Dry Lake Hills Traditional Geocache
GeoDesertTiger: No response from cache owner. Cache archived.
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A couple mile walk up an old road into the Dry Lake Hills of Flagstaff, then a short hike up on a ridge. There are some open meadows, decent views in places, and I have always found deer on the ridges. Cache is an ammo can.
The Dry Lake Hills are the lower hills northwest of Mt. Elden, north downtown Flagstaff. The dry lakes are seasonal “lakes” that most of the time are large open meadows. From the USFS management plan: “Mount Elden and the Dry Lake Hills are prominent mountains that back up to the City of Flagstaff. Dense forests of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer and Gambel oak, along with geologic features and pockets of aspen, provide habitats for a diversity of wildlife, including raptors, bear and turkey. Meadows and springs are few and are key components of the landscape.”
I have walked this area a few times and have started from the Sunset Trail Parking area off Shultz Pass Rd. From there the trail is an old road up the hill and through a meadow. The cache is a short distance up a small ridge. There are a lot of other potential routes up. I’ll attach a map showing my route with a few waypoints noted. A loop of all three caches I placed up here was about 6. 4 miles with an elevation gain of 1,095 feet. My max elevation showed 8,475 feet. The slope going up this route is gradual and made a nice day hike.
Good opportunities to see wildlife up here. I have always seen deer on the ridge to the west and last fall came across a huge vulture working on a fox in the meadow. Last fall I also saw a few elk. Aside from the occasional mt. biker this area is generally quiet.
Notes and Warnings. There are currently rabies warnings for this area of Flagstaff. The Shultz Pass area and north side of Mt. Elden are also known to have mountain lions. Use caution with younger hikers and pets. Although the caches are placed off trail they are located to cause minimal impact. Cache probably won’t be available during the winter.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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