Home    Album    Hike Comments    Topo    No Story    Home

This trek has been moved to Astertiki, where it can and may have been updated.

Peralta Trail was my introduction to the Superstition Mountains.  It is a popular, busy trail which is crowded with hikers and frequent horseback riders.  The trailhead is a use-fee area - parking cost $4.00.  There is limited parking at the trailhead so you may have to park near the pay-station, about a half mile below the trailhead.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow.  At the trail head there are two trails.  The trial to the right is the Dutchman's Trail which goes East.  The trail for the hike to Fremont Saddle is on the left - starting out North West.  There is very limited shade along the way and the switchbacks near the top are steep going.  Bring plenty of water, the spring that flows through Peralta Canyon is described as "occasional".  

But the trip is worth the effort as the view from the top of Fremont Saddle is memorable - Weavers needle is the dominate feature to the north of the Saddle, rising 1420 feet above Boulder Canyon which situated to the peak's South-West.  Weaver's needle is frequently characterized as the remnant magma plug of an ancient volcano but that may not be correct.  According to Tom Kollenborn, the needle contains several alternating layers of ash and basalt which are not possible in a magma plug.  Basalt and ash are igneous rock that result from atmospheric cooling and not from the cooling of magma in a volcanic conduit.  Therefore the needle is an erosional  remnant that was once a part of a plateau formed millions of years ago but which has eroded away, leaving the magnificent spire behind for a spectacular view.

Weaver's Needle is a dominate feature in the Superstitions, and it plays a dominate role in the folklore of the region.  According to legend, a Don Miguel Peralta discovered a mother-lode of Gold in the Superstitions in the mid 1850s.  Tens of years later, a man by the name of Jacob Walters claimed to have "rediscovered" the Peralta mine.  Walters, a German immigrant known locally as "the Dutchman", never disclosed the location of the mine but the folklore has it that his mine lies within the shadow of the Weaver's needle.  Walters took the secret of the location of the mine to his grave in 1891 and since then "The Lost Dutchman's Mine" has eluded discovery.

Not only was this trip my introduction to the Superstition Mountains, it also provided me with one of the summer's most memorable "photo ops".  I came upon a collard lizard in all of his glorious colors, out in the open, on the top of a small boulder field beside the trail.  I managed to get rather close and took some great shots before other hikers happened by. 

Trekker