October 28th

Brian:
After leaving Roosevelt, clean and well-satiated, we headed north along the HWY a short distance to Forest Rd 449 where we made camp for the evening. The night was quite pleasant and we enjoyed staying up late (for us anyway) to watch the lunar eclipse.

Ranger Quentin mentioned to us the day before that the AZT along Cottonwood Wash was nearly completely destroyed from a flash flood, so we decided on this alternate: a short dirt road walk to Tule Trailhead, and then a 4.5 mile climb to rejoin the AZT along Two Bar Ridge.

We started hiking this morning just after 6 am. We were treated to a lovely sunrise and the largest Tarantula to date...it only had seven legs, but it was probably the size of my hand. A very large spider. Anyway, our intentions for the day were to get in as many miles as we could so our resupply in Superior would be relaxed. Sometimes things do not go according to plan.

As soon as we reached the ridgeline the rain began to fall steadily and the wind picked up. Wet and chilled we continued on along an exposed ridgeline, across a drainage, and up a very steep slope to a broad meadow where Amity noticed a rock wall that we have learned are remnants of an Hohokam Indian Village.

Eventually we made our way down to Reavis Ranch, one of the two original ranches in the Superstition Mountains before it was designated wilderness in 1940. Crossing an open meadow we came upon a trail sign. Wet, fatigued, and generally disoriented by the gray skies and low clouds, we turned right, heading northward. After an hour of steady climbing we came upon the Plow Saddle Trail Junction, where we caught our mistake.

Slightly discouraged by our discovery, we did consider an alternate to rejoin the AZT, but decided it was more prudent to backtrack to the correct trail junction and continue on known trail. Thoroughly soaked and chilled we turned around and headed southward along the Reavis Trail.

Upon arriving at the trail junction, we spent a few minutes discussing our options. As it was 3 pm, we only had a few hours of daylight left. Reavis Ranch has nice places to camp, as does Rogers Trough which was ~6 miles distant. Not wanting to repeat the evening we had below the Mogollon Rim a week ago, we opted to make camp in the apple orchard of the old Reavis Ranch site while we had daylight and clear thinking brains to work with.

With teeth chattering we set up camp and have thankfully been entombed in our warm sleeping bags for a few hours. It seems the fall monsoons have arrived a little late this year.

Tomorrow we need to do ~21 miles before the PO closes at 4:45 pm, so it looks to be an early start. Hopefully the skies will give us a slight break in the morning to pack up and slip back into our wet hiking clothes. I am sure the Superstition Wilderness is normally a spectacular place, but we were unable to see much of anything the entire day.

Amity:
A couple of days ago, while bushwhacking up Boulder Creek en route to the Four Peaks Wilderness, my umbrella, which had been tethered to my pack, was lost. I'm fairly certain of the location, but unfortunately did not become aware it was missing until late that afternoon when we heard a rumble of thunder and my hand reached back to feel the umbrella, an automatic motion I've developed in response to grey clouds, damp winds and the sudden absence of bird chatter.

The umbrella is my primary source of rain protection so you can probably imagine my sense of dread, especially given the pluvial weather of late. Luckily we made it to Roosevelt without any daytime rain, so no problem.
In Roosevelt, the best I could find was an Emergency Poncho, the kind one might find at an inflated price when it begins to sprinkle at an outdoor event. Basically a clear garbage bag fancified with a hood and armholes. Well, today it rained, rained in that way that I can only describe as Cascadian. The poncho worked surprisingly well initially, but before long every inch of clothing was saturated and the poncho was providing only some very basic but much needed heat retention.

Oh, yes, another wet cold day in Arizona. Brian said it best today, "If I ever become a snowbird, the @#%@ I'd ever move to Arizona".
Would love to see the scenery, from views gleaned yesterday, this area looks like it's probably fairly incredible.

October 29th

Brian:
The alarm went off at 5:30 am this morning, and we awoke to clear, cold skies and an ample amount of frost coating the surrounding vegetation. The cool night also managed to freeze much of our clothing into stiff, unfriendly shapes. Dreading having to put those icy threads back on, it was not difficult to convince ourselves to stay in bed awhile longer.

