telepathic stuntman

There’s a popular story around here about a man named Jacob Waltz, better known as “the Lost Dutchman”, who in 1891, while lying on his death bed, told a story of a gold mine that held untold riches. He had said that it laid deep within the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix. Treasure hunters have come in search of this elusive mine, and talked about finding maps carved in stones, written clues and strange noises at night – all leading to The Lost Dutchman Gold mine!

Century Plant

So on this trip, after taking the roughest road I’ve ever been on, and picking through catclaw and brambles to a faint trail of nothing more than crude cairns, I couldn’t help think that perhaps we could be treading through areas that have not been seen before… perhaps we would even discover this elusive mine!

Sycamore

Yucca Plant

Zach had offered to drive his truck on this rough road, one that I would never consider trying! Driving over rocks the size of refrigerators, we carefully navigated our way to the trailhead. It was a brisk but sunny day, perfect for hiking.

Desert vegetation dominates this region – saguaro cactus, cholla, catclaw, palo verde and ocotillo – ALL of it prickly and sharp and tearing at our clothes.

Progress was slow – only moving from one trail cairn when we were able to locate the next one down the slope. In this way we picked through the maze of brambles for hours to finally emerge in the dry wash of Lost Dutch Canyon. Pools of water frozen over told us it was going to get cold in the evening down here. They would also be our only source of fresh water and I was thankful to see them.

We located a sandy spot near the wash and made camp. Almost instantly, Conor discovered a scorpion while setting up his tent. As the sun began to set behind the steep canyon walls, I realized we were trapped down here until sunrise – there would be no possible way to find our way out in the darkness. Anyone getting hurt or stung would have to tough it out during the night – a fairly sobering thought and one that made us all just a bit more cautious than normal.

Our giant roaring fire and five layers of clothing kept us warm under the full moon. As the temperatures dropped, a moon ring was created by the refraction of moonlight through ice crystals suspended in the upper atmosphere.

Moon Ring

I sipped on some bourbon and hot cocoa, then burrowed down into my sleeping bag for the night. I stayed pretty comfortable all night despite finding my water bottle completely frozen in the morning!

The next day was spent exploring the wash, making our way toward Fish Creek, exploring caves along the way and scouring the jagged angry canyon walls that rose up on each side.

Fossilized Fish – about three feet long!

Detail of fossilized fish head

Conor discovered a curious campsite, filled with odd sculptures, tools and chairs of rock. It looked as though it hadn’t been used in many years, and the area seemed to exude a strange and uncomfortable energy. Who created it and what the objects were is a mystery.

In the afternoon we explored the other side of the canyon, bursting with some of the most beautiful and healthy saguaros I’ve ever seen. We came upon a lovely pool of water, reflecting the rough landscape and full moon – stunning!

That night we feasted around the campfire with many original concoctions – dirty rice, potato soup, chicken chili and more. Another full moon, another moon ring and another crisp night, a little warmer.

In the morning we packed and prepared to make our way out – carefully following the numerous cairns with Conor and his eagle eyes leading the way. It was a grey sky with clouds starting to form and rain threatening, but we stayed dry and made it out of there just fine.

We didn’t discover the mine, but certainly found many treasures in this remote and beautiful canyon!