| This cache site takes you to a secret spectacular view spot high in the Coso Mountains, overlooking picturesque downtown Darwin, majestic snow-capped Mt. Maturango, Telescope Peak, the Argus Range, Mt. Ophir and a good chunk of the Darwin plateau.
Turn around and you have a whole other spectacular view behind you, taking in Malapais Mesa and the Nelsons. You won’t find this photo-op in any tourist brochure. You pretty much have to live in Darwin to know about it, which I do.
The road to this geocache is unmaintained dirt, but it’s in pretty good shape. Sports cars are out, but four-wheel-drive is not needed. Anything with okay clearance — like a truck or SUV or even an old VW bug — should be just fine. There are a couple of rutted areas, but just take 'em slow, and you'll do fine.
Just about the only way to get stuck on this road is to take your eyes off the road because you spilled your martini in your lap, and then barrel off at 30 mph into the sagebrush. I set the cache in the middle of a thunder-and-lightning hail storm with three or four inches of snow on the ground. If I can make it up there in two-wheel drive under those conditions, then you certainly can when it's nice and sunny.
Of course, I'm assuming that you will drive in from Darwin. You can also drive in the back way from Centennial Flat, or hike in from Darwin cross country.
Cache contains nifty historical artifacts
As for the cache: It has some nifty historical artifacts in it, not just your usual junk:
- Three pieces of obsidian chipped by ancient hunters near Owens Lake about 10,000 years ago.
- An ore core sample from the famous Darwin Mines, second biggest silver producer in the state, only bested by nearby Cerro Gordo.
- A chunk of Darwin Mine ore with pyrite crystals. It looks a little weathered, but it’s not. This is the way it comes out of the Radiore Adit.
- Darwin mines ore-sample bag tags, two of 'em.
- An antique square-cut nail, found in Darwin, hailing from the town's halcyon days in the 1870s.
- A spike used to hold the ore-car rails in place. From the Silver Dollar mine. A real collector’s piece.
- For the high-tech among you, we have a genuine Intel alarm clock, complete with battery.
- Last but not least, a set of metal Ncompass dice. Now who could ask for more?
Can't miss the road to geocache
The road into the Cosos is the one that you see going up the alluvial fan of the mountain range to your right as you come into town. You can’t miss it. Bang a right at the entering Darwin sign and head in that direction. I could give you more detailed directions, but then that would spoil all the fun.
I will say this: Stay on the main road up the alluvial fan, always go to your right when presented with an alternative. The road is on the Death Valley Auto Club road map; it's also on the topo software that comes with the Garmin 60 and 60cs.
Elevation at the cache location is 5,721 feet, 1,000 feet higher than Darwin, give or take. It's 4.47 miles from the Darwin sign to where you get out of your vehicle. You'll have to walk a little bit away from the road (.12 miles) to find the cache, but there’s no scrambling or rock climbing involved.
Bring water in summer and warm clothes in winter. You know the drill. Cell phones don’t work around here, so if you break down, be prepared to do some walking. Unlike Father Crowley viewpoint over in the Panamint, you won’t be pestered by other tourists at this view spot. Therein lies its charm. So let’s not organize the western states’ ATV conference for this spot, okay?
Watch out for scorpions, snakes and diseased mice
Cache is in a cookie tin, which you shouldn't have much trouble finding. When you reach in to get the can, watch for black widows, scorpions, rattlesnakes, cone-nose beetles and deer mice carrying the hantavirus. (Heh heh, just kidding. A little Mojave Desert humor.)
Just FYI, metal containers -- like cookie tins -- are probably better out here in the Death-Valley area for cache containers than anything made of plastic. It gets so hot and dry that the plastic cracks and falls apart, sometimes in just a few years. Case in point, the cache off Darwin-Olancha Road has only been there for two years, and its Tupperware home is already brittle. The top won’t survive too many more openings.
Road originally went to town of Coso
Originally this road ran from the town of Coso, another silver boomtown, now a ghost town locked behind the gates of the Naval Weapons Center. The road ran to New Coso, which was what Darwin was originally named, before it was named Darwin after Darwin French, who was gallivanting around this area looking for the Lost Gunsight mine and a good steak in the 1860s. Well, I'm just kidding about the good steak part, but I'm sure he wouldn't have turned one down if someone offered him one, hot off the barbeque.
Have fun and let me know how you made out!
UBeHEbe JeeBEE
Those coordinates again are:
N 36 degrees 16.331’
W 117 degrees 38.903’
Averaged, checked and double checked with a Garmin 60cs.
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