Dreams, Wisdom, and Creativity II Traditional Cache
guyanonymous: Cache removed by someone 2012. I didn't get back there last summer with the cache.
Consider it removed/dead/deceased.
Dreams, Wisdom, and Creativity II
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Dreams, Wisdom, and Creativity II contains 3 notebooks and asks you to share part of yourself artistically and in writing (though you can be as involved or uninvolved as you want). It is located on a beautiful and (usually) almost-empty beach near Jordan River. It does involve climbing stairs on a woodland trail (strollers, wheelchairs, and bikes won't work very well here).
This cache is the re-creation of another I set a few years ago - one that was lost/destroyed, shortly after placement, when the construction of a new power plant took over the area.
Now that I'm living on Vancouver Island again, I decided to place it again on a favorite (and relatively quiet) long stretch of beach.
To get to the Cache, from Victoria, you will likely drive through Colwood and then Sooke, past French beach, and almost all the way to Jordan River. If you hit Jordan River, turn around and drive back a few km, though hopefully your GPS has warned you of your transgression if that happens!
A cache has also been placed by sazelbasil (T.A.P. - treasures) in the gravel parking area, at the side of the freeway. This will let you know you're in the right place to park!
The trail is about a 6/10 on the maintenance scale, at least when I visited it last week. It's a gentle trail through the forest...there are a few 10 foot bridges to cross, and the planks are showing their age, so be cautious. There are also stairs. Lots of 'cut out of the trail, propped with wood facings' stairs, so be prepared for that. It's NOT wheel-chair accessible. I'd say it's about a 15 minute hike down and about 20-25 up...it's a drop of about 45 m (according to my GPS).
If you arrive at the beach itself before 9am, it's often covered with mist/fog, but this usually burns off quickly on a sunny day. Before, or after 9am, you'll find a long gentle crescent of beach stretching off tot he left and right of where you emerge from the forest. You'll notice the beach is covered with smoothed rocks, decreasing in size as they near the water, and turning to sand as they hit the waterline.
Down to the left of the beach (near this cache), Sand Cut Creek (hence the name Sand Cut Beach) exits through the air in a waterfall (aggressive and tinged with soil in the spring, weak and clear by the end of the summer). It's a nice waterfall most of the summer (about 10 feet high) that you can rinse off under, let your pets drink, etc.
You can, if you choose, walk up the creek-bed (be careful, it can be slippery). You'll see a sandstone (?) ledge leading to it, but rather than follow it straight to the waterfall's edge (quite slippery), there's an obvious and short trail that leads up to it and to a private dwelling. At least since 1990, we've popped up the trail and taken the immediate off-shoot to the right (about 10 feet in) that leads to the creek-bed. Asking people about it back then (who apparently lived in one of the 3 homes you can see through the trees as you walk that end of the beach, I was told that that little trail was fine to use - of course, don't go up to the private homes themselves.
The cache itself it located at N48 24.770 W124 00.852. I don't think you'll have much trouble finding it, but you may need a long reach. It's an ammo can inside a black plastic garbage bag. I've included a spare garbage bag in case it's needed.
Dreams, Wisdom, and Creativity II contains 3 notebooks to take the place of a log. In one, you're asked to write down and share some wisdom or advice you have for others - be they young, old, or just not as wise as you! In another, you're asked to share a drawing and description of a dream you've had (be it one from your sleep, your day dreams, or you hopes for the future). In the final journal, you're asked to share a drawing of your perspective of Sand Cut Beach, be it the hike in, the creek, or the beach itself. There's a separate bag full of exchangeables.
I've included pencil crayons, drawing pencils, and, of course, some pens for your artistic and written creations. Please leave these for future visitors, as they are not part of the SWAG. I didn't have an appropriate pencil sharpener to include, so hope that visitors with a pocket knife might sharpen pencils as they need it.
Know that you can camp on the beach (free), though check for fire warnings (the last few years by mid June there's been a fire-ban). You'll have to pack in your water, and remember to clean up after yourself. There are no outhouses...so remember your TP.
I hope you've enjoyed this somewhat unknown beach and cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ernpu vagb bar bs gur tncf bs gur ovt fghzc gb gur yrsg bs gur perrx-orq.
Treasures
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