Cabeza de Dumbo Traditional Geocache
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A tough hike near a Santa Rita landmark with two great rewards. An inspiring view and a cache to boot.
Las Tres Chupacabras have struck again. This cache on Elephant Head Saddle is for hikers with a bit of experience. Round trip from either of the spots we suggest is about eight miles. Because the trek may test your mountain goat legs we’ve provided lots of clues. No use walking all that way and coming home empty handed.
By the way, a second visit to the cache gave a slightly different reading on the GPS. Not enough to change the coordinates listed, but worth mention. This time we read: N31 43.324 - W110 56.062.
Our guidebook has you drive to the trailhead this way:
Take I-19 south to the Canoa Exit (#56). Turn left under the interstate and right on the frontage road. In three miles turn left on Elephant Head Road. After crossing the Santa Cruz River and a set of railroad tracks, turn Right on Mount Hopkins Road. Drive 5.5 miles to Forest Service Road 183. There is a sign for Agua Caliente Canyon and KMSB. Turn left at the sign and follow FR 183 for 2.5 miles. Just before the road makes a sharp left and crosses Agua Caliente Wash, there is a large parking area on the right where you can stash your vehicle. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended – but once the Chups did it in a Taurus station wagon and lived to tell the tail.
To start searching for the cache from this point, walk back down the road the way you came for about 100 feet until you find a thin brown sign with a bicycle on it off to the right. This is part of the Elephant Head Bike trail, so keep an ear to the ground for the occasional intrepid cyclist. Follow the trail up to a saddle and back down to the point where it meets Forest Road 4073 at N 31.42.237 – W 110.55.981 at an elevation of 4528 feet. You’ll be turning right. (See photo “7-Bike Trail and 4073”)
Or you can come in this way – on the trail of the Chups. You’ll need 4WD:
Take I-19 south to the Canoa Exit (#56). Turn left under the interstate and right on the frontage road. In three miles turn left on Elephant Head Road. Stay on the road as it turns to the left and follow it quite a ways to Hawk Road. You’ll know you’re doing OK if you keep in mind that the birds’ names on the street signs advance in alphabetical order. Turn right (east) on Hawk Road and take it to the end. You’re about to go off-road. Veer right and keep going until you reach a fence and an obvious turn to the right. Follow the fence past a ranch gate to the end. The road turns left…and so do you. Go through the gate, making sure to close it behind you. At N 31.44.587 – W 110.57.210 you will reach a junction with Forest Service Road 4073, which heads down and to the right. (See photo “ 1-4073 Junction”). Go down through a wash, back up the other side and through another gate. At N 31.43.813 – W 110.56.941 you’ll see a sign for the Elephant Head Bike Trail with arrows for Madera Canyon and Chino Canyon. (See photo 2-Bike Trail Sign). Head for Chino Canyon. We parked in the shadow of Elephant Head at N 31.43.562 – W 110.56.810 at 3647 feet elevation. (See photo “3-Parked”).
From here you can start your hike. You’ll keep heading south passing near to Little Elephant Head. (See photo 4-Little Elephant Head”). In 1.37 miles, at N 31.42.430 – W 110.56.375, you’ll reach the ruins of the Elephant Head Mill, with the obligatory plaque. (See photo “5-Elephant Head Mill Adobe”).
Keep moving up Chino Canyon along stone support walls laid by the Chinese workers whom this area was named for. (See photo “6-Chino Basin”). At 2.33 miles, N 31.42.237 – W 110.55.981, elevation 4528 feet, you’ll be at the junction of the Elephant Head Bike Trail and the continuation of Forest Road 4073. (See photo “7-Bike Trail and 4073”).
Now, either way you came in, the hike is the same from here…
Head up past the old Elephant Head Mine and around a bend in the trail. Elephant Head will be in full view. So will the challenging part of the hike. At N 31.42.824 – W 110.56.110, elevation 5000 feet, you’ll see a small side trail leading down to the left. And we do mean down. (See photo “8-Leaving the Main Trail”). The trail is steep. N 31.42.979 – W 110.56.108 may not seem like far away…until you realize that you’re going to drop down to 4489 feet. (See photo “9-Pool at the Bottom”). Before you head down…look across to the saddle. Yes, that’s where you’re headed. (Take another look at photo “6-Leaving the Main Trail” for an idea).
Now it’s time to start working up. The saddle is at 5072 feet at N 31.43.308 – W 110.56.007. (See photo “10-Saddle”). The distance to this point is just about 4 miles regardless of which starting point you chose.
Once on top…you’re close to the cache at N 31.43.322 – W 110.56.064. The encoded hint will pretty much take you to the cache if you have any trouble finding it. (See photos “11-Cache Stashed” and 12-Cash Covered”).
Stay for a picnic or hike the rest of the way to the top of Elephant Head for a 360-degree view.
See photo “13-ChupNearEndOfHike” for a look at your cache-stasher heading home with Elephant head in the background.
The original contents of the cache include:
3 Chupacabra Caps (See the “ChupCap” photo) If you take a cap, visit our Web site at (visit link) to let us know where it’s headed.
The Cache Ape with a Travel Bug. He wants to go east. (See the “Ape” photo)
Rubber Duck
Rubber Helicopter
Motorcycle
Ring reminiscent of Tolkien found when placing Top Notch cache. If you take the ring, email the Chups and we’ll tell you the story.
Various Dinosaurs
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Urnq hc gur genvy sebz gur fnqqyr. Lbh’yy frr na nern jvgu cebzvarag juvgr ebpxf. Gur pnpur vf fgnfurq whfg n ovg qbja gur fbhgu fvqr. Vs lbh unir jnyxrq zber guna n pbhcyr zvahgrf hc sebz gur fnqqyr, lbh’ir tbar gbb sne.