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These coordinates will lead you to a
treasure-packed geocache and the hard-to-find historic Darwin Mines
Aqueduct.
Water is a
precious commodity in this desert area. As they say around here:
"Whiskey's for drinking, and water's for fighting over." The cache
is near the Darwin Mines Aqueduct, which runs from an abandoned
pumping station in Darwin Canyon all the way back the five or six
miles to the huge Darwin Mines complex, just outside of the town of
Darwin.
Some parts date from the
1870s
Parts of the aqueduct probably date from the 1920s–1940s, although
some riveted portions of pipe still exist. They date back to the
original pipeline installed in the 1870s, when Darwin was a
rough-and-tumble boomtown, arguably the most violent town in the
entire Old West. You won't find this aqueduct on any tourist map,
but thanks to your ever-thoughtful cache hider, you get to ogle
this wonder of engineering prowess.
The mine
caretaker powered up long-idle pumps about five years ago and
successfully got water flowing through the aqueduct Quite the feat
since both the aqueduct and pumps had been idle since the mine
closed in the late '70s, almost 30 years ago.
Too much
information?
I never know how much to tell about where these back-country
caches are located, so let me know if I'm giving too many
directions. I don't want to give too much away for those who enjoy
a cache in the middle of nowhere, but I don't want to scare away
those who don't drive a high-clearance 4WD vehicle.
Anyway, if
you don't have a newer mapping GPS like the Garmins, it may appear
that the cache is in the middle of nowhere. Well, it is, but it is
also off a once-paved road that is the main route to China Garden
Springs, Darwin Falls and Panamint Valley. The road was once nicely
paved, but is now in a state best described as "complete
disrepair."
I wouldn't
recommend a Honda Civic or a sports car on this road, but you
shouldn't need four-wheel-drive. 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. The road originates in Darwin, although you could
also get to the cache the hard way by taking the road from Panamint
Valley and Darwin Falls toward Darwin, in which case 4WD would
definitely be needed.
The road to
the geocache is on the Auto Club Death Valley road map, but if
you're just in the area and decide to wing it, take the main road
through Darwin. When the road ends at a stop sign, take a left.
You're on your way and on your own!
Cache
contains nifty prizes for the connoisseur:
- Three rare Vicoprofen drug
rep pens. Vicoprofen is the same pain reliever as Vicodin,
but with ibuprofen instead of tylenol. Please don't take the last
pen without leaving something for people to write in the
log.
- A
super handy Viewsonic digital clock. Considering the
extremes of desert temperatures that it will be soon subjected to,
we'll see if it can take a licking and keep on ticking!
- An
antique Kodak camera filter with art deco bakelite case
for your antique Kodak camera.
- Ceramic Body Armor
carabineer key chain. Especially for you survival types,
these are the guys that manufacture a lot of the bullet-proof vests
for our troops in Iraq and elsewhere.
- A
magic ring made from a space-age alloy. Too big to wear on
your finger unless it's the size of an Italian sausage, it's just
the thing to keep in your pocket, where you can quickly retrieve it
for a spin on a table in the Merry Go Round Restaurant in Lone
Pine. The wait staff be impressed for sure!
- A
miniature portable top. Get the ring above spinning on the
table top, and then give this one a spin too. Having this much fun
should be illegal!
- An
ingenious portable fold-away frisbee and handy carry
pouch. Everyone needs one of these.
- A
fabulous worm girl toy for all you collectors of worm girl
toys and accessories.
- "Microsoft Reader" neck
lanyard, just the thing for hanging those corporate ID
tags or a bottle of mustard if you're a big hot dog eater. A
collector's item because "Reader" is one of the few Microsoft
products that essentially tanked. Right up there along with Bob the
operating system. Remember that one? "
- Last but
not least, a full 45-minute taped segment of the Howard
Stern show. Love him or hate him, it sure beats listening
to static, which is the only thing you will be receiving on your
car radio in these parts.
If you
continue past the cache to the road in the canyon bottom, which
eventually comes out in Panamint Valley, you will need 4WD. DO NOT
blame me if you take the Darwin Canyon Road and become hopelessly
mired in loose blow sand. If you don't want to continue into the
canyon, you can bang a U-turn and return to Darwin, to mail a
letter at the post office or visit the always popular
dumpsters.
Have fun and
let me know how you made out!
UBeHEbe
JeeBEE
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