Malapais Mountain - Superstitions • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 09 2025
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	10.83 Miles	3,830 AEG

Hiking	10.83 Miles	7 Hrs	1.83 mph
	3,830 ft AEG	1 Hour 4 Mns Break

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I've had this one on my radar recently since I've only done it once before, and that was 7 years ago.

Today seemed like a good day for a repeat.

There've been a couple of fires and some new catclaw growth, so I wasn't sure what conditions would be like. Turned out to be 90% delightful. There's a solid trail for the first 1000 feet of climb up to the point where you turn off to head for Geronimo Head. From there scattered cairns marked no obvious paths through the grass with few obstacles to dodge.

The new catclaw bushes are only a few inches high and were either easily stepped on or inconsequential to brush by. There was a short stretch of prickly pair pinball passing through the drainage between the two peaks and again once cresting the top of the drainage onto the upper Malapais flats. The next mile across the top went quickly. We spooked a couple of bucks and a doe near the summit and took an insanely extended Eagle-recommended 30 minute rest up top.

The return trip was uneventful, though we were glad to return to some worn tread for the last mile though the steepitude was not particularly enjoyable at that point. Oh well, it goes by quickly.

This is a pretty solid dayhike with some exceptional rewards. I'd probably do it more often if not for the crowds.

Not a drop of water was seen. Not on the trail, in the drainage, nor in the surrounding rivers which should be roaring (or at least trickling) in February: Mesquite, Peters, Tortilla, La Barge, or Boulder.

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Mar 26 2023

pseudalpine

Guides 59
Routes 1,100
Photos 1,191
Triplogs 1,290

male

Joined Jan 01 2023
Arizona

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 26 2023
		pseudalpine • Triplogs 1,290

Hiking	9.77 Miles	4,040 AEG

Hiking	9.77 Miles	5 Hrs 56 Mns	1.86 mph
	4,040 ft AEG	40 Mns Break

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[ checklist ] Battleship Mountain Black Mountain Marsh Valley Weavers Needle

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

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

2 archives

Dec 23 2022

John10s

Guides 25
Routes 376
Photos 5,897
Triplogs 346

40 male

Joined Mar 01 2018
Chandler, AZ

[ checklist ] Battleship Mountain Buzzards Roost Canyon Lake Four Peaks Geronimo Head Goldfield Mountains La Barge Box Malapais Mountain Miners Needle Mount McDowell (Red Mountain) Tortilla Flat - Hwy 88

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 23 2022
		John10s • Triplogs 346

Hiking	10.69 Miles	3,436 AEG

Hiking	10.69 Miles	10 Hrs 25 Mns	1.25 mph
	3,436 ft AEG	1 Hour 52 Mns Break

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ishamod

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

Malapais was our backup plan today...ishamod wanted to go to Devil's Chasm, but the snow coverage map showed that the upper parts of the canyon had a solid layer of snow, so Malapais it was. I'd had this one on my list since 2017, but the weather/hiking partners' willingness to join me never worked out until today, so I was excited to finally hike Malapais.

We started from Tortilla Flat just after sunrise, and I picked up a good gash on my left leg within the first 15 minutes when a loose rock broke away underneath my boot on the way up the steep hillside. In hindsight, it would've been more efficient following the official Geronimo Head route that's slightly longer but follows an informal trail...the Malapais route we were following takes a more direct approach up the first ridge and involves more brush and loose rock. Once we were on top of the ridge, the official route led into another rocky area that was slowing us down, so we backtracked slightly and made our way over to the Geronimo Head route and picked up the more open trail.

It had been 5+ years since I hiked to Geronimo Head, but the beautiful area around saddle 2750 with the yellow cliffs was very familiar as we made our way over to the creek bed. That stretch was mostly smooth rock with some small pools and was free of brush until we turned southeast and started the climb up toward Peak 3509, with Canyon Lake coming into view again behind us. On the way down the other side of the ridge, I found a single piece of pottery on the ground, and we saw a deer run off ahead of us.

We dropped down into another drainage and then started the final climb up the north side of Malapais. There was quite a bit of scrambling and catclaw in places, and we veered off the official route again and took a more roundabout but flatter approach farther east to get on top of the mountain. The terrain flattened out on top, but there was still a lot of cactus and catclaw that we had to dodge, so our pace still wasn't terribly fast. We stopped at the lower, north peak (4159) first before continuing south to the summit.

