This cache sits on top of a ridge at the top of Yolo County. Don’t forget your camera and binoculars! From near the cache location you will have a beautiful view of the Capay Valley. You will also have a great view of the Sacramento Valley and the Sutter Buttes. Other landmarks include Snow Mountain, St. John Mountain and the very top of Mt. Saint Helena. Feel free to type as much as you want when you log your visit on this page. Tell your story and please share the details of your hike and visit. When I hiked up on June 9th, 2004 to place this cache, I saw lots of bumblebees on flowers that only seemed to be growing near the top of the ridge where the dozer trial was the steepest.
To get to this cache you can park on Highway 16 next to the fire road gate at:
N 38° 54.640' W 122° 16.829'
The property that this cache is located on is owned by (you and me) the BLM. The accesses property is owned by the Yolo County Parks Department and is open to the public. For further information about this property and the Dozer trail that you can take to get to this cache, click on the “User's Web Page” link at the top of this page.
Why is this cache named Dozer Trail? Some time near the end of the 2003 fire season a fire burned through this area. In attempts to contain the fire, one of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CDF) fire fighting bull dozers created a fuel break from the top of the ridge down to State Highway 16. Having been a former CDF firefighter I knew just what to name this trail. It is rough and rugged all the way up, but it's a so much easier than trying to climb through the brush. If this trail does not get used it will be over grown with in a few years. So now is your chance to see what kind of terrain CDF fire fighters and heavy equipment actually perform in.
It personally took me 2 hours to hike up to the cache location (with all my water, a lunch, my McCloud (a fire fighting hand tool) , cell phone, plus the cache & all of it's heavy contents). It’s about a two-mile hike with a 2,000’ gain in elevation (only one mile from gate to cache by line of site). To get back down it only took me less than 50 minutes. Be sure to bring plenty drinking water and a snack or food. There is no place along this trial to get water! Bug spray will also be helpful to you because there tends to be little flies that love to fly around eyes & ears if you have nothing to keep them away. I highly recommend that you have very good hiking boots & thick socks or cotton socks with wool socks! If you have Mole Skin®, bring it just in case you get blisters! This is a remote area and you will most likely never see anyone else on the trail. A cell phone is a really good thing to bring with you(even if it has no service contract, you can still call 911), just make sure the battery is charged. Pants are the best things to wear because there is some Star Thistle and a little bit of Poison Oak on this trail!
Note: This is not a kid friendly hike! If your kids loved the hike up to Volcano from Pine and thought that it was an easy hike up, then maybe they can handle this one. Lets just say that this cache is rated for experienced hikers, 10 years of age and up.
No matter what time of year it is, you should plan on being back to your car before dusk! It is easy to lose sight of the trail on the way back down, so don't forget to look at your GPS tracks to get back on the trail. The wind picks up pretty good in the afternoon and evening and about the time the sun sets, it can get very cold up there!
I have not seen any rattlesnakes near the cache or on the trail. But that does not mean they are not around! Please be careful. It’s a long way back to the road!!!
Please take care in placing the cache back into it's home. This is important because the material that is covering it helps protect it from the heat of the sun or fire. Thank-you!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Teamspiritof76@charter.net
Original items placed in this cache:
Fruit Basket by Jelly Belly ®
6 water bottles. 5.4 FL oz. each.
8 Emergency drinking water packets
1 Medium size military style can opener
1 Large size military style can opener
2 cans of Heinz Beans -Vegetarian
6 packets of Fruit roll-ups
2 Emergency whistles
1 Emergency Poncho
1 package of Instant Krazy Glue®
1 All weather Emergency bag
1 8 pack Duracell® AA batteries with Rescue fire engine #19 (toy car) enclosed.
1 pair black nylon boot laces
1 pair leather boot laces
1 plastic bag of assorted stickers
2 Gun fighters, to protect the cache (like plastic solders)
1 log sheet kit. - Geocache note with log sheet, 2 golf pencils, 1 ink pen & a butterfly note pad.
Additional waypoints.
“Rock pile marker” N 38°55.284’ W 122° 17.234’
I don’t know who put these rocks here. It may have been some firefighters or the Yolo Hiker hiking group of 2003 marking the split in the trail ( I just kept going North, so I don’t know where the other trail goes. Maybe West through the Oak trees).
Additional information can be found here (website from www.yolohiker.cjb.net).
“The flat area” N 38° 55.357’ W 122° 17.306'
Just an interesting area that seems flat compared to the surrounding terrain. The rest of the way to the cache should be about 30 minutes. Oh, if you thought that things were steep before you got here, now you are going to see what a bulldozer can really do! Don’t worry, it’s short.
“The Ridge” N 38° 55.494’ W 122° 17.348'
Congratulations, this is the top of the dozer trail and the ridge you have been waiting to see for a long time!. Oh, but now you are in the wrong county to find this cache! Maybe you better work your way East & back into Yolo County. Have fun & enjoy the view!!!
Note: If you find that there is to much poison oak for you on the trail at the "Flat area" and you don't want to try climbing the steepest part of the trail, you might want to turn West at the “Rock pile marker” and work your way to the top of the ridge thru the grass and oak woodland area. This will take more time I'm sure, so plan on safely adding one more hour to your hike (to get to the top). Sorry, but at this time I don't have any more details for this alternative route.
Disclaimer:
Hey, any outdoor activity is hard. Be prepared. To get to this cache is NOT easy! If you have any doubt as to your health or suitability to hike to this cache, see your doctor first before hiking up to this cache! Bring food, water, first aid supplies, and wear proper clothes and boots. Be aware that this place is out in the wild, so anything can happen. Don't go out to this place without letting anyone know where you are going. Make sure you have enough time to get back. Look out for rattlesnakes and mountain lions, and even the occasional bear. The route and waypoints that are listed in this web page are only suggestions on how to get to this cache , make sure you bring your own maps. I bear no responsibility for anything that may happen to you or members of your party while you are out here. Have fun, but safety is your responsibility.
Now lets go hiking & Geocaching!