Under a cloudless sky, skirting eastward along Boundary Cone Road we head toward the green tinted Ute Mountains waiting in the distance. The heavy rains that inundated the southwest a few weeks ago have produced spectacular spring foliage, and the yellow flowers splashing against the lush green carpet of undergrowth is quite breathtaking.
We left First Water Trailhead at 10a.m. and rode the Second Water trail into Garden Valley, where we took a short break and talked about the Indian ruins in the area.
A shroud of mystery continues to surround the disappearance of James Kidd on December 29, 1949. The enigma of this story still confuses those who attempt to delve into the records about this old prospector's disappearance. Kidd was a man who lived such an obscure life few people knew him or anything about him. His disappearance would have been reported sooner than December 29th had somebody missed him. Records indicate he had no living relatives and extremely few friends. Authorities believe Kidd vanished from his small motel cabin on North 9th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona, sometime after October 10, 1949.
A skull discovered on December 10th, 1931 sparked unsurpassed controversy during the great depression. That skull was of none other than Adolph Ruth. Ruth had entered the Superstition Mountain range, camping at Willow Springs, on June 14th, 1931, his quest being that of hidden treasure. He carried with him a map and directions to the mine, cave, or cache. He never left those mountains. A search for his body commenced when he failed to return two weeks after having been escorted to his camp site. In December of that year, an expedition headed by the Arizona Republic newspaper discovered Ruth’s skull some 6 miles from his camp site. Tex Barkley, a local rancher whose cattle grazed the range, stated that Ruth had not been in his camp for more than 24 hours. The rest of his remains were found three quarters of a mile away from his skull in January of 1932. Adolph Ruth’s map was not found on his person, but his pistol was still fully loaded. The map would be found at a later date.
By Tom Kollenborn
Immediately north of Don's Camp are towering cliffs formed from volcanic lava some seventeen million years ago. This volcanic flow occurred during the Tertiary Period of geologic time.
Today these cliffs dominate the region around Don's Camp. This landmark played an important role in the Don's Club's Annual Superstition Trek. Each year on the first Sunday of March, members of the Don's Club pour several tons of burning charcoal over this cliff to create a spectacular firefall. This firefall is the highlight of their all-day event at base camp.
Historically this precipice has served as a natural barrier between the lower desert and the mountainous region of the Superstition Wilderness. Prior to 1930 this cliff was known as Lava Cliffs. Some time during the 1930's Lava Cliffs became known as Dacite Cliffs.
Prospectors have dug shafts and tunnels along the Dacite Cliffs searching for copper, gold and silver for the past seventy years. Some of these tunnels are more than three hundred feet in length. Records indicate no gold, copper or silver has ever been found in sufficient quantity to justify these diggings.