This is the 100th cache I have placed. I thought a
long time about where I should place this cache. Placing it here
was a no-brainier. This area has always been special to me. I have
visited this area since I was a youngster. I’ve hiked and
backpacked in it, but mostly have accessed it from canoe on the
Eleven Point National Scenic Riverway. This area is also home to
the Indiana bat which is an Endangered Species that has the
scientific name Myotis sodalis. The Indiana bat hibernates
in caves, including Whites Creek Cave, which is along the trail.
The rest of the year, the bats live in trees, preferably big trees.
Several years ago, the Forest Service decided to do timber sales
across the Eleven Point River near Whites Creek Cave. I sued the
Forest Service, without an attorney, over that timber sale arguing
it would violate the Endangered Species Act. I had to argue in
court against 5 attorneys. Judge Clark, who recently passed away,
ruled in my favor and stopped the timber sales. The case is
Bensman
v. United States Forest Service, 984
F.Supp. 1242 (W.D.Mo. (1997)).That is why I use the name
Myotis. And that is why I am picking this spot. I also love to hike
and love wild places. So where else could I place my
100th cache?
WARNING: This cache is a 5/5 and requires a 20-mile
backpack with at least a one night stay in the Wilderness. This is
the largest Wilderness Area in Missouri (and probably the Midwest.)
One could hike this in one day. In my younger days, I was known to
backpack further than this in one day in the mountains. However, if
you want to log this cache, you must carry your gear on your back
and camp at least one night in the heart of the Wilderness. Not
complying is cheating and will subject you to having your log
deleted. Be fair to the others. If you want to log a 5/5
cache, you are going to have to do a 5/5 cache. Besides, I was
sneaky and I have it set up where you need to decode a hint at
night in the Wilderness Area. If you don’t decode it at night in
the Wilderness Area, you will not get the right answer. Horses are
allowed, but the trails are not designed for them. And you cannot
do it on horseback if you want to log the cache. Additionally, this
is a Wilderness, bikes and motorized equipment are illegal. Have a
true Wilderness experience doing a 5/5 cache.
This trail is flat in parts and has some climbs in others. There
are some really nice places along the way and you get nice views of
the Eleven Point. See link for the picture at the end of the
page. The trail is well marked except in a few places. I only
had a little trouble in one spot. The trail is also fairly well
maintained.
You will need a tape measure and a compass. Don’t forget this!
You will also need a writing instrument. You will also need a
backpack and camping gear. You will be in a Wilderness a long way
from anyone. Be prepared. You never know what could happen. Read my
adventures placing the cache. I would also recommend a pair of
sandals in case you have to wade across Whites Creek. Make sure you
have a good topographic map of the area and know how to read
it.
The Forest Service has a info about the Wilderness at: See
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/marktwain/ranger_districts/doniphan/IRISH_WILDERNESS_Brochure.pdf
for more information on the Irish Wilderness.
I have a Garmin Mapsource/gpx file with the way points and my
tracks but they are low quality. Email me if you want them.
Garmin's 24K National Park Central has a good topo map for the
area. My free Garmin Trail maps have survey grade GPS trail
location from the Forest Service. You can download the installer at
http://webpages.charter.net/jbensman/Maps.htm
In some places you will have to take a bearing. The declination
is 1 degree, but I will use magnetic in all the readings (i.e.,
don’t correct the reading of the compass). If you don’t know how to
take a bearing and can’t figure it out, email me. To make sure you
can obtain bearings: At the trail head, stand by the Men’s outhouse
and take a bearing of the sign. It should be 320 degrees.
The way this works is you have find some numbers and information
along the trail to get the actual coordinates of the final cache.
The actual cache is at N36 45.NNN W91 08.WWW. One of the first
things you will see is a sign that says "White’s Creek Cave is
closed to public use from */** to */** This sign is before you get
to the Irish Wilderness signs. The first 3 numbers is the North
Coordinate (NNN), the second 3 numbers is the West Coordinate
(WWW). Along the trial you will have to make adjustments to NNN and
WWW to get the correct number.
NOTE: If NNN or WWW comes out to be less than 100, add a 0 or 00
to the beginning. For example, if NNN came out to 1, use 001 (N36
45.001).
To be nice, I am also going to give you the checksum (CS=) for
each number you have to calculate. The basic rule is just the sum
of the digits for a single number, i.e., 456 would be 4+5+6 or 15
for the checksum.
Enter the starting coordinates: NNN=_____ (CS=15) WWW=_____
(CS=7)
At the trail junction (about N36 45.821 W91 08.502), you will
see a sign that has North Loop and South Loop. Copy everything
down on this sign. Keep the lines separate as you need to know
the line and position of the letters and numbers to figure this
out.
Stop 1 is at N36 45.841 W91 10.119. Look for this tree which is
by the trail.
Measure the distance from A to B in this picture.
The distance is____. If this distance is between 25 and 60
inches, subtract 66 from NNN. If it is more than 60 inches,
subtract 166 from NNN. (NOTE: to check yourself add up all the
numbers on the North and South Loop signs and use that number for
the distance-it is a couple of inches off, but it will give you the
same answer.)
NNN is now ___________ (CS=21)
I am not going to give you coordinates for Stop 2. You will have
to find it with just a picture and a map. As soon as the trail
crosses White’s Creek, you will go up a hill. In a very short
distance you will see a large downed tree next to some rocks. Next
to the trail is a big rock and there is a small rock near the tree.
