Thriller at the Pillar
N44:24.639
W120:37.190
Elev. 4263 feet
Red and I went back into this cache from the trail head and clocked
it at 1.62 miles in and about one hour. The trail is pretty well
maintained but it does have some slick spots and a few trees across
it. Take plenty of water and your lunch and enjoy the views from
several overlooks on the way in and out. There where lots of Elk
and Mule Deer tracks and some "smears" I could not make out. Please
be careful on the way in and out, both hiking and driving. Take
your cameras, still and video as you should see something neat.
Just ask yourself, how many times you drove by close to this area
and did not know it was here? Well now lets get to the meat of
things. Just to see what you are letting yourself in for, Try going
up to the viewing area at N 44:25.027 X W120:37.118 elevation of
3634 feet. There is a small sign telling about this formation and
as you look at the feature, the cache is right behind it. But just
to spoil things for you just a touch, You will notice that all the
land below the road is posted as No Trespassing. Please
don’t. Enough said about that. I will let you try and figure
out which way you want to go in.
Now as for the cache. To Quote Red, “ When you find the
Heart, That is a start.“ I think you might have to look for
it just a touch, but it is there. You are looking for a well hidden
cache. And if you have experience with my caches, well hidden is
good enough. Not as well as most of my caches, but better then the
average wet side cache. It is an Gatorade can. Camo green.
This is a straight on come and find me type cache. No offsets.
No puzzles. No Christmas Trees. No dancing men. No movie
review’s needed. As the season’s change, so will the
rating’s. As of now, When red and I planted this cache, we
rated it a four (4) by four (4). It should be interesting to get to
and not to hard to locate. As we installed this one, there was
around eight (8) to ten (10) inches of snow on the ground and lots
deeper in the drifts. The ground was also frozen. A hard cold wind
was ripping. Man, I love caching in the winter !! Yet, If you go in
at the right time so all the ways are open, it might be rated as a
two (2) by two (2). There where Martin tracks, Deer tracks, Elk
tracks, and lots of other critter tracks all thorough the snow. As
the way Red and I went in, It was about one and a half miles (1.42)
bushwhacking, snow blowing, rock rolling, limb slapping, snow drift
busting nature hike. And, we took the shortest and best route in at
this time of year !! Please rate this cache in your online logs if
you would. I will be able to match the date with weather conditions
and your ratings. Thank's.
If you happen to punch up a mapping program and see some roads
that point right where you want to go, well I hate to burst your
bubble (HAH), but those roads are not open. You can try 33:500 but
it is closed part of the way up and there is a long walk involved.
Or you could try 33:350 but it is gated at the creek from December
1 through May 31, for the critters and when open, it is still about
one mile to the cache. This is about your best bet to park. Or, you
could do as Red and I did and park below the road, cross the creek
on the logs and hike away. There is a good camping spot right off
of the 33 road just as you cross over into USFS land and just below
the road, next to the creek. You all enjoy yourself now.
Disclaimer: "Cut and Paste" logs will be deleted without warning.
We retain all rights to this cache. We can and will modify, adjust,
tweak, disable or archive this cache at any time without prior
notice. Without prior notice we can and will delete any log that
does not conform to our intent of this cache hunt . We will not be
liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, or consequential damages
you may suffer from hunting this cache. If you attempt this
geocache hunt, you do so at your own risk. Know your limits and do
not attempt to exceed your abilities.