The Dry Lake Hills are the lower hills northwest of Mt. Elden,
north downtown Flagstaff. The dry lakes are seasonal
“lakes” that for the most part are large open meadows.
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 the meadow. The cache is up
on a small ridge. There are many 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 took me about 6.
4 miles with an elevation gain of 1,095 feet. My max elevation
showed 8,475 feet. The slope going up from the Sunset trailhead is
gradual and made a nice day hike.
Cache is named “Celtic Ridge” as on the topos there
were no specific names for this feature so I decided to name it.
Started it of with only one trade; a cool little toy matchbox
front-end loader.
Good opportunities to see wildlife up here. I have always seen
deer on this ridge 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.
