Terrapin Trail Surprise

[azhiker96]

I headed out way late today to get in a hike (8am). It was overcast though and I could see some rain in patches crossing the desert. My first thought was to climb Picketpost Mtn again but as I was passing the Supes, they called to me. So I yanked the jeep onto Peralta road and headed down to the Peralta TH.
I had to keep it slow as I passed the new housing and creeped by the new school that has been built out there. Soon I was bumping along the washboard road towards the day's adventure. It started sooner than I thought.
About 2.8 miles from the developed lands I saw a couple of dozen vultures sitting in trees near the road. That seemed a bit odd so I pulled over to investigate. Sure enough, a strange odor in the air told me the vultures were gathering for breakfast. I followed my nose up a ravine to find three carcasses. One was an old, picked and dried coyote (maybe dog). The second was a picked but moist pitbull. The third was a fairly fresh horse, no older than a year I'd guess. The vultures had barely touched this one. Both the pit and the colt had twine tied to them, evidently for dragging purposes. I don't think they were killed there. This is just a dumping spot for somebody, on state land. I called the Pinal county sherrif's dept. They said they'd have someone check it out.
Oh well, on to the trailhead. There were two vehicles already there, saner folks than I. They started in the early morning whereas I was starting my hike with mad dogs and Englishmen. I noticed a note left behind about a lost pack on the Dutchman trail. I thought about taking that route but I didn't have my map with me and so I chose my old favorite, the Peralta Loop.
The Peralta loop follows the Bluff Springs trail to the Dutchman, then splits off on the Terrapin trail. This connects with the Peralta on the North side of Weavers Needle which takes you back to the TH. It's 12.5 miles of desert solitude. I rarely see anyone on it, today I passed one person about 1/2 mile in.
The barrel cactus are looking good, several had blooms. A 2 foot racer surprised me by darting into the trail 5 feet ahead of me to catch a small lizard. He retired to the shade of a brittlebush to keep an eye on me while he swallowed his prize.
About 1/2 mile into the Terrapin trail I took a break to check out some neat rock formations just off the trail. As I stood on them, I saw something amiss in the drainage below. There was a large flat rock with something on it, not animal and not a fire. I slowly made my way down to have a closer look. Soon I was able to make out it was a backpack.
Now I looked around for the owner. I didn't want to surprise somebody who was taking a break. I finally approached the pack and saw that it had been there for awhile. The sun had faded the pack except where the straps had shaded it. Now I knew this was probably the lost pack mentioned in the note at the trailhead.
I knocked off a few spiders and bugs and a small ant colony that was trying to make a new home. Then I strapped my daypack to the back and headed out. The pack was about 40 pounds without my pack and water included. It ensured that I got the workout I was looking for today.
I picked up the sign at the trailhead and gave Eric a call when I got back home. Eric was sure surprised to hear from me. I met him a short time later and he filled in some of the gaps. He had gone hiking in June but had a mishap which cost him 3 of his 4 remaining liters of water. He decided to hike out without the pack and then return later for it. Unfortunately, he had been unable to locate it since. He insisted on giving me a reward for returning the pack which was quite nice of him. (Does than make me a sherpa now since technically I carried a pack for money?) Anyway, he's a nice guy and I hope he has many great adventures on the trail. I know I had one I won't soon forget.

[Daryl]

Quite a hike.

Mental note, take a gps reading when I leave something of value.
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[ck1]

Interesting trip report!
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-Colin

"The Journey is the Destination"

[azhiker96]

Good point Daryl! That's one thing he wished he had done. He did have a GPS, map and compass. He did set a waypoint at the parking lot which is how he found his way back. That saved SAR a trip into the Supes. I won't mention solo hiking since that is how I found his pack. I love the Supes, you never know what you'll find!