I hiked off-trail 3 miles round trip out to the end of Coronado Mesa in the Superstition Mountains. The views of Fish Creek Canyon were spectacular! The most difficult obstacle was all the cactus. It took me 1 hour and 26 minutes to reach the end of the mesa at the point overlooking Fish Creek Canyon. Going back to my car took me 1 hour and 7 minutes.
Coronado Mesa is located 4.3 miles past Tortilla Flat, at AZ 88 and FR 80.
I did a 4.6 mile hike into the Goldfield Mountains from the Willow Springs Trailhead. I wanted to climb up Helmet Rock, which I had seen a few weeks ago. So I left the main trail and scrambled to the top. On the way up I fell and banged up my elbow too. Got a nice 4 inch, bloody scrape. It took me about 90 minutes to find a way up, but only about a half hour to get back down to the main trail. I found a much easier way down. My hike was 3 hours and 21 minutes.
Bill Owens and I did a short 1.4 mile hike in the Mount Nutt Wilderness near Golden Valley. The wilderness is located 15 miles west of Kingman. It encompasses an eight-mile-long stretch of the central portion of the Black Mountains.
I hiked out to the Arizona Hot Springs with my good friend Bill Owens, and fellow caver from Windy City Grotto. We did the 6.2 mile loop to the Colorado River by going through White Rock Canyon first, and hit the hot springs on the way back. The hot mineral water emerges from fractures in Miocene-age volcanic rock near the intersection of two faults. The hottest of the three pools is about 110 degrees.
Getting to the Colorado River is a 3 mile hike on the White Rock Canyon Trail, and it took us 90 minutes. Then it's a short hike along the river to the hot springs. The elevation gain is about 1,174 feet for the entire loop.
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| Bill Owens |
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| Bill Owens in White Rock Canyon. |
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| The Colorado River |
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| Bill ascending the stairs to the hot springs. |
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| Our 6.2 mile hike. |
