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Original Pg 62 - Looking Into the Whale's Mouth Traditional Cache

Hidden : 7/16/2004
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
3.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

A beautiful hike to Whale Gulch in Sinkyone Wilderness State Park on the Lost Coast Trail. The cache is about 300' from the main trail; use the existing animal trail to get to it.

The difficulty goes up if you encounter elk on the trail. They can be unpredictable, stubborn, and aggressive - especially during the rut (breeding season, generally mid-August through early November). Don't surprise them and try not to let them surprise you!

I placed this ammo can because there weren't any existing caches on the "dreaded page 62" of the DeLorme Challenge. Getting to this seldom-visited state park is part of the adventure. Even though it's on the "Lost Coast", I did have cell phone service in the parking lot and points along the trail. During the winter, some roads may be impassable or only accessible by four-wheel-drive.

A good description of the hike can be found in The HIKER'S hip pocket GUIDE to the Mendocino Coast by Bob Lorentzen (ISBN 0-939431-17-3). I borrowed it from the library and carried it on the 1.65 mile (each way) trip from the Needle Rock Visitor Center (which has an older edition of the guide).

The trail isn't very difficult and the views of the coast are spectacular. You may see Roosevelt elk on the road or on the trail, an osprey flying back to its roost carrying a fish like a torpedo, or an American Dipper doing its dance in the creek below.

There's a FTF ribbon along with some nice trade items for the first finder.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ebpx(f).

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)