Camp Iten Traditional Cache

Camo'd pill bottle hidden near the ruins of an old Boy Scout Camp.

This cache is located in the Blackhawk Wildlife Area and is a CITO area.  For a more gradual path to this cache, I would advise following the Southern trail.  The two North trails converge along a bluff and have some awesome views of the Maquoketa River below, but they also take you down a very steep bluff trail before you reach the river bottoms area of the park and converge with the Southern trail.  When you approach the hide location there will be a tall, unmistakeable beacon to lead you straight to the cache.  It is a scenic hike to a neat location and is well worth a visit, even without a smiley reward.  It is easy to imagine this location as a busy Scout camp and it makes me grin thinking about all of the fun activities that went on here. Enjoy the hike, take and share some pictures and as always, be safe, be courteous, be respectful and have fun.

History of Camp Iten (1930’s – 1970’s)

• Land was donated by Joiner Family of Clinton

• Because of generous donations by Louis Iten Family, which covered initial construction and development, it was named Camp Iten - Camp originally had tents but was quickly replaced by cabins and a large dining hall

• Late 1950’s the camp buildings had deteriorated badly, so a group of men who had served as Seabees during WWII constructed a new 18 by 40 foot building on a concrete slab - It could accommodate 32 campers and the bunks were built by Troop 2 out of Clinton - The building was destroyed by fire 20 years later

As always, be safe, be courteous, be respectful and have fun.

Please remember that all caches in the Jackson County Conservation Areas are CITO locations.

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