Yesterday, we (me, my SAT–“self-appointed trainer”, and our friend Ian) joined another Meetup group on a hike up to the highest point in the western Superstition mountains: Superstition Peak 5057. Not the most creative name for a peak, but it’s definitely descriptive. As you may have guessed, the elevation at the summit is 5,057 feet. (Official statistics from hikearizona.com: 7.8 miles round-trip and 3000 feet elevation gain.) It was a lovely day with good company, beautiful views, and an actual TRAIL! Another bonus of hiking with this Meetup group vs the last one: we took a few breaks! That last point is really important because that meant I could breathe.

We started from the Hieroglyphic trailhead in Gold Canyon, so named because of the petroglyphs you will see:

Waterfall and pool area in Hieroglyphic Canyon.

Petroglyphs!

(Clarification point: “hieroglyphs” refer to stylized pictures of objects that represent different words, syllables, or sounds, as found in ancient Egyptian and other writing systems. “Petroglyphs” refer to rock carvings, especially prehistoric ones. I think that the specimens we saw are actually petroglyphs because they looked more like rock carvings than a quasi-writing system, but I’m not an archeologist.)

After the canyon, we followed the trail up to the saddle. The trail is fairly steep the whole way, but the group took a few breaks to breathe, regroup, and enjoy the views. Some online hike descriptions warned potential hikers that the last mile before the saddle features a grade of almost 30%. My legs certainly felt the steepness of that section.

Early in the hike.

I like this saguaro cactus.

Getting higher…

Even higher yet…

Artsy photo of a large saguaro cactus.

We finally reached the saddle and had a last break before the final push to the top. The summit was probably about 10-15 minutes away from the saddle.

At the saddle. Note how flat the ground is.

View from saddle.

Our ultimate goal is to the right.

Then, the summit. The views from the top are fantastic and it was lovely to soak in the landscape (and to sit down).

Panoramic view from the top.

Enjoying the views.

There’s a lot of air below us.

Requisite summit photo.

We took the same trail back down and boy, was that hard on my quads! In addition to descending the same steep trail we took up, we had to deal with a lot of loose rock, which made the way a bit slippery in spots. Some folks ended up with minor cactus puncture wounds from accidentally grabbing onto them whilst losing their balance. Despite those minor setbacks, it was a great day to get out in nature and meet new people.