For the last hike of the year we decide on an area we explored previously near Canyon Lake. At that point one of us was not able to hike that much but today we hope we will be able to find a few more caches and reach a few more areas that we avoided last time. We park in the same parking spot as last time and then cross the busy road towards the trail which is an abandoned road on the other side.
The road is more overgrown than we remember from a year ago. Sometimes it can be difficult to follow even, not something we expected from our previous experience. However the views are beautiful and the weather is great so we enjoy our walk towards the new caches in the area.
The first cache is a replacement of a cache we found previously but in a slightly different location. It is a good place to catch our breath before starting the climb towards the ridge.
There are some great views from the ridge first of the mountains and then of Canyon Lake far in the distance. This is where we find the second replaced cache before turning back to the saddle we just climbed from. From there we have to go off trail to find the series of caches we haven’t visited previously.
We really enjoy the views from our off road hike but it is hard going and after we reach the first cache we make the decision to split. One of us will rest and recuperate while the other one will push through to find a few caches including a first to find cache.
Luckily the going gets easier and the caches are relatively evident so the intrepid explorer finds all planned caches and even a few Mexican poppies on the way before returning to link back with the base team and return to the car.
Going back is much easier as we know the best routes and it is also getting cooler. Soon we are back at the car after a great hike in a beautiful area we really enjoy.
