Skip to main content

Day 23 - Superstition Mountains - Weaver's Needle

I began the day feeling tired-- perhaps a bit travel weary and sore from hiking, but also due to a self imposed caffeine detox. I drove the final stretch of the very scenic dirt road (pic1) -- Apache trail and made it to my destination of my favorite scary wilderness-- the Superstitions. I had one final four star hike to complete (according to Internet research). The plan was a 14 mile loop hike around Weavers Needle. 

The first part of the hike climbed a rocky hill with grand mountain views (pic2). I made it to the top vista overlooking Weavers Needle and then climbed down a rough trail a few miles past the base of the needle.  See the needle in pic 3.  I was anxious. The last time I was in the superstitions I had run into two rattlesnakes and I hate snakes. I was a bit rattled (pun intended) and it showed-- I was making very slow time and not enjoying myself much.  I turned on some Darius Rucker music on my iPhone thinking the noise would ward off the snakes. Music helped. 

I made it six miles out to the point where I hoped to see a side trail going east and didn't see it. I decided turn around and head back the way I had come. I climbed back to the vista point and took a photo of me near the Needle (pic 4). 

After getting back to the van, I drove an hour and a half to Aravaipa Canyon (next daily report:):) amazing).  The road to Aravaipa was a winding, long dirt road but I made it there by dusk and camped at a small parking lot near the Ranger station. I met some interesting folks there.... Chance, a long distance hiker who had hiked the Pacific Crest Trail four times and was doing a 150 mile hike through Arizona, and Harry, a retiree from Portland who was hiking Aravaipa with his wife for the first time. Harry had spent months hiking Escalante, the place of my backpacking trip, and had lots of wisdom to share. It was nice talking to other people doing the on-the-road life. 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 104 - Glacier to Vancouver

The hike up Balu Pass was supposed to be fairly easy, beautiful and dotted with waterfalls, but when I talked to the park ranger and learned that Vancouver was an eight hour drive away, I decided to skip Balu and drive west.  I left behind this pretty view.  And drove many hours through pristine mountains, fewer and fewer snow-capped ones the further west I drove. Some of the valleys were flooded to make reservoirs, leaving scenic sights.  I eventually made it to Vancouver and drove right on through to Point Roberts USA, a five mile by five mile coastal land just below the 49th parallel and thus in the USA. The park ranger had suggested this as a good place to camp but being late of the Thursday night before the Fourth of July there were no spots available. I drove around instead and stopped at a forested coastal park. After ten minutes of walking I came to my first grand Pacific view with Mount Baker 60 miles east.  The San Juan Islands and Orca Islands could also b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 122 - Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is sinister and wonderful. I spent the morning at Rainier watching the end of the British Open on my phone, then drove south to Saint Helens.  I arrived at the park's northeast entrance by early afternoon.  A massive bulge of rock built up on the northeast side of the mountain before the 1980 eruption and then caused a tremendous landslide when the eruption started. I drove to the Windy Ridge at the end of the road, listened to a ranger describe before and after photos of the mountain, then hiked up to a high viewpoint.  You can see the circular ridge with a notch missing where the landslide occurred, the desert-like exposed right-side where the landslide blew away life and covered 15 miles of terrain with 150 feet of dirt and rock, the greenery that was on the lucky side of the eruption, and Spirit Lake which was covered by dirt and slime and fallen trees for years. The mountain was over a thousand feet higher before it erupted.  After taking in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon.  The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion.  Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4.  The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...
2 comments
Read more