[ youtube video ]

It was great to finally be up there after looking up at Malapais from so many different angles over the years and was cool to see Battleship and Geronimo Head looking small from that perspective. We pulled out the summit register that @ScottHika placed in October last year. There were only two other entries besides his, both from December last year, so ishamod and I were the first and only signatures in 2022. There were a few initials carved in the rocks around the summit...too bad people don't just sign the register instead

. We enjoyed the views and ate a quick snack but didn't spend too much time at the summit before we started down. Given how slow the pace had been, I expected we'd be finishing in the dark--one of the downsides of hiking Malapais on one of the shortest days of the year.

As we scrambled down the steepest stretch on the north side, I backed into a spiny plant and had ribbons of blood running down my leg and saw swelling within seconds...I'd never had a reaction like that to a spine poke, but it looked worse than it felt, fortunately. We made better time on the hike out, and the shadows and sun angle were nice as we looked out over Canyon Lake and the yellow cliffs on our way past 3509. We checked out Fragile Arch on the way down, and after learning our lesson at the start of the day, we stayed on the informal trail for the last mile, which saved some time.

We got back to the car just as the sun set and hadn't seen anyone all day. It was nice to see the Christmas lights on Tortilla Flat, and it ended up being a good plan B option for today's Festivus hike, probably my last one of the year with ishamod. Although it's a challenging hike and a good workout, it was different than I expected--there wasn't any serious exposure or fall risk, with more long, steady ups and downs than extremely steep sections. It was more mentally than physically tiring, constantly looking down at the ground to avoid rocks and brush, but it was a fun one and worth the effort.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Saguaro

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chalcedony Natural Arch

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Height of Light Summit Register Log

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Sunrise

3 archives

Oct 30 2021

ScottHika

Guides 2
Routes 31
Photos 902
Triplogs 50

male

Joined Sep 19 2020
Phoenix

[ checklist ] HAZ - Hike HAZard Old Rusty Stuff Summit Register Log

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Oct 30 2021
		ScottHika • Triplogs 50

Hiking	11.88 Miles	4,881 AEG

Hiking	11.88 Miles
	4,881 ft AEG		20 LBS Pack

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*Please feel free to skip the first paragraph LOL.

I’m summiting Malapais Mountain I mentioned to my loving wife of 30 years. “Malapais?” “Yes dear. It sort of means ‘Badlands’ in Spanish.” “Stay away from the cactus!” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “Always,” I promised. As I was riding the express elevator up to the summit I repeated my vows, “no cactus!” I take my commitments seriously. About halfway up I cracked open the champagne and toasted the views of Battleship and Tortilla. As I exited the elevator at the penthouse I took my shoes off and strolled through the waves of soft golden yellow grass. Weavers Needle is spectacular I thought as I dipped in the fountain before strapping on my zip line harness back down to Tortilla Flat. I arrived home early and was greeted by the aroma of dinner. “No cactus,” I told my beautiful wife and she smiled.

Last minute I decided to summit Malapais. Had a couple friends in mind but they couldn’t commit the day before Halloween. I’ve been there before on overnight but never a one day trip. More or less I used the official route + side trip to Geronimo. It was close to 12 miles. I’m not great at sticking to a route because I’m the curious sort and I kind of wander in the direction of things that interest me. I like to take a different line that I’ve done before and also different that I’ve known others to take as well. I come across the unexpected at times. This was no exception. The temps were projected in the mid 80s, so it was warm but manageable to me. Many years (not bragging) has me desert adapted to AZ climate.

I literally saw zero people the entire day. Not making excuses, because you must be responsible for yourself especially on a solo like this one. I figured in the 8-10 hour range but miscalculated slightly. One reason is that I’m in denial about my age. I’m in my 60s and really just not as fast as I once was. In my mind I fly a little faster than my feet move. Another reason is I picked up a scorpion bite somehow. It got between the tongue of my Salomons and my double layers of socks on right shin. I’m not allergic but it explained the nagging pain I was having in my shin area. Some people wear boots and or gaiters for this sort of thing. Then there’s the “look around and wander” factor that always adds time to the clock. The result was a bushwhack in the dark to the car and a 12 hour hike. Nice to have a GPS route under those circumstances, but the later splits really brought my average down to one mile an hour. I was prepared and I’m an experienced night hiker but I’m telling anybody that listens to start early and plan generously the time needed. The “badlands” are rough even in daylight.

No water but stagnant pools in lower drainage. I carry a water filter but wouldn’t drink that unless it was an emergency. I used most of my 6L of water. The route passes through Woodbury burned sections and also unburned sections where the debris is piled waist deep. Lots of red slurry stains up on the summits from the last fire. In spite of looking I saw little wildlife. No mammals, no snakes but a lot of insect and some lizards. Birds were here and there but the largest I saw were crows. Insects (arachnids) showed up and represented. There were flies, bees, wasps, spiders, scorpions, unidentified flying critters, and of course mosquitoes in number. Good to wear repellent on these adventures. I did a tick check but nothing.