Measure the distance from furthest edge of the small rock (A) to
the closest edge of the big rock (B).
The distance is____. If the distance is more than 10 feet add 50
to NNN. If it is less, than 10 feet subtract 50.
NNN is now ___________ (CS=25)
At N36 45.792 W91 11.715, be careful. This was the only spot I
found confusing along the trail. Look closely for the trail maker
in the poison ivy. That way you will know which way to go.
Stop 3 is at N36 45.871 W91 12.449. You will see this downed
tree.
Take a bearing of the way the tree is pointing standing at the
root wad. (A root wad is the end of the tree with the roots.) The
bearing is _____ If the bearing is between 0 and 90, add 5 to NNN.
If the bearing is between 91 and 180, add 10 to NNN. If the bearing
is between 181 and 270, add 15 to NNN, if it is between 271 and
360, add 20 to NNN.
NNN is now ___________ (CS=17)
The junction for Bliss Springs is at N36 44.540 W91 13.230. Stop
4 is at Bliss Springs. There are two places where the water comes
out (this could not be the case if the water is low, i.e., it could
be dry.) In this picture you can see a beech tree with a fork in
it.
You can see one of the spring outlets though the V. Take a
bearing of the spring (stand at the tree and take a bearing of the
spring). The bearing is ______. If the bearing is between 0 and 90,
add 100 to NNN. If the bearing is between 91 and 180, add 200 to
NNN. If the bearing is between 181 and 270, add 115 to NNN, if it
is between 271 and 360, add 120 to NNN.
NNN is now ___________ (CS=18)
Now you just have to make two more adjustments to NNN.
Remember, it is absolutely vital that you make this adjustment
at night in your tent. If you don’t you will get the wrong
answer! Take out where you wrote down what is on the sign that
has North Loop and South Loop. I will give you the letter or number
on the sign. If I said, 4th line first number it would
be 1. If I said 7th line, 2nd word, first
letter, it would be C. If I said, 4th line, second
letter, it would be H. So decode this and do what it says. This
will be the final adjustment to NNN.
__ 2nd line 3rd letter
__ 6th line, 1st letter
__ 2nd line 3rd letter
__ 8th line, 4th letter
__ 2nd line 3rd letter
__ 2nd line 4th letter
__ 6th line, 3rd letter
__ 8th line, 3rd word, 4th
letter
__ 3rd line, 2nd letter
__ 4th line, 2nd word, last letter
__ 7th line, 3rd word, second letter
__ 6th line, 1st word, 3rd
letter
__ 6th line, 1st word, 3rd
letter
__ 2nd line, 1st number
__ 4th line, 4th letter
__ 8th line, 3rd word, 3rd
letter
__ 1st line, 1st letter
__ 1st line, 1st letter
__ 1st line, 1st letter
The result is _____ The checksum is 17. So the North Coordinate
is N36 45._____
To adjust for the new location of the final, add .045 to the
North Coordinate. So the North Coordinate is N36 45._____This is
the final number for NNN.
Now lets do the West Coordinate. You got this coordinate from
the first sign. WWW = _____.
Stop 5 is at the junction with White’s Creek Float Camp. You
will see a sign that says .3 miles White’s Creek Cave and below it
Bliss Springs 4.1 miles. Measure the distance between these two
signs. The distance is ____. If the distance is more than 6 inches,
add 100 to WWW. If it is less than 6 inches, subtract 100 from
WWW.
WWW is now __________ (CS=6)
Stop 6 is Whites Creek Cave. There is a door on the gate on the
entrance. How many horizontal bars are there? (There is a sign that
says NOTICE above the entrance. The longest word on the sign has
the same number of letters as the door has bars.) There are ____
bars. If there are 5, subtract 100 from WWW. If there are 6,
subtract 150. If there are 7, add 110. If there are 8, add 200. If
there are 9, add 200. If there are 10, subtract 250. If there are
more than 10, make an appointment with an eye doctor. I have a
report the sign is down. The location for the cave is N36 43.638
W91 12.248.
WWW is now __________ (CS=8)
Stop 7 is Fiddler Springs. On the other side of the creek you
will see two big trees. See picture.
Take a bearing from Tree A toward Tree B. The bearing is _____.
If the bearing is between 0 and 90, add 5 to WWW. If the bearing is
between 91 and 180, add 100 to WWW. If the bearing is between 181
and 270, add 115 to WWW, if it is between 271 and 360, add 120 to
WWW.
WWW is now __________ (CS=13)
The last stop (stop 8) is at N36 44.879 W91 10.831. You will see
this tree next to the trail.
Take a bearing from the root wad (trail end) to the other end of
the tree. The bearing is ____. If the bearing is between 0 and 90,
add 3 to WWW. If the bearing is between 91 and 180, add 4 to WWW.
If the bearing is between 181 and 270, add 5 to WWW, if it is
between 271 and 360, add 6 to WWW.
WWW is _______ (CS=16) W91 08._______
To adjust for the new final location add .225 to the WWW. So the
So the West Coordinate is W91 08._____ Now you can find the final
cache.
I had quite a 5/5 adventure setting up this cache. See my
description in the pictures section.