Submission from Tim Lange:
This is an annual hike organized by Rogil Schroeter and Bill Fallon. The Trail follows the Ridgeline of the Western Superstition Mountains from the Carney Springs trailhead to the high point of the ridge, to the Flatiron and Siphon Draw and finally down to the Lost Dutchman State Park. There are many scenic rewards along this trail, close-up views of the many hoodoos that populate the ridge, unique views of Weavers Needle and Boulder Canyon from a high vantage point, steep drop-offs, large fractured walls covered with green lichen, a few wildflowers, the Flatiron formation and Siphon Draw.
Even though the distance is less than 11 miles, there is a lot of elevation gain and loss, many sections of it are steep up and downhill; most people require between 8 and 9 hours, the slowest hikers are usually on the trail for 12 hours. Because it is not a loop hike, a car shuttle is required. The "camping" group meets in the evening and drops cars at Lost Dutchman State Park before heading out to the trailhead to camp. This year's camping group was: Rogil Schroeter, Kathy Sharp, Richard Theobald, Scott Parsons, Robb Reinhart, Mike Knarzer, Slawa Ciula, Karol Harvey, Debbie Bryan, Fred Padgett, Mark Beauchamp, Valerie McNay and myself. We were on the trail at 6:30 AM, in the dark, headlamps on. The fast group performs the car shuttle in the morning before starting the hike.
This year, the weather forecast was for light rain beginning in the afternoon. The rain came early. We had some sprinkles come through around 2 AM. When we got up at 5 AM, the tents weren't really wet, just noticeably damp. It started sprinkling again when we started to hike. The rain jackets were soon deployed and the upward slog continued. The light rain continued off and on throughout the early morning and finally dispersed around 10:00. As we climbed higher, we could look down on the clouds below. As we reached one of the highpoints along the ridgeline, we were engulfed in a cloud and greeted with a few snowflakes! The cool, cloudy weather was bonus in many regards, easier to go uphill without overheating, and less water required for the trip. When the sun finally broke through, we were past the majority of the long uphill and were enjoying the moderate up and down of the 2nd half of the trail.
The trail from Carney Springs is level for a short time and then begins to climb, becoming steep in many places. The trail uses many sections of bare rock that were a bit slippery due to the rain. We took a short break at the first saddle to regroup. The fast hikers of the group, Scott, Mike and Robb took off and were soon out of sight. Fred was not keeping up to our pace and Karol was staying back with him. Due to the cold, we couldn't wait for them to catch up. We continued ahead, keeping in radio contact as best we could.
After reaching the next saddle, the trail turned to the south, dropped into a gully, and began another steep climb to the ridgeline near the high point of the Western Superstitions. It was here that we had the snowfall. The hoodoos were hidden in clouds as we approached. During the descent from this high point, there was one spot where a 10 foot down-climb was required. Nothing too serious, packs-on, drop the hiking poles.
We briefly caught up to Robb, Scott and Mike at a saddle point 20 minutes later. Mike hung back with us while the other 2 took off with some of the faster hikers that caught up to us. We took a 10 minute snack break and continued along the ridgeline. This section was relatively level, only moderate up and downhill, very pleasant hiking. The sun also came out, adding to the enjoyment.
We stopped at 12:30 for the official lunch break. Bill Fallon and group caught up to us at this point. They continued on and we followed after lunch. The next section of the trail was thru the hoodoos that are just above Siphon Draw. They were very scenic. I wanted more time for photos, just had enough time to snap some quick shots and move along.
We caught up to Bill and group at the top of Siphon Draw. They were taking a break before beginning the steep descent. We also met Glen Schroering on his way up to the Flatiron. He was with Lorraine (from the last AMC Basic School) and another gal.
The descent through Siphon Draw was much steeper than I remembered. I did remember something about grabbing a tree to make the final ascent to the Flatiron trail, but nothing as steep as this. It was slow going on aching knees and tired quads. It took about 2 hours to go down; we stopped often and didn't push too hard. Kathy hung back with Val. There were a few people in Siphon Draw but not terribly crowded.
We got back to the cars at 3:30. Bill and about 10 of his group were lounging around, waiting for the others. Because Karol and Fred were a couple of hours behind, we could do the car shuttle, and only one person would need to come back, with the camping gear for the people who stayed at Lost Dutchman Park. Slawa and Debbie stayed because they each carpooled with Fred or Karol. Rogil shuttled the gear back to them and then headed home after talking with Karol on the radio. Fred and Karol made it out at 6:30, just after sunset. So, they were able to negotiate Siphon Draw in daylight. They also picked up a another hiker along the way, Angie, at the first high point.
