After watching the weather all week and experiencing two full days of rain and snow, fifteen hikers including two guests, were greeted by the snow-capped Superstitions, Mazatzal and Goldfields at the Crosscut trailhead. We were also greeted by a nearly full parking lot, as dozens of cars also lined First Water road and every small parking area between our trailhead and the Apache Trail turnoff. Once we got organized, we left the parking lot and started up the Massacre Grounds Trail. The temperature was around 45° but the sun was out, making for perfect hiking weather. We walked through backlit cholla and saguaro, set against the Superstitions.

There were already many people on the trails, but spread out enough that we didn’t feel like we were constantly in traffic. Everyone was excited to be hiking towards the snow, while at the same time, we kept turning around to admire the snow covering Four Peaks and the Mazatzals.

The trail was muddy and churned up in spots, but what was really noticeable was running water, often just a trickle, but more substantial in many normally dry stream beds. What also struck us was how green the desert was, with poppies and other wildflowers already evident.

After a climb to a low saddle, we took three group pictures with different backgrounds: Superstitions, Mazatzals and no snow.

An hour later as we approached the Massacre Grounds ridge, we were walking in snow, with occasional patches of ice. The snow was thin, but deep enough that you could scoop it up for snowballs. We took our first break on the ridge while Micheal told us the history of the conflict between Peralta miners and Apaches (the miners lost).

The ridge offered a view into the Superstitions including a snowy Weaver’s Needle. By this time clouds had formed, but they added to scene and contrasted with the blue sky and snow.

After leaving the ridge, we continued up. At this point the Massacre Falls was easily visible because of the volume of water flowing over it.

We also had a beautiful view of the Praying Hands rock formation. There were plenty of other hikers heading up to the falls, packing down the snow and making the track a little slippery. After slipping a few times on ice and snow, I was really happy that we were not attempting to hike up Siphon Draw. Arriving at the falls, we proceeded to shoot many photographs.

Proceeding down the trail, we came across other Club hikers out on their own, including members of “Bill Z.’s Thursday Group.” It was nice to see Chris, Bruce and Gary, among others.

We continued to a point where Michael thought we could pick up a social trail that would take us to the Praying Hands. We said “goodbye” to Chris and her friends, as they headed back to the trailhead. After a short amount of time, we found several cairns heading in the right direction. While there were a few people on the trail, we had left the crowds behind and space opened up as we headed west. We stopped for lunch and then continued following the trail with Mark and Michelle in the lead to Slot Rock.