WARNING: If you attempt these hikes in the summer, you should start
very early in the morning, and only when it will be relatively
cool. These hikes require walking uphill in soft sand for
considerable distances with very little shade. You may want to wait
until cooler weather to attempt this cache. Read all of the
information and other folks comments.
This hike reveals a nice desert surprise about 2 miles down
Hidden Spring Trail. This is a fairly hard hike, especially if it
is hot. We placed the cache in 95-degree weather!
Take water.
Take more water. You will need it coming back. The trail climbs
170' or so on the way in, and 350' on the way back. (If you would
like an easier hike in the same area, check the 'Painted Canyon -
Ladder Trail' cache site at Geocaching.com)
Hidden Spring is in the Mecca Hills of the Orocopia Mountains,
about 40 miles South of Palm Springs, CA. To get there from Palm
Springs, take I-10 East to HWY 86s to Mecca. Turn left on 4th,
cross the RR tracks, turn right on Hammond Rd, left on 66th that
turns into Box Canyon Rd. It is a paved road that goes from Mecca
to I-10, then continues on to Joshua Tree National Park.
You can also get to the trailhead by taking the Cottonwood
Springs/Box Canyon Rd exit from I-10, and drive Southwest.
Leave the road at [Exit Box Canyon Road], and drive to [Parking
- Trailhead]. Start up the trail to the [First Ridge Top]
coordinate, the highest point on the hike. At [Sheep Hole Oasis
Trail], you will see Sheep Hole Oasis to your left and down! (Note:
this is not the cache location). Here you must make a decision to
go down a very steep trail to [Sheep Hole Oasis], then continue
South to [Sheep Hole Wash E].
Or you can continue South on the ridge top trail that descends a
little more gradually past [Easier Trail]. In either case, you will
want to get to [Sheep Hole Wash E], then up a small hill to [Second
Ridge Top]. We went down the more gradual trail, and on the way
back walked up the wash to [Sheep Hole Oasis]. Then we made the
steep (!!!) climb back up to the ridge trail. We used about twice
as much water as usual on this hike. Make sure you take extra
water. Energy food too!
Don't miss the turn to the Squeeze! The right side is the
easiest ;-) way through. Notice the very different rock here.
Now... go to [Hidden Spring]! The sign is supposed to say "Please
do not camp or disturb anything within 200 yards of the spring. You
gotta let wildlife drink. Now find the cache!
For this hike and cache site, you may want to look at the Topo
Map. The cache is pretty well covered with small rocks to keep it
concealed in a popular area. Please re-cover it very well so it can
not be seen by casual observation.
Note: These coordinates are made using the WGS-84 setting on the
GPS. The topo maps generated by TopoZone are NAD-27 CONUS. Remember
to set your GPS to the appropriate setting.
THE GROTTO CACHE:
If you want to go to The Grotto cache from here, go back to main
wash and turn left (east) go 1/4 mile, take the LEFT large canyon
at a Y in the wash. Go another 1/4 mile to ladder. TAKE FLASHLIGHT.
You have to scramble/crawl through a really cool almost totally
dark area (about 50'). One more small crawl and you come to [The
Rock n Road] coordinates, where you need to leave the wash for The
Grotto Cache site. See
'The Grotto' Cache for info.
Coordinate List:
N33.58952 W115.92915 [Exit Box Canyon Rd]
N33.58792 W115.92902 [Parking - Trailhead] 660'
N33.58566 W115.92548 [First Ridge Top] 830'
N33.58450 W115.92461 [Sheep Hole Oasis Trail]
N33.58382 W115.92267 [Sheep Hole Oasis - 560'
N33.57986 W115.92335 [Easier Trail]
N33.57803 W115.92168 [Sheep Hole Wash W]
N33.57853 W115.92093 [Sheep Hole Wash E] 480'
N33.57851 W115.91896 [Second Ridge Top] 560'
N33.57814 W115.91711 [Spring Canyon Wash W]
N33.58184 W115.91075 [Spring Canyon Wash E]
N33.58159 W115.90746 [Hidden Spring Squeeze]
N33.58366 W115.90607 [Hidden Spring] 680'
N33.58310 W115.90645 [The Cache] 720'
Have Fun!
Eve'n'Steven