH, but we needed to shave off a few miles. Weather was nice for our trip, but we knew we only had a day and a half, as my friend Bill needed to get to another appointment, thus the cuts. My first time out on the trail with him, great company!
Spent the night at Miles Trailhead, just as the weather system was finishing up in the state. It actually still had more rain to get out of its system before daybreak, but we kept dry. Sure did make our start on day 1 a bit wet though, all the water on the grass and bushes had our pants, shoes and socks soaked through after we started out the next morning. Just before sunrise, checked out the property a little bit before starting on the trail. Was surprised to see a fairly new grave on the Miles property, dated 2014. Then stated down the West Pinto. At first the creek was dry, but once we passed Oak Flat the creek started building up a pretty nice flow. Past Oak Flat, there still was the sketchy trail for a few miles, requiring the GPS a few times. Saw a couple of whitetail deer on the trail, lots of bear scat (some fresh), punched through the catclaw and other bushes. We were able to make the high point of the trail, then descend to Rogers Spring, check it out and get to Rogers Trough TH by 11:30.
Bill and I coasted down the forest service road to Woodbury's eastern trailhead, seeing our only person for the day here...an ATV'er on the forest road. Once on Woodbury, much of it was intuitive, cross-country hiking, not any well-defined trail. I checked out the homestead again, whereby this time the bear scat of course was more like ... cow scat. Went around JF Ranch to hit the Coffee Flat Trail, which basically just follows Fraser Canyon's wash from the ranch to Dripping Spring and beyond before becoming an actual trail. Descended into Barkley Basin (love that view of all the saguaros in the basin!), then over to Miners Needle and the Dutchman Trail to get to Peralta. Bill had some foot trouble, all the water and wet feet on the trail led to some pretty nasty blisters that he ended up needing to have a doctor tend to (yikes!). Arriving at Peralta at 5:20, we decided to pause there for the afternoon, crashing nearby until sunup the next morning.
That next morning was a quick half-day, heading up Bluff Springs Trail from Peralta to the Terrapin, and then over Bull Pass Trail to the Dutchman Trail and out. On our second day, we didn't run into anyone until we were on the other side of Parker Pass, just a couple of miles from First Water TH. Did see another whitetail out there on day 2, though.
Trip took a bit longer than expected due to my friend's blisters, but not too bad at all. Had some nice breaks to sit down and admire the scenery, and give him a chance to go at his own pace and catch up to me. 10:45 day 1, 6:06 day 2. |
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Dripping Spring |
Quart per minute |
Quart per minute |
| | | pretty good water supply here today |
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West Fork Pinto Creek |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| | | pretty good, solid flow along the Pinto Trail, once west of Oak Flat | | _____________________
| "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." — Henry David Thoreau |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
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Large pools and flowing water up and down stream from the crossing
Route 
After gaining 500 feet in 2 1/2 miles, the trail goes steeper and gains another 500 feet in about 1 mile. Took a lunch break here at 5 hours in. I knew I still had the climb out of Whiskey to Miner's, but I assumed because I was at the highest point on the hike, the rest would be easy peasy. It was not easy peasy. Coming over the saddle into Red Tanks Divide, the views were spectacular and everything was so green and lush. Sometimes it doesnt even make sense that this is considered a desert.. then again, this is December. After not too long I got to really enjoy that lushness up close and personal, as the brush became so thick at times it was nearly impassable. Also, the 'brush' was actually bushes completely made of thorns. At times I felt like I was in the first 'Saw' movie with all the barbed wire. Wearing shorts was not a problem as mostly all of the terrible stuff was waist and above. It had no problem ripping through 2 layers of clothing and shredding half my body. I was shuddering at the thoughts of the show 'Naked and Afraid'. I haven't had my fingers scratched up like that since I bought my daughter a kitten 3 years ago. Trying to go around the trail and find a 'better' way was futile, so I sucked it up and just pushed though. Scared a white tail up the hill (from my shrills of pain probably). Much wildlife will be sustained in those mountains due to the amounts of my flesh torn off and left on those thorns. I finally made it through the worst of it as I got to Upper LaBarge Canyon? This canyon was very remarkable due to it was like 2 views in one the way you peered down through the canyon, and then off to far away landscapes between and beyond. The trail stays mostly on the northern side of the canyon, but once it drops down into the creek, there were some gigantic boulders to navigate and climb around that took some extra time for route finding. Saw the very large Herman's Cave, but didnt bother to even check it out because at that point I was exhausted. Took a well deserved break at the Red Tanks/ Whiskey Springs junction and recharged. The hike up to Miner's saddle was not that bad and I did have enough energy to pick up the pace quite a bit down the hill. Probably not a good idea, because just about the 20 mile mark, I could feel myself starting to really break down. Back at the Coffee Flat junction my legs went into auto pilot. I couldn't feel them moving but they kept going and so did I, and an hour later I was back at the Peralta TH.
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