BIKE or HIKE Directions: Turn onto Sugarloaf Blvd at MM17. Park at PARK 1 location waypoint below. BOAT, KAYAK, or PADDLEBOARD Directions: Drive to boat launch area on US 1 at MM 11. Park 2 waypoint below. Put-in there and follow GPS to cache. Small skiffs, kayaks, canoes, or paddleboards only as water depth around cache site is very shallow (1 ft).
ROAD to OLD PARADISE: Following the "old road," you will see some rare unspoiled beauty of the Keys. Locals use this trail for fishing but few venture the entire length. Your journey will reveal three old wooden items....
rest on this old wooden _______...N 24 35.702 W 081 37.153
swim off this old wooden ______...N 24 35.463 W 081 37.917 (washed away by storms)
find the cache near this old wooden _______...N 24 35.435 W 081 38.023
Vehicles began traveling to Key West around 1928 and this was the old road. http://www.keyshistory.org/SL-Sugarloaf-Key.html You will see evidence of blacktop but most of the road has reverted back to coral and rock. Try to imagine what the tourists of the 1930s were thinking as they drove this very narrow road with nothing but mangroves and water to each side. If they got a flat - they would have to fix it or wait until another vehicle came along - which could have been a long, long, time. Check out the interactive map for the "Overseas Highway" in Wikipedia you will see the red line represents the road where this cache is placed. Please do not disturb the mangroves - they are protected plants and are vital to the Keys ecosystem. Please USE CAUTION if you are not from the Keys - the sun is brutal and there is less and less shade the farther you go.