A Bigger Yes in the Shadow of Weaver's Needle
Weaver's Needle
up the Terrapin
Weaver's Needle another view
We chose to go clockwise because of the sun.
Every trail guide I've read since says to go counterclockwise. For better views. And because of the wicked Terrapin trail.
But we knew none of this when we started out on a 12.9-mile loop through the Superstition Mountains. The plan was to take six miles on the Peralta (trail 102) where it connected to the Dutchman (trail 104) to the Terrapin (234) for the final jaunt on Bluff Springs (235) back to the parking lot. We began at 8:40 a.m. for an adventure that hikearizona.com describes as one heck-of-a-loop hike.
No flowering plants were in evidence as we began the hike through the desert riparian landscape, passing canyon ragweed, bursage, and jojoba bushes with their waxy teardrop leaves pointing upward. The morning sun felt comfortable as we climbed the switchbacks up to the saddle where we enjoyed the view of Weaver's Needle that is most photographed by tourists, its 1220-foot spire a prominent figure on maps and in local legends where lost gold can supposedly be found in the Needle's shadow.
I tossed Mollie part of a bagel on our quick snack break. Content with dried kibble at home, Mollie prefers a sandwich on our long hikes, with an occasional hunk of beef jerky thrown in by Kevin for good measure. After a long drink from her collapsible water bowl, we headed on a gradual descent, lined with the dried plant carcasses of numerous 8-foot century plants.
Most hikes have a summit or a vista as the ultimate destination, but today's hike had one purpose: to circumnavigate the Needle and to observe it from all points of the compass.
The Needle was evident throughout our trek along the Peralta and from various viewpoints on the Dutchman. "There's the Needle," one of us would say, and the other would say, "Yep, there it is," as if we needed reassurance over the long haul that the point of our movement was still in existence.
I was glad I wore long pants when we hit the less-maintained Terrapin trail with its overgrown prickers and thorns. The Terrapin ascended to either a saddle or a pass, depending on which map you read, but with our tired legs, it felt more like a mountain pass as the trail seemed to be carved straight up in an endless tumble of loose rocks and scree. As we peered over our shoulders to gape at the climb in elevation, we could see Blacktop Mesa, Palomino Mountain and Black Mesa off in the distance. And Weaver's Needle. Always the Needle.
Somewhere along the 235 we captured out last glimpse of the famous rock formation (alas, with no gold in sight) before finishing our six-hour circle. The hike around Weaver's Needle illustrates my thoughts for the year ahead.
I have no great resolutions for the new year beyond this: to say a continual yes to where I am already committed.
Yes to family. Yes to my community of faith. Yes to volunteering, including Relay for Life. Yes to writing. There is no summit in sight, just a continual journey.
When the trail seems too long or the ascent too steep or the path covered with thorns or when I am the only one going clockwise in a counter-clockwise world, I will look off into the distance. "There's my commitment," I will say and those with me will say, "Yes, there it is."
It is as simple and as complicated as that.
At that point, I will choose to take one step more into the bigger yes - from views I have already seen and views I have not.
Proverbs 4:26 says, "Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established."Where are your feet heading in 2016?