Just one-third mile west of Mokelumne City was the Benson Ferry
river crossing. It was established by Edwin Stokes and A.M. Woods.
John A. Benson purchased this ferry in 1850. He then built a house
there in 1852. During the flood of 1862, the Benson house was
lashed to a large tree and was saved from being washed down river.
On December 5, 1996, a brush fire, which got out of control, burned
the old Benson House and the Benson Ferry. The Benson Ferry Road
sign is all that remains today.
Three sloops built here in Mokolumne City ran direct to San
Francisco year round.
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.
If you cannot sign this cache's log 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 Mokolumne 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 canoeists. But it only allows them to step out of
their boats at 3 points, one of which is a public dock at N 38°
15.812 W 121° 26.396).
This cache was placed in cooperation with the Cosumnes River
Preserve. Any cache placed within the preserve should get prior
approval from its management. Check out the
CRP's Facebook page.