This weekend our plans are to hike on a State Trust land parcel near Peoria to do some geocaching. The weather is expected to be quite good, even cold, our permit expires in a couple weeks and there are around 50 caches to be found, all good reasons to visit this area. It is about one hour mostly through new developments to the parking location near the gates that block the entrance in the State Trust area. We cross them and then we are alone.
Today we follow a trail of caches that form a heart shape on state trust land and after finding the first one we follow them one after the other across the desert for a 10 mile loop. The loop does not follow any trails so we look wistfully at the good roads before crossing them and continuing on. One thing that surprises us are the number of dead trees, we wonder if it is the draught or if a fire passed through the area.
With the spring in the air there are quite a few wildflowers in the desert, many of them small but beautiful.
There are of course also bigger flowers, like desert marigold and mexican poppy but only in washes and in wetter areas at this point in the year.
The path we follow is mostly level except for the washes of which there are many which makes the going slower. Other patches that slow us down are the teddy bear cholla forests which seem to be burned – so we lean towards fire being the culprit for the dead trees.
And there are many dead trees the skeletons of which litter the landscape. While it is sad to see they are quite scenic and we enjoy the views along our walk.
Besides roads there are other human artifacts along our walk. A dry waterhole is the biggest we find but there is also some human trash from nearby construction or rampant shooting.
As it is getting dark we hurry to close the loop and make it right before sunset even though we still stop a few more times to enjoy the nature along the way. We then return via the road to the SUV and it is completely dark when we reach it and then return back home after a great 10 mile loop through the desert.
