Peralta Trail - 10/18/09

This week we're back to our favorite spot, the Superstition Mountains, to hike the very popular Peralta Trail. The day before this hike the temperature hit a record 102 degrees in the area. Knowing that the temperature could approach 100 again (which it did), we opted to start out early, hitting the trail just as the sun was rising around 6:30 a.m. That was a smart move!

Just a few feet beyond the trail head is the junction of Peralta and Dutchman Trails. This week we went to the left on Peralta, which was a little confusing at first to Star, the always excited to start and more excited to finish hiking dog, but she quickly adapted.

The Peralta Trail to the Freemont Saddle is about 2.3 miles, shorter than we've hiked in previous weeks, however, the ascent is about 1,200 feet. (View our map) The first mile is relatively easy. The trail is heavily edged in bursage, jojoba, desert ragweed, prickley pear cactus and, scattered around the area, a few Saguaros.  Several areas along the trail provide shade from Sugar Sumac and other trees as well as some incredibly large boulders.

The trail rises and falls with small elevation changes making it an easy hike. The biggest thing to watch for is the loose and sometimes larger rocks. Some of the trail is smooth but much of the trail provides the opportunity to trip if you're not watching carefully.

Another area with some footing concern is just after crossing the first dry creek bed at about .25 miles I think, where there is bedrock.  If the trail is wet, which is rare, you will want to be extra careful. Additional sections of bedrock appear just after  1.5 miles from the trail head but those are smooth sections without the steps this first section has.

The trail gets interesting at the one mile point where the cactus-lined switchbacks start and the grade increases substantially. At this point you get your first glimpse of Muffin Turtle.  OK, that isn't the official term for this rock formation but, seriously, if you look at the rock from the two mile mark, it looks like a big turtle with a tasty muffin on its back.

At the one mile mark the hoodoos also become highly viewable.  These tall thin spires of rock line the western edge of the canyon. Because of our early start, the morning sun created a natural spotlight on the hoodoos as we reached the one mile mark.  Stunning.

Around the 1.5 mile mark is Geronimo's Cave in the eastern wall of Peralta Canyon.  It's near the top of the ridge and accessible from the Cave Trail to the east of the Peralta Trail.

A deep cave with a very low ceiling is at the two mile mark. (If you haven't looked back yet, make sure and look back over Peralta Canyon.  It's impressive to see where you've been AND you can see Muffin Turtle!) Our first time hiking the Peralta Trail, we stopped at the cave and turned around. What a mistake!  It's only .3 mile farther to Fremont Saddle and the grade lessens so it's very do-able. Don't make our mistake.  Keep going!

The reward for making it to Fremont Saddle is the expansive view of the Superstition Wilderness and Weaver's Needle.  Last week on the Dutchman Trail we saw Miner's Needle, the "little brother" to the towering Weaver's Needle.  I've seen Weaver's Needle several times now and it still brings a smile and a huge sense of awe.

Also at Fremont Saddle we're very close to the hoodoos, giving us a close-up view of these spires.  How can they continue to stand for thousands of years without falling over?

Fremont Saddle is an excellent place to enjoy a mini-picnic.  Our goal, sometime next spring, is to hike Peralta Trail just before sunrise and get to the Saddle in time to enjoy a little breakfast as the sun rises.  After breakfast continue our hike into the back country of the Superstition Wilderness; great GC preparation.

Returning back down the mountain the view of Peralta Canyon comes into view at the two mile cave.  From here we could see the distance we had to cover, descending to the bottom of the Canyon and around the eastern wall before we reached the trail head parking lot.

The trip back down the mountain went a little faster than the ascent, which is normal.  Star was very anxious to get back to the car and get home where she spent most of the remainder of the day sleeping. Oh, hiking has so many benefits. (Picture to right showing view of Peralta Canyon: MT = Muffin Turtle, our term-not official, and PP = Picketpost Mountain.  The trail head and parking lot are all the way at the bottom and tucked around the Canyon wall a ways.

This week we confirmed what we've learned before: never hike in the mountains around Phoenix in the heat without an abundance of water.  We provided a bottle of water to one individual at the beginning of our hike and I believe there were several others who could have used, or would find they would need, additional water.

Also, start early, especially in the heat. As we ended our hike, we saw several people in the parking lot just getting ready to start their hike. We only hope they were in great shape and had lots of water with them.

Rating:  This is a 5 out of 5.  It's a moderate hike with beautiful scenery to keep your attention. It's definitely one of our favorites.

Next week: we return to Phoenix and South Mountain.