If you ask my children for advice on parking they would tell you the northwest corner of Eight Mile and Gill. The trailhead is at the sign for the Tarabusi Creek of the Upper Rouge River, on the east side of the creek. You can take a short walk up the path and head into the wooded area to follow the maze of paths in there. You can also walk further up the path but once you get to the sewer cover you should head in before you run out of screening from the backyards across the creek. Please be sure to carefully restore the cache to its hiding place. It has been muggled once already. I was not bothered by mosquitoes until it was sundown. I spotted one poison ivy vine in the woods but none near the cache. This cache may be more difficult in winter.
This series was inspired by the Twelve on Twelve Mile Series by Team Topkat. My children wanted to do something similar but Eleven on Eleven Mile seemed a bit derivative. We then came up with the idea for the Crazy Eights series.
There are eight caches in this series located along Eight Mile. Each have a clue necessary to figure out the location of the final. Hopefully this will provide some fun and challenge in the southern most six square miles of Farmington and Farmington Hills.
Each of the eight Crazy Eights caches is a small, camo painted Lock & Lock container. Inside of each is a playing card, an eight naturally. A series of holes has been cut out of each. Whether or not you will find all eight caches, please treat the playing card carefully so the next person can use it. Please be sure the separate ziploc bag is closed. Put the card on the bottom of the container so that it has less risk of being bent or damaged.
You will need to bring a piece of paper with you if you wish to solve the puzzle for the final. For the first cache you find, trace the outline of the card on your paper. Then fill in each of the holes that are cut out of the card (with your #2 pencil.) There is a hole in the upper left of each card for getting the orientation and alignment correct. After you have completed all eight caches you will need to figure out the puzzle to find the coordinates of the final cache. You should use the same piece of paper for all eight caches or you will make the puzzle substantially more difficult.
If you are interested in benchmarks you can find a Michigan DOT Height Modernization Mark just east on Eight Mile Road. A waymark entry for this can be found at: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMFYZE_Michigan_DOT_Height_Modernization_Mark_63680.
FTF: The Frito Bandito, commander overlord
STF: Ladywood Tracker