Other summits in Sups? - Similar to Battleship Mtn

[sscalzo]

I'm planning a 2-3 night trip into the Sups Dec/Jan and wanted some advice on summiting something comparable to Battleship Mtn. I did Battleship Mountain in the past and was blown away by how awesome that was! I won't have ropes and not interested in anything that is significantly more technical than Battleship. I thought that was the perfect hike because there were some challenging areas but nothing too technical that required ropes or too much exposure.

Thanks...

[joebartels]

The route to Malapais gives breath taking views over Battleship. It's not technical but it's all off trail.

[BobP]

Geromino Head and Malapais are pretty sweet....no technical stuff. The views are amongst my favorite in AZ... You can see the whole Battleship from Geronimo Head.

[BobP]

great minds think alike...i just type slower

[wallyfrack]

I like the Bluff Spring Mountain Summit via the Ely-Anderson spur trail. Nice views of Weaver's Needle, the Ridgeline, Black Top Mesa etc.

[nonot]

I like the views from Black Top Mesa. Black Mtn has good views. Bluff Spring Mtn is nice.

[sscalzo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've researched them all and have a lot on my to-do hiking list...

My next trip will be over NY Eve and I'll be spending 2 nights. I'm brainstorming some ideas for a nice loop over the 3 days. If anyone has any suggestions on this itinerary I came up with, please let me know.

START - Day 1: First Water TH
head up 2nd water trail (since we'll be taking Dutchman on the way back, figure I'll do this since it's different stretch?)
down Black Mesa Trail to Black Top Mesa Summit
down Terrapin towards base of Weavers Needle – Anywhere to camp along Northern Base of needle, up high enough to get good views? I’ve camped on the southern tip. Or other camping suggestions?

Day 2: Leave Needle base to Terrapin to Ely Anderson up the west face to Black Spring Mtn Summit
Down SE face to Dutchman and head up towards Charlebois Canyon – I haven't been here before. Probably night two around here? Any suggestions?

Day 3: Dutchman Trail from Charlebois back to First Water Trailhead.

As I write this I realize we may be out of water by day 2 morning so I may need to rethink all of this... Is water at the Charlebois spring pretty dependable? Anywhere else?

[Tough_Boots]

Black Top Mesa would be a nice place to camp-- amazing view of the needle (if you want views from the north, this is your spot).
http://www.hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=168645

Doing 2nd Water to Boulder Canyon to Cavalry and then cutting up to Black Top Mesa is a pretty nice route and will have less people on it then the Black Mesa Trail. Then you could do even do Black Mesa Trail on the way back instead of Dutchman. The Dutchman from Boulder Canyon back to First Water TH is a snore-- 4 dull miles that seem to never end.

Charlebois Spring had a nice deep pool this past weekend and is as reliable as it gets in the Supes!
http://www.hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=168642

[nonot]

Something else to keep in mind is that there isn't that much water out there right now. We are going to need a good rain in order to be able to expect water to be anywhere except reliable sources in the area (LaBarge, Charlesbois).

Day 1: I'm not sure I follow - Dutchman-2nd water-black-mesa-bull pass-black top mesa-bull pass-dutchman-terrapin-off trail towards the needle...with a backpack? Seems like too much distance and AEG for a beginner backpack trip (maybe your group is experienced?). Unless we get rain, this goes nowhere near a reliable source of water.

Decent camping can be found on the dutchman near the intersection of dutchman and terrapin. Off trail towards the needle you have a few options, but nothing is established in these areas that I know about.

Day 2: I think you mean Bluff Spring Mtn. Going up the west side won't be fun with a backpack, but it's possible. My understanding is the Ely Anderson trail runs from the summit east to Bluff Springs, the west side isn't much of a "trail", a drainage gets you halfway there though. There are plenty of campsites around Charlesbois.

Day 3 sound fine.

Generally I would be concerned with your group's skills in navigation and time management for your tour de Supes. You have not picked an itinerary that is very forgiving. And I can't figure out your level of outdoor proficiency from your limited profile, so I will err on the side of caution and say you have put too much on your plate.

[sscalzo]

Thanks! I really appreciate all this.

I'm changing my plan completely now to focus more on water sources. I'll likely start at Peralta TH and head up to Bluff Springs Summit and then camp somewhere between LaBarge spring and Charlebois. For the 2nd day, I'm not sure, but like end up on the top of Black Top Mesa or near for night 2 then head down Peralta trail back to trailhead.

[JoelHazelton]

I would agree the original itinerary is a little intense. Your latest plan sounds great, though. Bluff Springs Mountain and Black Top Mesa are both amazing summits in my opinion. If you're going to summit Bluff Spr Mtn your first day, then camp near Charlebois, I would suggest dropping your packs somewhere near Bluff Springs, then daypacking up the Ely Anderson to the summit and returning via the same trail. I've accessed that mountain via three different routes and Ely Anderson is the only one that would be all that reasonable with an overnight pack. If you're going to do that both ways you might as well just haul up a daypack. You could also camp on top of Bluff Springs Mountain (something that will happen in my near future), but then you're nowhere near a water source. I camped on top of Black Top Mesa about 2 years ago; the last light of the evening on Weavers Needle is amazing from up there.

Have fun on your trip, sounds like it will be a blast!

[nonot]

I agree w/everything Joel said. Enjoy your trip!

[sscalzo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Our trip over NY weekend followed the "dripping springs super loop" and we also spent an entire day on a side trip up randolph canyon and then bush wacked a route up the southern face of LaBarge mtn to the summit.

I'm new and not sure what the deal is with these triplogs? I noticed under the dripping springs super loop there were some people that just put that hike and others that put that hike and also linked each of the individual segments? What's the correct way to be doing this?

Thanks

[joebartels]

The only wrong way is not posting
If the exact hike you did is listed then it's best to post under that description name. Otherwise I go with the first leg or majority of the hike then link the rest.

With the Dripping Springs Super Loop they're probably linking the others so they check off as "Done" in TrailDEX, which is fine too. Which under a thing called triplog Analysis will show how many unique trails you hiked.

Holy mother of pearl I just realized I'm way down to 43rd place in elevation for the year