The elevated views really make this worthwhile. In all seriousness it is a challenging hike. If you are prone to rolled ankles beware because much of the time you cannot see your feet. There is some fall risk. There are lots of hidden Hedgehogs, Prickly Pears, Cholla, etc. to jab you in the tall grass. There are mazes of catclaw in the drainages but I did do route maintenance on the lower trail and cut a clear path. The rattlesnake potential is high. There are scree slopes and slippery lichen covered granite to traverse. Expect to spend the majority of the hike focusing on where and how you step. No autopilot for this hike. Also understand that if you only have cellular, you will be out of range at times. I’m not preaching doom and gloom just appropriate caution.

All in all it was a great trip and I feel good today in recovery. It’s Halloween! Gotta get ready for tonight’s fun! Happy Halloween 2021 HAZ!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Pincushion Cactus

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Desert Tortoise

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Chalcedony

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Battleship Mountain Canyon Lake Four Peaks Geronimo Head Malapais Mountain Tortilla Mountain Weavers Needle

Autumn Foliage Observation Light

Wildflowers Observation Light

7 archives

Feb 28 2021

emilystardust

Routes 386
Photos 49
Triplogs 792

43 female

Joined Jun 23 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 28 2021
		emilystardust • Triplogs 792

Hiking	11.00 Miles	3,344 AEG

Hiking	11.00 Miles	10 Hrs 3 Mns	1.26 mph
	3,344 ft AEG	1 Hour 18 Mns Break

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Started the day early and headed up and across-ish to Malapais. I’d say overall we made some great route choices but we also made some questionable route choices that didn’t pan out as well as we’d hoped. It took us about 10 hours with an hour at the top.

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Feb 09 2020

Mountain_Rat

Guides 11
Routes 123
Photos 818
Triplogs 257

62 male

Joined Jul 14 2011
Tucson, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 09 2020
		Mountain_Rat • Triplogs 257

Hiking	11.60 Miles	3,825 AEG

Hiking	11.60 Miles	10 Hrs 46 Mns		1.22 mph
	3,825 ft AEG	1 Hour 16 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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LindaAnn

It was Linda’s turn to pick the hike and I agreed with her choice without question. I had been really busy all week, so I hadn’t had much time to do any research, or otherwise prepare. Sunday a.m. came and I was on the road a little after 04:00 in anticipation of a full, but pleasant, Sunday stroll. We arrived at Tortilla Flat and got stated just about sunrise, with temps around the 50 mark. It was the perfect morning for a hike.

Linda had mentioned that this hike would be largely off-trail, and I would say that description is “true”, but, well, …less than accurate. In fact, I saw distinct trail for the first 0.07 miles and beyond that, any “trail system” was comprised mostly of deceptive cairns. Not to worry, as I like off-trail, and I trusted Linda to lead the way.

We babbled and chatted our way up the initial climb, soaking up the views in every direction. At about 2 hour in we began the walk across Geronimo Head, Oooing and Ahhing all the canyons, peaks and ridges – It’s quite the vantage point. After loitering on Geronimo for a bit, it was time for phase 2 of the adventure.

From here forward, everything was “just” something; just over this ridge (both infested with prickly pear), just up this drainage (choked with catclaw and mortared in with silt and stone from the winter rains), just over that saddle (can’t even begin to put a count on that one). Just this, just that… Now we’re all used to a little motivational fibbing on the part of the lead hiker, but come on!

Eventually, we made it to the ridge for the final approach to Malapais. This area burned last year, but is filling in rather rapidly. In fact, as you look out over the surrounding landscape, it's kind of hard to tell just what had burned. This was the best go of the whole hike and lead to the incredible views that the whole trek was about. By this time, the sky was well overcast, casting a perfect natural light. After a few pics and a look or two around, we started the much anticipated descent.

The return through the burned area seemed far too short lived as we turned our sights down the dreaded chute (the term drainage is now stricken from my vocabulary, as the mere utterance leads to eye-twitching and mild convulsions). We fared much better on the return avoiding anything worse than we’d already been through. Once out of the chute there was great relief, but there was still quite a road ahead to get to the road ahead and so on. The bulk of this homerun phase was a cakewalk by comparison though and went by quickly.

Finally, we made it back the parking lot just as the sunset, and what a sunset it was with the lightly clouded backdrop and the faint glow of the opposing full moonrise. Despite all the bleeding, cussing, complaining – and there was a lot of each – I’d have to say I had a fine time. After all, this was a substantial bag of the off-trail variety, I got to a new part of the superstitions, the word hot was never once uttered, and as usual it was great to hang out and chat the day away with Linda.

