Weaver's Needle crosscut

[azhiker96]

I started at the Peralta Trailhead Saturday at 9:40am. I started late on purpose to give the sun a chance to warm the air a bit. It was still in the 60's at the start of the hike. The parking lot was about 3/4 full and there were two large groups of about 8 each preparing to hike. I hurriedly applied sunscreen and hit the Bluff Springs trail with only 3 folks from one group to pass. I put on a good stiff pace and soon had the trial to myself.
My original plan was to do the loop hike, Bluff Springs to Terrapin to Peralta and back to the trailhead. I've done this hike over a dozen times and today I itched for something new. The desert was alive with blooms and a flight of 7 vultures passed directly overhead. The hike was already special and I was less than a half hour into it.
There was a lot of water and most of it was in pretty decent shape. I had 3.5 liters but could have carried much less and resupplied on the trail. As is usual on this hike, I saw an interesting rock formation and wondered what it looked like up close. Today I decided to find out. I carefully headed off trail, picking a course through cactus and on stone to leave no indication from the trail that someone had turned off. My path lead up a mountainside to some large hoodoos. The formations were fun to climb but there was nothing else of note other than a great view of Coffee Flats and Miner's Needle.
As I started back to the trail I saw a hiker stop on the trail. He was at a the junction of the Bluff Springs trail with a small sucker trail. He spent about 5 minutes consulting his map and then headed on down the Bluff Springs trail. The large group was right behind him. I sat on a rock about 50 feet above the trial and watched the group pass below. Curiously, nobody saw me. They were too involved in conversations and watching the trail to look around.
After they had passed I worked my way down to the trail and soon overtook the group. They didn't seem to notice that I had passed them at the start of the hike and was now passing them again. When I caught the lone hiker I stopped to talk. He was hiking the Bluff Springs to Dutchman loop. He had a copy of Beartooth's map of the Superstitions. I confirmed his current location and showed him the route I was taking. We walked a short ways and I bid him farewell as I took the turn onto the Terrapin trail.
Once again I had the trail to myself and I started wondering how I could make the hike more interesting. I remembered reading about a Weaver's Needle crosscut trail. I couldn't recall seeing a trial off the Terrapin trail but Weaver's Needle was now looming near me and there was a nice ridgeline which headed towards that landmark. It was time to see new trail.
I took the ridgeline, picking my path carefully to avoid impossible climbs and close encounters of the cactus kind. As I was hiking I found a green glass bottle with no label. I think it once held about a half gallon of California wine. Happily, it's former owners had set it down and it was in one piece. I put it in my backpack for the trip out.
Working further up the ridgeline I came upon a desert tortoise with lovely hazel eyes. She was about 12 inches long by 6 inches wide and 5 inches tall. She was also surprised to see me and stayed absolutely still, blinking her eyes a couple of times. I backed up and took a large loop around her. After all, I was the guest here and didn't want to intrude.
As I worked around the base of Weaver's Needle I saw a low cave. I checked it out and found it went back about 30 feet but was only about 2 feet tall at the tallest. Near the entrance was a stack of rocks, a monument. Near the stack was an old olive jar which contained a claim document. On January 21, 1959 a Mr. Saft filed this mining claim. The document was in great condition and I was sorry I hadn't taken a camera along. I carefully replaced the document in the jar and the jar back in it's place. It was cool seeing this piece of history. I hope all who find it will leave it for others to see as well.
The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. I worked my way down the western slope below Weaver's Needle and back onto the Peralta Trail. I passed water once again between Fremont Saddle and the trialhead. I still had a liter of water left when I reached my jeep. Once I reached home, I put the glass jug in my recycle bin. It was a great day for a hike.

[desertgirl]

I was out in the area too yesterday..perfect day. We did the Bluff Springs -La Barge Sping - Whiskey Springs - Miner's Needle -back via Ducthman loop ( 14+ miles) The vews were great, weather excellent and we saw the "Big Daddy" saguaro! On Dutchman between Bluff Spings & La Barge! The slopes were carpeted in flowers of all colors & sizes and teh claret cup/hedgehog cactus are in bloom punctuating the slopes with bright magenta blooms! It was a great day....
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[Arizonaheat]

Great trip report George. I had good adventure yesterday myself. Yes, it was an absolute gorgeous day for a hike.
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Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life.