Unfortunately, not many pictures on this last day of hiking in the Superstition Mountains. We hiked the Siphon Draw Trail from the campground to an area called the Basin. The elevation at the campground was approximately 2,000 feet and we climbed 1,100 feet to the Basin. Paul labeled it "an efficient route uphill" ... code words for steep, straight up, rocky climb with no level stretches. We were in the sun (I kept hoping for the shade of the canyon) most of the way until we crossed into the draw of the canyon.
We rested at the Basin, a small pond of water attracting countless bees in the crux of the rhyolite that had been eroded by the water falling off of the cliffs above. In the shade it became quite cool ... on with the jackets. We watched a parade of younger souls trek on above the Basin on their way to the Flatiron. The Flatiron is at 4,861' elevation in just over a mile beyond the Basin (an additional 1,700 feet of elevation in a mile). The trail is not maintained above the Basin and we had already encountered difficult trail conditions, boulder hopping, trail scrounging ... we decided to leave the summit of the Flatiron to younger, hardier souls and headed back down.
We are heading out tomorrow morning to return to Tucson. We accomplished a few goals: 1) To re-connect with the system of state parks. This was a pleasant state park with electricity and water, well-spaced sites, well-tended facilities, and picturesque scenery just outside of our door and 2) To prove to ourselves that we can take a quick trip without having to commit to long distance driving or long periods of time, and 3) Paul also managed to do a brief "winterizing" of Bambi before colder temperatures hit Tucson.
This is our brief, but spectacular take on getting away in Bambi !
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