Overnight Hike in the Sup's

Kevin, Jacopone, and I recently ventured out into the Superstition Wilderness.  The plan was to climb to the top of Weaver's Needle, then camp nearby.  We didn't bring any climbing gear, however, because of the weight, which prevented us from reaching the top.  We had enough weight with water.  The first photos are from Fremont Saddle, looking at the Needle.

 

These next photos are at the bottom, then up, the "crack" in the Needle.

 

 

We got pretty far up the crack before realizing we couldn't make it all the way up.  From here we headed back down the trail to the valley below, then turned right, following that creek run farther in to our campsite.  We knew the trail would meet up with another, just not how far.  As it turned out, not too far, thankfully, esp. for Kevin.


These next photos are on the ledge on the way down from the crack.

 

About an hour before it got dark we settled on a camp site, one that already had a fire pit and some ground cleared.  Jacopone dragged over a huge tree while Kevin and I started the fire with some standard brush. Kevin and Jacopone enjoyed a chili/Top Ramen combination, while I subsided on Clif bars.

 My sleeping bag was too thin so I didn't sleep at all, but K and J slept like babies.  In the morning we ate a little chow, broke camp, and headed out.  We ended up missing the easy route back but still had a nice hike out.  We saw a good-sized, bright-orange-spotted Gila monster and a number of other cool sights, including future camping spots with ample water.  By the time we got home Sun. afternoon, we were pretty pooped.