Apache Junction is the last big town on the eastern edge of the Phoenix sprawl, a desert city of about thirty-eight thousand people at the foot of the Superstition Mountains. The mountains rise abruptly behind the suburban streets, a wall of reddish volcanic rock with a jagged crest, and they are one of the most famous landmarks of the American Southwest, soaked in legend and mystery. It is a place of RV parks, rock shops and diners, but also the starting point of one of Arizona's most dramatic roads.
The legend is of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. A German immigrant named Jacob Waltz, known as the Dutchman, supposedly found a rich gold vein in the Superstitions in the 1870s, and when he died in 1891 he left only hints about its location. Since then, hundreds of people have searched for it, and a number have died trying, victims of heat, thirst and falls. The mountains are rugged and unforgiving, and the Superstition Wilderness is not a place for casual exploration. The legend lives on in the names of local businesses, and a museum nearby tells the story.
The Apache Trail, Highway 88, begins here and was built in the early 1900s as a supply road for the construction of Roosevelt Dam. It is a winding, scenic road that passes through the desert with views of saguaro cactus and rocky canyons, then skirts Canyon Lake and continues to the old stagecoach stop of Tortilla Flat, a quirky roadhouse with dollar bills pinned to the walls. Beyond Tortilla Flat, the road turns to gravel for about twenty miles, with steep grades, narrow sections, hairpins and sheer drops with no guardrails. It requires care and a bike that can handle loose surfaces.
Fill the tank here, since fuel is hard to find along the trail. Summer heat is severe, with temperatures above forty degrees Celsius, so ride in the cool months from October to April, and carry plenty of water. Spring brings wildflowers after wet winters, and the desert glows in the evening light. Check conditions before you set out, as the road can be closed by floods or rockslides, and avoid riding in the rain, when the gravel turns slick.