We explored this area already twice in the last year but there is one more trailhead to start from and a lot of new caches in the area to find. We also want a shot at redemption in finding the arch that we missed in our first hike here. This trail is supposed to bring us faster to the arch area so on we go. The parking lot is quite large and mostly empty and the trail is funnily marked as being neither road nor trail, I guess it is something in between? But at least it says foot traffic permitted so on we go.
We start with a few caches close to the main road. They are hidden between chollas which makes careful walking essential but we make it out unscathed.
There are some nice views here and even some old mines, or maybe traps for unsuspecting geocachers?
We then return to the road and continue on exploring the beautiful desert area. We skip a few caches so we can make up some time but in the end we decide to focus on the caches and skip the arch…again.
There are also a few birds like woodpeckers, wrens and thrashers along the way. We enjoy watching them even if they are quite common for the area.
We soon arrive at a large intersection where a loop passes by some unexpected building foundations. Not sure what was here, either a house or a mine building, still it is interesting to see. We find a couple of caches here, one quite difficult, we even despair and give up and eat our snacks when we notice it, phew.
We then continue finding caches along the way with a new goal of finding a couple of caches on a ragged mountain top mesa that looms in front of us.
The climb is quite strenous, without a trail, but we somehow make it to the top of the ridge. The views certainly make it worth our while, the rocky crags certainly look very picturesque.
Still from a cache standpoint it is a complete loss, one cache is on top of a rocky hill that we cannot climb and the second at the base of an interesting arch is unfindable by us at least. So it is time to descend back to the trail and spend the rest of the sunlight finding caches.
We really enjoy the area, it is quite quiet and there is no one else around in the evening making the search for caches much easier. We have a lot more luck in this area and find all that we are looking for, quite nice.
During the evening hours we notice even more birds. Besides a bald eagle flying overhead we see a male phainopepla and an Abert’s Towhee, all of them cool birds to see.
As we return to the parking area it is getting quite dark but the rising moon is really helping us finding our way. It is also getting cold but we still enjoy the beautiful walk to the car, it was a great day out even though we weren’t able to get to the arch again…maybe next time.
