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Coming down the north side of Tortilla Peak was a hundred times easier than my climb up. A few simple hops over jagged rocks and then a long, clear chunk of bedrock sloped gently away. Man, this approach would have been a breeze. I looked back a few times at the peak, now bright under a rising…
Yellow rock on Tortilla Peak shone in the early morning light. I stood and panted in the valley below, cold air rushing in and out of my mouth, already out of breath from the quick mile of rocky hiking in from the trailhead. With some guesswork I could make out my planned route to the peak: cut…
Morning light shone bright over Mesquite Flat, the small clearing east of Tortilla Flat where Mesquite Creek crosses AZ-88. A number of low green trees crowd this area (maybe Mesquite trees?) and a winding network of tracks mark the passage of countless car campers from years past. I parked the van…
Peter's Canyon winds and twists for a short distance through the northern Superstitions before joining up with Tortilla Creek and emptying into the Salt River. It starts near Music Mountain, drains the north side of Peter's Mesa and the shoulders of Tortilla Mountain, then cuts a deep gorge next to…
To reach Malapais Mountain from Geronimo Head meant taking a zig-zag path while avoiding two canyons. One canyon drains south to La Barge and the other north to Peter's, and of course they don't line up nicely. If I wanted to avoid several treacherous drops I had to do the zig-zag and rack up some…
The day had such a promising start. There was some spitting rain over the night, just enough to lull me into some of the best sleep I've ever gotten while backpacking. I woke up before dawn and had my gear packed without waking up the two men I had shared a campfire and stories with last night. The…