In the late 1940's and early 1950's, my wife's grandmother and her husband would "summer" their cows in the LaPorte meadow, which is now Little Grass Valley Reservoir. After the dam was constructed, her grandmother's family built one of the first cabins at the lake. We love the LaPorte area with it's rich gold mining history and beautiful mountains. The cache is hidden in such a way that if there is only 1 - 3 feet of snow, the cache is still retrievable, if more than that, wait until spring. Although, if the gate is closed in town (generally after 1 foot of snow on the road), one would have to either snowshoe, cross country ski or snowmobile the 3 1/2 miles to GZ (during the winter of 2010/2011 LaPorte had 10 - 12 feet of snow on the ground). All other times of the year one can easily drive to the cul-de-sac, walk a short distance in the woods to GZ and enjoy a nice view of the lake.