Geocaching in San Carlos

When you are at a marina for several weeks, there is usually plenty of time to explore the nearby area. Today we hiked the trail to the saddle between the two peaks of Tetakawi, the mountain peaks marking the entrance to San Carlos harbor. The trail starts at Km 15, with a meander through grass along the roadside until you settle on the one that will get you to the top. Then it’s a dry, dusty hike up in a stair-step fashion for half an hour or so, palo verde and cactus abound. The last one-third of the trail is steep and rugged (some Class 3 rock) and you would need equipment to climb the peaks themselves, so we settled for standing on the edge, feeling the exposure of a thousand foot drop to the sea below.




Our hiking companion, Chris from Nada Mas, had a car, so after our quadriceps-jarring descent, he drove us part way into the valley in search of the Cañon de Nacapule. We walked the last kilometer, finding two geocaches on the way, and entered the canyon about mid-afternoon. This time of year, the creek bed that flows through Nacapule is dry, but that only means the rock formations carved by rushing water in the wet season are more visible—and breathtaking. The whole canyon is exquisite—at the entrance, orange rock walls loom on both sides, patterned with swirls of rocks, niches and caves left by the volcanic activity centuries ago. We had no idea what the rocks all meant (where is Kat when you need her!?) but they were amazing. As we walked up the canyon, it became greener, narrower, wetter, and cooler. When it looked like there was no going further, we noticed a knotted rope snaked down a wet wall on our right and Ardy pulled herself up, hand-over-hand, to find that the trail went on, curving off to the left for another half mile or so and balancing itself precariously on ledges above deep, dark pools of water 20 feet below.




The search for our last geocache of the day took us back into San Carlos (we hitched a ride for a couple of miles, walked a couple more) and out past the San Carlos Country Club (yes, there is one, golf course included) to a new development tract and (finally!) Paco’s Hill. This was an open country hike, catching cholla spines on our shoes and carrying grass seed from one spot to another, until we found it on the ridge above the development. By the time we had walked the two miles back to the intersection that would take us to Marina Real, we were ready for a lift, quickly accommodated by a local driver who delivered us directly to our dock.