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Feb 09 2020

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Geronimo Head - Malapais Mtn, AZ

Hiking		Feb 09 2020
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	11.57 Miles	3,821 AEG

Hiking	11.57 Miles	10 Hrs 47 Mns	1.21 mph
	3,821 ft AEG	1 Hour 12 Mns Break

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Mountain_Rat

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

On Saturday's hike, during the offtrail to Pikes & Mill, knowing what my Sunday plans were, I'd made the offhand comment that the brush through there was worse than when I'd been on Malapais a couple of years ago. Stupid stupid me--I should have realized right then what was to come on Malapais. I guess ignorance really is bliss...

We got started shortly before 0730 and took the trail up to Fragile Arch Saddle, which was easy to follow. After the saddle, despite some vague trail in a couple of places, it was fairly easy to stay on track. Once we reached the drainage, there was a cairned route to the west and up to the ridge. Once up top, great views all around, and so far, this hike was much easier than it had been two years ago. We followed the ridge south to Geronimo Head, then headed northeast and contoured north-northeast, then southeast, making a big U-turn to stay level until we reached the saddle.

From there, we headed southeast and down, staying on the ridge that heads generally south. Lots of prickly pear through here, more than before. We saw the remains of someone's campsite--tent, pads, cooking grate, water bottles, etc, and pondered both what possessed someone to carry all that great out here and what caused them to abandon it. Near the south end of the ridge, we dropped off the east side of it and then headed up towards the drainage coming off the side of Malapais.

Occasional cairns were helpful, but the explosion of recent vegetation was terrible. It was almost impossible to follow my old track, which was a very good track, so we resorted to trying to pick our way through whatever had the least thorns and didn't seem to involve climbing. Eventually we reached the saddle. Still lots of prickly pear up top, but once we reached the Woodbury burn area, travel got much much easier. We stayed in the burn area while we headed west, then south to the summit of Malapais. This little bit was the easiest part of the day.

Views from Malapais are great, especially with the clear air yesterday. Lots of new vegetation growing in the burn area, it was quite green. After a break on Malapais, we unhappily headed back to the drainage to begin the dreaded descent. We managed to avoid more of the brush on the way down, and generally picked a better route. In one spot, we did some backtracking while trying to find the easiest way to get down through the rocks in the steepest part, but progress was faster than I thought it would be.

Once down, we retraced our steps north across the ridge back over to the prickly pear side, then veered right, more north, by the saddle to avoid the big U-turn. We headed up and followed the ridge north for a while before finally dropping to the west off of 3509 and making our way down into a drainage to follow west then north back up to Fragile Arch Saddle. That drainage was mostly brush free, and easy to walk through. Once over the saddle, we followed the trail back down to the car and finished up right around sunset.

Great temps all day, and a perfect breeze too. We never saw any other hikers, but did see some fairly recent shoeprints in places near Malapais. Given the current conditions of the drainage up to Malapais, unless I hear it improves, I'll probably scratch this one off my list for future hikes. Still, a good day, and it was nice to get a tough hike completed.

Wildflowers Observation Light

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Stop crying and just go do the hike.

Jan 18 2020

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

[ checklist ] Black Mesa Superstition Mountain 5057 Tortilla Mountain Weavers Needle

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 18 2020
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	10.10 Miles	3,885 AEG

Hiking	10.10 Miles	7 Hrs 48 Mns	1.66 mph
	3,885 ft AEG	1 Hour 43 Mns Break

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I had been wanting to do Malapais again, so a small group of us headed up there today.

We did an out-and-back hike, and it was a great day to be outside.

We took a good use trail up to Fragile Arch Saddle, then went to the 2750 Saddle, then went through a ravine, before dropping into a wash. We took the wash aways, and then went off-trail up to the saddle below Peak 3509. Then we followed the standard route up to the top of Malapais.

I did not realize it beforehand, but the Woodbury Fire burned a lot of the vegetation on top of Malapais, which made hiking on top of Malapais much easier than it was before. There were a couple of places that were like the old Malapais, i.e. they were choked with bristly vegetation. Fortunately the views atop Malapais are as good as ever!

