LaPorte lays claim to the First Snowshoe Races in the World. In 1852, Norwegian sailors, who had deserted their ships in San Francisco and joined the original mad rush to the mines, introduced Scandinavian snowshoes to the mining communities for winter travel. Snowshoes evolved from barrel staves into sleek 8-foot traveling and 10 to 12-foot racing models made of douglas fir and spruce. Ski poles were made of lodge-pole saplings, and a single pole was used to propel or retard the speed of the skier. Snowshoes completely changed the miner's outlook on a boring life in the winter months. Men skied from camp to camp just for the fun of it. Competitve events originated in impromptu races in Onion Valley. On March 19, 1852, the Rabbit Creek snowshoers held their first organized snowshoe races on Lexington Hill.
Just 200 yards west of GZ is the base of Lexington Hill, the site of many historic snowshoe races. Today during winter, Lexington hill is a favorite of snowmobiles, snow sledding and snow boarding. Remaining today at the top of the Lexington Ski Hill are the concrete and metal remnants of an old (1940's - 1950's) ski rope tow, and at the bottom a metal chimney stack from the old ski lodge.
The cache is a short hike/walk from the paved cul-de-sac, or a high clearance vehicle can make this cache a park-and-grab.