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Lost Goldmine Wedding Cake and Chuparosa, AZ
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| Hiking | 15.40 Miles |
2,362 AEG |
| | Hiking | 15.40 Miles | 7 Hrs 54 Mns | | 2.14 mph |
| 2,362 ft AEG | 42 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | A hike to mark the first day of spring!
Given the water observed on some of my recent hikes, I was curious to see if Chuparosa Canyon was holding any water, and with my last experience with the Hieroglyph / Cloudview TH, I decided to make a day of it and start from the Lost Goldmine trailhead instead...would it have been easier from the Hieroglyph TH? sure, but where's the fun in that? 
Started somewhat early (but not before sunrise), knowing I had miles to cover and also knowing that the day would be on the warmer side. There were already over a handful of cars at the Carney Springs TH when I passed, but no one else parked at Lost Goldmine. Grabbed my gear and off I went, down the well established trail.
Lost Goldmine is fantastic to walk, with little traffic given the popularity of other nearby trails. The path rolls along the base of the superstitions with beautiful views and plenty of low desert vegetation. I enjoyed listening to plenty of different birds as I made my way towards the junction with Carney Springs.
Shortly after passing the junction, I passed a dry trough and not long after that, crossed through a gate. Not entirely sure why the gate needs to remain closed given the evidence of cattle on either side and all around, but I did as bid and ensured the gate was closed. The walking went quickly and I was soon contouring around the southern end of Turks Head.
The desert had its revenge with me for chuckling at my hiking partners this weekend when they missed the trail, as I misrecalled where my turnoff was to peel off for the slickrock approach to Wedding Cake hill. After wandering around in the drainage that I thought I was supposed to be in, I picked a heading and set off cross-country until I picked the trail back up again (I spotted where I went wrong on my way back later in the day). Initially, I had planned to leave visiting the summit of Wedding Cake hill as an option after visiting Chuparosa Canyon, but with the day heating up fast, I figured I'd be better off squeezing it in early. My efforts were eased with a constant breeze on the climb. After getting to the top of Wedding Cake and looking over at Chuparosa, I headed back down and carried on over to find the route for Chuparosa Canyon.
I made good time to the fenceline where I quickly popped over and started finding my way amongst the many cowpaths. I eventually converged with the established route and it was smooth sailing from there. The trail climbs up to a saddle before dropping into Chuparosa where it climbs the drainage on canyon right (looking up canyon). The trail climbs up past the various slickrock pourovers and continues onward - I opted to stop just past the top of the upper most pourover to enjoy the solitude, a nice breeze and the views. While sitting there, I was visited by several hummingbirds (there was a blooming chuparosa nearby), some butterflies, and a couple lizards. As for water, there were a few shallow puddles collected in slickrock pockets, but they will disappear fast with the oncoming heat.
After enjoying my lunch and grabbing some photos, I headed back down and briefly considered running up to see the petroglyphs in Hieroglyphic Canyon but the voices of numerous other hikers brought me to my senses and I turned back, retracing my steps and returning to my car via the Lost Goldmine Trail. During the day out, one trailrunner and a pair of hikers passed me going the opposite direction, I saw a few other hikers from afar...and I crossed two very confused women on the Lost Goldmine Trail not far from Turks Head where they asked me if "this is the way to Wave Cave"   I asked them where they parked and gave them the bad news that they were very far off from where they were supposed to be and that they should have gone straight through the barbed wire fence opening rather than turning to follow the "trail" signs.
Wildlife: Lots of desert birds including cactus wren, quail, a harris's hawk, hummingbirds, several squirrels, and a variety of lizards.
The Lost Goldmine trail is definitely a nice one to visit when looking for something less strenuous with beautiful views and less traffic. Wedding Cake and Chuparosa are also worth the detours - wedding cake for its views and Chuparosa for its lichen covered slickrock. It was a great way to spend the first day of spring, even though it was a little on the toasty side when the breeze was in hiding.
Note: Distance and AEG updated to match my watch, which I've switched to tracking in low battery mode after losing all my data once on a long hike and coming close on another...HAZ estimates the route with abbreviated GPS points at 12.3mi and 1,840ft AEG. When hiking with others, my watch is pretty closely matched with what they record. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Ocotillo and chuparosa blooming. Fresh foliage on brittlebush, especially in higher elevations (hit or miss along the lost goldmine trail...mostly leafless). |
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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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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
I asked them where they parked and gave them the bad news that they were very far off from where they were supposed to be and that they should have gone straight through the barbed wire fence opening rather than turning to follow the "trail" signs.
Thrilled to return to the Supes for the first time this season. Great intro back looking up at the Ridgeline. 
Hieroglyphic Spring was still slightly trickling, but funky like usual. I'd guess the families and kids that only make it this far still think it's everything is awesome. It was enjoyable ascending the canyon for once without an obscene number of cairns along the way. Perhaps people are catching on that a duck every five feet really isn't necessary (reference the Wave Cave arrows erased for more context). It also was nice to experience the Supes in mid-May with all the wildflowers and fresh leaf outs. The heat usually keeps me away, but today had substantial wildflowers. The flaming yellow and red Dudleya stalks were peaking. I reached the summit in two hours and speaking of culmination, there was an entomology orgy of flying ants, bee flies and tarantula hawks circling. The former two groups were dive bombing and getting spunky with each other, where the ants were antisocial and not crossing over to the other species. 
I was at the West Boulder Saddle before eight, about three hours into the hike, where there was still some good shade at the pass. After this brief and final break, the stretch dash got hot. Along Goldmine was the only place I saw another person, which was south of Turks Head. She had just turned around, informing me that half her water supply was gone, and she wouldn't be finding the bygone gold mine. Definitely a better, more diverse, scenic and challenging loop than the intensive forest bath of the 
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Strep throat infection and also had to work some. 
On the early drive east, one of the US60 road signs was displaying AZ88 closed - rocks on the road. 
(perhaps it displays that always). I suppose we're not doing any hikes from the Canyon Lake area. As sunrise broke, one could see that the NW Supes were getting some action, lots of lightning and rain. I settled on the Hieroglyphic TH because I had my car. We chose CCW because the lightning was very active up on the ridgeline. Usually I'd complete this great hike at a brisker pace, but Dese and I had to shelter three times total, as each wave of rain rolled through with the accompanying and uncomfortably close lightning strikes. The final wave soaked us to the bone, but the sun emerged quickly afterwards. We dried out nearing the 5057 summit. It would of been nice to relax longer there, but swarming termite orgies just aren't my thing. On the descent, a large Coatimundi band crossed in front of us. There were at least three, small young ones (so cute) in the group and they all bristled orange. I've never been able to get a good pic of Coatimundi. Another large adult and one baby crossed behind us after we passed. They look like little monkeys easily scrambling the Supes' rocky terrain. This was a tough hike for Dese, but she powered through. She'll get a good rest this weekend because she isn't allowed to hike in the Grand.
