Viewing posts about Peralta Trail.

Bluff Spring Mountain Loop

Sunrise light on Weaver's Needle

Looming on the horizon, a bulking shadow against dark sky, Weaver's Needle beckoned to me from Fremont Saddle. I shivered in the cold air and pulled my worn cotton sweater, damp with sweat, around me in protection, as if the thin, torn fabric would keep me safe from the imagined dangers hiding…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted March 3, 2020
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Noah at Fremont Saddle

Lush green growth around the sunny trail

A few months ago I had a unique opportunity - an entire weekday with Noah. Usually he's at school or I have work or I'm stuck with all three kids. On this day, this random holiday in January, it was just Noah and I, and there was only one hike on my mind. It was time to take my five year old son to…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted June 12, 2019
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Cave Loop Overnight in the Supes

Late afternoon sun over Peralta Trailhead

Late afternoon sun heated up Peralta Trailhead as Chris and I stepped out of his car and pulled our packs on. The temps were in the upper eighties thanks to a storm-ridden cold front that had been rolling through the area this week, and it felt surprisingly reasonable out. I might be singing a…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted October 20, 2016
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Willow Springs Loop

A mostly full moon over First Water Trailhead

A mostly-full moon hung high over First Water Trailhead and my lonely car parked there. I gazed up at it, debating once again on simply turning around and driving back to a warm bed. My breath wheezed in and out through the congestion of a week-long chest cold as I stood there and let the darkness…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted September 7, 2016
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Rainy Supe Loop: Fremont Saddle to Marsh Valley

Cloudy grey skies over Peralta Trailhead

With the cooler temperatures of the Arizona winter something unexpected happened - backpacking in the Superstition Wilderness suddenly sounded appealing. And I'm not talking about the eastern end, the green hills around Reavis Ranch and Campaign. The western and central Superstitions, the desert…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted December 30, 2015
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Robber's Roost Loop

Dim morning sky over Three Sisters

Trying to get motivated to go for a hike in the hot Arizona desert was tough after Isle Royale. Nine days of midwest weather on Lake Superior had spoiled me, and I still had sore knees and feet to heal. Chris finally convinced me to head out on a relatively easy loop, one that we had been eyeing up…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted October 26, 2015
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Wave Cave of the Superstitions

Dim light in the eastern skies

When I exited the small restroom at the Peralta Trailhead I was tempted to simply jump in the car and head back to Gilbert. For the last two days I had been suffering from a stomach bug that left me feeling drained and weak. In a fit of optimism I had drove the long hour to this trailhead an hour…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted August 28, 2015
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A Hot Climb Up Miner's Needle

On a normal walking path again

A dusty path wound north away from my tired feet. I strode along it, thankful for the flat route and the chance to stretch my legs in a normal walk. For the last few hours I had been bushwhacking up and down Bluff Spring Mountain, over rocks and through prickly brush, and this narrow footpath was a…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted May 12, 2015
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For a View of Weaver's Needle

Slowly approaching the base

Standing like a tall, lonely guard of the southwest Superstition Wilderness is the impressive Weaver's Needle. This old volcanic shaft rises over a thousand feet from the surrounding desert, the bottom half steep piles of rubble and the top sheer cliffs. Chris and I had seen the formation from…

  • Category Hiking
  • Posted February 23, 2015
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