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Peralta Trail in the Superstition Mountains might very well be the area’s most popular trail. The parking lot(s) always seem to be packed, and there are many folks enjoying the trek up to Fremont Saddle. Of course, the main idea is to get a close-up view of the famous Weaver’s Needle.

Last sunny Sunday, Erin and I set out on this very trail with friends Aaron and Jenny. It was warm, and we soon shedded our windbreakers and fleece jackets. There wasn’t much water in the canyon itself, but the area looked suprisingly green! Our plan was to head up to the saddle, eat a snack, and then come down the Cave Trail to complete the loop.

Once we hit Fremont Saddle the wind kicked up and made it a bit chillier. The view was wonderful, and we sat down on some rocks to rest and fill our tummies. About that time, a fellow hiker came by with three dogs. He asked about the Cave Trail as a possible return route, and I showed him on our map how to get down it. Then Erin suggested (after seeing how cute and well-behaved the three dogs were) that Richard, JJ, Roxy, and Mia join us for the trip down to the cars.

The dogs, all three Jack Russell terriers, were great! They had some mild catastrophes along the Cave Trail involving cactus, but it was solved in a jiffy and they were troopers and fun to hike with. The Cave Trail is exciting, with lots of great views down Peralta and Barks canyons. The trail is hard to find at certain points, but I knew where we were headed in a general sense, and we just followed cairns and the natural flow of the rock.

The Cave Trail isn’t recommended by the rangers, though, since it isn’t a maintained trail. In fact, the ranger at the trailhead said: “It’s my favorite hike, but I don’t recommend it.” We had a good laugh at that one! We also noticed two or three other groups of hikers that started out from Fremont Saddle on the Cave Trail, only to turn around and give up after some frustration. We persevered, and it was worth it.

All in all, it was a fun time. For pictures, see our photo album and also Aaron’s Flickr page.