Trip to Willow Springs and back - 2008

[cubfan64]

Thanks everyone! I know it's not really as much "dutchman" related as some of the other stories people post, but since it has a tie-in to Adolph Ruth, I thought it at least had a place here.

There aren't too many more photos for me to post - unfortunately I'm usually much more interested in climbing, exploring, looking around and generally focused on what's going on around me and what I'm looking at and hate having to stop all the time to take photos and then make notes so I can remember where each one was taken etc... Most of my photos come at "break" times.

Despite the lack of photos, the last part of my journey was an "interesting" one and I'm sure at least some of you will find it amusing.

Tom K - I did find West Boulder Canyon to be quite rugged for the most part and worthy of alot more of my exploration time. I hope to get back that way possibly next spring for a week or so just to nose around - this time I'll stay camped back there. Can I assume that the stone corral was built by/for the Circle U cattle - either by Bark or Barkley?

[cubfan64]

The next set of photos starts with a few of the stone corral Tom K. mentioned earlier. Hopefully he can fill in some information as to when the corral was built and who built it.

After that, the rest of the photos are of the area right around the actual site of Willow Spring itself. It was really a wonderful day, and I spent a couple hours eating lunch, wandering around and taking a short nap. I didn't have any information to help me try to locate exactly where Adolph Ruth's camp was supposed to be where he was dropped off, but I found alot of areas where it could have been. Of course it would have been alot easier in March like this than the middle of summer when Ruth entered the mountains and was dropped off.

After this, I had to decide what to do because it was already starting to get late. I knew I couldn't get make it back the way I came especially if it started getting dark with no trail. I had enough stuff with me to make a fire and sleep for the night, but I much preferred getting back to the vehicle.

Eventually I decided to head N along West Boulder Canyon, past the base of Tim's Saddle and hook up with the Dutchman's Trail and follow that to Caballo Camp, but I'm getting ahead of myself - more photos tomorrow as well as a continuation of my story...

[cubfan64]

These are the final photos from this trip to Willow Springs. They include the photo near the base of Tim's Saddle, a couple from Caballo Camp and two of Weaver's Needle.











I spent a little time at Caballo Camp refilling my water and taking a dip to cool off in the well running water here.

I don't recall the time, but I know I was on track to make it to the Peralta Trailhead just before sunset if I kept up just normal pace.

I decided to follow the Dutchman Trail to Terrapin Trail and then connect up with Bluff Spring Trail and eventually to the trailhead.

I was going along just fine for the first 30 minutes or so when I wasn't paying close enough attention and stumbled sideways on a loose rock and dropped a few feet off the trail on left. I was fine except for a well twisted ankle, but figured I'd be fine as long as I just stayed on the trail.

My ankle quickly got more painful instead of loosening up as I kept walking. Before I knew it, I was probably walking at 1/3 of my normal pace and stopped now and then to rest it. I knew I wasn't going to make it to the trailhead now before dark, but I kept plodding along.

It was really neat to see how quickly the darkness started creeping into the canyons and how the temperature cooled off as the sun went down. I took my time though, and eventually had to pull out a flashlight to make the last hour or so. It was never spooky, but at one point I considered just moving off the trail a few feet, starting a small fire and just sleeping against a rock until sunrise the next morning, but I knew I wouldn't sleep all that much and decided as long as the batteries in the flashlight held out, I'd keep going.

Eventually I got to the Peralta Trailhead and had just the last mile walk or so down the road to where my rental truck was parked at the Carney Spring trailhead area.

I was just coming up to near the Don's Club campsite when I saw headlights approaching on the road. It was close to 10:30 or so and I wasn't absolutely sure it would be a good idea to run across a vehicle at that time of night, so I sort of moved off the road a little bit just until they passed.

The vehicle stopped a couple hundred yards ahead of me and I could hear lots of shouting and yelling from what sounded like male and female teenagers. All of a sudden I heard a BUNCH of gunfire and lots of hooting, hollering and laughing. At that point I moved WAY off the road and decided to sit this one out until they moved on. I assumed they were just drunk teenagers out tring to impress one another with their guns, but it didn't seem like a good idea for me to get involved.

It took about 20-30 minutes before they ran out of either ammo or interest and sped off in the other direction, at which point I walked the rest of my way to my truck fully expecting to find 4 flat tires.

