Determined to find the Wave Cave, I headed back to the area we had been the day before. I started off in the parking lot that I had accidentally walked to the previous day and continued along the fence-line until I reached an inconspicuous gate (barbed wire and no signs, rather than the typical metal gates around here). By the time I had gotten myself out of bed, enjoyed a free shower, gotten ready for the day, filled up on fuel, figured out where I was going and driven the thirty minutes or so to the trailhead, it was already around 9:30 am, so the sun was getting strong. The final kilometre or so of the hike is a fairly steep, rocky climb, which was rather unpleasant in the heat of the day, but well worth it when we reached the cave. Luna was determined to forge ahead, leading the way at a trot up much of the hill, despite dragging behind me on the flatter terrain. The trail forked off at one point and I ended up taking the route that forced us to climb on to and over a huge, steep boulder, go over some more somewhat difficult rocks and bushwhack slightly. “You decided to come up the hard way, huh?” one of the two people already in the cave said to me as I beelined for the farthest, coolest corner of the cave, I was relieved to hear that there was another, easier route down. As we spent some time cooling off, a large spider came marching towards me, interrupting my peace. Finally, the young couple finished taking photos (they were taking some pretty epic ones off the wave, the girl told me that they are the “King and queen of staged photos”) and I took my turn taking photos, before settling down on the wave for quite some time to enjoy the wonderful views. Eventually, I heard more people coming (it was amazing how far I could hear from that spot!) and I planned my departure for just when they arrived so that I could enjoy the maximum amount of time in the shade.The way down was much easier, although with how steep it was and all the little rocks, it was easy to slip. As I exited the gate, a couple walking past inquired about the Wave Cave, they had been walking for a long time and the path just kept going, it was the same thing that I had done the day before, I pointed them in the right direction, although I am certain they didn’t continue on to it today as they were too exhausted from the hike they had done already. When Luna and I arrived back at the parking lot, we sat in the shade of the car for quite some time. I went to put Luna’s seatbelt harness on at one point and she started to get up for it, then lay back down, unwilling to part with the shade quite yet. We spent about half an hour sitting there, I didn’t mind in the slightest, the views were great and I was very happy to be in the shade. I was just starting the engine when two girls slightly younger than me walked in to the parking lot off the trail, they approached me for direction as they had arrived at the wrong parking lot. They were exhausted, so I gave them a lift back to the other parking lot. They had done exactly the same thing as I, looking for the Wave Cave down the straight path for around 3 hours round trip, then arriving back at the wrong parking lot. I can only think that the reason that Superstition Wilderness does not provide any signage for the Wave Cave is to keep the numbers of people that visit the cave relatively low. It is a beautiful hike and a very cool cave, my favourite hike yet.
Luna and I then headed to Canyon Lakes so that she could have a brief dip in the lake, despite being way overheated, she was not too interest in the water, wading in slightly, then wanting to explore the shore, so we left. Upon returning to the campsite, I immediately staked out my spot in the shaded picnic table area and read for quite some time. After cooking some spaghetti, I returned to my vehicle and opened the back so that I could sit on the tailgate, which was now mostly shaded from the sun. Luna soon joined me on the tailgate and stayed there as a rabbit came out of the bushes and explored several feet away from us, it was a very serene moment. I drew for awhile as the sun set and birds sang and groomed themselves in the bush right next to me, it was very peaceful. The sunset illuminated the rocks in a stunning manner and coyotes yipped nearby. When a coyote trotted by only several yards away, I put Luna inside and opened all the windows instead, while I prepared for the night. Coyotes don’t generally concern me, but if they’re willing to pass that close to humans, I don’t want my 30 lb dog leashed up on the ground right by them for easy pickings. As I shook out my sandy sleeping bags, I noticed the man that I shared the parking lot with wandering around swinging something and holding a beeping object, curious, I kept an eye out for what he was doing and as the beeping grew louder and he began to watch the bushes, I realized he must be monitoring an animal. Sure enough, a large bird of prey swooped down and grabbed the object he was swinging. I had to go out and see what was happening and ended up chatting with him and his wife for awhile. The man turned out to be a falconer, he had another bird in the car, this one a Peregrin Falcon, much smaller than the other one and she stared at me nervously the whole time I was there. Absolutely beautiful birds and very interesting people. The stars had come out while I spoke to them and the sight of the stars over the Lost Dutchman was stunning. Now, be ready for a huge amount of photos, I want them online in case anything happens to my computer again, so they may as well be shared!
The wave
Luna had a short burst of zoomies when she found a stick soon after getting to the cave.
This photo was taken by the "Queen of staged photos", I did a retake with my tripod after they left as I wanted Luna to be looking up in the photo.
Self-portrait, I had to set the timer for 10-seconds, then run carefully on to the slipper rock and hope Luna stood nicely for it, she was just confused by my behaviour. I would have liked to have the angle slightly different, but oh well!
Such a nice spot!
Serenity
Luna in the cave
On the way down she kept hopping on top of rocks and I eventually took a photo of it, I didn't pose her here, she just likes jumping on top of objects and looking around sometimes.
Canyon Lake
Between Canyon Lake and Lost Dutchman State Park
So peaceful.
Right when the coyote passed by, I didn't see it until right after this photo when I turned to see what she had begun to growl at.
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