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With summer running out, and my “bucket list” trails of Humphries Peak and Four Peaks looking like it wasn’t going to happen, I decided to tackle one of the local trails that I had been interested in, the Peralta Canyon Trail in the Superstition mountain range. It is relatively close to Mesa, just past Gold Canyon on US60 (just say No to saying “The” US-60), and even though the last 6 miles were a pretty rough dirt road, by most trailhead standards, it was a pretty easy drive.

When I go to the parking lot, it was quite full. This was still in the monsoon season. This particular day was quite humid and supposed to get into the low 100s. I arrived about 10am. The Dacite Cliffs loom large from the parking lot, but luckily, that’s not what you climb directly. As I headed up the trail, about a 1400 foot climb, it reminded of my other Superstitions adventure, Siphon Draw. This was more like the first part of it, not the pseudo-scramble second part. It didn’t take long before the parking lot, or any sign of civilization, disappeared.