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Natural Arch

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Post Hike Grub

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire Burn Area & Recovery

_____________________

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

Nov 16 2019

Walworthjordyn

Routes 5
Photos 162
Triplogs 18

31 female

Joined Nov 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Nov 16 2019
		Walworthjordyn • Triplogs 18

Hiking	10.81 Miles	4,300 AEG

Hiking	10.81 Miles	7 Hrs 43 Mns	1.82 mph
	4,300 ft AEG	1 Hour 46 Mns Break

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What a fun one! I enjoyed both Geronimo Head & Malapais, first time exploring this area and it sure was amazing seeing 0.0 other people. Saw some of the aftermath of the Woodbury fire on Malapais and a lot of retardant (on the catclaw of all things...). Happy to add peaks 11 and 12 to the list of summits I have hit out in these mountains, still a lot more to explore but this sure was memorable and epic way to spend a Saturday. We lucked out with nice and cloudy 70's for the majority of the hike. Took the creek bed back down and some stagnant water. The use-trail up to Geronimo head was pretty nice to have to make time go by a little faster but picked about 30 cacti out of my legs the rest of the time haha.

Dec 12 2018

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Dec 12 2018
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	10.90 Miles	3,660 AEG

Hiking	10.90 Miles	9 Hrs 43 Mns	1.66 mph
	3,660 ft AEG	3 Hrs 10 Mns Break

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Having hiked to Geronimo Head a couple of months ago, Tracie and I decided to venture out to the bad country of Malapais Mountain -- and bad country is a good way to describe the top of Malapais!

We did an out-and-back hike starting from Tortilla Flat. For the first mile up to fragile arch saddle we followed a well-cairned trail that someone has created. This portion of the hike is fairly steep in places, so you'll get your heart rate up right off the bat. At the saddle we stopped to look at Fragile Arch. Then we continued over to the 2750 Saddle -- on this stretch we went on a use trail that was fairly easy to follow. From there we dove down into Geronimo's Ravine, and instead of going up to Geronimo Head or Peak 3509, we went to a saddle just north of Peak 3509. From there we mostly followed the "official" route up to Malapais. This route took what seems to be a good way up that is along a ravine that avoids the cliff bands on the west side of Malapais.

I thought that the ascent up was fine, but there was lots of dense desert vegetation on top of Malapais. Once I think that I was able to walk about 40 feet without encountering any vegetation, but for the most part every 5-10 feet we were encountering virtually every cactus known to man(with the exception of saguaros, which weren't on Malapais), cholla, catclaw, jojoba, agave, and thorn/sticker bushes of every kind. This made the going a bit slower than it should have been.

I enjoyed the views on top of Malapais, especially the view of Battleship Mountain.

If you enjoy off-trail hiking and bushwhacking, Malapais is a good choice. I'd definitely recommend some good long pants for this one!

_____________________

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

Feb 25 2018

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Geronimo Head - Malapais Mtn, AZ

Hiking		Feb 25 2018
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	11.17 Miles	3,944 AEG

Hiking	11.17 Miles	8 Hrs 31 Mns	1.52 mph
	3,944 ft AEG	1 Hour 11 Mns Break

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BobP

chumley

Malapais had been on my wish list for a while, and today seemed like the perfect day to get it checked off. We met up with Bob at Tortilla Flats, and followed him up a very adventurous route to the saddle. From there, we headed over to Geronimo Head. We parted ways with Bob, and headed over to Malapais Mtn. Slow going, with lots of poky stuff, but nothing terrible. The views from Malapais were great in all directions. We took a better route back down from Malapais, then a smoother route back down from the saddle for the last mile and a half or so. Great hike, great company, perfect weather, and spectacular views and scenery.

_____________________

Stop crying and just go do the hike.

Feb 25 2018

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Geronimo Malapais, AZ

Hiking		Feb 25 2018
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	11.17 Miles	3,944 AEG

Hiking	11.17 Miles	8 Hrs 29 Mns	1.48 mph
	3,944 ft AEG	57 Mns Break

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BobP

LindaAnn

Bam! What a day!

For some reason, I hadn't previously been up to Geronimo Head or Malapais, and today was outstanding. The temperature was perfect for this kind of hike today and the air quality provided distant views in all directions.

BobP took the reins of leading us up the mountain absolutely nowhere near a route, but we managed to overcome and eventually reached the route we wanted to be following. On the return trip we skipped the adventure and stuck with the route on the lower part. Somebody has built a trail here, which I'm not thrilled with. Trimmed trees, rocks moved, etc. Pretty sure it's not FS approved. Can't we just keep some things "off-trail"?

Views from Geronimo Head and Malapais were great. This is a big day and a solid workout. Definitely a good adventure!

