The Elvira
Cache
Okay, I
know that you most likely formed a mental picture of the film star named Elvira
when you read the title of this cache. The film star Elvira is quite interesting
and would be fun to meet, but she has nothing to do with this cache. Let me give
you a little background about how this cache came to be.
The name
of the cache gives you a clue to the cache's location. I have visited this
general area thousands of times. I always wondered about the name of the road
that leads to the cache but was finally enlightened on how the road was named
after obtaining my GPSr and loading a detailed street-level map onto the GPSr.
While driving down the road that leads to the cache I saw a historical point of
interest on the screen of my GPSr. The point of interest was an old mine that
happened to have the same name as the road. After almost 20 years, I finally
knew how the road got its name. During the Civil War the mines in this area
mined both coal and ore to feed the local furnaces that produced iron for the
Confederacy. Later in time, after the Civil War, these mines continued to
operate, supplying coal and ore to the steel plants located in Birmingham and
Bessemer. The old mine that is located in the area of this cache ceased
operations almost 70 years ago. You would never even realize that a mine
operated in this area by looking at the location from the road. All you will see
is trees, trees and more trees. In fact, until I learned of this old mine's
location, that's all I thought really existed here. However, once you get out of
your car and start your trek towards the cache's location, you will soon notice
that there is a very old rail bed that was used to haul coal from the mine. You
will find yourself walking through a gap that was blasted through a mountain,
through which the rail bed travels. Continue walking through this gap as you
attempt to find the cache's hiding spot. As I was walking through this gap to
hide the cache, I found myself thinking what it must have been like in this area
all those long years ago. I imagined the rail cars being pulled along the
railway by mules. I also imagined what a hard life the miners must have led.
Even today, mining is one of the most hazardous vocations... can you imagine how
dangerous it was 70 years ago. I thought of how labor intensive it must have
been to work in such a location. There were no high-tech machines, just the hard
work and sweat and blood from the laborers. I pictured these miners working fast
and furious to mine coal to feed the giant blast furnaces located in Birmingham.
I love the beautiful and historic locations that Geocaching has allowed me to
see. This area, although no longer recognizable for what it once was, is quite
historic and worth knowing about as a tribute to the men that worked so hard to
mine the coal that was in such demand. I spent about an hour, in the area the cache is hidden, exploring and never could locate the exact location of the mine, but
plan on going back soon and attempting to follow the old rail beds further in
attempt to locate the mine. From the information I have gathered about this
location from old books from the library and from a 70 year-old woman that has
lived near this area her entire life, the mine was a slope mine which means that
the mine was entered through a horizontal entrance, then sloped down
underground. I have learned a lot about this area and about mining thanks to
Geocaching.
Now, back
to the cache. The cache is a one-gallon Rubbermaid container with a screw-on lid
that is entirely covered with camouflage tape. I have to admit that the
container blends in with the environment quite well and may well prove a fun
challenge to find. I have rated the cache with a difficulty of 3 and a terrain
of 3-1/2 due to the fact that there is no trail, the area is entirely overgrown
and depending on how you approach the cache you may find yourself climbing or
descending some steep hills. When I placed the cache on 1/12/2003, the cache
contained the following items:
I really
had a lot of fun educating myself about the cache's location and hope that you
enjoy this very historic area. As our population expands, continued development
encroaches on historic areas such as this cache's location. As much as I like to
see new neighborhoods and developments, I really hate to see areas like this
where I spent my youth disappear. Please take a couple of minutes to sign the
log book in the cache and please take an item and leave a treasure for the next
person to find. Happy Geocaching!