On belay from Barbie (thanks Barbie), Les, Dave, Terry and Fred down-climbed to setup belay and rappel stations for our descent. After the final and more-fun-than-a-climber-ought-to-have "E-ticket" rappel, we left our ropes/anchors in place for Bill's group, and began the trudge back to the trailhead. In our euphoria, we somehow managed to miss the Terrapin Trail and followed a well-ducked, plausible route. Unfortunately, we were lured by the deceptive ducks and the route degraded into thick brush as it followed a bouldery creek downstream. Nevertheless, we were still in good spirits and pushed through until we rejoined the Bluff Springs Trail. I think we were somewhere W of the Bluff Springs Trail, maybe in Barks Canyon, or on the trail into/out of Geronimo Cave. We arrived back at the trailhead about 6:00 P.M., 11.5 hours after our departure. A BIG thanks for the cooperative leadership and technical skills of Les Hill, Dave Jurasevich, Terry Flood, and Fred Bright, without which, the rest of us could not have bagged the peak. Other summiteers: Suzanne Booker, Russell Glavis, Bob Pinsker, Gerhardt Japp and Mark Adrian.
That night, Les and Dave drove back to LA., Fred headed back towards San Diego, and the rest of us stayed at the same campsite. About an hour after our return, Bill's group came strolling in, dropping off our ropes, and mentioning they followed the same return route we had. The following morning, we drove a short 13 miles over to Superstition's Route A trailhead.
11/29/92- SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN - Guide 8.3 DRIVE/CUMB/ROUTE A : The somewhat complicated drive in goes well since it is mostly through a rural residential area. There are numerous, new-looking, housing developments and a golf course along the drive in, and a realtor's FOR SALE sign near the trailhead. This somewhat detracts from the typical remote desert "atmosphere" accustom to most DPS peaks. The hike in to Hieroglyphic Canyon is easy and the Indian petroglyph site is impressive. The real work begins here when you start up and hike the ridge.
Someone has been "kind" enough to paint white spots on big rocks along this route. Occasionally, the "artist" was creative and made arrows instead of dots. The only obstacle en route is a short, yet, challenging, pitch of Cl3, shortly before the summit. Once this is overcome, the summit is near and is best approached from its SSW side. I took a more WNW route which was an annoying mixture of brush and low Cl3 boulders. The weather was still in good shape, as was the canister and full register. To the E we had great views of Weavers Needle's W face; to the W, the expansive development as a result of the Superstition Freeway corridor; and way W, the skyscrapers of downtown Phoenix. After a short stay at the summit, it was back to the trucks, where we encountered numerous day hikers and horses coming into the petroglyph site. While everyone else bulleted back to San Diego, Bob and I camped W of Gila Bend, near Sentinel on
18,
savoring one more night in the desert. Summiteers : Terry Flood, Suzanne
Booker, Russell Glavis, Bob Pinsker, and Mark AdrianMark
