The Peralta, Dutchman, Terrapin and Bluff Spring trails join to form a challenging 12.6 mile loop around Weavers Needle in the Superstition Wilderness. Though comparable in length to the Peralta out-and-back, this route sees lighter use and more varied, rugged terrain on the back half of the loop.

Legend holds that the Lost Dutchman's Gold is buried in the shadow of Weavers Needle

The Peralta Trail is named for the Peralta Brothers, two successful Mexican miners who extracted precious metals from the Superstition Mountains for years

Rhyolite rock formations near the entrance to Peralta Canyon mark the edges of a massive caldera

The Lost Dutchman's Gold is said to have been buried by Jacob Walz, who claimed to have found a cache of near pure gold but died before revealing its location

Yucca plants were used by Ho Ho Kam for weaving baskets, cordage and food

The Peralta Trail ends at its junction with the Dutchman Trail - showcasing the general confluence area of Peralta, Needle and Boulder Canyons

A breccia formation along the Peralta Trail - breccia is conglomerate rock broken into angular fragments and this formation was created during lava flow cooling

Weavers Needle is actually 2 large formations connected by a saddle - most consider this a technical climb and is popular with climbers worldwide

Saguaro awill not produce their first arm until at least 50 years old

The final push to Fremont Saddle leads over light colored rock called tuff

The Superstition Wilderness was designated in 1939 and expanded in 1984 to its current size of 160,200 acres

A century plant in front of Weavers Needle - the century plant will bloom only once in its life, using up so much energy in the process that it will die and topple over

A frozen cascade in Peralta Canyon; summer temperatures will soon dry these creeks and push wildlife higher into the Chaparral and Pine ecosystems

A group of hedgehog cacti - scientifically referred to as Echinocereus triglochidiatus

Late afternoon looking over Garden Valley - a wide open desert valley filled with saguaro cacti