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| Hiking | 6.50 Miles |
1,001 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.50 Miles | 4 Hrs 23 Mns | | 2.03 mph |
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| 1,001 ft AEG | 1 Hour 11 Mns Break | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | Finding Rock Faces in the Goldfield Mountains
Angela (tibber) emailed me with the opportunity to join her and Ambika (desertgirl) on a Sunday hike into the (Trails with no names) Goldfield Mountains. It would be easy to fall in love with these mountains if (A) the trails had names that would relate to maps, and (B) the mountains had names. The tallest mountain in the area is 3,269 ft Dome Mountain and, by default, is therefore the only local landmark to guide you through the mazes of Jeep/ATV/Horse trails that seem to go everywhere. Occasionally you get distant views of Superstition Mountain and Weavers Needle as an aid to maintaining your orientation.
We departed the gated (that's an understatement)Trailhead to chilly morning temps and a fairly strong breeze and followed Angela on down the nameless trails. We had an Oops moment ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall") as Angela spotted a face-in-the-rock landmark that turned out to be a false lead but we got lots of photos of it anyway. Soon she spotted a cairn that led us from the wash, up the steep hillside, following more cairns, until up at an unnamed saddle, was a rock ridge that had a window and an arch, some great views of Dome Mountain and more views of the surrounding Goldfields. The arch had a 12' Saguaro growing almost through the top of the arc  (a very unusual and interesting formation). We burned lots of pixels hanging around there so it's well documented.
Then it was back down the steep slope to the wash where we continued following the Jeep/ATV/Horse trails. We found some interesting and colorful bedrock formations in the Bulldog Canyon Wash and came across some really  camping locations.... one with an impressive firepit with seating around it. The trails finally led us up some steep slopes to massive rock formations with deep canyons, caves and more rock faces where we took a super scenic lunch break  Following lunch we had to work our way down some steep narrow trails with lots of loose ball bearing pebbles that led us back to the trailhead parking lot.
The day was much warmer now as we sat back and enjoyed a cold brew that Angela had packed along while packing away our gear and reminiscing the day's adventure. Maybe someday the Jeeps and ATV's will be banned because of the damage they do to the fragile desert environment and the trash they leave behind them but until that day, it's still a pleasant place to hike. Thanks Angela and Ambika for allowing me to tag along 
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Autumn Foliage Observation None
There are no color producing trees in this mountain range. |
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| On every trip into the Superstitions, I find another Gold Mine. Today the mine was filled with Memories. I can not wait for the next trip. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
Seriously, I often base my snake finding skills based on some of your photosets. If see snakes are being found often in a certain area, I will go and check it out, but few folks are posting snake photos this year due to the drought. It's sad. 
I didn't see much of anything else. I did wander upon a coachwhip, my 30th of the year. I may be scared off another coachwhip in the shrubs, but I wasn't sure.
But I didn't find any. 
I spotted a few other baby snakes and a nice adult coachwhip. I posed him on a cactus (his idea, not mine) to get some glamour shots for his portfolio.
