Leaf Eater is quite an amazing gal. Besides being a middle school science and math teacher (and therefore deserving a Purple Heart), she’s also a tae kwan do black belt (hmmm, maybe there’s a connection here?) and a trail marathon runner. Most recently she’s been training for a trail ultra-marathon, a grueling race through 50K (31 miles) of steep, rugged terrain. And she does this for fun! Like we said, amazing!
Leaf Eater competing in the Shut-In Ridge Trail Run
This cache hunt takes you along a trail that would be a good training run for Leaf Eater. But you’ll only have to hike about a mile to get to the cache. Park at N 35° 38.572 W 082° 17.466, the lower lot. The parking area is small but popular, so please park as tightly as possible.
The trail starts as an easy double track, which LE loves to run on, then gets a bit more difficult, then still more difficult, until it eventually becomes the trail racers’ dreaded single track. Well, more like a billy goat trail! By the time you’re really close to GZ, I believe that even Leaf Eater will have to slow down a little.
Near GZ, look for a faint trail to the left. If you pass a 3’ x 6’ rock outcrop right beside the trail, you’ve missed the faint trail. Go back about 15-20 feet, then go uphill.