Weaver's Needle Hike

The Queen Valley Wednesday Hiking Group met up at the pickleball courts and divided the troops into cars and trucks. The Peralta Trailhead was our starting point for a 6-mile hike up to Fremont Saddle. This hike ascends 1400 ft from the trailhead to the saddle where you get a spectacular view of Weaver's Needle. Because hikers consider this to be one of the must-do hikes of this region, Linda and I were really looking forward to this adventure.

We left the trailhead at 8:55 AM and climbed a beautiful trail up over rocks, on switchbacks, and hard rock; a rigorous hike in the morning sun. The scenery on the way up was stunning. When we hit the saddle we were treated to a spectacular panoramic view of the volcanic plug called Weaver's Needle. 

At this point, many of the group ate lunch. Others hiked the additional 1/4 mile to a tree for a closer view of the Needle.  The pictures taken from this viewpoint do not do justice to the landscape before your eyes. The vista is breathtaking and the height of the sheer dropoffs surrounding the point does not come through in the photos.

While the group that hiked to the tree ate lunch, the rest of the group started hiking back down to the rigs. I was with the group at the tree and once we finished our snacks, we hustled back down the trail.  This hike took us 5:02:55 to complete. I can assure you that Linda and I were tired when we got home. We hit the hot tub and soaked some very tired muscles.

Holes & Hohokam

There are signs left by ancient peoples all over this area. In the short time, we have been here, we have visited at least six places where these people have left either pictograph, pottery shards, dwelling walls, or other signs of their lives in the past. 

Today, I went with Rolly Jurgens on a Razor ride to some pictographs and then to some holes in rocks that were said to be made by the Hohokam Indians. (Link takes you to the Wikipedia page for Hohokam Culture.) It is said they inhabited this area about 300 to 1700 AD and left all sorts of signs for us to wonder about.

The holes in the rocks are very interesting. These are said to be carved into the very hard stone by the Hohokam as they ground seeds to make the flour they would bake and then eat. They definitely do not look natural and very much look to be man-made. 

Both Rolly and I had many questions that we could not answer. Why were they located at this spot?  The area where the pottery shards are abundant is much farther upstream. Why would they camp so far away from their seed grinding spot? Did they farm the flats near the rock holes and then use the grinding holes next to the fields and carry the final ground product up to the living site in clay pots?  We talked and talked about all these questions, most of which we may never know the answers to.

The holes in the rock are said to be used to grind seeds.

A pottery shard found on a
"bench" above the stream bed.

Telegraph Canyon Hike

Picket Post Mountain

This week's Wednesday hiking group hike had us heading east to Superior and then into the hills at the base of Picket Post Mountain. Twenty-two hikers gathered at the trailhead and then made their way into Telegraph Canyon for a five-mile hike. This was a very nice, easy hike up several canyons. Our trail followed the creek bed through Arnett Canyon. We left Arnett and followed Telegraph Canyon for a bit. This trail led us to a beautiful open area with canyon walls in front of us. We stopped and ate our lunches there. The scenery was great and so was the company.

Go right at the Teddy Bear/Duck???

Riding the trail.

Lunch stop at the turnaround point.

They called this The Monolith.

Dave Bloom found this arrowhead in our parking lot.