As luck would have it, they hadn't used my vehicle for target practice, so I hopped in and drove back to Apache Junction. I was camping at Lost Dutchman State Park, but it was about 11:30 pm and I was sore, tired, dirty as heck and the last thing I wanted to do was sleep on the ground in a tent, so I wussed out and got a room for the night at the Best Western in town, picked up something to eat from a convenience store and had a NICE LONG COOL SHOWER and a good nights sleep.

My ankle was sore but fine by the next morning and I had a great rest of the trip, but I learned alot about hiking out in the Superstitions during that 24 hours!

[roc2rol]

Ha ha Paul !
I would have wussed out too
Give me the room & convenience

I really enjoyed your trip!
I never explored the Supers
well not much
so its nice to sit in my air-conditioned room
walk the trail with you
& the picture are excellent !

Yet this one really caught my attention



That end spire to the right center
looks like a human head profile
Geronimo told tales of such a rock…
Thanks!
Ed

[cubfan64]

Thanks roc - I've barely even touched the Superstitions as far as hiking/exploring goes, but it's nice to share some photos and descriptions for those folks who can't get out there.

You're right that it definitely looks like the profile of a head, but I can tell you from even my teeny bit of experience, once you get up near the hoodoos and spires up there, it seems like 10 steps changes the perspective and shadows and another face/profile pops up in another spot. They're EVERYWHERE out there if you really look for them.

In fact, I think that's one of the issues treasure hunters face out there is "seeing things" in every rock and shadow that looks like it could be man made, or nature made but used as a "monument" or other such pointer to something. In my opinion at least, very very few of them are anything more than nature's artwork.

It's quite likely there WERE a few obvious markers out there at one time, but I would guess most of them have been torn down and destroyed many years ago and there's probably alot of fake ones that have been put up over the years as well.

Glad you like my photos and story though. I'll work on another one soon.
Paul

[Jim Hatt]

It's a great story Paul and the photos are wonderful too.

I hope Tom K. does chime in and tell us about some the history of the area, and post additional photos as well.

Nice Job!

Jim

[Exploration Fawcett]

Paul:
Thank you for the information and great photos.

I have enjoyed reading your posts and observing your photos.

Thank you for sharing with all of us.

Very Respectfully

George

[LDMGOLD]

Cubfan:

Here is a photo of the old stone corral in West Boulder taken about 1962. This is one of my old 35 mm slides.




I have a hundred photos of West Boulder and Old West Boulder, but they are old slides taken in the early sixties.
I will post a couple. Over the years there has been a lot of prospecting and digging southeast of Willow Springs up West Boulder Canyon. There is little evidence of it today. Edwards, Hinchcliffe, Howard, Braun, Hoppenpyle, Morse, Johnson and other spent their time digging some interesting holes in West Boulder Canyon.

The canyon is really rough and brushy. Moving cattle in that canyon in the early day was no easy task. Cowboys were not worth a damn, we used dogs to get them down to the old stone corral. Your photo shows well beaten down stone corral compared to my photos.

Take care,

Tom K.

[LDMGOLD]

Cubfan:

Here is another photo taken from high up in Old West Boulder looking down into West Boulder Canyon. You can see the tip of Weaver's Needle left of the saddle on Burbridge Ridge. I am on the horse trail the goes up and around the box in West Boulder where the huge boulder is. Years ago you could get a horse over that area, but I believe it is impossible today. Taking the upper trail required a couple extra miles of riding to get to Willow Springs and the corral. Tom K.

[LDMGOLD]

Cubfan:

I believe that corral was built by a group of Mexicans for Mart Charlebois. I was told the corral was built in the late 1880's after the
surrender of Geronimo and the Apaches. I don't believe Bark became involved with the Quarter Circle U until 1891. The old stone corral in West Boulder was used by cattlemen on the northwest end of the mountain (First Water and etc.). Barkley acquired the ranches in 1907 with a partner. He operated the Barkley Cattle Company until his death in 1955. it was then taken over by his son William T. Barkley who passed on in 1967. Kenneth McCollugh managed the ranch until it sold. The old stone corral in West Boulder Canyon predates all of the contemporary cattlemen in this area.

Excuse my grammar and spelling, Tom K.