We went in at the First Water trailhead. I'd hiked along Second Water trail with Elizabeth earlier in the year, an I knew that there were good campsites along the trail after it crosses First Water Creek, so we wouldn't have to walk more than about half a mile. There would be other campsites about 1.5 miles in, on top of a Mesa in an area called Garden Valley. Since the forecast was for some wind, I didn't really want to camp in Garden Valley, since it is higher, flat and exposed to the wind.
John was carrying his sleeping bag, pad, clothes and water. I had the tent, food, cook gear and my sleeping gear. We walked in without any troubles, and did walk past where we ended up camping -John wasn't ready to stop yet - continuing on for about 1/4 mile more. At that point, John was getting a bit tired - the weight of the water was causing most trouble so I took that from him. Since it was a ways to the next camping site we decided to turn back to the big meadow and setup near the back of that area. There was a tree between us and the trail, we were about 150 feet off the trail, and there was a hill to the east to keep the wind away.
No problems with setting up the tent, and the sun was set by the time we started eating, but it wasn't too dark. Part of my goal with this trip was to get rid of some freeze-dried food - I don't like all of the sodium in the commercial backpacking food and plan to get more into making and drying my own food for future trips. Because we had the freeze-dried food, all I brought for cook gear was a kettle, some bowls and utensils - along with a backpacking stove and fuel. We finished eating and cleaning up before it got really dark - but it did start getting colder pretty fast, and there were a lot of mosquitos. I haven't had to deal with mosquitos on any trip in Arizona in the last 5 years, this trip they were really out in force. The Superstition Wilderness is generally a desert area, but there are creeks and we have had rain recently. While I didn't see water in the creek, I know from experience that there would be pools of water further up in the creek - ideal breeding places for mosquitos. I was glad for the tent to keep the bugs off us, and somewhat distressed at the number of them that got in while we were getting into the tent... John was ready to get into the tent right after finishing eating - he was cold, and had been walking around to try and keep warm and to keep the mosquitoes from landing on him.
Asleep by 8pm, warm and cozy in our sleeping bags. John slept well through the night, though we both were initially a little warm (it had been 78 that day) and then cold. When the wind did blow, we could feel that through the tent - whether it was coming under the fly and then through the mesh of the tent, or through the vents at the top, I could feel a breeze inside the tent. It was pretty cold by morning, with a low temp below 50 degrees. This was the first time camping in the area where I didn't hear coyotes during the night - just birds and crickets - and a surprising number of planes after taking off from Phoenix Sky Harbor. It is amazing how noticeable the sound of the planes is when the other city noises aren't present. We were too close to Phoenix to see much more in the way of stars in the sky - and the full moon made it easy to see outside without lights.
We were up a little before sunrise. Because of the hill to the east, we didn't get sun at our site until about 25 minutes after I first saw the mountains around us illuminated. The early morning sun on the red and yellow rocks is beautiful, and something worth some discomfort to experience. A quick breakfast, pack up and we were on our way back to the car around 8AM, reaching the parking lot about 20 minutes later, and getting home by 9AM.
What worked and what didn't
Since this is a bit of a shakedown, I think its worthwhile to look at what gear did its work and what gear didn't - something that will be useful as I move towards my goal of backpacking into the Grand Canyon.
Tent - I used a REI Passage 2 tent. The tent is small, good for two people, and pretty light. The only advantage that it had over sleeping on a ground-cloth (for this trip) is that it had mesh to keep the mosquitos out. The tent is good for summer camping where good ventilation is desired to keep cool, it has a lot of mesh on the sides and doors. It keeps out rain well (I've experienced that several times now), but doesn't keep out the wind well, or keep heat inside. For this time of year, and the temperatures I would have preferred less mesh. Between the temperature in the tent, and my sleeping bag, I was fairly chilly in the morning. So, works, but I note that I'd want a more closed up tent, and maybe a warmer sleeping bag.
Sleeping bag - Sierra Designs, I'm not sure the model or the temperature rating. I've had temperature control problems with this bag before - on this trip I was comfortable, then warm, then really cold. Probably some issues with sweat when I was warm, which then condensed in the bag and decreased its effectiveness. Based on this trip and some others, I think that its about a 40 degree bag, a little uncomfortable below 50 degrees. For any real trip I'd prefer a bag that is smaller and lighter - and probably need one with a lower temperature rating. (It is fairly sad that I was cold on this trip - the forecast for Mesa was a low of 51, in the wilderness and a little higher it probably got down to 48).
Pack - I used a really old Jansport external frame pack. While we only hiked a total of 1 mile on this trip, I can see it either needs some adjustment, or I need an upgrade. There was some pressure point on my right hip after about half a mile that would have become really uncomfortable on a longer walk, and the right shoulder strap started a little uncomfortable - but I was able to adjust that (I think). Lots of room I didn't need on this short trip. Probably still OK - I'll need to take some longer walks with the weighted pack to make sure it doesn't hurt me.
Stove - I have a nameless IsoButane backpacking stove off Amazon - cheap, small and pretty reliable. No problems on this trip, it was able to boil 30 ounces of water for coffee/hot chocolate in about 4 minutes. I did crack the insulator on the ignitor riser, so might expect some trouble in the future...
Clothing - this is a weird time of year in terms of what clothing is needed. I used everything I brought. When we started, it was good short-sleeves and shorts weather, changing to long-sleeves weather after dark. The morning needed a fleece jacket and a warmer hat - John took my gloves. Most of the bulk in the pack was clothing for the night-time and morning when it would be cold. By the time we got back to the car I wanted short-sleeves again.
Things I brought and didn't use - I had a small tarp which probably should have been left at home - I didn't expect to need it, and wouldn't have needed it based on the weather forecast unless to act as a wind-block if we weren't sleeping in the tent. About 1 pound which could have been left.
Water treatment - I brought along a Steripen just in case we got delayed. We had enough water (even came back with 1 liter) so this was just an emergency item. Lightweight and small, so not a big problem to carry. This time of year it isn't too hard to find water in the Superstitions, May and June are a different story...
I had other emergency items which thankfully didn't get used - first aid kit, map, compass, alternate fire-starting means.
This was a fun little trip. The Superstition wilderness is within an hours drive, and there is a lot of space to explore. Plenty of overnight routes are available, so it should be easy for me to leave Friday afternoon and return Saturday - even if we do a longer route. The only problem is that summer is coming - probably another 6-8 weeks of opportunities and then it will be too hot to venture into the wilderness. Summer camping takes a 2-4 hour drive to get into the mountains, where there are plenty of other trails in the National Forests. A lot of Arizona is public lands and forests (even if some of the forests are short on trees) - there is a ton of places to explore and should keep me busy for several years. Hopefully I'll get out to explore a bit more and can post more about those travels as time goes by. (I know, its been 2 years since my last post!)