Submission from Kathy Sharp:
This year's Superstition Ridge Line hike went well, despite the forecast for possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. We were prepared to hike in the rain and not do the hike at all if lightning threatened. Walking along the entire ridge line of a huge mountain during a thunderstorm is not good for one's health! However, instead of afternoon storms, we got morning rain, a little snow, and no lightning; the weather cleared and the sun came out in the afternoon. The low lying clouds made for some interesting scenery in person, but I couldn't manage to get my camera out in time to catch any shots of pretty clouds moving in front of nearby cliffs. The cloudy darkness wasn't great for photos either, and I didn't take my digital camera out of its case when it was raining. However, in person, it's nice seeing the desert with a light coating of rain; it deepens all the colors and makes rocks shine.
I believe there were about a dozen people in Rogil's group and about two dozen in Bill Fallon's various groups. Rogil's group set up the long shuttle the night before the hike and camped at Carney Springs so they could get an early start at 6:30 a.m. Bill's groups were the faster hikers, and they set up their shuttles in the morning before the hike but still managed to catch up with my group, consisting of Rogil, Valerie and Mark (who came from Nevada for this hike), Slawa, Mike Knarzer (the youngster who was always out front climbing on top of pinnacles and such), Scott and Rob (who also left us behind most of the time), Tim Lange, Richard Theobald, Debbie Bryan, and me. Fred and Karol started out with us, and at one point we waited for them to catch up until we were just too cold and wet to stay still any longer. We had radio contact with them for much of the hike, though.
I waited for the last of the campers to get going and started the hike with a headlamp at 6:45 a.m. Shortly after we started hiking, it started raining. We stopped and put on our rain gear, and it stopped raining. Then it started again. I just left my rain coat on for the first half of the hike, even though it's not breathable. (It has a vent, conveniently located at the back so that wearing a backpack renders the vent useless.) One of these days I'll have to invest in a breathable, waterproof (water resistant isn't good enough!), light weight, packable shell to keep in my pack. The first few hours of the hike have so much steep uphill that I was getting really sweaty even though it was cold, so I did much of the hike with just the rain coat and my long sleeve, moisture wicking shirt. After we got past the first peak, there wasn't so much steep uphill and I put on my fleece hiking jacket under the rain coat.
The hike from Carney Springs begins very level and then climbs steeply (follow the white dots) to a saddle. (It took me 45 minutes to get to the saddle.) Then you follow a cairned trail that goes off to the left from the saddle. Eventually you'll run into a big basin. At this point some cairns go off to the left, toward what looks like it might be a nice viewpoint (to the south, if I can trust my horrible sense of direction). Instead, follow the other cairns to go across the basin and toward the top of the south end of Superstition Mountain.
At the first peak it started snowing! It didn't stick, and it's not obvious that it's snowing in the photos I took. We decided not to climb the hoodoos and sign the register at the highest peak because it was so cold and windy there.
We then got to enjoy the great views on the long, up and down, meandering hike along the ridge of Superstition Mountain. As Tim pointed out, calling it a ridge "line" could be misleading. It's more like a ridge squiggle. Off to the west we could see the vast, square arrangements of civilization, and off to the east were the endless, magnificent rock formations of the Superstitions, including Weaver's Needle, enshrouded in clouds.
Because of the cold or wind, we didn't stop at all our usual snack stops. We had quick second, third, and fourth breakfasts wherever we could sit and stay reasonably warm. Tim was eating second breakfast--he's the one who started the Lord of the Rings terminology--shortly after the first peak, during my least favorite part of the hike. At this point, we go to the left of a small peak, and the route is steep and on loose dirt, with cacti to dodge. I don't know how Tim was able to manage eating a sandwich while hiking that part and not slip and fall.
When we reached the beginning of our descent at the far end of the ridge line, I was feeling surprisingly good, since I wasn't sure I'd done enough training hikes recently to be able to enjoy this hike. It's misleadingly difficult. It's only 10.5 miles, but it took us 9 hours, and that was an excellent time for us, the slower hikers. This is not a hike where you can just take your time and expect to finish in one day! And the hike down Siphon Draw is hard enough without having to do it in the dark and dead on your feet.
The last part of the hike is from the Flatiron down Siphon Draw and into Lost Dutchman State Park, where we'd left shuttle vehicles the previous night. Siphon Draw is a really steep hike, and I was noticing my knees by the time I finished the steepness, although they weren't to the point of hurting. Valerie kept me company down Siphon Draw; the rest of our group was too fast for me on that kind of terrain.
I had brought 2 quarts of water in my Camelbak, 1 quart of GatorAde, and another quart of water in a bottle. However, it was so wet that day that I didn't finish off my Camelbak or GatorAde and I never opened the 4th quart bottle. I usually drink less than most everyone I hike with anyway. (This is not a good thing. Drink your water! It's good for you!)
Thanks to Rogil and Bill for setting up another wonderful ridge line hike. I love this hike!
Email from Rogil Schroeter:
Another great hike! I hope everyone enjoyed it.
I would like to brain storm on some improvements for next year. Here [are] some ideas. Please send more.