Wave Cave Hike
After a big ride on the Arizona Trail we needed a day off the bike. We slept in, had pancakes, and picked a short hike by where we are camped. Wave Cave is a 3 mile out and back hike on the southwest side of the Superstition Wilderness. It’s rated as moderate probably due to the rocky steep part higher up. Coming from a summer at high altitude, this hike seemed like a breeze…except for it being 85 degrees!
The prize at the top is a big cave with a rocky formation shaped like a wave in it. We were thankful for the coolness of the shade in the cave!
Jacob’s Crosscut Trail
Jacob Crosscut Trail is rated black diamond and was tough. Our ride was 18.5 miles with 1,260′ of climbing. Right from the parking lot, the trail is littered with rocks. Just about the entire surface is rocks so it takes a good bit of focus to keep moving, and slow speed balance. It turns to more of a trail after about a mile, but the technical riding doesn’t let up. It’s a very tight, twisty, trail with lots of tricky bike handling skills needed. This is not a high speed trail!
The views though! The entire ride skirts the Superstition Mountains. Jacob Waltz is the namesake of this trail. He was “The Lost Dutchman” who, legend has it, found gold in the Superstition Mtns but kept the exact location secret. People have been looking for the Lost Dutchman’s mine since at least 1892, some have died. Well, Derek and I didn’t find it, but we found plenty of beautiful scenery and one very challenging trail.
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