Eventually we mustered the moxie to face the icy morning before the sun found our camp, and we managed to push off just before 7 am. The cool temps made for a necessary brisk pace and we made good time to a sunny saddle. Warmed a bit, we quickly changed into our cold, wet clothes and then dropped south over the saddle, heading towards the Trailhead to join up with FR 650. The canyon was quite lush and many of the rock pools were filled with water from the recent rains. It would have been pleasant to stop and dry some of our gear alongside these idyllic pools, but we were unfortunately running a tight schedule to make it to the Superior Post Office before they closed. It was nice to have clear skies to give us some sense of the Superstition Wilderness.

Onward we pushed, climbing along FR 650 to Montana Mountain where the AZT switchbacks down its southern face into Reavis Trail Canyon. This canyon was quite lush as well, with pillowy mounds of tufted grass, cottonwoods, and sycamores. The going was pretty straight forward, with consistent cairns to guide us through the creek bottom with minimal bushwhacking. Around noon we emerged from the canyon, ate a quick lunch and then rejoined and headed down FR 650. We left the AZT as we needed to head considerably more eastward to get into Superior and in doing so, avoided a number of shoulderless HWY miles.

After intersecting and following FR 8, we walked on an old set of railroad tracks into Superior. Superior used to be a big copper mining town, and the tracks we followed ran to the old smelter. Just on the outskirts of town, we climbed over a tall chainlink fence (to get off private property) and meandered down mainstreet to the Post Office with an hour to spare.

Mentally it was a tough morning, but once we got out bed, we made fantastic time and stayed focused despite our general weariness.

October 29th
Superior

Amity:
The discovery of first gold and silver, and later and more importantly copper in the late nineteenth-century put Superior on the map. The copper boom lasted until 1982, when the mine closed. The mine reopened in 1989 only to close again permanently in 1996. Superior is a living ghost town of sorts but instead of feeling empty and cold, Superior has a friendly warmth and the people are kind and good natured.

On the way up Main Street toward the post office, past little boxy shack-like homes, modest shrines to various virgins tucked into old brick walls, and beautiful shrubby flowering plants growing like weeds over everything, we stopped in the Visitor Information office which is also the community employment assistance center. We asked about internet access in town, learned the library was not open today and were immediately invited to use an available computer with a sign "For job searches only". While we were there, a middle-aged fellow came in and set a date for some resume assistance.

On Main Street, I would estimate that 75% of the available store fronts are vacant and boarded. For Sale signs have been hanging for so long that the telephone numbers one would dial if interested are faded and worn beyond legibility.

We are staying in the Motel El Portal, just up the street from Los Hermanos Restaurant, where they daily turn out 300 to 400 dozen tortillas for distribution in the area. While we ate the Machaca Chimichanga Deluxe Burro we flipped through a copy of Prensa Hispana. For the first time this trip, Mexico really does feel close.

Brian:
Walking up Main St in Superior, AZ this afternoon was a good reminder that 3rd World conditions exist in our supposedly first world nation. Certainly not on all fronts (no naked kids bathing in the gutters), but in terms of housing, apparent employment opportunity, and general appearance, it would seem this place qualifies. In spite of its appearance, the town has a warm and welcoming feel, and the people are incredibly friendly, relaxed, and good natured.

We are staying the night at the only Motel in town, and the owner, Alice is an absolute pleasure to talk with as she knows a bit of local history and was eager to share her experiences of living and working in Superior. While the copper mine was at its peak in the 80's, she worked in the tunnels below the surface processing ore. About a year ago, she bought the motel. She also mentioned that most of the employment opportunities are in Florence (SW) at the prisons, or folks head to Phoenix to work for $8-$9 an hour. Alice also mentioned a major meth problem in the region as well. Tough times in Superior for sure.

The town seems half dead already, but if it managed to survive two eras of a boom/bust mining economy, I would think it won't be blowing away anytime soon.

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