Mark's Cycling & Hiking Blog
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups
  • Home
  • Mark's Cycling Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Boulder Canyon Posts
  • Cycling Event Meet-Ups

Cave Trail, Superstitions

2/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A group hike I organized for this Saturday, had us hiking down the Peralta Trail, which I have done way too many times.  Above Peralta is a little known alternative, the Cave Trail.  Been a few years since I hiked that and on-line descriptions were alarming enough that it undermined my route finding confidence.  At home on Thursday, I thought, "Well damn.  I better check it out" so here I am, ascending the Bluff Springs Trail.
Picture
Bluff Springs is a rapid elevation gain type trail, ha, ha.  Looking back I see the parking area and soon, gain a ridge with....
Picture
....awesome views of the interior of the Supes.  The Cave Trail breaks left off Bluff Springs and is more obvious then the last time I hiked it.  I caught a foursome who only had a vague idea of where they were going.  I gave as much information as I could to help out.
Picture
I heard them discuss their plans, which included following me.  After climbing a bit, I watched to make sure they did not follow my route. They never would have made it.
Picture
Sometimes, people have placed objects on a breaking right or left trail to keep me on the correct route.  Probably all trails lead to the same place but who knows?  I tried not to check a gps route I had on my phone as I enjoy the route finding challenge but a couple of times, I had no choice.
Picture
One of the many nice things about this route is while I am hiking in solitude, far below me, the masses hike the Peralta Trail and we're all going to the same destination; Fremont Saddle.
Picture
I remember from a prior visit that the dome in the distance is the mid hike objective. The challenging route is up the ridge facing me.  There is a less challenging route to the right.  Soon, I arrived at....
Picture
....this.  Rarely does an image accurately capture the slope but this one does.  There are enough pockets on the surface to make the wall climbable.  This was one time I checked the gps route as I walked to the right and left but nope, ya gotta go up this.  Once I reached the top I realized....
Picture
....yep, this is the correct route as I encountered the "Devil's Bathtub."  This brought a sigh of relief, confirming I was on the same route as I previously hiked and understanding, the worse was over.
Picture
I scrambled up a series of drainages, rounded a corner at the top to my left and soon....
Picture
....hiked past several caves, one of which is known as "Geronimo's Cave".  
Picture
One of the alcoves used to have many rock stacks but someone has torn them all down.  Over time, they'll be rebuilt as it was a neat sight.
Picture
I frequently hear faint voices coming from Peralta Canyon but I have largely oblivious to the people below.
Picture
Most of the time there is no real route finding but when the route crosses broad expanses of rock, it takes some time to figure the way forward.  There are some but not many cairns.
Picture
The route briefly enters a burn area and then ends at the trail coming off Fremont Saddle to the Lone Pine tree.  It took me 2:06 to cover the 3 miles from the parking lot...not good.  But, with the route finding mystery solved, I figured I'd make the return in a better time and did, 1:10.
Picture
This is such a more enjoyable alternative to Peralta.  I'm looking forward to showing this to the group.  In the distance, Miner's Needle.  Doing a group hike around that beast in a couple of weeks.  Finished with 5.6 miles and 1300' of climbing.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

    Categories

    All
    April
    California Riding
    Grand Canyon Backpacking
    March
    The Characters

    Archives

    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.