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| | | Robbers Roost - Cave Trail Loop, AZ | | | |
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Robbers Roost - Cave Trail Loop, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.49 Miles |
2,452 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.49 Miles | 4 Hrs 31 Mns | | 2.55 mph |
| 2,452 ft AEG | 1 Hour 11 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | My brother was in town--without his kids with him this time--so we had an opportunity to do something a little more challenging. I took some days off work and had hoped we'd be able to hike a long route in the Mazatzals, but he had to be back by mid-afternoon, so we chose something medium-length in the Superstitions, starting from Lost Goldmine Trailhead and heading for Robber's Roost.
On the way up Carney Springs, we took the short detour over to Shaka Cave. I noticed a few small pieces of turquoise that I didn't see last time...maybe some recent additions someone left behind. It was a humid morning, and we were drenched by the time we got to the first saddle on the steep ascent up Carney Springs. I hadn't hiked that stretch in at least two years, and the Carney sign at the top has been upgraded slightly since I was last there.
We had Robber's Roost to ourselves, which was an improvement from my last visit when there was a loud group of 10+ there at the same time. There were some puddles in the roost and a deeper pool in the lower room, and the Boy Scout graffiti on the walls seemed more prominent than I remembered. Someone had also placed a register in there in 2021, which had plenty of entries, but not many HAZ names that I saw. One of the top lines someone wrote in the register: "We came, we robbed, we roosted." 
From there, we headed for Fremont Saddle and stopped by the surfboard rock and the gunsight. On the early part of the Cave Trail, we caught up two people ahead of us, but they turned off toward Lone Pine. We made our way over to Peralta Cave but didn't stay too long because gnats swarmed whenever we weren't moving.
We connected with Bluff Springs, and there were only four cars in the Peralta lot when we passed through...one of the benefits of hiking on a random Thursday morning. When we got back to Lost Goldmine, we were finished long before we needed to be home, so we drove over to the Wave Cave parking lot to add that as a second hike. It's one of those spots that I usually try to avoid because of the annoying crowds, but I hoped that on a weekday and with temperatures heading for the mid-90s, it wouldn't be too bad.
I was disappointed we didn't have more time to do a longer hike, but I always enjoy this loop. This was only the second time my brother hiked in the Superstitions, and this route includes a lot of great scenery in a relatively short distance. We only saw those two people, and more impressively, we made it from Lost Goldmine up Carney Springs without anyone asking for directions to the Wave Cave. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
The crosscut trail was super easy to find and is well defined the entire length from terrapin to Peralta. Follow the cairns when descending to Peralta and also use 
