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About this cache: Welcome to the California edition of the Cache Across America challenge. Whether this is your first find or your 50th find in this series, I am sure this will be or has been one of the most rewarding challenges you have done.
California is the third largest U.S. state by area and the most populous. It has a coastline with the Pacific Ocean that is over 800 miles long. California has a wide variety of climate zones, from the hot, dry desert in the south to the cold, snowy mountains in the north. The climate zones are determined by the state's location along the Pacific coast, its proximity to the Sierra Nevada mountains, and its elevation. The variety of climate zones in California offers a wide range of outdoor activities, such as surfing, hiking, skiing, and camping. The climate zones also offer homes to iconic trees, such as the coastal redwoods and the giant sequoias.
In terms of economy, California is the largest of any U.S. state. Major contributors to the state's economy are agriculture, wine, shipping, entertainment (Hollywood and the film industry), technology (Silicon Valley and the Internet), and aerospace.
Early California was inhabited by at least 300,000 indigenous people. In 1542, Juan Cabrillo started the Spanish period. Not until around 1770, did Spanish colonization and the creation of 21 Spanish missions see the spread of the Spanish presence. In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence saw California become part of the Mexican Empire. In 1846, a group of American settlers around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. By 1848, Alta California became the American state of California. The discovery of gold led to a massive influx of prospectors and miners. In the next 6 years, 300,000 settlers had arrived. California became the 31st state in 1850.
The cache is located along the CA-35 highway, locally known as Skyline Boulevard since it runs along the ridge of the Santa Cruz mountains with views of the Pacific Ocean and the Bay area. You can reach CA-35 from CA-92. From there, CA-35 climbs to the skyline, its namesake. Follow the winding two-lane road south until you reach the Purisima Creek North Ridge parking area (use parking coordinates).
Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is located on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking Half Moon Bay. The centerpiece of this 5,412-acre preserve is Purisima Creek Canyon, with its towering redwoods, rushing creek, and understory of ferns, berries, and wildflowers. Magnificent views of the coast and Half Moon Bay are visible from the northern part of the preserve.
The trail and trailhead are closed at night (pay attention to the closing hours signed there). Also pay attention to any trail closure signage. Take the Chris Macintosh trail and use the waypoint to find where you leave the trail to go to the cache. Do not bushwhack up from the main trail. Enjoy the ferns and mosses that are all over. Respect the foliage and try to minimize geotrail formation. On some days, when the fog is in, you will find things fairly moist here so dress accordingly.
Once you have found the cache, perhaps taken a picture and collected the code, you may want to explore further south along Skyline Boulevard. Not far from here is an old growth redwood known as the Methuselah tree, 1800 years old. You can locate it via a nearby geocache. A bit further south where CA-84 joins Skyline, you can find food and gas. The eatery there is named after a famous Arlo Guthrie song and sports its own Group W bench. Continuing south, you might want to hike up Windy Hill for views of San Francisco, the Pacific Ocean all the way down to Mount Hamilton in the South Bay. Proceeding further south, you can see examples of sustainable California agriculture at a winery. A variety of great hiking areas dot the length of Skyline Boulevard all the way down to CA-9 at the southern end. Peninsula Open Space Trust has a good summary of highlights of the Skyline Boulevard route: https://openspacetrust.org/blog/skyline-boulevard/ . |
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Logging Requirements: Enjoy this cache as you would any other. If you are searching this cache as a participant in the Cache Across America series, please post a photo of yourself or a member of you group with the cache in your online log. If you for some reason are unable to meet the photo requirement, please make alternate arrangements to verify your find with the individual cache owner. There is no photo requirement for non-challenge participants.
Individual verification of all 50 state finds will be required before logging the series final.
If participating in the series, please take note of the three digit code located inside this cache. Save this code in a secure place. When you have visited all 50 caches, and have collected all 50 codes, you are welcome to seek and find the final cache! Good luck!
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