Beside a Bluff on the Gile Flowage is undoubtedly one of the more difficult geocaches in the state. Getting to it in the summer requires taking a motorboat, canoe, or kayak for over 1.5 miles across the waters of the Gile Flowage. In the winter, you can access the cache by snowmobiling, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing across the ice. No matter how you get there, it's certainly an adventure - and a very fun one indeed!
I won't act like getting to this cache is easy. But the difficulty is what makes Beside a Bluff a very fun geocache. It is located on Peterson's Island II, one of the larger islands on the Gile Flowage. It and multiple other islands offer small, rustic campsites. Peterson II's campsite is in a small south-facing clearing above the water .The island can be recognized from Gile Park by two features. It has a round-ish outline and a space void of trees on its east end. That space is the rock bluff the cache takes its name from. As you may have guessed, the cache is located right next to it.
If you begin at the Gile Park Boat Landing, it will be a 1.6 mile trip one-way. If you choose the County C landing instead, it will be only a little bit more than that. From the Pence Park landing, you'll have to go about 1.9 miles, and from Sucker Hole landing it'll be 2.5 miles. Keep in mind that these lengths are if you take a direct route, and that they are all one-way. If you choose to depart from Gile Park, there is a $5 fee for putting a boat in, or you can pay $25 to have year-long access.
Once you have arrived at the island, I reccommend parking your boat in the cove in front of the bluff that is created by a small rocky point. If the water levels are high, it may not exist. Then, scramble up the bluff to make the find. Be sure to avoid any poison ivy or thorns. The cache is located just west of the bluff. It is a classic ammo can that should be winter friendly for up to about 3 feet of snow. Good luck!