Peralta Trail

by Chris 4/17/2000

Following up on the misfortune of our last hike at National Trail, we set out early in order to hike the Superstition Wilderness' most popular trail: Peralta Trail. We headed out east on U.S. 60 and continued eight miles beyond Apache Junction, watching the signs for Forest Service road FS77 (between mileposts 204 and 205). We followed along the bumpy FS77 for 7.2 miles, grudgingly admiring the new homes sprouting up close to the main road. Not quite as displeased were we with the four dollar mandatory parking fee exerted at the parking lot from an automatic machine. Fortunately, we were able to pay with a credit card, sparing us a trip back down FS77 to the nearest gas station with an ATM.

After acquanting ourselves with the strange postings on the bulletin board, we headed up the first 2.25 miles of Peralta Trail towards Fremont Saddle. The trail slowly wound uphill at first, and we were surprised that it was difficult to follow in certain places, considering the popularity of the trail. Working with other hikers, however, we found our way. There was a fair bit of traffic along the path, but less than we had feared for this calm April morning. Halfway up, we found a peaceful, shady area for a quick water break, and while seated a hiker returning from the top warned us of an unruly rattlesnake 300 yards ahead.

However, we never encountered this snake, finding instead increasingly breathtaking viewpoints. The trail grew steeper and steeper, and for our efforts we were rewarded with dramatic views back down Peralta Trail behind us. In the last quarter mile of the trail, the scenery abruptly changes and the trail switchbacks the rest of the way to the top. We kept an eye out for the perhaps famous window-rock called the "eye on the trail," but never found it. Our disappointment was muted, though, by the view of Weaver's Needle at Fremont Saddle. There were a dozen or so other hikers congregated at the saddle, enjoying the views, fidgeting with GPS machines, and, in the case of the Boy Scouts, cooking lunch. We consulted one of the Scoutmasters as to an ideal route back down, having read that it was possible to take the lesser known Cave Trail back down. The Scoutmaster, however, convincingly warned against this, telling us that the trail hadn't been maintained for years and was difficult to follow.

So, instead, we followed Peralta Trail back down, enjoying the views of the canyon going down much more than those of our feet coming up. The descent was quite enjoyable, and we shaved a half hour off our time, finishing the trail in roughly 2.5 hours.