Peak-A-Boo: Willard Peak Traditional Geocache
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(regular)
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Peak-A-Boo from the top of Weber County. 'Tis true…Stockley_true and WeatherGuy placed a cache at the summit of Willard Peak, the highest point in Weber County. Obviously the “prize” in this geocache is bagging the summit and the views from the top-the dessert is finding the cache.
Where the heck is Willard Peak and how to I get there? Willard Peak (9,766')is located in the west facing Wasatch mountains that run from Ogden on the south to Brigham City on the north. It is overshadowed by the more visible Ben Lomond Peak about a mile south of the summit. You can approach Willard from several directions. From the south drive to North Ogden divide and hike to Ben Lomond then the additional mile or so north to Willard Peak. This is a 10 to 14 hour hike for the average geocacher. It would be about 18 miles roundtrip. From the east you can hike North Fork or Bailey Springs trails to Ben Lomond then on to Willard. Either of these trails adds another thousand feet of vertical gain over elevation gain from the North Ogden divide trailhead. Again plan on a 10 to 14 hour hike. Local trail maps show each of the trails listed above. Add 1 to 1.5 to terrain difficulty if you use one of these trails.
If you approach from the north you can drive to within a mile of the summit; however this is a road for vehicles with a high ground clearance and 4-wheel drive. Take the I-15 exit to Brigham City/Logan. Follow U.S. 89/91 up the canyon and take the Mantua exit to Main Street. Main is on the east side of town. Take Main Street south out of town and follow the road (Willard Peak Road) to Willard Basin (about one hour). Continue through the basin and up the west ridge to Inspiration Point where the road ends. Be on the lookout for all kinds of wildlife—deer, moose, badger, snakes, hawks, geocachers, ATVs, old pickups, etc. From Inspiration Point it is a short hike southeast to the summit (just over a mile, but moderately steep). When you reach the top you’ll have views unparalleled in Weber County and another county highest peak knocked off. If you have time you may as well head south and bag Ben Lomond as well. Plan at least two hours roundtrip.
Willard Peak Peak-A-Boo cache has been placed south of the peak toward Ben Lomond. It is a normal ammo box. Coordinates we used for the summit are: N41° 22.966, W111° 58.475. Nice stuff in this cache. If you take something please replace with similar value. When you are finished and flush with success, head to town or your camp for a celebratory dinner or soak your tired feet in one of the nearby streams or lakes or do both.
Original cache contents include:
· (Notebook, pencils and sharpener stay in cache)
· Chapstick
· (2) Carabiners
· Pkg. Of Kleenex
· Mini First Aid Kit
· Compass Key Chain
· Tri-color Highlighter
· Kid’s Water Canteen
· Pkg. of Bayer Aspirin
· Dat’l Do-It Hot Sauce
· Emergency Mylar Space Blanket
· Pink Devil Duckie, full size in original pkg.
· Official Olympic 2002 Utah Highway Roadmap
· Booklet of Historical Postcards of Ogden, Utah
· (2) Garbage Bags, large, for emergency ponchos
· "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" Soundtrack on enhanced CD
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Nccebnpu sebz gur rnfg ohg qba’g snyy gb gur jrfg, n cvar naq ebpx svtug gb uvqr guvf pnpur gur orfg, fnaqjvpurq orgjrra Jvyyneq naq Ora Ybzbaq Crnxf.