*WARNING* *WARNING* *WARNING*
This cache is NOT for those with weak ankles, or for the unbalanced, or for those looking for a large florescent shoe box!!!
Drake was a pirate, although the commemorative marker on the bluff overlooking the cape's South Cove refers to him more politely as a privateer. He and his men raided ships and settlements, but his victims were the "detested" Spanish, so he plundered with the blessing of the English government.
Drake himself came very close to touching the Oregon shore on June 5, 1579, when gale winds drove his ship, the Golden Hind, off the open ocean. He slipped behind an immense headland — thought to be today's Cape Arago from evidence in Drake's log — to drop anchor and wait out the storm.
Drake and his crew spent a night within hollering distance from an Oregon beach. But, for Drake, it was a detour he gladly would have skipped. In his log, he described South Cove as a "bad bay," and he complained about the "vile thicke and stinking fogges."
Legend has it that while Drake and his crew waited out the storm in South Cove, two members of his crew slipped off the ship in the dark of night with a small trove of Drake's swindled treasure of gold and hid the stolen loot high on the outer bluff among the weather twisted Shore Pines. The two men believed they would one day return and retrieve the stolen treasure without Drake. But Drake and his pirateering never returned to South Cove, and there is no known history recording the return of the two who stole the stolen treasure of gold.
"Is it possible, that the stolen gold remains hidden amongst the weather twisted Shore Pines out on Drake’s Point, or has the treasure succumbed to the eroding headland and has fallen into the sea...?" (There is evidence of gold being found within the South Cove.)
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To begin, search for the large boulder at the end of the field that overlooks the calm waters of Cape Arago's South Cove. Read this plaque in honor of Sir Francis Drake, the English sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer and explorer of the Elizabethan era. Drake's exploits made him a hero to the English, but his privateering led the Spanish to brand him a pirate, known to them as El Draque.
Your journey to the cache begins just to the right (west) of this rock. A small trail will lead you down and out onto the end of Drakes Point. This once active trail has a lot of ups and downs, cliff side walking, and in a few places you have to crawl. Secure footing is very important!
The cache is brown and easily blends in with its surroundings. It won’t be easy.
While you're out there, enjoy the view, and watch your step. Please make sure keep the cache in its hidden form.