Oregon Trail: Prehistoric Fire Pits Traditional Cache
High-Plains-Drifter: archived
Oregon Trail: Prehistoric Fire Pits
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This cache is located a short distance from the road and is a fairly easy climb up the hill. It is a camouflaged pill bottle and contains a log only so bring your own writing utensil.
Take Natrona County Rd. 319. This is very remote country. There are no residences along the way nor any traffic should you need assistance. It also can be very muddy at times. Travel with appropriate back-country awareness.
Long before the first white men ventured into what we now call the west, Native Americans flourished here for hundreds of generations. This seemingly foreboding prairie provided abundant habitat for hundreds of species that these hunter/gatherers followed through the seasons. I discovered this site quite by accident while looking for another. There appears to be six or eight prehistoric fire-pits evenly spaced in a straight line along the top of this ridge. Most seem to be connected by a line of rocks. My original theory was that they may have been used for some type of ritual, but upon further investigation I think that they may have been used by hunting parties to signal each other from great distances at night. It’s easy to imagine how a row of signal fires at this site could be seen from perhaps fifty miles or more if the observer knew what he was looking for.
Not far from here is the site of a village of more than thirty teepee rings whose seasonal residents may have created this formation.
These prehistoric sites are national treasures, but are rapidly disappearing due to vandalism and treasure hunters. I am sharing this site with you for your enjoyment and the joy of geocaching. Please respect me and the site by leaving all artifacts where you find them.
This is the Wyoming prairie and a popular residence of rattlesnakes, scorpions and ticks. There are also numerous cacti. Consequently, watch out for things that can stick, sting, or bite you while exploring in the area.
Congratulations to Team Hickey for First to Find!!! (I think the dogs actually found this one, but E.H. isn't fessin' up).
Happy Trails!!!
Drifter
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pnpur vf ABG va nal bs gur svercvgf.
Ybbx sbe gur ebpx gung qbrfa’g zngpu gur bguref.
Treasures
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