Curl-leaf mountain mahogany is a hardy tree in the rose family that can live to be over 1,000 years old (specimens in the Shoshone Range in Nevada were estimated to be 1,350 years old!). It can be found in high altitude desert throughout the West, and our part of the world it loves to grow on rocky outcrops like the one you are standing on. It is unique in that it is the only broad-leaf evergreen tree in the Intermountain West. It is an important browse plant for deer in the winter months; during the rest of the year, mountain mahogany provides tall cover not otherwise found in this sagebrush landscape. The bark of mountain mahogany can be up to an inch thick, and its wood so dense that it does not float in water. Cercocarpus means tail fruit (Cerco = "like a tail," carpos = "fruit"), in reference to the long, feathery style that remains attached to the seed to help in dispersal. If you are here at the right time of the year, you will see the feathery styles glowing in the sunlight.
There is no good pullout for this cache; it may be best to park (out of the way of course) at the top of the turnoff to the campground. It is only a short walk from there. This cache is not accessible in winter.