Adventure on the Superstition Ridgeline - or - A funny thing happened on the way to the Peralta Trailhead

Angela and I had been talking about this hike for months.  It has a relatively short weather window when it isn't too cold and windy to enjoy the top or too hot an miserable to stand any of it.  As most hikers in the Sonoran region know, the calendar in February and March is generally insanely full as we try to get every last trail minute in before the heat kills our spirit.  As a result, it was a real battle to find just the right day for the trip, and even then we gained and lost participants faster than the turn around on a New York subway.  


In the end, we settled on March 12, a Monday, thinking that the ends of the trail would be less busy.  Of course, we forgot about Spring break...but still, it was better than high Saturday morning traffic!  It was going to be Angela and her hiking buddy Kat (who is something of a guru of the Superstitions type), Sam from the HAZ group (I'd never met, but reports were good) and myself.  Nice small group on one of the 'toughest hikes in Arizona'.  Oh yeah, baby, it's on!

I was planning to camp somewhere near the Carney Trailhead, though really it was just going to be sleeping in the back of the truck (on such a star-studded night!). Being as how I was solo and didn't want to make a fuss, I timed it so I'd get there right about 10:30 - in time to pull in and go to sleep. As I'm cookin' along the Peralta road, about 3 miles from the housing development, I saw a pair of eyes in the middle of the road. At first, I thought it might be a coyote, but it was immediately apparent that it was actually a domestic dog. There wasn't a car or person in sight, and as soon as I stopped, the dog ran up to my car. I gave a quick whistle to see if he was people friendly, and I guess he was because he jumped through my open passenger side window, into the car and straight into my lap. Between the whining and the licking of my face I figured he was happy to see me. I also realized that the dog was FULL of cactus spines (mouth, chest, paws), and that my lap was quickly also becoming full of said spines. I pushed him aside and he sat very politely, if still whimpering, in my passenger seat. 


At least I could tell that this was a very beloved pet - a pure-bred German Shorthair Pointer, probably about 10 months old, with a nice leather collar and a tag that read 'I'm Lost - please call xxx-xxx-xxxx'.   I immediately called the number on the tag, but only got a machine. I assumed that this was because the owners were probably looking for the dog somewhere in the desert. I sat on the side of the road for about 10 minutes, debating on what to do. Another car drove by and I flagged them down. I stuck my head out the window and explained the situation and asked if they knew where I could take him. The young man in the car was very confident that I should go to the police substation in Apache Junction and gave me very clear directions. So that's what I did. To make a long story short (I know, too late!), the police station was closed and dark, and after a series of phone calls to the City and the County, I was left with no where to go with a dog full of cactus after 11pm on a Sunday. The county folks actually said I should just release him - as if I would release this very sweet dog back into the dark desert! Not a chance! 


Finally, I got directed to a 24 hour Vet who said they'd take him in, take the cactus out and find the owner if they could. Their office was almost 20 minute drive from where I'd parked for the phone conference - so I used my handy-dandy smart phone GPS to get me there. The dog (whose name I later learned was Luke) was so sweet during the ride - he actually curled up in the seat and put his chin on my lap. (Yes the chin full of cactus). It took a little bit to clear everything up with the folks at the vet - they were very nice and reported that he even had a chip, so finding the owner should be easy. I asked them to call if anything went amiss and Luke disappeared behind the solid wood door.  Bye bye, cutie! 

Luke's owner, Ron, sent me this photo of Luke as a puppy.  Ron was very happy to have his pet returned to him - and I was glad that the story had a happy ending.  Gary was happy that I didn't have to bring the poor guy home ;)

By the time I got gas, found a restroom and cleaned the dog slobber off my hands and face, then got back to the Peralta Rd, it was nearly 1am and my cell phone was nearly dead (hell of a time to discover that the 12v charger in the car was broken). Kat would be picking me up in a little over 5 hours, and I still had a lot to do. I found a spot just past where I thought the TH might be. There were a number of other cars parked, so I assumed it would be a good camping spot, pulled just off the road and made up my bed. It took a while to come down off the high from all of that running around, but the sweet smell of creosote and the blanket of stars eventually lulled me to sleep.


The next morning, I was still bleary and disoriented. I drove by the trailhead, but didn't see Kat's car, so I wondered if I got the place wrong and kept driving around in circles. Later, Kat told pretty much the same story in reverse, that she was circling the trailheads in the area looking for me.  Unfortunately, in all that circling and looping, we never did meet up and Kat gave up, driving out to the start trailhead solo.  I was particularly concerned because my car was supposed to be left at Carney to shuttle us back when we were done with the hike. With my phone slowly winding down and the day quickly winding up, Anglea and I played call and answer for almost 25 minutes before we finally worked out where I would meet them and how the day would go. What chaos to begin a hard day!

Approaching the southern face of the Superstitions...a daunting facade!

By the time I was on the trail, Kat, Angela and Sam were already climbing the Flatiron and I was trying to push myself to hurry. There isn't much hurrying on Flatiron, though, and by the time I made the saddle, I was already feeling the hike.  And I still had 9 more miles to go!  Ak!

On the trail up Siphon Draw

The rest is a bit of a blur as we pressed through this amazing hike.  About a mile past the saddle, Kat got fed up with our pace and turned back.  (She urged us to do the same, but after all our effort and waiting, Angela and I were determined that we were gonna finish this thing!)  From there:

At the saddle, with the Flatiron looming ahead.  With time pressing, there wasn't a chance to hike out to that point - save it for next time!

Angela trying to be a fast shutterbug on one of the flatter portions of the trail.  Weaver's Needle is visible just above her head.

Looking back at where we started...It doesn't look like a very hikeable area! 

Along the rocky spine

The final peak along the Ridge - and though we really hoped otherwise, we had to go VERY close to the top!

Angela and Sam climb the tricky section just below the peak - hey, it's a cakewalk!

We hit the Carney Trail junction just as the light was giving out...by this time, we were tired and hungry, it was getting cool and I had a butt full of prickly pear.  THAT's how you know you've had a good adventure!

We did it!  We don't need no stinkin' tourguides!  

Okay, so taxi drivers, sure, but we're good on the tour ;)

Thanks Jack!