Vintage: Coastal Hike Traditional Geocache
sigurdk: Cache likely lost.
Archived.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is a write-up based on my recent (October, 2007) visit to the cache location.
Unfortunately, due to property owner encroachment and coastal cliff erosion, access to the cache is even harder than before: Bringing dogs, elderly, or children is not recommended. A certain amount of athleticism is actually also highly recommended. Recommended access is from the north (see below details), and even then only during low tide.
I do not want to scare you away from finding this one, however. Once past the one narrow point (you have to hike past the side of a wall above a 15 ft. drop onto the beach), and this is the ONLY reason why I have rated the GC with a difficulty rating of 4. This location is truly one of the nicest peaces of coast line I have ever seen, and certainly so for So Cal.
Access from the North:
Park around at or around the south end of Wind-n-Sea Beach, which is located between the Children's Pool in La Jolla and Tourmaline Surfing Park in Pacific Beach.
These are the coordinates for the closest parking (on-street) around 6410 Camino de la Costa, CA 92037:
32 49.533
117 16.753
Walk down to the beach through the little passage walk or from elsewhere at Wind-n-Sea beach to the southern end of the beach and hike south for about 1/3 mile.
Southern access (ONLY during extreme low tides and calm seas).
It is also feasible to access the GC from the south, but unless you bring a kayak or are happy to wade in heavy surf to your waistline or above, this is only recommended during extreme low tides (sub-zero) and with accompanying calm seas. Under these conditions it is possible to walk on the footing of a sea-wall, but even then you would expect to get wet, so shorts and suitable shoes are needed. You could also wade, but expect to get wet at least up to your knees under even the most favorable tide and swell conditions.
Park around 6160 Camino de La Costa, CA 92037. Access the beach and wade along the seawall base for about 500 ft.
My Legend with WAAS turned off showed an accuracy of 18 ft. and an elevation of 10 ft. at the hiding spot.
The cache is a small peanut butter jar - don't plan to place anything larger than a matchbox in the cache.
The cache is well hidden - if you don't use the hint, take your time and use your hands to search in spots that may not be visible. Compared to when I planted this cache in 2002, the location has become a lot more exposed to resident mugglers, so plan for a discrete access.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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