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Bull Spring Trail passes through three drainage basins after it leaves the AZT. With each basin it swings north to avoid losing too much elevation, though there is always some drop, and then it crosses a rocky bed before climbing up the other side. The first one is Red Metal Canyon and it looked…
This morning started like so many of my Mazatzal adventures: pitch-black sky, frigid air, and a stumbling gait towards semi-familiar lands. There was something different about it, something that I tried to ignore, lest I jinx the whole outing. If I succeeded in this overnight loop then I'd finish my…
Noah and Thomas have hiked the Superstition Wilderness over a dozen times now, though most of our visits have been to the north end. First Water Ranch, Hackberry, Garden Valley, and even Siphon Draw are all located off of the Apache Trail. There's a lot of cool stuff on the south side that we…
My free time during 2018 was overtaken by Mountain Rescue and family. Which isn't all that bad, nor was it that unexpected, just means that some of the hobbies I used to enjoy and some of the goals I set for the year did not survive through December. And, to be honest, looking into 2019 probably…
Crisp November air swam around me, filling my chest with each breath and nipping sharply at my nose. It felt delightful to be cold on an Arizona hike, even if that had meant waking up shortly after midnight and driving for hours in the dark, all to get a predawn start in low temperatures. My long…
Siphon Draw is one of the first areas I explored in Arizona. After that initial visit I began to treat the (normally dry) waterfall as a milepost to the more challenging Flatiron and ridgeline hikes beyond, a mere marker on more epic adventures, with the exception of one time when I carried…
Ten miles sat between me and the trailhead as I began my descent from the unplanned bivouac site. My original plan, which had started yesterday, was to do the Midnight Mesa Loop, a 36 mile adventure in the central Mazatzal Wilderness, in a single day, and I would have made it if it wasn't for some…
Hopping across Wet Bottom Creek was lovely, clear water trickling around the red rocks in the most scenic of fashions. On the far bank was a large cairn and wide path, an open invitation to continue forward on Midnight Trail on my long walk around Midnight Mesa, and yet I paused. It was just after…
Sheep Bridge towered above my vehicle, steel foundation rising dimly in the starry sky, a stoic sentinel guarding passage across the Verde River and into the wilderness on the other side. I shuffled humbly underneath its watch, collecting my gear and checking everything twice, more in an effort to…
There are few trails that take advantage of the Salt River as it meanders between Superstition and Four Peaks Wilderness, with most of the recreational focus on watercraft either on or between the reservoirs. I had already taken the boys to one area, Coon Bluff, and we had had a great time climbing…