Everyone started more or less together. But we soon spread out on the trail, with fast hikers surging ahead us slow hikers lagging behind. We split into at least three groups: fast hikers led by Li, middlin’ hikers, and slow hikers. I never saw the fast hikers again.

I like to document changes in the wilderness by taking “before” and “after” pictures from the same spot. But not this time. The place where I took a picture on February 26, 2008, couldn’t be found. Evidently they’ve re-routed the trail since then.

After parting with Ted’s hiking group, eighteen adventurous trailblazers continued on for a long hike to finish the east side of Lost Goldmine Trail. Everyone was so eager to keep going to see what this trail had to offer us.

We hiked for a mile after leaving the short hiking group and encountered the residential area which was marked on the GPS as Cloudview Ave in a small luxury neighborhood. It’s about an 1.46 mile connection between the west Lost Goldmine to the east Lost Goldmine Trail. We passed the paved road and met a couple walking their dogs in their neighborhood. Soon we saw a large new parking lot which was the old Lost Goldmine Trail dirt parking lot before, now with new looks and more parking spaces.

A big sign on the trailhead told us we had reached the east trail of Lost Goldmine. The start of this trail shared a common short path with Hieroglyphic trail, which then separated at a fork. We steered right to continue on the Lost Goldmine. On a small hill we got a good view of the Superstation Mountains from the back and Apache Junction and Gold Canyon area in front of us.

Michael suggested we have a lunch break overlooking the scenic vistas. Everyone enjoyed the expansive foothill views, good conversations with fellow hikers, and a well-deserved lunch.

After the break we continued our journey to the east. The beautiful panoramic view of all the Sonoran desert mountains surrounded us. The big saguaros, fishhook cactus, chain fruit cholla and a few wildflowers greeted us along the way. Although early spring, the golden poppies had already started blooming, and Moé and Quy eagerly snapped photos, soaking in the crisp fresh nature air provided by the Superstation Wilderness.

The east side of Lost Goldmine Trail offers a great glimpse of Hieroglyphic Mountain in the beginning, the Superstition Ridgeline, Flatiron, peaks of 5024' and 5057' in the middle and Wave Cave at the end. About two miles before the trail ended we met a horse rider with his dog.

We also met few small groups of hikers along the trail, but when we reached the Wave Cave we saw lots of people. When I finally saw Michael pass the cattle feeding trough and walk toward the Wave Cave trail sign I was overjoyed. On the left of Lost Goldmine Trail about a quarter mile from the Wave Cave sign, we saw a faint trail with a small fence opening that leads to the old mine area on the left of the hill. We had toured this old mine last year with Michael.

The overachievers in the long hiking group finished the hike in little over 5 hours for about 11 miles and at a speed of over 2 miles per hour, with 18 hikers. Although the weather was a little hot, everyone made it safe and sound and enjoyed the lovely and gentle rolling hills.

Thank you, Ted, for organizing this beautiful and adventurous hike and hope we will come back again next year to see more wildflowers in the late spring.

Thank you, Michael, for co-leading on the long hike. Thank you, Quy and Tom, for waiting patiently at the end of the trail, and Quy, for driving us to Broadway Trailhead. I hope that everyone gets a good sleep and feels refreshed tomorrow.

It was great pleasure to meet some new people and see many old friends on the hike. I hope to see you again in the future hikes. Have a nice weekend!

Li