Hiking is what brought me to geocaching. I've been meaning to
set up a hiking series since I started caching. It was this hike
that gave me the idea. Seems like there are quite a few other
cachers out there who are also hikers. It seems a natural fit to
bring the two together.
The series will be hikes that can be accomplished in just a few
hours on Sunday morning. For those who have the time and want a
longer hike, the trails selected will have long and short options.
The culmination hike for this summer will move to Saturday because
it is quite a bit longer.
This section of Desolation Trail is a good one to start the
series with as it's pretty mellow (3 terrain due to some
steepness). I can make it from the parking lot to the top where I
have a cache in about an hour and I do not move that fast,
especially uphill. Although I have ideas for the rest of the
series, it also seemed like a good idea to start mellow and bring
more people out. I welcome suggestions. If this is successful and
there is interest, I may even continue with monthly snowshoeing
hikes. For that I'll really need suggestions of what trails have
caches that are winter accessible.
We will begin in the parking lot for Desolation and Thayne
Trails at 8am. This trailhead is up Mill Creek Canyon, the first on
the right after the boy scout camp. After signing the event log, we
will walk out of the parking lot no later than 8:15am. If you want
to go with the group be there by then. Allowing time for caching we
should be back in no more than three (3) hours. There are three
caches along this route
Bill's Arch,
Thith ith in Thayne, and
Sunday Stroll to the Top. (Guess which one is mine.) If you
have solved the puzzle, it is also possible to access the side
trail
to
Perfect Squares. (It's really not that hard) There are plenty
of other caches in the canyon for those who want to make more grabs
while they are here.
As promised there is a longer option. Once to the top you can
follow the trail its full length to Desolation Lake. It's 17 miles.
That may be overkill for a Sunday, but you're welcome to go for it.
I'm going back down after hitting the top. For the rest of the
summer I'll take the long option for those who want to join me.
For those not familiar with Mill Creek Canyon, there is a small
user's fee of $2.25 payable as you exit. If you plan to spend a lot
of time up here you may want to get the annual pass for $22. Here's
more information on
Mill Creek Canyon.
Come on out and have fun hiking and caching! Make a Sunday
morning caching hike a regular part of your month! See you
there!