Josephine Peak Hike

It's hot in the valley but cool in the Santa Ritas so I head to Madera Canyon and begin hiking on the Old Baldy Trail.

The parking lot was fairly full but I encounter few people as I climb higher, headed towards....

....Josephine Saddle.  It took me under an hour to climb the 2.5 mile, 13% grade segment and well short of my PR but that's ok as I was not pushing the pace.  Usually, I continue on Baldy but this time, I jump on the Super Trail which goes counterclockwise around Mount Wrightson.  It is longer and not as steep as Baldy, both converging on Baldy Saddle.  I however....

....am not going to Baldy Saddle, below Wrightson, but instead to Riley Saddle.  I cross several rock falls.

The trail meanders in and out of drainages and I see no evidence of a saddle ahead but eventually, I round a corner and....

....aha!  That must be it.  I pass beneath an outcropping of rock and looking back....

....eerie. It looks like a person's skull protruding from the rock.  Do you see that?  Hiking alone, I was armed and prior to reaching this point, I had a round in the chamber.  I had a sense of unease and passing below that rock, there was a cave.  Ha,ha.  I'm not going down without a fight.  For my AZ followers, I never carry when in a group but if I hike alone in the wilderness, crazy not to.

The Super Trail could use some trail clearing.  This too makes me nervous when I can't see where my feet are trekking.  Not in the winter but summer?  

I reach Riley Saddle.  There is a notice from the Ranger District about not rebuilding a trail.  I peer into the....

....thicket.  It is .9 miles from here to Josephine Peak but regrowth after a 2003ish fire is thick.  I walk a bit farther and...

...it appears after crawling or pushing through the brush, the balance of the bushwhacking wouldn't be so bad.  In the morning, I read a couple of hiking reports and a group talked about encountering a cave with a bear in hibernation, another seeing 3 bears and in a rare case of common sense, decided to be patient and do it again with a hiking buddy.  

Great views and....

...this magnificent spread of a long dead tree was  good to see.

I turned around and began the descent with Mount Hopkins in the background.  Finished with 9 miles and 2600' of climbing.  I'm making it a habit to store a bottle of fluid in the freezer the evening prior to these hikes.  Gosh, does that cold fluid taste great on the return.