Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington

White Rock Springs Camp Loop via First Water Trailhead

03/14/18

I hiked this trip exactly as described March 9-11 and it was incredible! This is an excellent route and provided a great sampling of the Superstition Wilderness. Many thanks to the author and Outbound Collective for providing the information. I found the description to be accurate and there is nothing I would really suggest doing differently, other than maybe minimizing the water you pack in by planning to filter from Charlebois Spring after you set up camp at White Rock Springs on your first night (and then again at the end of the dayhike loop). I did this and found it was a nice way to wind down/stretch your legs after setting up camp and walking back from the springs around sunset was nice as you have a terrific down-canyon view and a gradual downhill hike back to camp. One thing I did notice on this loop was a lot of micro-trash (corners of energy bar wrappers, cigarette butts, other small litter) and a lot of toilet paper. PLEASE practice Leave No Trace. This area gets a lot of use and it is unfortunate to see improperly buried human waste near campsites. Lastly, I found this article about digital Leave No Trace to be an interesting read: https://modernhiker.com/3-easy-guidelines-for-digital-leave-no-trace/ I met several hikers on the trail who had also used Outbound for planning their trip. Nothing wrong with that of course, and I'd be a hypocrite to say there is, but it is interesting to think about the impact that occurs when social media directs people to the exact same spots. So I'd maybe think that if you're sharing pictures from this remarkable trip to just leave it at "Superstition Wilderness" so that maybe those who are inspired to plan a trip don't necessarily end up doing the exact same route you did (as opposed to hashtagging every landform in each picture and including a geotag and a link to this trip description, for example) but still get out and enjoy the remarkable landscape! Just a thought.

5.0