Dan Saddle Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A down-and-back hike 2.4 miles one way on the Oracle Ridge trail on Mt. Lemmon.
The hike on the Oracle Ridge trail is one of my favorites on Mt. Lemmon. It features magnificent views on both sides as you hike the ridge. You can see the domes of Biosphere II off in the distance to the Northwest. The cache at Dan Saddle is 2.42 miles on this easy-to-follow trail.
To get to the trailhead, drive up the Catalina Highway on Mt. Lemmon and turn right at the Emergency Medical Aid station. Drive through the facility back to a dirt road, the Old Mt. Lemmon road. Even though the dirt road is primitive, this short section is no problem for autos. After .1 mile you'll come to open, staging area. Park near the trailhead sign at the North end. The trailhead is at 32.42922° N, 110.80622° W.
From here at an elevation of 7780 feet, hike the Oracle Ridge trail North descending to Dan Saddle at 6900 feet. The trail twice meets and leaves old jeep trails. Dan Saddle is an intersection of several jeep trails, the Oracle Ridge trail and the Catalina Camp trail. The Oracle Ridge trail continues North, but this is as far as you go on it.
There is no water between the trailhead and Dan Saddle. Hiking down to Dan Saddle is easy, but hiking back up onto the ridge is strenuous. Dan Saddle is at NAD83 32.48128, -110.74906.
Stand at the trail sign at Dan Saddle and face directly North. Look up and you'll see a rock outcropping about 30' away. The cache is there. It's a translucent Maxi-Loc 1.4 liter plastic container, 6" high by 5" wide and 4" deep with a snap-on lid. Please assure that the top is snap-locked on all 4 sides and it's upright when you re-hide it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Arne fbzrguvat zna-znqr.