The confluence of the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers is only a
few yards from this cache. The Cosumnes River starts 52.5 miles
north-east near where the Mormon Emigrant Trail crests the mighty
Sierra Nevada nearly a mile and a half above sea level. (Cosumnes
should be pronounced ko-SUE-meez, which roughly translates from
Miwok as "people of the fish" or "people of the salmon"). The
Cosumnes is the last undammed river flowing from the west slope of
the Sierra.
The Mokelumne River (which translates from Miwok as the river of
the fish net people) starts around 20 south of the Cosumnes River's
farthest headwaters and flows 80 miles through numerous dams and
reservoirs.
Together, these rivers drain an area the size of Delaware. On
the south bank, you will see the a river that has been reshaped by
the needs of agriculture to not flood the land. On the north bank
and generally everywhere along the Cosumnes River, you will see
land that is still allowed to flood annually to nourish an
extensive riparian ecosystem with silt and water. All of the
California Delta used to look like the forests in the Cosumnes
River Preserve.
During times of low flow, the rising tide from the California
Delta (which is in fact a largely reclaimed tidal lake) also
briefly flows into this location, making the water flow up
river.
You are looking for a very small bison tube containing a slip of
waterproof paper. Since the log paper is small, Please use
abbreviated names, or group names (e.g. "Geo-Pirates") instead of
standard caching names when writing on the waterproof paper.
This cache can be difficult to retrieve since I placed it while
standing in my kayak. If you cannot reach it without an
unacceptable and credible risk of taking an unintended swim
in fast cold current, losing your boat, or injury you can email me
a photo or very detailed written description of the cache to get
credit for the find. A written description must include the color
of the container, the material(s) used to attach the container to
the tree, and a precise description of the tree. (I will delete any
log that contains these details.)
Please note that this cache is only accessible by
boat/canoe/kayak. You are not allowed to step on land anywhere
near this cache since the south bank of the river is private and
the north bank is a closed area of the Cosumnes
River Preserve. Motorboats are allowed further up the Mokelumne
River. But they should not travel up the Cosumnes River since that
is within the preserve. (The Cosumnes River Preserve encourages
visits by kayakers and canoeist. But it only allows them to step
out of their boats at 3 points, one of which is a public dock
nearby at N 38° 15.812 W 121° 26.396).