Catlow Cave Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This remote desert cave was inhabited thousands of years ago.
According to the BLM website this cave was inhabited between 6000 and 12000 years ago. Some sagebrush sandals found here were dated to about 8000 years old. Back then this area was wetter. The cache location is in a location between two wave terraces, ancient shore lines worn by wave action of the lake that filled the Catlow Valley. The cave was excavated in the 1930s. Once you leave the pavement (N 42*21.696 W 118*52.662)you will cross a cattle guard and be faced with three forks of the road. The left fork goes uphill and not to the cave. The right fork is the smoothest and will take you to the cave. I think I could drive it with any regular passenger car. The middle fork is a shortcut and it joins the right fork after a while, but it is much rougher. By the right fork it is about 2 1/2 miles to the cave after leaving pavement. You can drive to the base of the hill with most vehicles. How high up you drive depends on the capability of your vehicle and how energetic you feel. Also consider fire danger and do not park so that dry grass and weeds contact the bottom of your vehicle.Either way you will end up walking the last part up a rocky hillside. The cave is a little further up the hill from the cache, at the base of the cliff. The container is a painted small peanut butter jar, under a boulder, hidden by rocks. As always in this country, be prepared with tools, tires, and water. You will likely see wildlife, which could include rattlesnakes. Once I was sitting in this cave playing a wooden flute and a Canyon Wren came to check me out. It hopped around me from rock to rock as long as I kept playing. I averaged two GPS readings, but did not get back for a third because it snowed the next morning. One of the photos shows the boulder.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vg'f nyy va gur qrfpevcgvba.
Treasures
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