Wonder Falls Traditional Cache
Mtn State Reviewer: As the owner has not responded to my prior note, I am archiving this listing.
If the cache owner wishes to reactivate this cache, it can easily be unarchived if it still meets the current ([URL=http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx]guidelines[/URL]).
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Located along the Big Sandy River in Preston County. Except for a short, steep bank at the beginning and end of the trail, this is a relatively level hike. The difficulty is for the distance (1.1 miles). You may want to bring your bathing suit and make a day of it.
Get off I-68 at Bruceton Mills and take Rt.26 toward Kingwood. Turn right onto Little Sandy Creek Road. Travel until you reach a Y in the road and bear right here. You will pass a large pond in a field on the right. Continue to a rocky road on the right (N39 36.663 WO79 42.346, approximately 3.5 miles from Rt. 26)and turn right here. At this intersection there is a house in the middle of a field and a large pine tree near the road, all of which are on the left of the paved road and across from the turn down the rocky road to Rockville. Continue down to the river and cross a small bridge, then a larger bridge. Park here and the trailhead is here, at the end of the bridge and to the left. (N39 37.307 WO79 42.253)
There is a steep bank here up behind an old shack and then the trail continues downstream. It makes a very gradual ascent and then a similarly gradual descent back to the river. Stop at waypoint N39 37.613 WO79 43.335 to see Wonder Falls. It is a 35 minute hike to here. It is also possible to drive a small to midsize 4x4 pickup or SUV to this point, but no farther.
Continue downstream to the cache site at N39 3.853 WO79 43.273. This is another 10 minutes from Wonder Falls. You will find a beautiful little waterfall descending down the mountainside into the Big Sandy. (This is the second waterfall along the trail after passing Wonder Falls.) The cache is located just past this waterfall and above the trail. I crossed the creek above the falls to get to the site. Not sure if there is a clear route from the trail if you cross below the falls.
You will notice along the way that this area receives many visitors who can be rather careless with their trash. Among other things, the cache contains garbage bags for anyone ambitious enough to do a CITO. The rest of us will appreciate it! Good Luck!
Now, for those of you who enjoy a little local lore with your cache hunts, read on:
Rockville was established as a logging community and the trail follows the old railbed which came up from the Cheat. In the mid 70's one of the old houses left standing became inhabited by a squatter the local people called "Dirty Sally" after a character from an old western TV show. "Sally" lived in the house at the end of the bridge until the interior was mysteriously burned in a fire. She then stayed in the basement until someone moved a schoolbus onto the property and she moved into that. Some locals looked out for "Sally", bringing her food and medicine, while others harassed her for fun. "Sally" didn't bathe because she believed that the water in the Big Sandy would melt your skin and she had a habit of scouring dumpsites and bringing her "treasures" back home. She accumulated a large amount of trash and came to the attention of the Allegheny Land and Mineral Company, owner of the land. The company went to court to have "Sally" evicted. One local property owner gave "Sally" a life-time interest in a half-acre of land he owned nearby. Social service agencies, churches, businesses, and student organizations came together to supply the materials and labor to build the one room house, which marks the trailhead, for "Sally" to live in. When Sally became unable to care for herself, social services stepped in and moved her to a nursing home in Buchannon. Rose Henthorn, aka "Dirty Sally", died last year at the age of 88. She was survived by 5 children.
The information related to "Dirty Sally" or "Rockville Sally" was obtained from a newspaper article in the Preston County News and from a first-hand account of an acquaintance of Rose. In the interest of accuracy,anyone with contradictory info is welcome to email me with details.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx sbe n cvyr bs ebpxf whfg qbja gur uvyy sebz n fgbez-qbjarq gerr. Qbja gur uvyy zrnaf gbjneq Ovt Fnaql, abg gbjneq gur jngresnyy. Lbh pna frr gur evire sebz gur pnpur fvgr.
Treasures
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