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| Hiking | 11.50 Miles |
4,480 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.50 Miles | | | |
| 4,480 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | |  This was by far the most rewarding day hike that I've done in Arizona thus far. Surpasses both the Grand Canyon and Mt. Humphrey's by far for a sense of accomplishment. Yee Haa - we finally did it!!
OK- down to the nitty gritty. We previously hiked Superstition Peak via the Carney Springs trailhead (Nov 2011) & also I have hiked the Flat Iron/Supe Mtn many a time & everyone in our party has hiked this as well. Decided to hike Carney to Siphons and also to reserve a camp site spot for (check in is not till 2PM & check out is @ 2PM)) so 2 nights was necessary. This saved an extra 20-30 minutes at the end when we were ready to be done. Everyone was thankful that we did! We left Ahwatukee @ 5:25am and dropped the car at the Lost Dutchman and headed over to Carney Springs TH -- started the hike @ sunrise - 7:05am. Finished a few minutes after 5PM.
To the hike. Fantastic, gorgeous, the best the desert has to offer. Even spotted some wildflowers - paintbrush, trumpets, etc...
Trail was VERY well marked with cairns and easy to follow the proper route. ?A good portion of the middle section of the hike beyond Supe Peak was very time consuming with all the scree/sideways trail, rock hopping and one tricky spot to descend with a pretty big drop off and small foot and hand holds  . This spot put us back about 20-30 minutes because it was harder for some to overcome the fear of falling.
We each brought 4 Liters of Water and electrolytes. Only one person went through all of theirs, but not till the very end. I drank 3.5 liters of water and a Vitamin Water. Would not recommend doing this hike with any less liquid if it is 70 degrees or cooler. If it is much warmer, I wouldn't personally do it. However, if one were to decide to go, bring more than 4 Liters.
We did not run into a single soul until we got to the plane crash site & down Flat Iron/Siphons. The solitude added all that much more to our great experience. It took us 10 hours to complete this hike, with just over 2 hours of break time. So, the GPS on my wrist showed that I was on the move for 7 hours 58min. We stopped for 2 snacks and lunch in between -- 4 women drinking lots of water -- several short stops : ))
Of course, we had to celebrate our accomplishment after picking up the starting car. Headed to our favorite spot De La Cruz Restaurant on 60 by Bashas. AWESOME food, very crowded, filled with birds : ) LOL
This is a must do - but make sure you are with someone who can route find, has a great map/compass and sense of direction and is familiar with the area. A GPS is a plus too.
DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT underestimate the difficulty or time required for this hike. We were very prepared - even had gear in case we got stuck overnight - though confident that we would not!
We all give this hike an A+++++  |
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| Siberian Mountain loving momma - Live for the Day! |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
We were thinking we'd find a couple of canyons - but we only found/ventured into Hells acre on the way back. Water level was ankle to knee deep & we found ourselves hiking in the water most of the way to our turn around spot - as it was cooler and easy to follow. Do not wear tevas - as rocks will be under foot all the time. I changed out of mine right away & put on boots (use socks too - and tie tightly to avoid the rocks entering).
I have 2 others - Snowy - Dance's with Wolves and Subia - Romps over Rainbows.... Snowy is pictured with me in this post. Cheers all - I should post more of my hikes -- as I get out at least 3 times every week.
-- A beautiful morning in the Supes with 3 great friends. We followed Joe's route directions. Easy trail to follow & also an easy/moderate hike overall. Confusing point was when we came to an area approximately 1.25 miles in on the Bluff Springs Trail -- intuitively we wanted to head North, yet there was also another cairned trail to our West. We started on the faint North trail & decided that this was not correct after .1 miles 
We turned back and headed West & realized when we arrived at the Terrapin junction that this was indeed correct. We trucked on by the Terrapin junction and looked for where the ridge met the trail/wash area just after .5 miles. No problemo! Started heading up what we assumed was Bluff Spring Mountain or 4041 or the Summit area. The brush was very thick & there was a lot of scree. 
We weren't sure if we were on the right mountain & if we could easily maneuver down what we had just come up. Wish that there were a few cairns to guide us -- as the grade or difficulty was not a problem - the terrain was as was the route finding. Be that as it may, we found a less brushy way down & did have a concern about snakes, as it's still 80 degrees in the valley - WHAT?! When we got back to the Bluff Springs trail, we decided we didn't have enough hiking in - so carried on a little further to the junction of Dutchman #104. The rest is ancient history. 
On our return - we still questioned which was the "true" Bluff Springs Summit -- as where we entered off of the trail seemed to be much further East of the acutal bluff. Should we have stayed in the wash & headed West for a while before heading up? Hard to tell - Oh well. Great day, beautiful views, fun time & awesome Mexican Food for lunch & drinks close by on the 60. What can beat that? Cheers!! 
