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Arizona State Flag LbNA #45253

Owner:Wisconsin Hiker
Plant date:Dec 30, 2008
Location:
City:Tucson
County:Pima
State:Arizona
Boxes:1
Found by: Squatchis
Last found:Feb 1, 2014
Status:FFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Apr 21, 2016
Last found/checked: 4-JAN-12 NOTE: I had a report that the container is damaged. If you plan to look for this box, I would greatly appreciate it if you could bring a new container. Thanks!

Location: The “Hot Water Colina” Trail 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.

Hike Distance: Approximately 2 miles roundtrip

Terrain: Hilly rocky trail in open area with cactus.

Note: Bring water along on your hike because it can get rather warm on the open trails. Although we never saw any, you should be alert for snakes and scorpions. Also be careful of the cactus – we can verify that they do tend to “attack” the unwary!

Here’s a little background on the state flag design:

The Arizona Flag was designed by Colonel Charles W. Harris and was officially adopted as the state symbol of Arizona in 1917. The red and yellow rays represent the rays of sunshine and the original 13 colonies. Those were also the colors of the Spanish Conquistadors flag that entered into the territory in 1540. Blue and yellow are Arizona’s state colors. The blue and red are the same shades of color as found on the USA flag. The copper star represents copper mining, the major natural Arizona resource.

To find an image of the flag, walk through the gate and start walking up the “Hot Water Colina” 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. After the saddle, the trail switches over to the other side of the ridge.

Continue along the trail. After a series of short switchbacks the trail levels out and you’ll pass a 1-armed saguaro on the left then eventually reach an open overlook on the trail with 360-degree views. This looks like it might be a good spot for a flagpole, but you’ll need to continue on.

Now the trail descends for a while – careful on the loose rock, it can be slippery! Now up again with a terraced rock hill on your right. Go up and around until the trail levels off and skirts around the east side of the hill.

Stop just before the trail starts to descend again. Turn around and backtrack on the trail past a Palo Verde tree, a prickly pear and a mesquite tree on the left. Standing at the mesquite, take a bearing of 210 degrees to spot a Palo Verde 16 steps off the trail. The flag is tucked away near the base, under a rock. Be alert for typical desert hazards. Please replace carefully so it continues to wave high for future finders.

Status reports on the flag would be greatly appreciated, since I live a long way from Arizona, and won’t be able to check on it myself.



Hike length: 1-2 miles