Greetings from Eddie Bow-wow!
This is one of those treasure hunts that has rewards other than finding the cache. The location is in beautiful Lake County which is truly "Nature's Paradise". The views that you get from the trek are awe inspiring, particularly if you do it on a sunny day. Vertical climb from the highway is about 1174 feet over a 1.2 mile stretch, with the cache site peaking at 2570 feet.
Part of the way can be driven - park your car near the twin water towers. (As a side note, don't attempt this drive with a vintage VW unless you enjoy working on engines. Bite the bullet, park the car near the highway and walk the extra half mile - it's great exercise). Once you're at the towers, the hike is a 440 foot climb over 3/4 of a mile, with portions short and steep. Eddie and his buddy Tyler climbed to the cache site, which proves that seven year old kids and cattledogs can handle the terrain!
Here the sounds of the highway fall away, replaced with the wind and the birds. The landscape in the spring is filled with vetch, purple lupine and poppies strewn across a luscious green backdrop. The view is breathtaking. While the land in the area is privately owned, the road and the cache site has public access via an easement (we understand).
Tips:
- This is unshaded in the summer, so start early or bring cover and water.
- Make sure you have shoes with tread, as the last portion is steep and those little gravels can be comparable to small ball bearings. A walking stick is a great asset!
- This can be very windy in the spring and winter. A kite would also be great fun!
- Remember, this is snake country so don't poke around in holes or stick your hands under rocks without making lots of noise first.
This was the first cache-creation for both Tyler and Eddie Bow-wow. They stashed a tupperware container filled with notebook, pen, tape measure, highlighter, scissors, staple remover and pencil sharpener (Tyler thought all these things were cool). Eddie also threw in his beloved money clip as he already spent his next 6 months allowance on doggie biscuits.
After making the stash, Eddie and Tyler enjoyed the view, and composed this little ditty to aid other geo-cachers:
A cowdog name Ed made a dash
‘Tween a bay tree and pine for his stash
In a spot at eye level -
If you're short, it's a devil! -
Is the place that you'll find Eddie's cache!