Trip to Pine

Highlights Map

Instead of one big hike we have planned today multiple small ones. Starting from Phoenix we plan to stop first at the Great Western Trail trailhead and then continue to Payson and finish in Pine while finding a multitude of caches along the way. The Great Western Trail is a long distance trail still being built as far as we can tell that extends from Arizona north to Montana. The trailhead here is multiuse and we drive in before stopping and continuing on the road while finding a few caches nearby.

The area has lots of saguaros but only a select few have open flowers. It is always enjoyable to see saguaro flowers even though we know they are the last to flower before the hot summer.

The flowering desert is quite beautiful and we enjoy our walk while finding the caches in the area but then it is getting too hot so we escape to higher altitudes.

As we arrive in Payson we are impressed by the different cacti in flower here especially Spinystars which are quite beautiful when in flower.

In Payson we have only one major cache planned but it takes us to all four corners of Payson climbing to different viewpoints. It is a tiring but very beautiful cache as we have a chance to see Payson from all directions.

Our last stop for the day is Pine specifically a short section near the Arizona Trail south of Pine. Following the trail of caches we enter a narrow canyon with flowing water. As we follow the creek upstream suddenly we notice some movement. We look closer and it is a bear and it seems he didn’t notice us due to the noise of the stream. As usual this is the only time we have no camera with us and as we retreat back the way we came we decide it is not worth to try again to face the bear who might be closer or easily scared.

We end the day by exploring a nearby small lake. We walk around it looking for any easily visible wildlife with no luck. And then it gets dark and it is time to return to Phoenix after a beautiful day out in nature.