|
| | | |
| |
|
| Hiking | 7.40 Miles |
848 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.40 Miles | 3 Hrs 10 Mns | | 2.34 mph |
| 848 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Second hike of a daily double. After Silly Mountain I drove over to the TH just off the 88 on the turn off for First Water. This is an ideal way to access Jacob’s Crosscut and Superstition Park without having to pay the Park fees. The goal was to do the trail to Praying Hands, but I thought I would do some side trail exploring as well. Got to the TH around 7:30. There is enough parking for 15 cars and it was already half full when I got there. Crossing the road I passed through a fence. Immediately there is a side trail that splits off going southwest. Following this, I was not at all surprised to find that this trail led to the large Superstition sign that proceeds the turn off for First Water. On busy days, when TH parking is overflowing, i’ve actually seen cars using this area for parking. The trail pretty much fizzles after the sign. Turning around I went back to the TH. Starting from the TH again I only got a few feet past the first turnoff when opted to follow another side trail. This trail heads south (while the “main trail” turns to the east) going up and over a berm. On the other side of the berm there was a collection of stones and bricks. This trail actually continues past these stones, crosses a wash and passes through a fence before connecting to the Jacob’s Crosscut trail. It connects to the JC trail at the same spot as the other user trail that runs from the TH I utilized.(Interesting side note: the passage through the fence is an “official” entry point. It makes me wonder if this isn’t the official access trail to JC and the other trail (which I’ve used numerous times over the years) a secondary trail.
Once I hit the JC trail I was only on it for a short time to reach the Treasure Loops trail. Just before reaching the junction I noticed a side trail that took off to the southwest. I did not follow it but it might be something to incorporate on my next visit. When I got on the TL I actually took it down to it’s starting point at the Cholla parking area. At the Cholla parking area there was another side trail, labeled “biking trail” that took off to the north. Didn’t follow this either, but it will be something to explore next time. At the Cholla TH there is a nice map of the official trails within the Superstition Park. Not very detailed, but it gives a nice depiction of the layout of the trails. It also points out the Praying Hands rock formation. Kind of glad they did. I always suspected where/what the Praying Hands were, but I was never positive.....the rock formation doesn’t really like praying hands to me....I guess I don’t have that good of an imagination. With the map and rock formation right in front of me I was able to hone in on my destination. I took TL for almost a mile to reach one of the turn offs for the Praying Hands. This spur occurs next to a white bench. After the TL trail, this side trail doesn’t look like much, but once you are on it, it is pretty easy to follow. The spur drops down to cross a gully and then begins a steady climb towards the Hands. At first it is a single thread, but as it climbs it starts to unravel and you will have several routes to chose from as you make your ascent. There were also three other side trails that came in from the south. All of them quite distinct. I did not follow them but I suspect they are other connecting opportunities to the TL trail. The climb towards the Praying Hands will bring you to a lower saddle before your final ascent. This is a great viewing point to take in your surroundings. You get a nice. view to the east and the west. There is a huge rock knob to the north that obscures your views in that direction, but there is a short side trail that wraps around it’s east side and allows viewing to the north. From this saddle, there are two other trails. One that continues straight on wrapping around the lower section of the Hands and the other that ascends towards the Hands.
The final climb to Praying Hands is steep, but the trail is very easy to see and follow. As you near the top it changes from compact dirt to rock. Some thoughtful person had left a rope tied to a rock to aid in the climb. Not necessary in my mind. The rock section isn’t as steep as the dirt and is jagged enough to provide “steps” to the top. The views from this saddle are not as good as the lower saddle primarily because you are in a more narrow crevice that provides limited views. But in this case, it is as much about arriving ar your destination as the views provided. Very cool feeling to be up there, especially in solitude. I climbed up on some rocks, “chilled” and admire the views to the east. Watched a lone hiker who had opted to follow the “straight” path that wrapped around the lower part of the Hand I could see that “straight” trail going well into the distance. Definitely, worth checking out. I descended going down the backside. While descending I checked out a cool looking rock chimney just off to the north. There was a large boulder that got wedged near the bottom of the shaft. A motivated and daring individual could probably make their way up the shaft, but that wasn’t me. The seemingly best way to go is down from the Hands (backside) is to hug the northern wall. This route is steep and slippery. A better way might have been to go down the drainage ditch. There is quite a bit of growth, but the descent is more gradual. Once I got to the bottom it was evident that both routes have been utilized over the years. At the “bottom” I got to the “straight” trail (that had gone underneath the Hands) and followed it a short distance to the east. This trail is very solid and easy to follow. This is when the first of two odd occurrences happened. Right before I turned around I could have sworn I heard a woman weeping. I didn’t see anything scanning the surroundings. I walked up the trail calling out but didn’t get a response. I waited a few more minutes with a couple of “shout outs” but never got a response and didn’t hear anything thereafter. If there was someone out there, they did not want to be found.  On the way back I decided to follow what I think was the upper of the three trails that tied into the trail that I ascended on. This trail was solid to start off on. As I was making my way along this trail I noticed a large group of people above me and further to the south. The main part of the trail had just started to turn down toward TL when the second odd occurrence happened. From the upper slopes of the Superstition (I assumed where the large group was) I heard singing. A woman with a beautiful voice (or, in all honesty, it could have been someone with a recording) was singing O Holy Night. The acoustics up there were fantastic! It was transcending.  I stopped, enraptured. I had seen videos of “Simply Three” and having seen a drone earlier I thought maybe…..when the singing started again I thought to myself in needed to check this out. Following an even fainter path I made my way up and over to where the large group was located. The singing stopped before I was halfway there, but seeing the group still up there, I continued on. Eventually the trail disappeared and I was making my way through brush on the upper, lower slopes of the Supes. By the time I got to the boulder where they had been congregated they had moved on. I could see them a little further on, and to be honest, they did not look like people who had been singing, shooting a You Tube Video. Sadly, both the crying and the singing would be added to the steeped mysteries of the Superstitions. I was surprised as I made my way down to TL that there was no path up to this boulder from the southern side. I had assumed that the large group had followed a user trail. They had not. Making my way down to the TL wasn’t too bad though, as I was able to pick the path of least resistance. Back on the TL I followed it north to where it turned west and started it descent. About 1/4 of the way down there is a sign (indicating that you are on the Treasure Loop trail), just beyond it heading off to the northwest, there is an unnamed user trail. I thought I had taken this trail before, but I couldn’t remember where it went. Since it was going in the direction I wanted to go….This trail, very solid, (almost as well established as the TL trail itself), is almost a straight shot (in a more northerly direction) to the Jacob’s Crosscut. Once I got to the Jacob’s Crosscut it was only a few hundred yards to reach the spur trail that would take me back to where I parked my car. Very nice hike with some unusual experiences as well. Weather was great. Mid 50’s, with cloud coverage for most of the hike. No wildlife. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
Route Editor
Route Scout
Route 
legs laying on trail which was odd. 
I knew the 
Moving on couldn’t find any remains of the initial “route” over to Praying Hands but once coming down the big ravine memory kicked back in as well as cairns. Made a brief excursion up the origins of Weekes Wash ,aka Canyon of the Waterfalls, appeared the east side had less burn evidence while the west side look toasted. Saw two young fellas perched on top of Praying Hands then several hikers once back down to Treasure Loop . Passed two guys who feigned insult when I told them if they let me by I wouldn’t take the bench at the Treasure Loop highpoint 
As a history buff liked my final AEG for today too!
