Annual Christmastime Hackberry Springs - Superstitions Hike

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. 

Hackberry Springs & Western Superstitions 2020 Annual Hike

Weather:  65º, sunny

About this Hike:  Visiting Hackberry Springs has become a December tradition. Typically the hackberry bushes are in full bloom and the red berries are very festive. Last year we had significant rainfall through October and November leading to beautiful flowing creeks and lush foliage. 

This year Hackberry Springs looks like what you'd expect from 2020.  Dry.  Desolate.  Tinder-box ready.  Not a hackberry blossom in sight.  The creek is dry as a bone with only a small drip at the Hackberry springhead. 

Continuing on from Hackberry, we ascended Black Mesa and then linked up to Dutchman to come back to the Second Water parking area. 

Starting at Black Mesa is where things go from bad to 2020-bad.  Most of this area is completely toasted in lieu of Sawtooth and Superstition Fires.  You read the Forest Service fire reports and you hope it won't be that bad.  You hope it was low intensity and the mighty, water-filled saguaros survived even if the grasses and chaparral brush burned. 

Unfortunately this fragile Sonoran ecosystem is likely forever altered.  Black craters mark where trees and desert brush burned so hot the root balls exploded.  Mighty grandfather saguaros stand blown to pieces, scorched arms all around the burned-out skeletons.  Likely their insides boiled in the fire.  

One small valley remains in tact as you descend Black Mesa Trail and approach Dutchman Trail.  This valley is surprisingly lush and green despite the dry year.  It is an oasis in what is otherwise moonscape.

However, once back on Dutchman, the burn scar becomes evident again.  And it follows you all the way back to the parking lot, and all along First Water Road.

Honestly, I'm surprised the Tonto Forest Service has reopened this area so quickly. Other burn casualties of this summer (i.e. Four Peaks) remain closed to date.  This is precious Sonoran hiking grounds that are forever ruined.  Safe to say 2020 is the year I've fallen out of love with Arizona. 

Dutchman, Boulder, Second Water Loop

Weather:  65º, sun & clouds

About this Hike:  We intended to do this as an out-and-back starting on Dutchman Trail and working our way up Boulder Canyon Trail to Needle Canyon. 

All of the creeks were flowing strong.  This hike was definitely an exercise in reading topography both on a map and as it compared to the surrounding landmarks.  When we determined based on topography that we had found Needle Canyon, we weren't able to go up the canyon at all due to strong flow from the creek, which was draining into larger Boulder Creek. 

We opted to complete this hike as a loop instead of an out-and-back by continuing up Boulder Canyon and joining Second Water Canyon Trail, which would return us to the First Water parking lot. 

There were A LOT of crossings over Boulder Creek and some were tricky.  I don't know how we ever did hikes like this in the past without hiking poles—their help was indispensable.

About halfway up Boulder Canyon the trail became hard to follow.  We found a cairin marking a steep scramble up a scree chute.  I hoped that it wasn't the trail.  After some exploring, we found the correct Boulder Canyon trail, but learned a valuable lesson—the steep trail we discovered is actually the start of the trek up to the summit of Battleship Mountain.  We were informed this by a friendly group of hikers that was in the area.  As sumitting the Battleship has grown popular in recent years, I've wondered about how people find this unofficial summit trail.  Now I have an idea.

Second Water came into view, and while the creek was mostly dry, some fall foliage still hung on the trees in the creekbed. 

We returned to the parking area just in time for a magnificent sunset.  It's unfortunate so much of the Superstitions was lost this past June.  Now that I have the Tacoma I'm just getting started exploring this beautiful area of Arizona.