Sunrise- Secret Valley Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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#1 SUNRISE- SECRET VALLEY
This cache is in a small hidden valley approachable easily only from the canyon wash. The cache is in an ammo box & is dedicated to animals & wildlife everywhere who enjoy peaceful & unspoiled places to live. The original cache went missing so it has been replaced and relocated. PLEASE be very careful to hide it well as it is the key to the rest of the series.
#1 Sunrise- Secret Valley
This cache is the first in a series of four caches along a very beautiful canyon in the Calico Mountains. The first (Sunrise- Secret Valley) is listed as a regular cache. The other three are ‘Mystery’ Caches, in that the coordinates for each successive cache are in the log book of the previous one.
The four caches are:
1. Sunrise- Secret Valley
2. Sunrise- Spumoni
3. Sunrise- Middle Earth
4. Sunrise- Pot ‘O’ Gold
When we first placed these caches the "road" into the area really ended over a mile from the first cache. So at that time If you wanted to do all four caches the total hike will be about 3 miles each way. Now, for some reason there has been a lot of traffic into that area and you can drive to quite close to the first cache knocking over a mile off both ways. You can still hike the whole thing like we do or get in closer before you park. However you do it there is significant elevation gain spread over the distance and it really seems like a walk in the park....and a VERY beautiful and special ‘park’ it is! You may only want to do 1, 2 or 3 of these caches and come back another time for the rest, it doesn't matter.
NOTE:There is a fifth cache that can be accessed from the Sunrise Pot 'O' Gold cache that you might want to visit while near. It is the Misplaced Pyramid Cache. There is a sixth cache, Purple Haze, that is up a purple side-wash from the main canyon.
With each successive cache I have increased the terrain difficulty level by 0.5 because of the increasing distance, but none of them are terribly difficult. The walk up the canyon is basically a walk up a wide, sandy and rocky wash. The caches are placed in various locations above the wash so short rock scrambles are all that is required to locate them.
As with any desert outings, plan your hike carefully, take plenty of water and always watch out for desert critters. There are some mines and other potential hazards in the area so use appropriate caution. This canyon may be too hot in the summer for pleasant hiking but fall, winter or spring it should be a delight! Since most of the way is along a very large wash I would suggest NOT attempting these caches on those few instances when you can expect significant rainfall as flash flooding can occur.
I think if you want to enjoy a wonderful hiking experience in an as yet unspoiled desert area you will love this cache series. I believe the area was CLOSED to off-road vehicles but now for some reason there is regular traffic into the first part of the canyon, perhaps the signs went missing. There are many different canyons around the area so I have waypointed the original entrance to THIS canyon at N 34 55.702, W 116 46.998, but you can now drive quite a bit further.
Please respect this unspoiled place and the wildlife. We see owls almost every trip into this canyon, as well as lots of other wildlife.
But be careful, this last trip we spotted a couple of rattlesnakes!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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