	Peters Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	some visible pools in the canyon as seen from above

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Feb 15 2014

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Geronimo - Malapais - Peters Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Feb 15 2014
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	12.84 Miles	4,200 AEG

Hiking	12.84 Miles	12 Hrs 45 Mns		1.11 mph
	4,200 ft AEG	1 Hour 10 Mns Break	16 LBS Pack

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joebartels

Bubby took me up to Geronimo Head my first time three years ago and the views were incredible through one eye.

Joe and I had more than just Geronimo Head planned for the day. The climb to Geronimo Head was just as thick and steep as I remembered. 1.8 miles in (2 hours+ later) we made it to the top and worked our way south. 2.5 miles in and we're past 3363 and out on the sweet spine on the SW end of Geronimo Head. In my mind, this spot gives you the best perspective of the Battleship in all of the Superstitions!

Up to Geronimo Head :next:

http://youtu.be/VLS2v_ixOxE

Off to make our way to Malapais. We hit 3509 on the way, passed by a campsite in the open, complete with a recent sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and 10 or so 12oz bottles of water. Looking at Malipais from this point it was pretty obvious the area we were going to climb through.

Once again, a thick and steep climb to the top. Joe made a good call to change the route from what we had planned. It cut off some mileage and time that we'd need later. Instead of going up the North side of the Draw and then swinging to the South, we climbed up the South side of the Draw and hit a hard South to gain 4159. At this point we were looking for some shade to take some lunch. There is little to no shade available up there. We continued to the high point of 4229, 3.7 miles from Geronimo Head and then started down to the East looking for shade.

At this point we were both tired of the bushwhacking and boulder hopping. We were looking forward to the straight forward Peter's Canyon Creek bed hike back to the truck
But to get to Peter's Canyon to the East was another steep, loose bushwhack, only about 1.2 miles and all downhill, but it still took us almost 2 hours to cover the distance.

Finally the creek bed... then the realization that we had more than 4.5 miles in the creek bed and what looks like a smooth super highway from 1600' above, is basically just another form of boulder hopping. We're also realizing that we'd be finishing in the dark... 2 miles plus in the dark. From what I saw before it got dark, Peter's Canyon was a pretty and special place. But I just wanted out.

The Sign at Tortilla Flats where we parked said no overnight parking and hours in the lot were something like 6am to 7pm.... bla, bla, bla.... towed ... I was glad my vehicle was still there.

This had to be my slowest going hike of all time.

On a Side Note:
I'm happy to note the the Suburu was fine, the Garmin 62 worked flawlessly and the Panasonic took some pretty good shots.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Wild Cucumber

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] White Tailed Deer

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Peters Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Numerous small to large pools to filter from

_____________________

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

Feb 15 2014

joebartels

Guides 264
Routes 2,797
Photos 14,494
Triplogs 5,894

55 male

Joined Nov 20 1996

Malapais Peter's Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Feb 15 2014
		joebartels • Triplogs 5,894

Hiking	11.72 Miles	3,659 AEG

Hiking	11.72 Miles	12 Hrs 44 Mns		1.01 mph
	3,659 ft AEG	1 Hour 10 Mns Break	12 LBS Pack

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Peter's Cave

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The_Eagle

Thirsty
I have water but I don't want it.

Tired
Fond memories of this area seemed off key. Malapais is #17 on my favorites list after 17 years of hiking.

Heading up Geronimo
as rough as I remember ( shouldn't it be easier )

Approaching Malapais
this is taking forever, two-thirds to go :scared:

Malapais
Whose friggen route did I download. This isn't how "I" do it. ( under my breath ) this is a horrible idea, we'll never make it. ( out loud ) looks good, this is it, let's go.

1 Hour - 25 minutes
Our lunch spot was on the east side of Malapais, 200 ft from the top. We found shade on the east side of a rock outcrop. No more ascending. Ridge shade advantage queued the orchestra. Refreshed we descended to Peter's Canyon. Nearly an hour and a half later... please, shoot me

Peter's Canyon
YES! I can fly. Smooth boulders. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Tenth of a Mile Later
How many miles in this canyon?
the number four sounded like butter hitting a hot skillet sliding away to infinity

Bruce didn't get to see the Peralta Headquarters, the face or the grinding holes. Near the end he mentioned... "one thing I know about Peter's Canyon, I'm NEVER coming back". It was sad and funny all wrapped in one.

Took 3 quarts agua, half frozen. Never ran out ( last sip at the car ) but wish I froze that bad boy solid. Mid 80's in February is not typical. This loop mid 80's in the summer would be a steal. Acclimated to winter it was tough. Random puffy clouds would have made a world of difference. 5-6 hours of sleep before a hike is good, net total between two hikers blows.

	Peters Canyon	Pools to trickle	Pools to trickle
	Majority of the 4 miles we covered was dry with an occasional pool. Large pools in the flats approaching Tortilla.

