I was surprised that I can’t find a previous description of this hike in my blog.

It’s a fun hike, about 5 or 6 miles, over easy ground starting from the First Water trailhead.  The first segment of the trail is the familiar trek up to Garden Valley to the ruins at the Black Mesa trail junction.  The remainder of the loop is on “un-named” trail going north across Garden Valley, then dropping into a canyon and proceeding westward to the area of the spring.  It is situated near a narrow slot canyon cut by a creek, and that area is lush with trees and grass.

Overall you get a wide variety of scenery including gorgeous cliffs, the meadow-like environment of Garden Valley, a narrow canyon, and a lot of “long horizon” views of the interior of the the Superstitions.

Today we were blessed by “photographer friendly” skies, broken and hazy clouds, which always seems to add a special touch to the “look and feel” of the beautiful Superstitions.

Enjoy the pictures!