Going Hiking! Part I

It started out innocently enough.  My baby brother and Mr. Fix-it flew out together for a week.  Unexpected....and thankfully, due to a cheap air fair not normally seen at this time of year.  

Baby brother was going to stay with dad so Mr. Fix-it and I could take some day trips and spend much needed time together.  (As long as dad's insulin needles were pre-filled...baby brother faints at needles!)


Mr. Fix-it couldn't wait to get back here.  "I want to go hiking into the Superstitions"  he said.   "Fine by me",  I said.

 The Superstition Mountains, or 'Supes' as called by locals, are a massive mountain wilderness area in the Tonto National Forest, comprised of 160,200 acres.  It is an area steeped in mystery and stories of lost gold.  Legend has it that Jacob Waltz, a German immigrant, relocated to Arizona in the 1860's and is purported to have found an extremely rich vein of gold somewhere in the Superstitions.  He is said to have told only one person where the mine was located, Julia Thomas.  Ms. Thomas, from Phoenix, is said to have cared for Waltz in his last days.  She mounted a a search after the Dutchman's death to locate the mine but was never successful.  


Nor have those that have followed!

Many deaths have occurred in the area over the years due to the vast, rugged and inhospitable, though beautiful, terrain.  As recently as last summer, three gold hunters from Utah lost their lives searching for the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold Mine.  Though extensive air and ground searches were made, their bodies were not found until a month ago, when a well seasoned Superstition hiker got off the beaten path into an area even he had never discovered before.  There, he stumbled upon the unfortunate gold hunters.  

I've been enamored with the beauty of the Superstition Mountains for twenty-one years when I first laid eyes on them.  In particular, the Flat Iron mountain area.  Old timers thought the mountain had the shape of an iron.  Today, more modern pioneers have dubbed it the Battleship or Ship Rock.  It is this end of the mountain that many of the legends were born.  

My cousin first introduced me to the Mountain twenty one years ago when she took me there to hike the Peralta Trail.  We hiked to the peak to a most gorgeous vista and I vowed I would hike it again one day.   Seven years ago, Mr. Fix-it and his kids and I tried to hike it again but the kids, teenagers at the time, gave out and we never made it to the top.

So....when the morning came last week for Mr. Fix-it and I to have a whole day to ourselves, it was kind of a no-brainer to go to the trail we were both familiar with.  
  
Mr. Fix-it grabbed our walking sticks, a couple of waters, backpack, a power bar, camera.  Off we went, happy as clams to be together and free for a day.

 

Such a stunning view to be greeted by as we headed up the trail.  Little did we know (but should have!) how the rest of the hike would unfold!

Stay tuned for Part II