Ice Caves Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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The Ice Caves are located near the top of the Big Snowy Mountains north of Harlowton, Montana. Expect a good workout hiking to this cache which is at about 8,000 feet elevation.
Cache originally placed by OneT and Biscuit in July 2005. Diesel350 adopted the cache in Sept 2019. Then in Nov 2025, after our good friend Diesel350 passed away, we (GeoCatsNKitty) adopted it, because it was one of our all-time favorites, so we had to volunteer to keep it in good shape! This cache will test your endurance getting to the top of the Big Snowy Mountains, but once you get there the view is amazing. To entice other geocachers to try this climb, the nearby Devils Chute cache is an added reward. There seems to always be ice in the caves, and it feels really good in there after the long hike. There are several ways to get to this cache. Coming from Harlowton from the south, you can go north on highway 191 (right through the soon to be first major wind farm in Montana) to Judith Gap and follow the forest service signs east. You can go to Neil Creek Road and park in several areas close to the trail. From there just follow trail #653 to trail #654 which will take you up a fairly steep hike to the Ice Caves. From there just go up to trail #493/490 and go east to the Devils Chute Caves. Another way is to go to the Ice Caves trailhead parking near the campground at Crystal Lake and take the Ice Caves trail. This route is longer (about 5 miles one way) but not as steep as the other route, but still has about a big elevation gain. This is definitely a summertime cache as the snow can get a little deep on the Big Snowy Mountains! You should check the road status to Crystal Lake as it is closed part of the year. Plan on taking a day.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbh znl unir gb trg qbja orybj gb svaq guvf bar.
Treasures
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