Moominmama's Adventures: the Superstition Mountains

 

In which Moominmama hikes in the Superstition Mountains, visiting a rare waterfall and finding golden treasure...

It was a hazy, cloud-filled day to hike in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, but the weather here hasn't stopped centuries of eager prospectors and wasn't going to stop Moominmama either.

The mountains came by their name reportedly because the Apache and Pima people were wary of the volcanic range and the spirits living there. Personally, Moominmama thinks the looming boulders provide plenty of reason to be wary 

There are rock piles neatly arranged like tetris blocks. And then there are the jagged peaks with boulders that have collected below in a grassy skirt while the tip looms above. 

The area has drawn prospectors, even to this day, because of a legend of a lost gold mine. Its location was supposedly revealed in a deathbed confession, and people have been searching for it ever since.

But on this day, Moominmama was in search of a rare waterfall. This is desert country and the lack of water has taken the lives of more than a few throughout history. This year however, just like with the spring flowers, the wet 

winter has allowed otherwise dry areas to reveal rare features like this waterfall at the end of Massacre Falls trail.

The name apparently derives from the Apache pursuit of some unwelcome gold miners, a family by the name of Peralta. 

Allegedly, the Apache took the Peralta's gold and buried the entrance to the mine they'd discovered -- this is the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine legend, and Jacob Waltz (who was actually German) claimed to have found it, sharing its location with the woman who cared for him in his last days.

She launched the first of multiple searches, and books and movies soon followed about the same!

It is rugged and beautiful land, with spectacular rocks and fissures, crusty mesas with views that go on for miles. This was one of the most spectacular hikes of the year thus far. 

And by golly, Moominmama did find gold at the end of the trail! In the form of a burst of yellow flowers that greeted me on the way down. 

Moominmama has been exploring the Tonto National Forest, which includes much of the Superstition Mountains.

Like almost every area where I've hiked, there are unique warning signs: Alligators in Louisiana, bears in the Rockies, drug runners in Organ Pipe and here, it's bees.

Apparently, the Arizona honeybees mated with a fiercer African cohort and became much more aggressive. Some of the advice on the sign is common sense: don't attack or disturb their nest. Don't swat at them, just move away. But the advice gets more detailed after this.

"If you accidentally disturb a nest, run immediately. Try to get to an enclosed shelter, such as a car, or run until the bees stop following you. It may be necessary to get a quarter of a mile or more.... 

"Never jump into a body of water to escape bees. They will wait for you to surface. Wear light-colored clothing. Honeybees have evolved to recognize threats from predators like bears and other dark-furred mammals. Avoid the color red, which appears black to bees."

Who knew? Thus far, the bees and I have co-existed happily, both of us appreciating the flowers without interfering with one another. Here's the first actual cactus bloom I've seen in the wild. Most will not be blooming until it is much warmer.

Moominmama will be in Arizona for one final week before making my way to Utah for visits to Zion and Bryce National Parks. I leave you with this shot from a hike in the Tonto National Forest that shows those tetris-style rocks!