Stages are medium size vitamin bottles painted brown, fairly close to the trails, both at about eye level; final is an ammo can, just beyond an informal path (turn on tracking as you start along it). As you begin your quest, check out the other cache at the summit – Crane Mt. - link.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1) After the second stage, go back to the trail, and circle the pond CLOCKWISE (NOT counterclockwise). Several cachers tried bushwhacking to the final and did not enjoy the experience - see 10/23/10 and 4/24/09 logs.
2) If you take the trail down from the pond outlet, watch for a left turn after about 20-25 minutes at N43 32.877 W73 58.679 - see Timpat's 10/23/10 log.
The summit of Crane was the site of a fire observation tower from the early 1900s. Many people have enjoyed the hike, visiting with the fire ranger, and picking blueberries. The tower was removed around 1990.
Parking is at the end of Sky Hi Road in the Town of Thurman, at N43 32.257 W73 58.068. Sign in at the trail register and take the trail to the right. It’s only a 1.4 mile hike to the old tower site, but the elevation gain is 1100 feet. The trail is becoming more eroded every year, so you’ll be scrambling along slabs and over big rocks at times. A description of the hike is on the Adk. Mountain Club web site, at link.
When you have taken in the sights from the summit, continue along the trail and enjoy the many views from the open ridge. After finding the first stage, you can take a nearby side trail for a great view of Crane Mountain Pond, Gore Mountain, and Garnet Lake. Some of the High Peaks can be seen to the north on a clear day. As you hike on to the second stage and final you’ll find some different vantage points, including one that was new for us as we set out this cache. Take some time to explore and enjoy the mountain as you go.
To return to the car, we usually go down the steep trail from the pond outlet and back along the old road at the base of the mountain. Watch carefully for the trail after you re-cross the outlet stream, and don’t get too far out on the rock slope. Round trip by this route is 4.6 miles on the trails; the side visit to the final will have added another 0.8 miles round trip. You can also take the connector trail from the pond back to the main trail and then down the way you went up. (Junction for the connector trail presently has no sign at the pond – coordinates are N43 32.921 W73 58.341.)
Theme – since we enjoy hiking, we’ve started this cache with an assortment of items that other hikers and outdoor folks might find useful. Feel free to continue this if you wish, but it’s not required. There also are some small FTF prizes.
Many muggles are on these trails and around the pond at times, so take care at the stages and replace the containers as found. Waypoints were marked with averaging, but tree cover may cause some variations.
***** We're awarding 5 stars to Printess Caroline, her loyal consort, and canine escort Durpy for accomplishing this FTF in late April. As they found out, that's a challenging time to hike this mountain, as the north side trail from the summit to the pond still can have snow, ice and mud then. Whew! Congratulations to all three of you!