Pine Canyon Conservation Area
Cache 1 of 8 in the PCCA Tour — start here | Cache is located at the posted coordinates. Look for a pipe attached to the sign. Remove the lid and pull the ring to release the cache. No room for trades bring your own pen and letterbox stamp pad.
Welcome to Pine Canyon
You're at the trailhead for the Pine Canyon Conservation Area — 3,000 acres of protected open space on the east bench of the Oquirrh Mountains. Sagebrush country today, but a century ago this was the International Smelter, one of Utah's largest industrial sites. The land was cleaned up and replanted. The Wildlife sign at this trailhead names the common animals you might see here: mountain lion, coyote, mule deer, wild turkey, elk, and chukar.
About the PCCA Tour
Eight letterbox-hybrid caches walk you through the people, industry, and ecology of this site. There's also an Adventure Lab right here in the parking lot and two bonus caches.
Before you head out, read the three interpretive signs at this trailhead. They're short, and the Adventure Lab asks about them.
What to bring
This is a hiking tour. Cache #1 and the Adventure Lab are here at the trailhead, but the other seven caches are spread across the conservation area. Walks range from a hundred feet to over a mile each way.
Every cache listing has a PARKING waypoint. Bring plenty of water, sun protection, and sturdy shoes — there's almost no shade out there.
What's inside?
A logbook, the cache's letterbox stamp and ink, and a pen. The card has more than what's on this listing — that's part of the reward.
The log code word. Each cache in the series has a word written inside on the log or lid. Collect all eight — combined in order, they form the key to a future Mystery bonus cache coming later this year.
The PCCA Tour
Bonuses: Trailhead Bonus (Adventure Lab) · Lid-Word Mystery (coming later this year)
Please tread lightly. The PCCA is under a conservation easement: no motorized vehicles, bikes, livestock, fires, or dumping. Stay on durable ground, do not dig (there's a soil cap protecting the site), and pack out what you pack in.