After parking at the First Water Trailhead, Paul Pastore and I started hiking on the First Water Trail. After 5 or 6 mins we came to the sign for Second Water. We had hiked the First Water Trail a couple of months prior and fell in love with the Superstitions. There are so many trails to explore and wide panoramic views from each summit. This trail starts out fairly level crossing a couple of dry creek beds and is easy to navigate. After 1.8 miles we came to the junction for the Black Mesa Trail. We continued straight through Garden Valley and Second Water Canyon until we reached the Boulder Canyon Trail which we hiked last October. At this point, we had hiked 3.5 miles. We turned back the way we came. It was a perfect sunny day in December 2014 and great time to enjoy the beauty of the Superstitions.
Treasure Loop is a moderate 2.4 mile loop trail in the Superstition Mountains. It was just after New Year's 2015 and it had snowed a couple of days before. It's rare and beautiful to see snow on the Superstition Mountains and cacti. The elevation gain of the trail is 460'. I would like to visit this trail again in the spring time as it is known for it's abundance of wildflowers.
Telegraph Pass is a popular trail on the South side of South Mountain. We have hiked this trail before and appreciate it's close proximity to Phoenix/Chandler also it only takes a couple of hours to hike the 3 miles RT. The first 1/4 mile is paved and the trail is well marked. A lot of people bring their dogs (or horses!). There are some interesting petroglyphs along the way.
