Cabarrus County Rocky River Thread Trail
Note: Parking for these hides may be found along Rocky River Road near the bridge over Rocky River, or along the street into The Mills development.
Extra Caution: When these caches were hidden, Rocky River level was around 11 feet. The river was flowing fast and "angry." A couple feet higher and the trail is underwater in places. When wet or damp, the trail is very slippery in spots, and you could easily slide down the bank into the water. It was about 8 feet higher only 12 hours earlier. It can go up even faster. Words to the wise: Turn around, don't drown. If in doubt, go uphill away from the river.
Gage, Rocky River above Irish Buffalo Creek:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/uv/?site_no=0212433550&PARAmeter_cd=00065
Were you paying attention along the walk? If not, the reference point is only a couple or few tenths of a mile back. You may have noticed what looked like a possible drive-in camping area beside the river, near a road intersection with the trail, and a transition from less to more cleared and finished trail. What you needed to observe was the number of rope swings hanging down over the river, S, visible through a small clearing/access, and the number of very large fallen trees, F. Then:
N 35 19.[139 - (S-1)*10] W 080 35.[(F+2)*89]