It was in August of 1805 when Lewis and Clark with their Corp of Discovery came over what we now call Lemhi Pass just east of here. In the summer it is well worth the time (3 to 4 hours) to drive this National Back Country Byway. The loop is just under forty miles – it is not paved but is "good" road. At Lemhi Pass be sure to drop down the east side the very short distance to Sacajawea Spring (and a great "primitive" campground). You can drink from this spring just as Lewis did when he declared it the source of the Missouri River! You can also stand astride the “Mighty Missouri” as Hugh McNeal did on August 12, 1805! There is much more but I will let you “discover” them yourself. Be sure you have plenty of fuel and good tires and a good spare tire (and tools) for your car.
Now, back to this cache. Sacajawea was born and raised in this area. Never would her Shoshone tribe have dreamed how much she would influence and change history! Just try to take a moment (especially at the final location) and imagine what it would have been like here 200 years ago! I do not think it is hard to do that at the final location!
The first step is a film canister with slips of paper with the cords for the second location. The second step is a small container with slips of paper with the cords to the final location. The final location is an ammo can near the “Pearly Gates” of “Heaven on Earth”. As I said above, be SURE to take swimsuits and towels – it does NOT matter what time of year. I would also recommend you allow one to one hundred hours here (I usually spend well over an hour here and I especially like it in the winter). There are restrooms, picnic tables and BBQ pits. As in The Heaven, this is a great place to bring the whole family!
I think it is very safe to assume that “Sacajawea” visited this place before she was kidnapped! Speaking of Sacajawea - here is something to do. Google "Sacajawea spelling". There are many very interesting articles about how her name should be spelled and pronounced! One more thing about her - be sure to stop at the "Sacajawea Visitors Center" just this side of Salmon.
Very recently, as I was enjoying this “Heaven on Earth”, I said to myself “Self, this place is screaming for a geocache”! I have put together two papers that are in the final cache that you may take home with you (even without trade). One is "Have a Baby", it is from the journals by Lewis about an incident that happened near here while the Shoshone Indians were helping bring their baggage over the divide. The second is quotes from the journals about Lewis's first encounters with the Shoshone. I will admit that I hope they may encourage you to read more from the L&C journals - it is fascinating!
When I first visited this hot spring - like 25 years ago - it was what was referred to as a "sheep herders box" - a wood box sunk into the ground just downstream from where the natural hot water spring was. It was just big enough for two friendly people! One problem with this spring was that this one was WAY too hot! I remember making a rock dam to prevent water from going into it and then waiting an hour for it to cool down enough to get in! There were a few years before the next time I came here and the next time I came - surprise! I had not heard of the "improvements" that the BLM had done! I have mixed feelings but they did do a good job! We cannot call it a "primitive" hot spring anymore but now many people can enjoy it at the same time! It is a pretty nice "happy medium" between a "Primitive" and a "Developed hot spring" - and it is about Heaven on Earth!
Winter Note: The first two steps are above ground. This area does not get much snow and so the final cache would be fairly easy to find even in the winter. The upper parts of the Back Country Byway loop may not be available in the winter without at least 4WD - how about a snowmobile?
CITO Note: This a VERY clean and VERY nice location - on my last visit I did manage to find a few bottle caps and a number of cigarette butts - let's all help keep it trash free. Trash cans are on location.
Fee Note: The BLM does ask for a voluntary $1 per person donation to help maintain Heaven on Earth - in my opinion it is WELL worth it!
Adoption Note: This cache is a bit far for me to maintain. Thank you geocacher Kohlboy, who lives in Salmon, for the offer to help maintain this cache and to adopt it.