We really wanted for some time to go up the Ballantine Trail a bit more and explore the Boulders area and Ballantine cabin which has a rarely found cache. Today is that day, we arrive relatively early in the parking lot and then it is time to start our climb. First we follow the north branch of the Pine Creek Loop Trail which avoids a bit of the climb to arrive to the Ballantine Trail starting point.
The desert is in flower today with hedgehog cactuses and cholla especially being in flower, and there are a lot of them as we slowly climb up and up.
As we get higher and higher the views become more impressive, we have a 360 view sometimes and it is quite special.
We are surprised how far we have climbed we can see the highway far below us and we still have a lot to go before reaching our goal.
We continue climbing and start seeing more and more rocks. We assume this is not The Boulders location but it could easily be called The Rock River or something similar
And up and up we continue to go stoping to enjoy the flowers and the beautiful spring day. We have a light snack and then it is time to move on, we want to get to the cabin before sunset.
And then we arrive at The Boulders, we assume it is the place as it is quite distinct versus the landscape we traversed till now. From here soon we have to leave the trail to find the cabin but first we find the cache here.
Luckily there is a cache near the cabin as otherwise likely we would not have found it. It is a short distance from the trail but in a depression so not easily visible.
It is an abandoned cabin but it seems to have been used temporarily, we assume by hikers as they are passing through. It is always interesting to explore abandoned structures and we do that for some time before it is time to return to the car.
The return trip is faster especially as we go downhill but still the nightfall catches us on the trail. We are prepared of course and continue on and have a nice encounter with a red-spotted toad before reaching the car and returning to Phoenix after a very nice hike.
