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Welcome to Schubert's Gap and the old power dam! This is a very historical area going back to the days of raids between the Native Americans and Colonists, businessmen providing hydro-electric power to locals, Boy Scouts, and today the Appalachian Trail and the William Penn Forest.
This part of the Blue Mountain, also known as the Kittatinny Ridge, has lots of historical spots. If you hike from RT 501 to 183, you pass through areas that had forts to keep off raiding parties of Native Americans that felt threatened by early settlers, such as nearby Forts Dietrich Snyder, Henry, and Northkill. West of here is Pilger Ruh where Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, who with Conrad Weiser and Morvavian Missionaries, rested here besides the spring on their way to visit Shawnee Indians in Wyoming Valley. South of this location, was where the Daniel Boone Council operated Camp Shikellamy and the Appalachian Trails Council operated Blue Mountain Camp on the north side. For two years after the merger of the two councils, long-term camping was conducted at both locations. After that, to cut costs, all long-term camping was moved to Camp Shikellamy, but the council retained both properties. By 1977, Camp Shikellamy was closed and sold to private landowners and camping was moved to what is now called Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation. Nearby is an old power dam built in 1906 by the Blue Mountain Electric Company to provide electricity to the local towns of Bethel, Strausstown, and Rehrersburg. Just north of here are State Game Lands 80 and a little known area of the Weiser State Forest known as the Schubert Tract, which was transferred from the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club in 1930 to the DCNR. The BMECC still owns the land where this cache is located. To learn more about BMECC's trail stewardship and events, please visit https://www.bmecc.org/. East of here is the highest point in Berks County! A great cache called Hochste GebirgscRegion Der Berks Grafschaft is located there (Hochste GebirgscRegion Der Berks Grafschaft - GCG9RD). The area is now primarily used by AT hikers as a camping site, known as the Hertlein Shelter, and a place to cool off as well as by hunters. Besides history, this mountain hosts a rich diversity of important native species, a vernal pool, and more, representing beautiful Appalachian Oak-Hickory forest. These woods provide fresh water and clean air to those in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, depending on which side of the mountain you're on. Water from these streams and this dam flow into Mill Creek, then the Little Swatara Creek, then the Swatara Creek, which goes into the Susquehanna River, then the Chesapeake Bay, and finally the Atlantic Ocean. It is important to preserve these lands and this important ecosystem for future hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, human health, species diversity, and of course...geocaching! The cache itself: If you go to a place next to (east of) the dam there are a bunch of small trails that go up the hill. The cache is up the hill a bit, between two rocks that are surrounded by other rocks...well...lots of rocks!! The cache is a medium, blue-lidded Tupperware container. Two caches inspired this cache: Rob Harrison Memorial Cache #2 (GCN9KK) and Shikellamy Summit You Pick The Poison (GCTPV9). They were both placed around this historic dam, but were archived due to being too close to the AT. If you hike up to the other side of this gap (or follow the AT south) you will find an even better lookout know as Shikellamy Summit. Enjoy the beautiful "wilderness" of our Commonwealth and have fun!
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