First of all, this is far from a drive-by cache. Although the map
will show it about a quarter mile from Route 12, it is at the
bottom of the canyon far below the road. Route 12 passes over The
Hogback at that location. You can't see the falls from the road or
access it from The Hogback without some serious rock climbing
equipment. Also, as the cache is in a fairly deep canyon, satellite
reception can be spotty and the coordinates are likely to be
unreliable, so we will give a detailed explanation on how to find
it so you should be able to do so without the GPSr.
This cache involves a round-trip hike of about six miles over a
mostly level, sandy trail that should be suitable for most kids.
Our six year old CacheRat went and had a blast. The 4-star terrian
rating is for the distance, and some moderate climbing off the
trail to the cache location. Allow about a half day to visit the
falls and find the cache. Bring plenty of water! The falls
are spectacular and well worth the hike.
Begin at the Calf Creek Recreation Area between Boulder and
Escalante. There is a self-service fee center where you pay $2 for
day use of the area. Be sure to pick up an interpretive brochure at
the registration kiosk at the trailhead.
You will hear the falls before you see it. Shortly before you
arrive at the falls, there is a large pile of rocks to the left of
the trail. Just beyond is a steep, sandy path to get you up on top
of the rocks.
(Now, a quick, funny story. The kids, aged 6
and 8, had been wading in the falls and walked back to place the
cache, carrying their boots while their feet dried. I told them to
stay on the trail and climbed up that path; then I kept climbing up
and up looking for a good place to hide the cache. Of course, they
ignored instructions and followed me - up the steep, rocky climb -
STILL BAREFOOT. Well, they did make it up and back safely,
but we still recommend that smaller kids stay on the
trail.)
Above the pile of rocks, keep climbing until you get to the
sheer canyon wall. The cache is touching the canyon wall, where the
ground rises to one of the highest points in that immediate area.
It's behind some rocks piled against the wall. The cache is a
medium sized, clear Rubbermaid container with a white top.
Once we have more confidence in the coordinates, we may move
some of these details to the hints, but we don't want anyone to
make the hike and not find the cache - even though the hike and
seeing the falls is a fine reward in itself.
Happy hunting.
Very special thanks to
Chevums for assistance in maintaining this cache, and to
the members of the Utah Association of Geocachers
for support and guidance.