Cool hike today. This is our second hike since we’ve gotten down here. We’re building up slowly.
Today we planned what I thought was a 10 mile hike but, half way though we decided that 9.5 sounded more like what we wanted for today. Especially when I realized that I had counted wrong and my original plan was actually 13 miles. Whew - glad we didn’t turn left and head around the Black Mesa: we turned rigth and headed straight down the trail back to the trailhead. It was a desert hike - lots of rocks, lots of green brush and lots of cacti. In fact, at one point, we were surrounded by a cholla forest.
Of course that meant that we found lots of these little things on the trail just waiting for our boots to brush against them and they could become embedded in the rubber souls, the cloth laces, the leather sides and the mesh interior. They’re called ‘jumping cholla’ and I’m sure that I’ve seen them jump up to grab at hiker’s feet.
I brushed against one once and it felt like a hammer hitting my anklebone. And, it took 15 minutes, with both of us working at them ,to get them all out. But they are not the only pointy prickly things out here in the desert. Here’s a beautiful bush but, look behind each of those leafy whorls, a big pointy pricky thing.
Some of the cactus even hide in amongst harmless leafy plants.
The views across the mesas and pinnacles was spectacular as are all the views in the Superstition Mountains. They are the largest of the mountain ranges surrounding the Phoenix area, visible from miles away through the eastern suburbs. They rise 5024’ from the flat desert floor in almost sheer cliffs. Mysterious, beautiful, awesome.
My favorite view is of Weaver’s Needle, always in the background, towering above the shorter hills surrounding it. Named after mountain man Pauline Weaver, it is a 4553’ tall and a beacon in the mountains.
If you’ve heard of the Superstition Mountains you’ve heard of the Lost Dutchman and his treasure. Many have tried to find it but have failed. Actually the treasure has several legends attached to it. Was it the lost treasure and wealth of the Jesuit priests who lived in this area and who buried it all when the King of Spain ordered them out? Was it the treasure of the Peralta family from Sonora Mexico who were attacked by Indians and only a few arrived back in Mexico with a load of gold? Or was it the lost mine found in the 1870’s by Jacob Waltz, the Lost Dutchman who was actually from Germany, and his partner who died a mysterious death?
Who knows but they certainly have an aura of mystery about them. And, the Superstition Mountains themselves, as craggy as they are certainly add to the legend. And, sometimes as beautiful as they look cutting a shadow across the sky, they can also look ominous, as they hover over the lower hills in their midst. Along the last part of the trail, as we were heading back to the trailhead, we were walking close to some low hills but always in back, we could look up though breaks in these hills and see the outline of the jagged volcanic peaks of the Superstitions looming in the background.
We met 3 guys at the trailhead and 1/2 way around since they had taken off counter-clockwise around the loop. We had lunch together at the trail juncture. It’s always fun to meet others hiking. They meet every Sunday to hike and they told us of many places that they had gone. Now, they sound like such serious hikers that we were surprised when they had no idea where they were going and what trail to take next. They had a written description of the trail but no map. Hmm. Even greenhorns like us take maps.
Funny. When they mentioned that they hiked every Sunday, I checked their 4th fingers to see if they were married. My first thought was: they leave their wives every Sunday? Gary also wondered about their wives but it never occurred to him to check their ring fingers. ‘Is that what women do?’ he asked. ’Check to see if guys are married?’ Silly man, He wondered about their wives too, but didn’t know to check the ring fingers to see if they were married. ’Must be a woman thing’ he mused.
We got back to the car, and headed back for an ice cream treat. Now, in Southern California, you can find some of the best ice cream in the local drug store, Rite Aid. In the Phoenix area, it took us a while but we found some of the best ice cream in the Water and Ice stores. Huh? What happened to ice cream stores? Ah - not enough of a profit center, gotta expand your offerings, I guess.
As we were sitting in front of the water, ice & ice cream store on the bench relaxing and watching the world pass by when a woman pulled up to fill her water jugs with fresh water. She turned to us and noticed; ‘I’ll bet you’ve already had your walk for the day.’ Huh? Did we look that beat? Well, maybe I did.
Here’s an old riddle that a friend recently sent me. Well, it may be old, but I’ve never heard of it.
You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed. On your right side is a sharp drop-off. On your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you. Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it. Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the kangaroo. What must you do to get out of this highly dangerous situation?
Answer tomorrow
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