This cache will take you through lush ancient forest, past
abandoned mine shafts and an old sawmill, through a rustic mining
town, and finally to beautiful Opal Creek and the once
controversial hiking trail that parallels it. History abounds here
as do gorgeous waterfalls and giant trees. The gawk factor is
awesome. For those up for a bit longer hike I’ve placed a bonus
cache at Cedar Flats, an area
farther up Opal Creek that features a trio of 1000 year old
Western Red Cedars.
Update 5/8/06: I've eliminated the micro
stage by updating the following text and adding a waypoint for the
actual cache location...
The above coordinates are
not the cache location but are for the historic mining town of
Jawbone Flats. The cache is near there. Originally this was a
multi-stage cache requiring you to locate a micro containing the
cache coords. That stage has been problematic so I've eliminated
it. The actual cache location is N 44 50.545, W 122 12.164. Please
enter this into your GPS. It is also listed as a waypoint at the
bottom of the cache page. I have tried to simply change the posted
coordinates but due to geocaching.com rules have been unable to do
so.
Parking is at the gate at N 44 51.593, W 122 15.885. Vehicle
traffic is allowed beyound the gate but only for residents of
Jawbone Flats, so unless you're one of those eleven folks you’ll
have to hoof it from the gate, a hike of about three miles. A
Forest Pass is required and they’re available at the gate. The last
five miles before the gate is pretty bumpy but passable for most
passenger cars. Elevation is about 2000 feet, so snow may or may
not be a deal breaker in winter.
As you leave your car and head up the fairly level gravel road
you’ll almost immediately find yourself amidst some of the biggest
Doug Firs you’re ever likely to see. In fact one of the largest is
just 200 yards beyond the gate, an 800 year old monarch called the
“Guts Gibbs” tree in honor of the Civil War era Oregon governor.
Further along through this big forest you’ll pass some abandoned
mine shafts and the remains of the old Merten Mill, a sawmill that
operated for a brief time during the 1940s. Scattered in the woods
at the mill site are the corroding but interesting remnants of its
equipment including this old boiler. The mill and
its boiler are roughly halfway to Jawbone Flats. A side trail at
this site leads to a viewpoint overlooking one of the many
beautiful waterfalls in the area.
A short distance beyond the mill you’ll see a trail that leads
to the right and crosses the Little North Fork of the Santiam River
on a footbridge. It’s a new bridge replacing one that failed last
year. As of February, 2003, the new bridge was still under
construction, but once complete the trail that crosses it will
offer an alternate route to the cache presenting the option of a
nice loop.
Another mile down the road is Jawbone Flats. The town is private
property but the public is permitted to hike through. It’s
currently the home base of the Friends of Opal Creek who sponsor a
variety of programs and nature hikes in the summer. There’s even a
store that sells maps and souvenirs to hikers. When we walked
through this town in February though it was more like a surreal
ghost town, the patches of frost making it seem frozen in time.
Lights were on and doors were open yet not a single soul was to be
seen or heard.
A short distance beyond Jawbone Flats is a bridge that crosses
Opal Creek near Opal Pool. From this point you’re on what was once
called “The Bear Trail”, though the name has nothing to do with
bears. The cache is located a short distance up this trail near a
gorgeous waterfall. The original construction of the Bear Trail was
just one of many battle scenes in a 50-year war over the Opal Creek
area. In fact as you hike through this quiet, peaceful place today
you’d never guess a political firestorm once raged here. The
battle, which stretched from Jawbone Flats to Washington, DC, was
over the old-growth forest in the Opal Creek watershed and
surrounding hills. The ultimate result was the creation of the Opal
Creek Scenic Recreation Area as well as the nearby Opal Creek
Wilderness Area, Oregon’s newest.
Though this hike is longish the terrain is nearly flat so it
goes pretty fast. If you have a mountain bike you can really
whittle this down as bikes can be ridden as far as Jawbone Flats.
Also, kids and dogs are OK for this cache, but if you’re planning
on continuing up to the bonus cache you may want to leave your pup
at home. There’s a narrow log bridge along the way that, while safe
for humans, could be a problem for your dog. It was for mine
anyway.
Sat lock here will make you cry so please use the cheat. The
cache is located just a few feet off the trail and to start with
it’s filled with nice little gadgets from REI. A CD won’t fit in
this box so think smaller trade items. You’ll find the coordinates
for the bonus cache in the logbook.
Good luck and enjoy your Opal Creek adventure!