Warnings:
- This cache is STRONGLY not recommended in icy conditions.
- Hunting IS allowed in this forest. Wear orange during the season.
From Route 842 (N Main St) in Beacon Falls, go over the steel trestle bridge. Turn right on Lopus Rd, go up the hill, turn right again onto Cold Springs Rd. Soon, it becomes an unpaved road that runs along the railroad tracks and Naugatuck River. Park at N41°27.387 W073°03.734. Alternately, you can come in from the north via Hunters Mountain Road and Black Forrest Road.
The trail follows the south western side of a delightful stream with many cataracts (Spruce Brook Falls). Though the cache was scouted and placed with a heavy snow/ice cover, I was wearing crampons and carrying an ice axe. The trail is steep, the water can be swift and deep. Please be careful if you look for this cache in winter conditions.
All stages are close by existing unmarked trails. There is only a little bushwacking required. But, in order to find the cache, you will first need to find the Phial of Galadriel where Frodo dropped it at N41°27.404 W073°03.832 You should probably have a light at the final. During warm weather there will be plenty of orcs - or worse - about.
Cirith Ungol, pronounced Keereeth Oongoll (the name is Sindarin for Spider's Cleft, or Pass of the Spider) was a pass in the mountains on the back way into Mordor. In this pass was a cave where the giant spider, Shelob, lived.
Congratulations to the master, Yodadog, for FTF and not getting caught by Shelob