We drove to the First Water Trailhead in Tonto National Forest to hike the Second Water Trail to Boulder Canyon in the Superstition Wilderness. This was about 7.3 miles round trip with 800 ft of loss/gain. There was a rain storm last night with temperatures dropping below freezing. So we found water in the desert and some snow covered mountain. View looking toward a snowy Superstition Mountain in the background from the parking area at First Water Trailhead.
The trail begins along the Lost Dutchman Trail, and at 0.3 miles we took the turn off onto Second Water Trail. For the first mile or so, we would have views of Superstition Mountain. We also found water in usually dry washes.
A little green pool near the trail
There were also red rocks.
We enjoyed mostly blue skies on this chilly morning.
The trail traverses through Garden Valley, where we found a few wildflowers and some snow on dead cacti.
Looking back across Garden Valley to Superstition Mountain
After Garden Valley, we began to have views of Battleship Mountain and Geronimo Head.
To the northeast in the clouds we saw Four Peaks.
zoom of snow covered Four Peaks in the clouds
The trail then descends through Second Water Canyon
To the south, we had a distant view of Weaver's Needle.
More water in Second Canyon
Boulder Canyon lies between the rock formation mid photo and Battleship Mountain in the background.
There was a lot of water in Boulder Canyon, we explored the area near the trail junction and took a lunch break here. Gorgeous views!!!
As we headed back up through Second Canyon, we stopped to turn around and enjoy the views of where we had been.
Back in Garden Valley, we find Superstition Mountain is still snowy.
Rock formation on top looks like a snail.
More desert rocks as we continued towards the Lost Dutchmant Trail and our trailhead.
some of the wildflowers we saw along the trail today:
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