Wandering in the Superstition Wilderness

Think we got on the wrong route to our goal of reaching an historic site called the Massacre Grounds*. After climbing a rubbly/rocky dry wash for 45 minutes we decided to abandon and head cross country to catch a trail we were familiar with!

Before we left the area we took the panorama movie below of our surroundings. It was such a pleasant day that we weren't too disappointed to abandon Plan A!

Once it starts you can go full screen and mute the wind noise.

* There is a legend that lies 40 miles East of Phoenix, within the powerful and rugged Superstition Mountain Range. This is the legend of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold, in which it has been said a plentiful but cursed gold mine still exists within these haunting mountains. This legend still today entices treasure hunters from all around to explore Superstition Mountains for this lost gold.

The beginning of this legend starts at Massacre Grounds. It has been said that in the 1840s there was a group of Hispanic miners working for the Peralta family and mining the area for gold. After a war in 1848 the land became Arizona territory, meaning that the miners and Peralta family would soon have to return to their homeland. In an attempt to bring home as much gold as possible, these miners began mining in different locations. In one of these areas they found a vast amount of gold and starting excavating the land. The only problem was that this was on Apache sacred land. The Apaches asked the miners to stop, but the miners in their greed ignored the Apache warnings and went on excavating. The Apaches decided they needed to make an example out of these miners.

They joined forces with other surrounding tribes and came up with a game plan to herd and attack the miners into an isolated area where they would have no chance of escape. Massacre Grounds Trail follows this attack route from the beginning to the miners unforeseen end.