“Gunnie” The Gunnison Reservoir Monster Traditional Cache
“Gunnie” The Gunnison Reservoir Monster
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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I recently moved this cache because it became to enticing to black widows. A 2-mile drive from Manti and on the west side of Gunnison Reservoir. Take 5th north and drive west. Can drive within .2 miles from cache in any car, almost right to it in a 4-wheel drive.
This cache celebrates “Gunnie” the recently sighted Gunnison Reservoir Monster.
Gunnison Reservoir (also known as Sugar Kids Pond) was created in 1899 by the construction of an earth-filled dam, and the reservoir is about 19.5 miles long and just over 1 mile wide. Unlike the deep Loch Ness Lake in Scotland, Gunnison Reservoir, Utah is shallow. How could this monster survive in such a shallow body of water that is completely drained on dry years? Some geologists believe that although the water is only 28 feet at its deepest point, the mud is bottomless.
Where have most of the bass, bullhead, yellow perch, carp, channel catfish, green sunfish, and bluegill that were native to the lake gone? Environmentalists have a theory that the Gunnison Reservoir Monster, possibly a longnose mudsucker (Catostomus catostomus) was mutated by toxins from the turkey waste leaching into the water from upstream or radiation coming downwind from the Nevada test sites since the 1950s or maybe both! And it is this fish-creature that is responsible for some of their disappearances and possible extinction. Has it become mainly carnivorous? Instead of a bottom feeder, dining exclusively on aquatic plants, algae, and small invertebrate animals - especially worms and crustaceans, does it now eat mammals? There are very few deer or other animals seen at the lake. What happened to the “Sugar Kids?” No one dares to take a guess!
Although this creature is believed to be a modern-day mutation, newly discovered Native American petroglyphs indicate the monster is much older. Maybe you can spot the drawings near the cache.
It is rumored that the presence of this monster is a well-kept secret by many of the locals and that is why the reservoir is used for boating, skiing and similar recreation, but rarely for swimming. After all, who can out-swim such a fearsome creature?
Notice that in the photograph taken last spring the water in the reservoir is blue, another part of the mystery. Maybe the creature has just come out of hibernation for the winter. Why is the water so turbid in the summer? Could it be that the Gunnison Reservoir Monster slithering around in the slimy mud keeps the water continually stirred up? Explore the possibilities for yourself by visiting this cache, sitting down, enjoying the view and pondering the prospect of sighting this unbelievable phenomenon!
The cache is a treasure chest originally stocked with terrifying items such as fast food prizes, monster-theme children’s books, a gizzard stone and dinosaur toys.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Syng ebpx, Oevtunz grn ohfu.