Winner Creek Gorge Trail Traditional Geocache
NorthWes: It appears this cache may be missing. I will endeavor to get out and perform necessary maintenance within the next several weeks.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Just beyond pavement’s end at the Alyeska Prince Hotel is the Winner Creek Gorge Trail… an easy hike winding through a coastal rainforest remnant. The cache lies just a quarter-mile hike away from the luxury of the hotel.
Winner Creek Gorge Trail is a pleasant day or early evening hike for the whole family. Boardwalks and graveled well-drained trail improvements in this lovely corner of the Chugach National Forest make hiking here a delight May through September. The .25 mile route (one way) has only 260 feet of elevation gain. The cache is barely over 400 yards from the trailhead itself.
Drive 37 miles south from Anchorage on the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm to Girdwood, and turn left onto the Alyeska Highway. Drive 3 miles uphill to the T intersection and turn left onto Arlberg Road. Continue about a mile to the Alyeska Prince Hotel’s parking area.
The actual trailhead is hidden behind the hotel’s tram loading station, where a traditional wooden Chugach National Forest sign announces the beginning of the trail at N60 58.190 W149 05.700. About one-tenth of a mile into the woods a small stream is crossed by the trail. Continue on past this stream on the trail another 200 yards until your GPS points off the trail at a 90º angle. From this point the mega-bison cache is only 10 feet away down a gently-sloping side trail (heading towards the stream.) Please access the cache hide from the side away from the trail. Don't move any logs etc during your search - this is an ecologically sensitive area - practice the 'Lift - Look - Replace' ethic with lightweight sticks, bark etc., and you'll find the cache without disturbing any mossy areas!
Any flowing water in the neighborhood (other than rain!) should be on your left as you step off the trail. The thick tree cover here may make your GPS less accurate, but it also helps keep the forest floor free of devils club. Accuracy varies from around 60 feet while moving down the trail, to the 16 feet I managed when resetting the cache container over a twenty minute span.
Tread lightly – the rainforest floor is easily disturbed here, and an obvious trail to the cache won’t preserve its hide or the area’s beauty.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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