East Cronese Lake - Cache and Release Too
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is a traditional cache placed overlooking East Cronese Lake, in the Mojave Desert. It is north of Route 15 between Basin Road and Rasor Road, and can be accessed using either of those roads. It is not a cache and dash, it‘s a “Cache and Release“.
In other words, bring a lunch, and barb-less hooks. Depending on where you park your 2WD vehicle you can have a 3-4 mile hike to get to this cache. If you have a 4WD vehicle, depending on the time of year, you can drive fairly close to it. At the time the cache was placed, East Cronese Lake was full of water, ruling out the road that normally cuts across the dry lake bed. Unlike the West Cronese Lake cache, that you can park within 20’ of, (if you have the right vehicle and the time of year is also favorable); this cache will require a little leg work regardless of all the other factors.
Gophertrax and I love to hike in the desert, so naturally we placed this cache in the winter time. No matter how much you like to hike, you wouldn’t want to hike out to this cache in the summer months. This entire basin area of the Mojave Desert is very unforgiving in the summer months. The Mojave River drains into this basin as it is one of the lowest spots. Death Valley would probably kill you quicker in July or August; this spot would allow you to suffer a little longer. Plan your day carefully, bring plenty of water, and pick the right time of the year to do it.
For you non-hikers, dirt-bikers, quad-riders and other 4WD type folks: Plan your day carefully, bring plenty of water, and pick the right time of the year to do it. Keep in mind, if your vehicle breaks down or gets stuck, you become a hiker. During winter rains it gets very muddy in the dunes and lake bed areas of both East and West Cronese Lakes; and during the summer heat the dunes get very soft. 2WD vehicles get stuck pretty quick and 4WD vehicles get stuck after getting a little farther into it.
This is really a great place to visit as it is one of the “less-spoiled” areas of the desert. You won’t see a lot of trash out here, just fairly pristine desert. Presently East Cronese Lake is full of water and it is really quite strange and special to walk along the “beach” on the way to a cache in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The lake being close-to-full only happens every 10-20 years. Naturally the local critter population thrives during a good flood season. There’s lots of critters that live under ground and lots of snakes that like to eat those critters, so as always watch where you step and place your hands.
There are quite a few range cattle roaming around this area, especially during the winter months when there’s water in the lakes, and the bog/dune areas around the lakes. Give them their space, they are not the friendly dairy cows you may have seen back at the farm. They are closer to wild than they are to tame, and could hurt you if they felt threatened. Give them some space. Also, always close barbwire gates behind you on the BLM “Open Route” dirt roads, so the cattle can’t get out where they may get into trouble.
The cache is a black colored ammo box and the theme is fishing of course. In giving the cache a rating of 1-1/2 on difficulty of find, and 3-1/2 on terrain, the assumption is you’ll heed the advise given above. If you try it in July, August, or when it’s a muddy bog after major winter storms, the rating would have to be much higher. Enjoy!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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