Even though we had planned a nice first Fall venture into the Superstitions, Mother Nature tried to throw us a curve ball. Saturday’s forecast was rain, rain and more rain, with a 90% chance of showers after 10 AM. Eight adventurous Trailblazers took this as a challenge and not an obstacle and all confirmed that the hike was a go, rain or shine.

We assembled at the Peralta Trailhead before 7 AM, joining only a light sprinkling of other cars (a rarity for a weekend at this popular site) and set out on the Dutchman’s Trail. The clouds were ominous with spots of blue sky in between, but we were not scared by them. We turned off onto the Coffee Flat Trail and went up the first ascent. At this point, some raindrops began to hit us and we stopped to get out the rain gear and take a quick group photo. We were the only hikers on the trail and didn’t see anyone else until we were back at the cars. Ahh, solitude.

After another mile or two, we hit Whitlow Canyon (more of a wash) and the Y intersection. We veered right off the main trail and soon approached the corral. Since we felt like we were just warming up after 4.5 miles and even though it was now raining quite a lot, we all agreed to take an alternate loop through the corral and along the Canyon to Reed’s Water, which, combined with an alternate loop back to the Dutchman’s at the end, would add 3 miles to the original plan.

The unofficial trail after the corral was mostly easy to follow and led us to a few water tanks, quickly filling with water. The vegetation was quite lush and green and riparian, especially after we turned left off what had become a small road and we went through a few more washes to find the windmills at Reed’s Water. With the rain still falling, we took a short break and went to rejoin the actual Coffee Flat Trail.

The last part of the hike included a brief bout of sunlight, enough to start to dry out our wet and muddy attire. We made it to the cars and dry shoes and socks, and almost immediately, it really began to pour. The drive out on the muddy road was exciting with low visibility and some sliding around and splashing through filling washes. The real rain came on the highway drive back. The transfer to other cars at Home Depot was very wet.

Most of us reconvened at Tamar’s house for a lunch of burgers, brews, salmon, and pies to celebrate a few milestone October birthdays. We then went our separate ways with muddy wet gear, but with satisfied stomachs and senses of adventure.