Weather: 64°, sunny
About this Hike: Hackberry Springs is an annual Christmastime tradition for me. In a good year, the hackberry bushes have some festive red berries. I hoped this would be the case following a wet summer monsoon. No such luck. I never saw even one hackberry this year.
That said, this hike is always enjoyable. There was water in the springhead in Hackberry Creek, but that is to be expected. In the little pool of water, there were topminnows with iridescent colors and bright orange tails. I've seen tadpoles in this little pool before, but never fish. It was some of the coolest wildlife I saw all day.
After emerging from Hackberry Creek Canyon (which was bone dry this year), it seemed too early to close the relatively short loop and return to the parking lot. We opted to head east on Second Water Trail 236 thru Garden Valley, past the Indian Paint Mine, down to Boulder Canyon, below the 'hull' of Battleship Mountain, and then peek into La Barge Canyon.
I thought this would be a fun side trip, especially after visiting a completely different end of La Barge Canyon just a week prior. It did not disappoint. Besides all the beautiful landmarks along the way, there was fall color in the riparian areas of Second Water Creek and Boulder Canyon. There was also a cool daytime moonrise over Geronimo Head, the mountain which forms the cliffs of La Barge Canyon.
I should note that this route is all still beautiful Sonoran Desert—most of it was not touched by recent fires in this area.
We trekked back from La Barge Canyon and debated following Second Water 236 back to the main parking lot (which would require a half-mile walk by road to where we parked), or returning to Hackberry and closing the loop. Daylight was running low, and the Hackberry portion seemed a bit shorter.
This ended up being an excellent choice, but also a little unnerving. We've never actually closed the complete Hackberry Loop as it's mapped on All Trails. We've always started at Hackberry and ended up doing a long day around Black Mesa and other trails. Some of this was backtracking through Hackberry Canyon, but when we reacted the junction on the map, a signpost indicated the trail only went one way. In fact the final portion of the Hackberry Loop jutted off behind the signpost, not following any of the sign's arrows.
An unsigned trail (albeit mapped on All Trails) made me very nervous. However, horseshoe prints and other horse 'evidence' led me to believe this was a good trail if it was getting equestrian use. It ended up being a very good route. There were a few creek crossings (mostly dry). It was never overgrown or terribly difficult to follow. It also went past what appears to be an old ranch. There were remains of a windmill and a covered corral. From there it was no more than half a mile and we popped up on First Water Road, just a short walk from the parking lot and Hackberry Trailhead.
The sun had just set and the Superstitions began to make their nighttime sounds. This was a beautiful hike through unspoiled Sonoran Desert.
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