My caching has been limited lately, but I have been enjoying this trail very close to home quite often. I've gotten to know it pretty well, as you probably will if you do this cache.
You will want to wait for a clear day to attempt this cache, otherwise you may find yourself returning. Your best pair of glasses or a pair of binoculars may come in handy.
BLM has been doing some serious trail maintenance/widening, so if you wait long enough it could be a trail's equivalent of a superhighway. But for now, you may have to pick and chose your way carefully at some spots. The terrain should reflect a correctly chosen path. Hopefully it adds up to enough stars for those star challenge challenged.
So there are no surprises, a series of bearing projections will get you to the stamp pad/log book. Remember to bring your signature stamp for the final. I would give yourself a minimum of an hour and a half to complete this cache.
A few steps to the south you will find your first clue and a mystery bearing (x). Use this arbitrary reference bearing for the subsequent projections. It should make more sense once you get started.
According to the initial directions, what do you see here? Using the mystery bearing (x) and the information following the correct answer, project your next stop.
- Pine Hill: 725m Bearing x -10
- Cameron Park Lake/airstrip: 636m Bearing x+66
- an airplane beacon on the ridge: 652m Bearing x+34
- Jackson Butte: 510m Bearing x+2
- a yellow BLM Rare Plants sign: 850m Bearing x-35
From here, what do you see when your heading is x+15?
- a yellow BLM Rare Plants sign: 236 m Bearing x -35
- nothing but a wall of brush: 755m Bearing x+110
- The businesses at the Hwy 50/Cameron Park Drive interchange: 468m Bearing x+45
- The businesses at the Hwy 50/Ponderosa Road interchange: 335m Bearing x+63
At this waypoint what do you see?
- an intermittent stream: 266m Bearing x-44
- a botanical information sign: 331m Bearing -88
- a level, marshy, swamp area: 455m Bearing x+22
- an old wooden fence post: 530m Bearing x+53
What is the most noticeable sight when you get here and look west-ish (+/- 20 degrees)?
- a house with a dome roof: 440m Bearing x-128
- a lone digger pine: 381m Bearing x+194
- nothing, I'm in a tunnel of brush: 646m Bearing x+155
- a (recently placed) BLM post with the number 3 on it: 596m Bearing x+263
If you've selected all the right answers, you should now be on your way to the final. I'll leave it up to you to choose the easy way or the fun way.
To help account for additive variation in waypoint projection, your UTM final coords should end in (E)51 (N)48. (UTM)
As a reminder, distances are in meters and bearings are always true north unless stated otherwise.