Members present were: Leland and Shanna O’Brien, Yu-Ling and Dave Langford, Steve Shaw, Dave, Courtney and Brittney Pressler, Joyce Parrish with her daughter Joy and friend Tim, Scott King, Himanshu Rawell, Chuck Parsons and Tom and Jeannie Van Lew.

We met at the Canyon Lake Marina at 8:30 Saturday morning. The clouds hung low over the lake reminding us of the storms that swept through the valley on Friday. We hit the trail just before 9:00 and the group quickly spread out along the trail as we started up the hill.

As we topped the first rise, Battleship Rock loomed in the distance. Just beyond, the tip of Weaver’s needle could be seen.

Along the trail, there were already signs of the spring colors. We saw Brittlebush in bloom, also Blue Lupine and many spots where Fairy duster brushed along side the trail. We saw what we thought were Gold Poppies but according to Chuck Parsons are actually Golden Mariposa Lily. We also saw a small reddish flowering plant that we have yet to identify. Must be all the moisture!

We continued on to the crossing of LaBarge Creek at the 3-mile mark. We stopped for a brief rest in the creek bed while Steve Shaw told us about the Indian Paint Mine just up the trail a short half mile.

Some of our hikers decided to turn around here due to other plans for the afternoon. The remainder of the group continued on and were rewarded with sights of broken down walls where the mine was located.

If you would like to read more about the Indian Paint Mine, look for the Hiker’s Guide to the Superstition Wilderness by Jack Carlson and Elizabeth Stewart (pp.190-192).

Steve told us that it was only another 3 to 4 tenths of a mile to the junction of Boulder Canyon trail and Second Water trail. We decided that would be a good place for lunch. We continued on and quite soon were at our lunch stop. Camped at the junction were a group of backpackers. As cold as it was, I wondered if they had spent the night in the rain.

As we sat enjoying our lunches, the clouds began to move in. With the sun now behind the clouds, the temperature dropped and we decided to pack up and head back. As we passed again through LaBarge Creek, the trail seemed to be much steeper than we remembered. Jeannie, Tom, Scott, Himanshu and Chuck lagged behind. Steve, Dave and Yu-Ling quickly left us in their dust. Since Chuck and Jeannie enjoy taking pictures, this was not really a problem. With the slower pace, we noticed flowers and rock formations that we missed on the way in.

Tom kept telling the rest of the group that the trail would be all downhill soon.