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History Happened Here: "Princess - 1900" Park at the wide spot in the road, at the crest N40 32.567 and W122 31.669. Find your ditch at N40 32.580 and W122 31.561
Here a ditch, there a ditch, everywhere a ditch. . . . Water, it is life and from 1849 to the early 1900's it was essential to mining success. In 2005, thanks to people like "Kanaka" ditches like this are open and a way to explore the back country and in the spring, see the many wildflowers that dot it's path. Colombine guards this cache. June 2011, BLM has improved and extended the trail network from the trailhead coordinates above towards Placer and into Whiskeytown Park. Beginning at the end of the pavement will put you on about one mile of the original Princess Ditch. After the cache location is discovered, the trail climbs and leaves the Princess Ditch. In 2011 and 2012, 19 miles of new trails are planned in this area.
The Princess Mining Ditch is your trail as it parallels, slightly above, the "old ditch" built in ~1850. The Princess Hydraulic Mining Company, of Leadville, Colorado, in 1900-1901, constructed the Princess Ditch. The ditch, 14 miles in length, with a capacity of 1500 Miner's inches of water, conveyed water from the South Fork of Brandy Creek and Boulder Creek to the Hope Consolidated Placer Mine in the Horsetown District. A siphon 2000 feet in length, composed of pipe 24 and 22 inches in diameter, with a capacity of 2400 miners inches of water, conveyed water from the west side of Clear creek to the East side. The remnants of the siphon are located south of the confluence of Salt Creek and Clear Creek in the Whiskeytown Recreation Area. The ditch, 5 foot wide at the top, 3 foot wide at the bottom and 2 1/2 feet deep had an average head of water at the mines of 150 feet and usually in sufficient quantity to work six months each year. Construction was $30,000.
At this site, to avoid the need for a wooden flume to cross the seasonal creek, a dam was constructed. The ditch empties into the dam retained pond. Across the draw, on the far side of the pond, the ditch continued. Simple, ingenious, and effective. Follow the ditch as it meanders. Then follow the new trail up the hill. It will eventually loop back and up to Mule Mountain.
The ammo box is NOT hidden in the rocks of the dam. Unfortunately, in the construction of the new trail, some of the dam foundation was destroyed. Look closely below the cache and you will see some rock wall...the dam. Crossing the creek (a bridge will be built in 2011, the cache was moved in June 2011. Thanks BLM for not taking the ammo can when they used the cache hide-rocks in their trail construction.
Bear Go! is a cache that you can catch by continuing on the ditch. Some have bagged Princess by getting Go Bear and following the ditch trail back to Princess. But, then you might miss some of the ditch fun.
Thanks Kanaka for sharing this spot! Who would have guessed that your dream of others enjoying this spot would be preserved by the actions of BLM 6 years after you helped place this cache.
Carpe Diem, Carpe Geocachiem. . .MtnMike
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pnvea be Qhpx - lbh pna or perngvir va erperngvat gur zbahzrag bire gur pnpur.
Gur yvggyr bnx vf orgjrra gur pnpur naq gur perrx.