bilgeratt: I hate this... It's killing me. I LOVED this cache...
But it's gone.
Last fall there were 9 trees on the island, which was down 2 from the first time I ever saw it. However, I knew the days were numbered, and why. Believe it or not, it wasn't the FLOODS that did it in.
If you want the long story keep reading.
It was the SLIGHTLY elevated water level in the winter.
The last 5 years the corps has taken to pulling the lake down 2 feet in the late summer to seed millet in the shallow flats at the upper end of the lake. Once the millet heads out in late October, they raise the lake level to about 2 feet ABOVE normal and hold it there for about 3-4 months so the ducks can have easy access to the millet, thereby ensuring hunters easy access to ducks.
Most years they get a fall flood that washes the millet away before it can germinate and take hold. This makes the holding of the lake ABOVE normal completely unnecessary. The last two years that hasn't happened.
Unfortunately, those of you who have been to this cache when the water was normal know exactly where that put the level. Right at the root base of the tree.
Since the entire island was only about 1-2 feet above water, the waves stirred up by the wind attacked the roots of these these trees all winter long no matter WHAT direction the wind was out of. I was on the Twister Bridge in late January with binoculars and could see a couple of trees had succumed, but I believe ours was still standing at that time. When I put the boat on in March to go see, we were down to 3 remaining trees. Two trees were laying down and submerged but still on the island, and I found two trees on the causeway of the bridge while I was crappie fishing. The box was in none of them. It must be in one of the 2 trees that floated away.
The three remaining trees have almost nothing left of their root systems. If they don't fall this summer, one more winter of millet planting will for sure scour this island clean.
A new prison is NOT out of the question, but not for awhile. I've been assesing several places on the lake, and I'm only hopeful of one. It actually would be accessible by hike, but it would be a VERY long hike.... lol. The problem is, I'm in need of a shallower draft boat to reach it. My two I/O boats just can't get to it.
Farewell Prison.... You will be missed.