Mitchell Point is famous for being one of the first places in the United States to feature a tunnel with open-air windows (small arches) in it. At the time, the tunnel was built to last but in 1966 it was blasted away to make room for I-84. You can read more about this famous tunnel in an Oregonian article or at Wikipedia's Mitchell Point Tunnel entry.
The cache itself is somewhat difficult to get to. The trail can be steep. In places there are loose rock, making it difficult to walk and too easy to get a twisted ankle. There are several places along the trail that have Poison Oak. We have gauged this cache to be 3.5 stars in terms of terrain. We suggest the following for a successful visit to the Mitchell Point cache: wear full-length clothes, do not bring your pets, do not bring your children, be prepared for heavy wind gusts and keep an eye on the trail. One mis-step could easily mean your death.
That being said, we are not expert hikers in any sense of the word. I think anyone that can displace their fear of heights and is willing to do some easy hiking for 45 minutes will visit this cache successfully. We think it's one of the best viewpoints in the gorge.
If you're worried about Poison Oak, I suggest you check out "Tec Labs", the maker of Tecnu, a product which is EXTREMELY effective at removing Poison Oak/Ivy oils. Additionally, you can check out this page which will help you identify Poison Oak.
Note #1: when you find the cache, please take the time to replace it exactly as you found it. Make sure it is completely covered up.
Note #2: Check out the panorama by Chad.
Cache update notes
Update (July 06, 2006) Paula and I visited MP in order to "freshen" the cache up. The coordinates N 45° 42.224, W 121° 37.039 are VERY slightly more accurate. We removed the second cache container, consolidated items, added a few new items and replaced it. We are pretty sure we spotted some poison oak at the following coordinates: N 45° 42.069, W 121° 37.068.
Cache update notes
Update (May 3rd, 2018) I was offered the opportunity to adopt this cache recently. I had not yet actually found the cache so while headed up Gorge to Boise on May 2nd I stopped by with a replacement container in hand along with a new logbook. I was able to make the climb in about 15-20 minutes, added the waterproof container, I left the old logbook which I was amazed to find was dry in only a ziplock bag.
I have added a couple waypoints, the parking is obvious which is only 487 feet to GZ, you however will likely not want to go "direct". The second waypoint I added was to help folks get to GZ which seems to be a confusing item reading the old logs. At the trail way point I added you will find a very small trail heading down and to the North.
Thanks for visting this legacy cache and enjoy the excellent view.