Captain Pomin Rock is named after Captain Ernest John Pomin, who was first to captain the S.S. Tahoe, from its 1890 launch until his 1917 retirement. The Steamer Tahoe was the largest on Lake Tahoe.
I have long wanted to place a cache here. The location of Captain Pomin Rock seems so completely fitting for a cache; it offers one of my favorite views of Lake Tahoe. Today (July 20, 2014) I set out to place this cache. I recently upgraded to premium so I could be sure to spot other caches, and last night I checked geocaching.com again to see that no cache occupied the site.
As I was approaching the rock I strayed from the trail to inspect a tree that had been burned from the inside out by lightning. (See N39 05.361, W 119 55.367.) While there I glanced up to see a woman and two dogs walking out of sight on the trail away from Captain Pomin's Rock. I could hear the woman talking with an unseen companion. The thought entered my mind that perhaps they had hidden a cache at the rock.
I proceeded to the rock, made my way to the top, briefly scanned for prospective hiding places for my cache, then thought better of my hurry and anxiety, and sat to eat lunch. I chose one spot that had a great view, but it was not comfortable, so I left it for another, and then a third, still further from the view. I opened my lunch, began to eat, and looked about. I found myself stunned to see an ammo can looking back at me from the other side of my ascent.
What?! Had that woman and her companion skunked me by less than an hour??! I would soon find out that my fear was wrong, but right then, disappointed and outraged, I abandoned my lunch, hopped, stepped and jumped over the rocks to retrieve the ammo can. I consoled myself with excitement about getting my first FTF, and getting it before the cache had even been published!
I popped the lid. Nope--I had not scored a first-to-find--no FTF--that had happened back in 2001! The logbook had a welcome note from Capt. Nemo dated 8/3/2001. He wrote another note a year later saying he was glad the cache had survived. Wow! Quite a find after all. The log book was full of notes, some as recently as the day before, mostly from chance finders of the cache and from locals who had hiked up from nearby Camp Galilee.
I have not been able to locate the previous owner, Captain Nemo, so I have not been able to resurrect the original geocache listing. Another geocacher, whateveryouwant, located the previous, now-archived geocache listing, GC14F2. (See whateveryouwant's log note written on August 1, 2014. Here is the old listing.)
Please don't be confused by the history of the original and new caches. There is only one physical cache container here. It held the original geocache, archived in 2006, and now it holds the newer one. I have left in place and used the original ammo box and the original large log book.
Here is a rough map, based on my memory rather than GPS waypoints, that outlines my route to the cache site. South of this route many manzanitas and other bushes hinder easy travel. The coordinates listed below make for an easier hike to the cache:
Parking available here: N 39° 06.142 W 119° 54.780
Walking along the roadside to this point makes for a much easier start to the hike. Look for the green gate. N 39° 06.222 W 119° 54.943
About here N 39° 05.970 W 119° 54.877 turn to the right after passing a large tree, leaving the jeep trail for a smaller path. Or you can take a break here and look for the Climbing Rock: Spooner Crag Cache (GC59N85). In any case, the path after you make your turn to the right is not always clear, especially further towards Captain Pomin Rock, but this first section after the turn is relatively easy to follow. After the turn, the path continues to climb, wanders around a while, then flattens out and fades away.
Update, July 12, 2025: The original cache appears to have disappeared over the spring. I have replaced it.
Happy caching!