Last weekend, I joined a group of friends for a backpacking trip to Reavis Ranch, named after “Elisha Reavis” in the Superstition Mountains. This was by far the second backpacking trip in my books and I will share with you in the next few days an Article about Backpacking essential.
We left phoenix area (from Mesa) Saturday morning around 7:30 am and started driving towards Reavis Ranch Trailhead. The drive is about 1 h 49 min (59.5 mi) and a good amount of it is on dirt road. With that being said, a high clearance car is recommended if you don’t want to get stuck half way.
Who is Elisha Reavis?
Commonly known as the Hermit of the Superstition Mountains. This person like you and I, maybe not, woke up one day of 1869 and moved blindly into an enormous mountain range in Arizona, fully convinced he would find a good place to ranch there and live away from his family and old job.
Reavis is most known for founding a ranch deep within the Superstition Mountains. How is that a big deal? The Superstition Mountains are hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and only have a few water sources.
After weeks of wandering, he managed to stumble into a suitable valley where he built, declaring the land his own without asking for permission, an enormous ranch house and an apple orchard, which still produces well! Very well actually, too well that we decided to backpack 7 miles in to enjoy a hidden paradise that exists to date.
Unfortunately, Reavis hadn’t really thought the whole thing out and he eventually died in 1896 on the trail on his way to the nearest town to sell corps which was multiple days away. He was buried right off the trail 5 miles from his homestead.
Back to the Hike…
We started from the trail head around 9 am. After 7 miles hike, during which we enjoyed amazing mountain views, colorful fall trees, water streams, creeks and a huge Monster Gator tree, oh and Pear trees. We stopped to pick some pears but honestly, they were not mature enough and did not taste very good but for me seeing pear trees for the first time was very exciting.
We arrived after then to the Reavis Ranch House foundation that burned down in 1991 (Because of some campers according to my friend). The tile floor and water tank foundation still exits, along with some farm equipment.
Prior the trip, I knew we were going to pick some apples but I didn’t know what to expect exactly. We found a good camp site, dropped our backpacks and started heading towards the orchid.
Heaven!!! Apples Heaven!!! Not a bit close to what I pictured or imagined!
My heart was filled with joy to see branches falling from how heavy they are. Apples were truly the best that I have ever had. No wonder why few people rented mules to transport big amounts of crops.
This trip exceeded my expectations and I had a lot of fun picking apples, but just the right amount that I can carry on the way out (maybe 2 kilos if my estimate is right)
We spent the evening grilling some apples with marshmallow!!! Yes!!! I am becoming so Americanized that I am grilling apples, peaches and pineapples too 🙂
It was a peaceful and beautiful night and I had good sleep except from encountering a bear in my dreams. While, we did not see any while camping in the area, it is recommended to stay alert, follow safety measurements and keep food away from your tent (Which we did)
We started hiking out early in the morning, while it was raining for a bit. A beautiful addition to the pretty picture that mountains portray.
On our way out, we had the opportunity to stop by Reavis’s grave site for a moment to express how thankful and grateful we are for the apple trees that produces tasty apples every other year.
Thank you Mr. Reavis!!!
Now that I am back to my normal life, I can’t wait for Saturday to make my first apple pie ever and share the recipe with you. Fingers crossed!!
This sounds like such a fun excursion. I’ll need to do a little more research on the area and tuck the info away for upcoming places to visit. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by 🙂 It is worth time and effort. I hope you can make it one day
Beautiful! We will have to check this place out.
What an amazing hike with yummy fruit as well!