Soon we are heading north on the Terrapin Trail. Bluff Saddle, 3420', is the high point of our trip, a wonderland of spires, balanced rocks, and window rocks, and the beginning of Needle Canyon. The trail crosses Needle Canyon six times before heading northwest for a spectacular side view of Weaver’s Needle.

At Terrapin Pass we stop to rest, enjoying the fine panorama of Black Top Mesa and the mountains to the north. We are glad to be taking the steep grade north of Terrapin Pass going downhill in the cool shade of the morning.

Our first radio contact with Linda’s party occurs as we are going west on the Bull Pass Trail toward Needle Canyon. Then we lose the signal and can’t re-establish contact until the two parties are 1/3 mile apart in the middle of Needle Canyon.

Tall grass and cairns mark the place where the Bull Pass Trail crosses Needle Canyon. We leave the Bull Pass Trail and try to follow the route marked by a dotted line on the map, but soon find ourselves rock-hopping in the streambed. The descent is so gradual and the streambed so uneven that with no water it’s hard to tell you are going downstream. But we persevere, and soon meet Linda’s party for lunch in the middle of Needle Canyon.

Everyone enjoys their picnic lunch as the leaders discuss which letter of the word “Needle” on the map we are closest to at this point. We take group pictures, then each party continues on the second half of their hike.

A dotted line on the map bypasses the last, rockiest meanders of Needle Canyon and traverses a low ridge to get to the Boulder Canyon Trail. Ted is determined to find it. So we bushwhack, contouring around a steep, cactus-covered hillside to find our way west into Boulder Canyon.

A white, needle-shaped rock marks the junction and gives Needle Canyon its name.

The Boulder Canyon Trail crosses the streambed many times between Needle Canyon and the Second Water Trail, but we make good time. Everyone takes a big drink of water to start our last climb, 520' to the top of hill 2351 overlooking Canyon Lake. From the hilltop we make a quick descent to the Canyon Lake Trailhead.