_____________________

- joe

Mar 22 2013

Tough_Boots

Routes 67
Photos 2,708
Triplogs 755

89 male

Joined Mar 28 2008
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 22 2013
		Tough_Boots • Triplogs 755

Hiking	9.80 Miles	4,084 AEG

Hiking	9.80 Miles
	4,084 ft AEG

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I've been wanting to do these two summits for a long time and was fortunately offered the chance by Devils Mountain-- a true off-trail professional.

We too Tortilla Creek to Peters Canyon and eventually started ascending out of there. We planned taking Devils normal route up to the top of Malapais but decided at the last minute to try a different ascent. It was a bit rough at times but fun. We made it up Malapais and hung out with some amazing views.

It was now time to go bag Geronimo Head so we headed back down the route of the original plan which was much easier. Then we headed up towards Geronimo Head. By this time, most of our ascent was done but this is a heck of a long day. We made it up to the summit and found more great views.

We headed back down which is mostly easy going. I ran of water a half mile from the car but that wasn't really an issue. This is a solid hike for sure-- definitely one of the hardest 10 miles I've done. Big thanks to Devils Mountain for leading me up there!

_____________________

Jan 23 2013

JuanJaimeiii

Routes 596
Photos 9,604
Triplogs 2,400

58 male

Joined Jan 30 2011
Chandler, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 23 2013
		JuanJaimeiii • Triplogs 2,400

Hiking	11.14 Miles	3,949 AEG

Hiking	11.14 Miles	6 Hrs 14 Mns	1.94 mph
	3,949 ft AEG	30 Mns Break

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Malapais with Devils Mountain is like doing Battleship with ToughBoots. He was in his element! Did I just do an 11 mile hike of which over 10 miles were off trail? How did I get talked into that? Actually the going went extremely well and I had a great time. All except for the catclaw to the face early on. My new name is going to be scar face. It got me pretty good. The evidence will be on my drivers license as I have to go to the MVD in the morning. Oh well it adds character.

The views from up top and from Geronimo Head are spectacular! I'm thankful Mike included me on this one! Great Day out on the trail! Oooops I meant to say Great Day out on the Mountain without a trail!

From Wiki: (notice it doesn't have the second "a")

The word 'malpais' in Spanish translates to "badland", and this describes the area as being unusable for crops. Although a malpais is often another word for the badlands that form by erosion of sedimentary rocks in the same environment, a malpais is also often associated with such types of lava plain terrain as found in a volcanic field.

_____________________

Apr 27 2012

wallyfrack

Routes 93
Photos 7,758
Triplogs 1,691

64 male

Joined Mar 11 2003
AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 27 2012
		wallyfrack • Triplogs 1,691

Hiking	21.50 Miles	5,140 AEG

Hiking	21.50 Miles	11 Hrs 37 Mns	1.85 mph
	5,140 ft AEG

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Tortoise_Hiker

The forecast for Friday was good so I took a day off for a hike. We wanted to check out the top of the mesa south of Malapais and decided on Peralta TH so we could look for a cabin ruins on the way out. We started hiking about 5:15a and never needed headlamps. On the way in we took Bluff Spring, Terrapin, Dutchman and Cavalry trails. We stopped on the Dutchman trail to scope out the side of Bluff Spring Mountain for some future exploring. Once we got to Squaw Canyon we took the Z trail up and detoured to triangle cave. After triangle cave we climbed up onto the mesa and dropped down toward Deering Canyon. We looked down into Deering Canyon but the heavy brush and disappearing canyon floor convinced us this would be a dead end. Plan B was to summit Malapais so we scrambled east and made our way out the endless slope. After taking in the views and resting we scrambled down. We ended up about a quarter mile farther north and had to bushwack back but I guess that comes with the territory. The return trip was off trail to Peters trail then Dutchman to Bluff Spring. We scared up 3 turkey vultures out of a wash and could smell a skunk but didn't see carcass. We found the spur trail from upper Squaw canyon to Peters spotted two cardinals and three deer on Peters trail. Once on Dutchman trail it was starting to warm up. We detoured over to La Barge Spring and Denny filtered a few quarts. The tromp out was uneventful and I forgot my map & photo so we missed finding the cabin ruins. I think we were just above them to the west but that's a short hike so a short return trip should solve it.

