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A beautiful and strenuous hike in a remote area of the Sandia Mountains.
The MWC cache is located along an excellent but little traveled route to the South Peak area.
The hike to the cache is quite strenuous, travels through remote areas, and requires good hiking and route-finding skills. Be sure to bring plenty of water, food, proper clothing and navigational items.
The route begins at the Embudito trailhead but does not follow the Embudito trail. Instead it follows a good trail that runs along the top of the ridge that forms the north side of the Embudito drainage, then ascends to the crest a little north of South Peak via a steep, tree-filled gully/couloir – the “MWC” of the cache and route name. Though well defined, this trail does not appear on any maps I’ve seen.
For one way to reach the cache, find your way from Embudito trailhead to the Lost George Pass cache at waypoint GC172E1. From there proceed eastward on a good trail as it climbs steeply to point 8285 then continues east crossing a series of lesser points as it approaches the crest.
There are many great views of the South Peak area along the way. Below South Peak you will see two large rock buttresses. You’re heading for the chute running up to the crest just north of the northernmost of the two buttresses.
This is a remote area. It would not be good to get lost here so stay on the well defined trail at or near the top of the ridge.
At about 8650’ elevation the trail enters a small flat with four or five boulders at (N35 07.622, W106 26.033). Just above here the ridge merges into the slopes at the base of the rock buttress and the trail enters MWC, the gully that leads to the top. It’s a good place for a break. Things get steep from here on -- the trip to the top will gain nearly 900 feet in less than half a mile.
Continue on the trail as it contours east up the south slopes of the gully, then crosses the drainage to the north, turns back east and continues steeply up. The chute to the top is steep, enclosed and filled with trees, not the best for accurate GPS readings. I suspect the coordinates for the cache will only get you within 50 or 60 feet of the actual location so it’s a good idea to bring along the following description.
You’ll find the cache on top of a small rock outcropping about 40 feet north of the trail at around 9200’ elevation. The outcropping is quite conspicuous when approached from below so keep an eye out as you start getting close on the way up. It is not so conspicuous from above or from the side. As seen from below, it has a somewhat concave face, about 10 feet high and 15 to 20 feet wide, rounded at the top, with lots of lichen on its taller southern side.
To help identify the spot I put a small cairn on the north side of the trail at (N35 07.557, W106 25.806), the point where I headed over to the outcropping. However, like any cairn, it may or may not be there when you pass by.
Stuff in the original cache included pen, pencil and log, a wrist band, some foreign coins, a marble, a $10,000 bill, a mini bobble-head doll, a beer opener, a screwdriver, a turqoise nugget, and a piece of agate.
From the cache it’s another 350 vertical feet to the crest. You’ll find the Crest Trail just east of the point where you top out but there’s an easier way to get to South Peak. A faint trail that contours for about a quarter mile just west of and below the crest top’s limestone band will take you there.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Nf abgrq ol gur svefg svaqre, gur "bhgpebccvat" pbhyq nyfb or qrfpevorq nf n ynetr obhyqre rzorqqrq va gur fybcr.