Challenge Cache Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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I took a nice hike up Challenge Trail and hid a cache along the way. Challenge Trail is used by bike riders and a few hikers in the warm months, and is a cross-country ski trail in the winter. The leaves are beautiful in September and I really enjoy this area.
You can park in the lot at the base of the ski area. Walk to the north end of the lot, and walk a few hundred feet up an access road. When you reach a small wooden utility building look to your right for a sign marking the beginning of the trail (the sign marks the trail as "Capulin Spring Rd").
About 0.9 mile into your hike, you will reach a junction at N 35 12.881, W 106 24.786 (elevation 8,800'). Take the trail heading off to your left, which begins a steeper climb than you have been on. (There are a number of different variants of the trail in the area. If you went straight instead of turning off, your path would closely follow the Crest Highway all the way up to 10 K Trail.)
The cache is hidden at 9,240', about 1.6 miles into your hike. The cache location is within 30 feet or so of the junction with a cross trail (who knows where all of these various trails go). The tree cover is pretty thick in this area. I let my GPS average 200 points to get as good a reading as I could.
There are alternate ways to get to this cache if you feel like exploring. (One way would be to come down from 10 K Trail.)
Congratulations to ZenGuru for the FTF.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qrpba pbagnvare, tebhaq yriry, haqre fbzr ebpxf.