After surviving the crossing of an atrociously steep ravine
nearby while navigating between caches, took a break on a suitable
section of forest provided furniture, and decided this would make a
great location to plop down a cache for anyone else wanting a rest
after that ravine!
Terrain rating is based upon coming from What-er You Lookin' At? (UBC Loop #6)
(GC111R4); if coming from Have Cache, Will Travel (UBC Loop #8)
(GC111R6), rating would be a 3.5. FTF prize is a Starbucks gift
card.
Note: Since this is State Gamelands, you'll want to wear
appropriate blaze orange attire during
hunting season, as there are definitely signs of hunter activity,
such as deer feeding stations, permanent tree stands and camp
sites. To complete all of the caches on this approximately 8 mile
loop, which can take many hours to accomplish, you will need to
cross numerous streams, steep ravines and marshy areas, and is
therefore not recommended that you start an attempt to do the
entire loop all at once late in the day, unless you like the
adventure of bushwhacking by flashlight! Most of the creeks can
easily be jumped across, but depending upon water levels at least
two will require finding a safe log or ford to cross if you don't
like wading.
Extra fun: This is the seventh in a series of 8 caches in
a long loop around the Upper Barton Creek (UBC) basin of Falls
Lake. Cachers that complete the entire series, taking notes when
directed by instructions in caches along the way, will be rewarded
at the end of the loop! Not all caches include a clue, most have
one, and one includes two. Please DO NOT
REMOVE the clue sheets from the caches or move them to a different
cache in the series! The cache with two clues really is meant to
have two, and the one without any really doesn't want to have a
clue from another cache! Note that the reward can be
found at either end of the loop, so you can either start with
Nature's Garage (UBC Loop #1) (GC111QV) and
work your way counter-clockwise around the lake, or with Have Cache, Will Travel (UBC Loop #8)
(GC111R6) and work your way clockwise around the lake. The final
cache is in a much more picturesque and remote area than this
cache, so the recommended loop direction is counter-clockwise.
Congrats to Farb for completing the
counter-clockwise loop and claiming the first FTL (First To
Loop) "Cache is King" coin at UBC #8 on March 1, 2007 and to
Luggage & Leather for completing the clockwise loop and
claiming the second FTL coin at UBC #1 on March 23,
2007! Let me know if the supply of rewards
gets low so that I can restock the cache for the next finder. If
you leave a trackable item in the reward box instead of the main
cache, please note that fact in your find log, as someone
wishing to trade for that item will need to have the clues
gathered along the loop to open the reward box.
The entire loop can be navigated while staying on the public
watershed area, which is very clearly marked by orange banded trees on the boundary lines, and
benchmarks or pipes at the corners. Primitive trails follow this
boundary for portions of the loop, so the
shortest way may not always be the fastest way between caches on
this loop, as the lowlands near the lake can involve serious
bushwhacking. Also, if you cut some corners you will
be leaving public land and trespassing on private property, so
please be careful and stay inside the public boundary
line.
On the map below, the red line is the
boundary of the public lands and often has a primitive trail
following the line; areas in light green
or light blue are flood-prone and may
be hazardous to navigate after heavy rains due to standing water.
Click on the image to display a larger version of the map in a new
window, which also includes markers for the approximate location of
the caches that make up the loop and the recommended parking spots.
Map images are courtesy of Wake County
iMaps, visit their site if you want to print detailed topo maps
of the area with resolution down to a 2 foot contour line
gradient.
Planning your adventure: It is unlikely that your GPSr
has detailed enough information about where the lake edge is and
where the atrociously steep ravines are hiding, so for most
of the caches in the series it is strongly recommended that you
follow the link to the enlarged map, print a
copy, and take it with you! Also, don't forget that the
red line often has a primitive trail
following it, and the lowland areas in green can be a serious bushwhack.
Slicing up the loop: Since the entire loop can take a
significant amount of time to complete in one attempt, it can
easily be split up into three smaller sections with access via
different roads.
- From Six Forks Rd: Nature's Garage (UBC Loop #1) (GC111QV) is
easiest when coming from either the gravel turnout at N 35
58.530, W 078 39.400 or the large parking lot for the nearby
Upper Barton Creek boat launch, entrance at N 35 58.650, W 078
39.420. Have Cache, Will Travel (UBC Loop #8)
(GC111R6) is easiest when parking just down the road at the
Wildlife Public Fishing access at N 35 58.234, W 078
39.202.
- From Peed-Dead End Rd: Grass is Greener (UBC Loop #2) (GC111QY),
Bugged Out! (UBC Loop #3) (GC111R0) and
Bar-B-Tree (UBC Loop #4) (GC111R1) are easiest
when coming from the end of the road, park by the gate to the
public lands at N 35 58.180, W 78 40.210.
- From Mt Vernon Church Rd: Over the River (UBC Loop #5) (GC111R2),
What-er You Lookin' At? (UBC Loop #6)
(GC111R4) and 2s + 2m = 4t + 1c (UBC Loop #7) (GC111R5) are
easiest when coming from the turnout at N 35 57.610, W 78
40.715.