Agua Caliente Hill LbNA #12780 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Azroadie  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Dec 25, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Tucson |
| County: | Pima |
| State: | Arizona |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Squatchis |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Jan 16, 2012 |
| Status: | FFaFFaFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Dec 25, 2004 |
Trail difficulty: Moderate (some rocky and steep trail in places).
Distance: About 0.7 mile one way
Walk time: About 20 minutes one way
Stamp hand-carved
Status: Probably missing
At least three different letterboxers have reported not finding this letterbox; so, I assume it is missing. I will replace it probably next fall or winter.
The box is along the Agua Caliente Hill Trail in the Coronado National Forest a little northeast of Tucson. Take Grant, Houghton, or Wilmot Roads to Tanque Verde Road. Take Tanque Verde Road east. Turn left (north) on Soldiers Trail. Turn right (east) on Fort Lowell Road. Continue straight on Camino Ancho into the Palo Verde Ranch development. Turn left (north) on Camino Remuda. Continue on Camino Remuda as it curves around to where it looks like it ends at a house. Just before the house driveway, turn left and go for about 0.1 mile to the paved trailhead parking on the right.
Walk through the gate and start walking up the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. Continue up the trail to the first saddle (a small one). There are two very long switchbacks and two short switchbacks before you arrive at the saddle (in the saddle the trail, which has been going up the west side of the ridge, switches over to the other side of the ridge). Orient yourself on the trail in the saddle by viewing the north end of the trailhead parking lot at about 240 degrees (from mag. north) and a large house on the hillside at about 110 degrees (from mag. north). From this spot on the trail go off trail (on a faint unofficial trail) at about 200 degrees (from mag. north) for about 36 steps up hill to a moderate size Prickly Pear Cactus. Just behind this cactus at about 150 degrees (from mag. north) at about 3 steps is a rock outcrop. The larger pointed rock has some patches of bright green lichen on it. The box is in a crevice in this outcrop and covered by some smaller rocks. You will need to walk around the right side of the Prickly Pear Cactus and carefully duck around a large Cholla Cactus to get to the box! Be alert for snakes and scorpions.
Please be sure the contents are double ziplocked when you put them back in the box (ie. the stamp is in a ziploc, the book is in a ziploc, and the two are in the larger ziploc bag). Please rehide the box well under the rocks so that it can not be seen from any direction.
Enjoy the views from this ridge of the greater Tucson Basin. To the southeast are the Rincon Mountains; the northwest the Santa Catalina Mountains; west across the valley are the Tucson Mountains; south are the Santa Rita Mountains; southwest in the very far distance are the Baboquivari Mountains (and Kitt Peak); and across the valley at about 220 degrees are the Sierrita Mountains.
Contact me if the box needs attention:
http://nostalgia.esmartkid.com/azroadie.html
Please record your find at www.letterboxing.org/ or at www.atlasquest.com/ .
Now go look for "My Favorite Snack Letterbox" which is along the same trail.
If you live in Arizona or New Mexico or have an interest in letterboxes in those states, you are invited to join the Letterboxing Southwest Discussion Group. Go here to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LetterboxingSouthwest/ .
Distance: About 0.7 mile one way
Walk time: About 20 minutes one way
Stamp hand-carved
Status: Probably missing
At least three different letterboxers have reported not finding this letterbox; so, I assume it is missing. I will replace it probably next fall or winter.
The box is along the Agua Caliente Hill Trail in the Coronado National Forest a little northeast of Tucson. Take Grant, Houghton, or Wilmot Roads to Tanque Verde Road. Take Tanque Verde Road east. Turn left (north) on Soldiers Trail. Turn right (east) on Fort Lowell Road. Continue straight on Camino Ancho into the Palo Verde Ranch development. Turn left (north) on Camino Remuda. Continue on Camino Remuda as it curves around to where it looks like it ends at a house. Just before the house driveway, turn left and go for about 0.1 mile to the paved trailhead parking on the right.
Walk through the gate and start walking up the Agua Caliente Hill Trail. Continue up the trail to the first saddle (a small one). There are two very long switchbacks and two short switchbacks before you arrive at the saddle (in the saddle the trail, which has been going up the west side of the ridge, switches over to the other side of the ridge). Orient yourself on the trail in the saddle by viewing the north end of the trailhead parking lot at about 240 degrees (from mag. north) and a large house on the hillside at about 110 degrees (from mag. north). From this spot on the trail go off trail (on a faint unofficial trail) at about 200 degrees (from mag. north) for about 36 steps up hill to a moderate size Prickly Pear Cactus. Just behind this cactus at about 150 degrees (from mag. north) at about 3 steps is a rock outcrop. The larger pointed rock has some patches of bright green lichen on it. The box is in a crevice in this outcrop and covered by some smaller rocks. You will need to walk around the right side of the Prickly Pear Cactus and carefully duck around a large Cholla Cactus to get to the box! Be alert for snakes and scorpions.
Please be sure the contents are double ziplocked when you put them back in the box (ie. the stamp is in a ziploc, the book is in a ziploc, and the two are in the larger ziploc bag). Please rehide the box well under the rocks so that it can not be seen from any direction.
Enjoy the views from this ridge of the greater Tucson Basin. To the southeast are the Rincon Mountains; the northwest the Santa Catalina Mountains; west across the valley are the Tucson Mountains; south are the Santa Rita Mountains; southwest in the very far distance are the Baboquivari Mountains (and Kitt Peak); and across the valley at about 220 degrees are the Sierrita Mountains.
Contact me if the box needs attention:
http://nostalgia.esmartkid.com/azroadie.html
Please record your find at www.letterboxing.org/ or at www.atlasquest.com/ .
Now go look for "My Favorite Snack Letterbox" which is along the same trail.
If you live in Arizona or New Mexico or have an interest in letterboxes in those states, you are invited to join the Letterboxing Southwest Discussion Group. Go here to join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LetterboxingSouthwest/ .