Harding-Cook Cache Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The cache is off an unnamed trail that follows the east rim of upper Oak Creek Canyon. There are good views of the canyon from the different points along the trail. This section of trail can be accessed by hiking up the Harding Springs trail to the south or the Cookstove trail to the north. Descriptions of the trails are on the Coconino National Forest website.
--- Parking Fee: You have to have a $5 Red Rock day parking pass or have another accepted federal parking pass for any place in the Red Rock, Oak Creek Canyon, or Sedona areas. ---
We hiked a loop, parking along the road at the Pine Flat campground and walking south along 89A to the Harding Springs trailhead which is directly across the road from the entrance to the Cave Springs campground. We went up the Harding trail, a nice, gradual mile hike with about 800 feet of elevation gain to the east rim. Then we walked north along the rim on a sometimes faint unnamed trail. The cache is off this trail. We returned to our vehicle by coming down the Cookstove trail which ends back at Pine Flat. The Cookstove trail is steeper (covering the same 800 feet elevation gain in half the distance) with lots of deadfall on the trail. If it is damp there are some slimy spots as well. I would keep my youngest hiker on the Harding trail. This made a total loop of 4.8 miles and 1,200 feet in elevation gain.
The cache is a small lock top plastic container with some trades and a logbook. (See picture.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
va n cvyr bs ebpxf nobhg 15 srrg fbhgu bs n ynetr qrnq cbaqrebfn.