March 16, 2009 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.
Over the years I have mention
some of the remote and seldom used trails in the Superstition
Wilderness Area. There are several wilderness purists who enjoy these
trails while they remain anonymous. Most of them would prefer these
rarely used trails were not made public. For this reason I refrain from
telling the world about some of the more interesting areas within the
confines of the region to protect these sensitive areas from over
impact.
I have not publicized the trail to the
top of Summit 5024 in detail because of the hazards of riding that
trail. Hiking that particular trail would be no real problem. An old
friend of my amed Monte Edwards called the trail to the top of the
Summit 5024, the “Old Spanish Trail.”
Personally I doubt any Spaniard ever
walked this particular trail or even came close to it. Edward’s always
believed the Spanish Jesuits climbed to the top of Superstition Mountain
to draw their maps of the area. These stories resulted in the “Legend
of El Gato.” It is believed by some “El Gato” was a Spaniard or Mexican
who climbed to high points in the Superstition Mountains and sketched
maps.
There is another trail that is a real
challenge for man and beast. The old Quarter Circle U Trail from First
Water to Carney Springs. To follow this trail today would be a challenge
for any experienced hiker. The last time I rode up to Willow Springs
the old trail had almost been obliterated by brush and flash flooding;
especially that portion of the trail just below Willow Springs and the
old stone corral. I am sure the trail has not improved much since then.
Monte Edwards and Don Shade prospected the area for several years and
kept the trail brushed out. The area above Willow Springs is densely
overgrown today. I am not sure you can even ride a horse through the
upper portion of the trail to the saddle above Carney Springs.
Willow Springs was the site of Adolph
Ruth’s camp in the late spring of 1931. Ruth left his camp around June
15, 1931, never to return again. His skull was found north of Bluff
Springs Mountain, east of Needle Canyon and near the Three Red Hills
along the old First Water-Charlebois Trail on December 10, 1931. The
remainder of his body was discovered by William A. Barkley and Jeff
Adams in January of 1932. Ruth’s search for the Lost Dutchman mine
became national news for about six months between June 1931 and January
1932 because of his disappearance. How he died remains a controversy to
this day. Many individuals still believe Ruth was a victim of homicide.
The authorities reported Ruth’s death as an accident resulting from
exhaustion and dehydration.
A short distance above Willow Springs is
located a large stone corral. Most of these old corrals have vanished
from the wilderness area. The stone corrals that survive today are a
fitting monument to the hard work of the cattlemen who worked these
mountains for almost a century. Twenty- five years ago we packed out an
old scraper (Fresno) from the Willow Springs Corral. I am sure it was
used to level the floor of the corral when it was being used. I once
asked Barkley if he ever used the stone corral. He told me he always
moved his cattle out to First Water or to the old Brush Corral in
Boulder Basin. I am not sure anyone used that corral in West Boulder
Canyon after the turn of the century. There was the old brush corral in
Boulder Basin that Barkley used to work and gather cattle in that area.
The West Boulder Canyon country is extremely rough and a difficult place
to work cattle. A cowboy’s best helper in this country was a good cow
dog.
The area around Willow Springs has
always played a role in the story of the Lost Dutchman mine. The site
was always a good source of water in the summer months. Over the years I
have made several trips into West Boulder and I seldom came across
anyone. A new interest has developed for West Boulder Canyon and
particularly the area around Willow Spring because of Adolph Ruth’s
death in summer of 1931. Actually the canyon is a beautiful area filled
with many interesting things. There are several prospect holes in the
canyon, a stone corral, a couple of very old camps with reminders of the
past, and even an “ORO” carved in stone near the confluence of Old West
Boulder and West Boulder Canyons. There are several short and
obliterated trails that lead to old diggings along the course of West
Boulder Canyon.
I was first introduced to West Boulder
Canyon by Bill Barkley when I worked for him in the 1950s. I remember
riding into the canyon with him and his two cow dogs. When Barkley would
see a calf and cow he wanted to check out he would have the two dogs
corral the stock rather than us chase them through the rocks. Horses
don’t do well hopping over big boulders. We had our share of wrecks in
those rock strewn canyons. In the mid 1950’s we were still fighting
Screw Worm infestations. It was common for Screw Worms to develop in a
calf’s eyes or their navels. By 1959 the Screw Worms were practically
eradicated by the U.S. Government sterile fly campaign and program.
Sometime during the early 1980’s a
prospector or Dutch hunter named Braun worked a prospect above the old
Stone Corral in West Boulder. He was very secretive and not too
friendly. He rode a horse and had two pack mules. I ran into him several
times during the 1980s. I often heard dynamite charges he set off prior
to December of 1983. He had dug an incline shaft about thirty feet deep
in a side canyon. He had shored the inclined up with native timbering.
He used short pieces of Mesquite timbers. I found his diggings about two
years after he abandoned it some time in the late 1980s. The
interesting thing about Braun is he worked the incline like old time
prospectors from the 1870s. His technique of excavation was kind of
interesting.
He was very meticulous in the way he
timbered his incline. He also hid the waste from the incline. He used a
sled-box to move his waste and what ever he was getting out of the
incline. Braun’s work is just another mystery among the many mysteries
of the Superstition Wilderness Area. Monte Edwards often talked about
his prospect, but didn’t really know anything about him or what he might
be recovering from the site.
There were several prospectors who
worked West Boulder Canyon over the past decades. Don Shade, Monte
Edwards, Mr. Braun, and the Whistler are just a few. Their stories
contain tales of lost gold and buried treasure. It is these stories that
continue to attract people to the area in search of their dreams.
There are hundreds of prospects within
the Superstition Wilderness Area and each of them probably has an
interesting story associated with them. All of these prospects required
money and energy to develop. They are always a reminder of who was here
before we were.