_____________________

2 archives

Apr 27 2012

Tortoise_Hiker

Guides 1
Routes 148
Photos 9,924
Triplogs 3,652

63 male

Joined Apr 02 2005
Mesa, AZ

[ checklist ] Superstition Mountains - Ridgeline

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Apr 27 2012
		Tortoise_Hiker • Triplogs 3,652

Hiking	21.50 Miles	5,140 AEG

Hiking	21.50 Miles	11 Hrs 37 Mns	1.85 mph
	5,140 ft AEG

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wallyfrack

I don't always get leg cramps but when I do I'm with a HAZ member!

.Another great trip in the Superstitions.Did some sploring with Wally Supes Farak and got to visit the triangle cave and summit Malapais.I don't think I've seen Wally with his shoes off and I'm wondering if he has hoofs.I fell down a few times and 0 for Wally.What a workout.Deering Canyon is an interesting canyon and the views from Malapais are great.Seeing the Battleship from above and the side was pretty cool.We used parts of a lot of trails.Bluff Springs,Terrapin,Dutchman,Calvary,Z,connector trail,Peters,Red Tanks.Lots of off trail fun too.We saw three White tail deer and a pair of Cardinals.Ocotillo and Prickly Pear were blooming.Even though it didn't get to hot :sweat:

I went through 6 quarts of fluid.This was a great hike but did tucker me out more than I thought it would.Thanks for the meds Wally they helped.Thanks for driving Wally,always an adventure!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

_____________________

Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.

Feb 19 2012

Dave1

Routes 29
Photos 1,548
Triplogs 1,802

49 male

Joined Jan 25 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 19 2012
		Dave1 • Triplogs 1,802

Hiking	12.71 Miles	3,776 AEG

Hiking	12.71 Miles	8 Hrs 51 Mns		1.97 mph
	3,776 ft AEG	2 Hrs 23 Mns Break	14 LBS Pack

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Peter's Cave

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HAZ - Event

johnlp

This was a really tough day even though the mileage was short! It was all off-trail once we left Peter's Canyon (which could be considered off-trail as well).

We started off at 7:15am from Tortilla Flat. Made our way along the trail that follows above Tortilla Creek and then eventually drops into the creek. After some rock hoping and light brush navigating, we made it through Tortilla and to the intersection with Peter's. Peter's Canyon starts off with some large, house-sized boulders but are easily climbed. Travel was slow through Peter's since it is all rock hoping or boulder climbing with a few short slick rock sections thrown in. We spent a lot time stopping and spying the various caves and alcoves found up above us. There is so much to see in this canyon, I could spend many days here! Fortunately we didn't have much problem bypassing any of the pools or waterfalls since there isn't much water at all in Peter's right now. I was happy to see that a large pool that had stopped me in February 2011 was completely dry today. I had planned on taking a small boat to cross this pool. Glad I didn't bring it.

Once we got to Pistol Canyon we could see that it was completely choked with vegetation. We decided to give it a try anyway but only made it up a few hundred yards. Its not really sharp stuff but just very thick. Figuring it would take more time to fight through the veg, we turned around and resumed with Peter's. We followed Peter's around a long bend and eventually left the canyon to take a slope up to Peter's Mesa. The slope was covered in cat's claw, cactus and other various sharp, mean, evil, plants. This was pretty much how the rest of the day would be.

From the mesa (its wasn't really Peter's Mesa, but close enough) we picked up Wally's track that leads up to Malapais Mountain. Looking at the proposed route, we were skeptical at first but this turned out to be a pretty good way up to the peak. We crossed over the heads of Squaw and Deering Canyon, passing by an old camp. I originally wanted to take a detour down Deering Canyon to the choke stone but decided to save that for another day. The views from Malapais were excellent even though it was a bit hazy today. I had never seen Battleship from above before, interesting to be able to look down on it! We could not find a peak register on top of Malapais, maybe there isn't one.

From Malapais, we followed Joe's track all the way back to Tortilla Flat, skipping Geronimo Head. The first mile or so, across the other two peaks north of Malapais, was the most brutal part of the day. Every foot step has to be carefully placed as every bit of vegetation it out to assault you! The trip down from Malapai was quite unpleasant, I don't see my self ever doing it again. I'm glad I did it though, just never again.

The long steep sloping section down to Tortilla Flat was made a bit more enjoyable as we had the sounds of a live band from the restaurant playing Elvis and rockabilly tunes to help motivate us. Pretty cool!

Thanks for joining me, John!

_____________________

Feb 19 2012

johnlp

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

68 male

Joined Mar 16 2008
chandler,az

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Feb 19 2012
		johnlp • Triplogs 5,208

Hiking	12.71 Miles	3,776 AEG

Hiking	12.71 Miles	8 Hrs 51 Mns	1.97 mph
	3,776 ft AEG	2 Hrs 23 Mns Break

no routes

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