Legend of Lachlan
A Memorial Cache
The site of this cache is closed each year from November 15 through April 15 to protect sensitive wildlife habitat.
This is the final destination of a series of nine caches that highlight a remarkable event in the history of Park City. For complete details of the hike, see PC Blue 1.
Please read the full account of these events included in the cache listing for Wreck of the PC Blue.
Ten months after relating the historical account of the PC Blue, I was still pondering the unsolved mysteries uncovered. In June of 2016, my interest spiked upon making another amazing discovery. On an older map of the area that I happened to come across (probably from the 1970s), my focus was on the area of the wreck. I was amazed to see the words "Lachlan Hill" marked on the map very near the crash site. Lachlan Arnold was the name of the driver of PC Blue on the night of its last fateful run. This could not be a coincidence.
As related in my earlier account, Lachlan Arnold returned to Park City after the crash, but disappeared without a trace a few months later, leaving a whole series of unanswered question behind, not the least of which was what became of the over one million dollars worth of cash and silver ore that were being transported the night of the crash. Time for deeper investigation.
I spent the next six days in a concentrated search for information which included visiting several historical libraries, intensive Internet searches and interviews of local residents. I learned very little more than what was previously related, with one important exception: Lachlan Arnold was buried at the top of the hill on the side of which the crash occurred, and just a few hundred feet from that site. Beyond that, no one could answer how or when he returned to Park City after his disappearance, and nothing at all as to what became of the valuable cargo.
Just as I had done previously when searching for the crash site, I became obsessed with locating the grave of Lachlan Arnold somewhere near the top of Lachlan Hill. Unfortunately, there is no clear summit of that hill, and the "top" of it encompasses a very large, fairly level and very much overgrown area. Nonetheless, I was determined, and my persistence paid off.
Early on the morning of June 30, I came across what is unquestionably the grave site. It is clearly marked, and very surprisingly, the marker is in pristine condition. Someone knows about the burial location and must care enough about Mr. Arnold to keep it maintained, although it is still in a very overgrown area. I can only imagine that many years ago, at the time of the burial, it was much less overgrown. Incredibly, it is at the edge of another of the mysterious pits, albeit a much smaller one than the site of the crash.
This was a remarkable discovery. The only answer it provides, however, is that Lachlan Arnold did in fact return to Park City at some point, and evidently eventually passed away there. It does nothing but intensify the original mysteries, however, so we are left with our imaginations to determine what may have occurred, both the night of the crash and over the many years since.
The coordinates of this cache will take you to the final resting place of Lachlan Arnold, and you can see for yourself this amazing and historical site. Although Lachlan was always under a very heavy cloud of suspicion regarding the missing cash and ore, I somehow have become very fond of him and just can't picture him as criminally involved somehow. If I am wrong about this, then his latter years must surely have been spent in tremendous comfort and luxury based on the value of his original cargo.
This concludes your historical tour of the crash site of the PC Blue and the grave of Lachlan Arnold. I hope you will enjoy pondering the history as much as I have. If you are so inclined, please include your thoughts in your log of this cache. On your way back down, think about the huge truck barreling through the snow on that frigid November night, over the very terrain you are traversing, and of its final, fateful plunge into the mysterious pit.
Rest in peace, Lachlan.