Superstitions/AZT Route Recs/Feedback for next week

[hawaiiplants]

I'm looking for some recs/feedback on a route for what will really be my first truly UL backpacking adventure. After my trail racing plans for the summer were derailed by some injuries, I decided to wait until I could get healthy and get out for an adventure and it's time. Considering the time of year and the (relative) ease of travel from Hawaii, I have decided on heading to Arizona to the Superstitions (and/or the broader area). I've finally got my kit dialed (I'm sure it's not dialed and I'll be crawling back here in a couple weeks figuring out how to improve things). I'll be traveling this weekend and starting on Monday-- a bit of a last minute route planning hear, but things have been so busy and I'm so ready to get out there. This seems like a great area to really push myself with my UL kit and I'm hoping to do some big days on this terrain!

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some general, and more specific route advice for the area. I'm looking to do a route that is in the 95-115 mile range. Initially, I was planning to come up with a loop-ish route starting on the West side of the Superstitions and returning to my rental car. It looks like it's fairly easy to cover a ton of ground in the West portion and on the AZT in the east, but the trails in between get very little traffic. I'm ok with that, but would love some beta on just how feasible connecting those sections will be.

Lately however, I've been wondering-- am I better off getting a shuttle North and doing as long of a section of the AZT in the area I can, including the Superstitions. Looks like there are some shuttles that might do the trick, and I could do a pretty cool point to point...

Would love to get feedback from locals and/or folks that have been out there recently and opinions on how to play this. If I go with the later, I was looking at Saddle Mountain Passage through Reavis, but am super flexible depending on trailhead shuttle logistics, which I am really just starting to dig into.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@hawaiiplants
I'm still a newbie, but have done part of the AZT's Saddle Mountain, Little Saddle Mountain, Sunflower. (And two sections of the AZT south of the Superstitions.)

My recommendation is the AZT. First, it has maintainers, and is somewhat maintained. (More so than trails in the Supes?) Second, it is well traveled. So, unlike trails in the Supes that have "very little traffic," there is a lot of current near realtime data about conditions on the AZT. For example, I've been watching thru-hikers on the AZT's Water Report page (which is a subset of FarOut) and reading about Water Reports. It's still somewhat dry southeast of Sunflower. Also there will be reports about the tread after rains/snow.

It's cold here now - especially for those of us acclimated to warmer climes - which might include those from Hawaii. So 1) the days are short, 2) the nights are cold (colder in the mountains), and I read that 3) sometimes the water sources are frozen up north.

I like loops for the same reason that you do. (Park car, come back later.) That's about the only advantage that I can see to your Supe Loop plan. (It does help that the east part is part of the AZT. So what I said above will be applicable there.) But others will chime in and give you better information.

[hawaiiplants]

@TooOld2Hike_EP

Yeah, water is my main concern, especially in the southern part of the Supes. I have a loop I like the look of, but not sure about water.

I could shuttle North, then finish in the Supes, leaving the AZT to cross to the Western part of the Supes to finish.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether a shuttle service might be able to get me to Mt Peely TH? If not, I could get a shuttle to Sunflower/Bushnell Tanks and start on that passage, one further south from Peely. Looks like I could even get a slightly pricey uber up to there.

[hikeaz]

@hawaiiplants
Not current, but should likely mostly apply in the west side. Recent(ish) fires on the EAST side have diminished the beauty, but for the most part helped the brush choked sections.
[ photoset ]

[ShatteredArm]

If you're doing a loop, I'd consider a general plan of using Randolph and/or Fraser Canyons one way (might be able to find water in Randolph Canyon or Dripping Spring, possibly head up to Rogers Trough, Reavis Ranch, and down to the West Pinto drainage via either Fireline/Campaign or West Pinto (haven't seen this trail since the Woodbury fire so YMMV). You could also take Reavis Trail N to Frog Tanks and down to Angel Basin, and return via JF trail and Peters Trail to Dutchman. Or if you want to do more AZT, you could do the section up to Cottonwood Creek, but you'd either have to do an out-and-back or walk the Apache Trail back to Reavis TH or Tortilla TH.

Biggest problem will probably be water; it did rain a bit last weekend, but it was pretty dry for the couple months leading up to it. I'll bet there will be water here and there, but the only place I feel like I could count on is Reavis Ranch.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@hawaiiplants
So what did you decide?

P.S. Temperatures here are forecast to be warmer this coming week.