I pre-hiked the Rogers Canyon trail in March of this year and was amazed by the lush riparian habitat, the accessible and well-preserved cave dwellings, and the beauty of the creek that runs through the canyon. Trying to replicate but improve the experience, I scheduled this hike for early October. When I saw the group of adventurous hikers who signed up, I polled the group and then changed the plan to do a loop, taking the trail past Angel’s Basin, up to Tortilla Pass, and back down the JF Trail to the Woodbury Trailhead, which would require a car shuttle.

Well, the best laid plans....

We met up prior to sunrise, even earlier than planned, due to weather that would hit close to 90 degrees even at our 3500-4500 foot elevation for the hike. From the Mesa meeting place to the placement of cars took three hours, due to the roughness of the forest roads. Michael went up to the Rogers Trough Trailhead, dropped his riders, came down the precarious three miles, met Andy’s car at the Woodbury trailhead, picked up Andy and his riders and went back up to Rogers.

We started hiking at 9:00 AM. It was relatively cool at this point, and although there were other cars at the trailhead, we saw only two other groups on the first part of the trail. It was immediately obvious that conditions had changed since I did the hike in March. The creek was bone dry. The three initial water crossings on the Reavis Trail were just rocks. The vegetation and views were still nice.

We turned off onto the Rogers Trail at the 1.5 mile mark and noticed that the trail wasn’t as well groomed as it normally would be—lots of catclaw acacia stretching onto the trail. The hike to the ruins was pleasant, but less pretty without the water in the creek. More boulder hopping. More monotonous. Very quiet though.

We got to the area opposite the ruins and a few hikers scrambled across the creekbed and up to investigate. A few of us stayed behind to rest and snack. We soon realized that there were a few bees and wasps who were interested in us and our snacks, and a few stings occurred. The cliff explorers also came back more quickly than expected, due to the discovery of a hive of bees in one of the cliff rooms. A few more stings had occurred. Luckily, no one was allergic.

We continued down the creek to Angel’s Basin. My beautiful lush green meadow was now a tinderbox of dry grass with very little shade or comfortable seating. We crossed it and went down into the wash to stop for a break.

Somewhat refreshed, but noticing the temperatures climbing to the low 80s, we began our climb to Tortilla Flat on the continuation of the Rogers Trail. Almost immediately we noted that the trail was flanked by aggressive catclaw on either side. We slogged on slowly, with those of us in shorts or short sleeves yelping regularly as we got snagged in stickers. Once our legs were torn up and bleeding, even the non noxious plants extending into the trail hurt when they rubbed against our skin.

The trail itself was moderate with a slow ascent and nice vistas. However, by the time we made it up to the pass, most of us were frustrated by our bleeding limbs and snagged clothing, combined with the sun, the heat, and the climb. We took a break and I wrapped my legs in ace bandages, which helped. The views of four peaks and all the hills of the Superstitions and beyond really were breathtaking.

We continued onwards, barely even noticing the transition to the JF Trail (as the sign was on the ground) and did our 1000 ft descent on loose rock, with not only catclaw, but now prickly pear, agave, ocotillo, cholla, and other forms of bushes flanking or covering the trail in parts. We crossed the wash and started our last little ascent. At this point, with about a mile left in the hike, we had been out for seven hours and a few hikers were out of water. Luckily we had a little to share. Energy was waning and we were eager to reach the end of the hike.

Luckily, the windmill of the JF Ranch was soon in view and we began to encounter cows, some whom were questioning our right of way. Using my downloaded track to confirm that the correct direction at the junction of the Woodbury and JF trails past the windmill and water tanks, was right (staying on the JF, the Woodbury trail goes up to the forest road on the way to Rogers Trough), we followed a Jeep road and reached the waiting car by 5:15 PM.