Round Top Lookout Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Round Top Lookout is located above Hope Idaho & Lake
Pend Oreille
Both pictures above were taken from near
the the cache site the day I set it: The Left pic is a view towards
Lake Pend Oreille showing one of the footings., and the Right pic
is a view down towards the Lake. (Yes, that's snow... I snowshoed
to the top.)
This cache is located at the top of Round Top Mountain above Hope
Idaho at an elevation of 6,153'. It's a relatively difficult hike
of about 15 miles round-trip with an elevation gain of about 3000'.
The "trail" is a 7-mile long old mining road that led up to a
saddle near the top to access the Auxor Mine on the Lightning Creek
side. Then it's 0.5 miles up to the top where an old Lookout Tower
stood. This road is closed to Automobile traffic, but open to
4-wheelers, motorcyles, horses, and of course hikers.
To get to the cache site from the Hope Post Office, turn on to Main
St. Follow it a few hundred yards uphill and take a sharp right
uphill towards the cemetery. Continue past the cemetery on a narrow
dirt road that bears the sign "Road Closed 3/4 Mile Ahead" and
"Trail 444". The marked trail head (#444) is at the end of the
road. This road deteriorates rather quickly as you pass by a
property with a garage on one side and a house on the other. There
are a couple of turnouts located just before the trailhead. Please
be respectful as you pass by the private property. If you do decide
to use a 4-wheeler or motorcycle, please stay on the
designated trails.
This cache can be a pretty easy grab if you're on a 4-wheeler (1/2
mile hike up the trail from the saddle), and if you do get up to
it, make sure that you get my "Little Jim" Adit Cache about 1/2 way up
the mountain. It is a very nice hike through stands of cedars, and
then up to some of the finest views in the area. Just leave early
if you're hiking the entire way. The Terrain rating represents a
hike up trail 444 from the trailhead.
The picture above shows the awesome view
during the summer months.
I took this photo in 1998.
Cache is a Nalgene bottle. I recommend reading the hint and looking
at the spoiler pics. The coordinates are close, but the satellite
coverage was a little sparse and the 40 mph wind gusts with a 20
degree temperature made me a little quick to get back down to the
saddle. Besides, if you go through all of the trouble to get this
far, you've gotta find it!
Besides trail 444, you can also access this cache from Trail 120 up
Trestle Creek Road, hiking by the Trestle Peak Lookout - Gone but not forgotten
Cache (another one of mine.)
Note: as of April 27, 2007, there was 6' of snow at the top. As the
next month goes by, the snow will quickly melt, but take this into
consideration if you plan on finding this in May. |
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ghpxrq va oruvaq n pbhcyr bs ebpxf va n erprffrq nern ng gur onfr bs gur Ybbxbhg Gbjre sbbgvat jvgu gur zbahzrag va gur gbc. Cyrnfr ercynpr ebpxf pnershyyl fb vg vf bhg bs fvtug!