The cache is not on private property so no fence climbing is required.
This steep lump of land the you must cross to enter or exit Mendocino County is the result of a massive land slide within the last few thousand years. Prior to that event Clear Lake drained through Cold Creek and into the Russian River. The slide caused Lake to seek an outlet at its southeast end. The outlet is a natural dam made of hard basalt. A concrete dam and spillway was built on top of the basalt to control the lake level and protect lakeside development. Today the lake drains to the Sacramento River by way of Cache Creek.
This section of the old highway is a loop road and a nice break from the fast pace of Highway 20. There is an abandoned stone building at the summit. On the hill behind it you can see the stone remnants of the old stage road.