Pine Canyon Conservation Area
Cache 3 of 8 in the PCCA Tour | Cache is located at the posted coordinates.Â
The Japanese Camp
More than a hundred Japanese immigrants lived in a small camp at this spot, working at the smelter. Notice that the trees and shrubs around you aren't random sagebrush — many of them were planted by the people who called this home.
Look around. See if you can pick out trees and bushes that seem out of place. Those are the fingerprints of a community that lived here a long time ago.
Getting there
About 1+ mile each way from the PARKING waypoint at the trailhead lot. The route crosses open desert with no shade — bring water and sun protection.
What's inside?
A logbook, the cache's letterbox stamp and ink, a pen, and a printed card with a resident's own words about what the houses were like, and how workers got here from the Salt Lake Valley.
The lid word. Each cache in this series has a word inside the lid. Collect all eight to unlock a future Mystery bonus.
First time at Pine Canyon?
The Pine Canyon Conservation Area is 3,000 acres of protected open space on the east bench of the Oquirrh Mountains. From 1910 to the mid-1970s, this was the International Smelter — one of Utah's largest industrial sites. The land was cleaned up and replanted. The Wildlife sign at the trailhead names six common animals you might see here, including mule deer, coyote, and elk.
This cache is one of eight in the PCCA Tour. Tour 1: Trailhead is the best place to start — there's an Adventure Lab there too.
The PCCA Tour
Bonuses: Trailhead Bonus (Adventure Lab) · Lid-Word Mystery (coming later this year)
Please tread lightly. This is a historic landscape — don't disturb plantings or visible artifacts.