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Grape of the Topvine or Dead Man's Curve Traditional Cache

Hidden : 11/12/2005
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Near the top of the infamous "Grapevine" on I-5, nee US-99.

The waypoint designation is quite appropriate.


Cache is located above "Dead Man's Curve," a remnant of the original Ridge Route, which first directly connected the Central Valley with the Los Angeles area, in 1915. The "Grapevine" runs up the hill from the central Valley to Fort Tejon, through Grapevine Canyon, named for the native grapes which still grow there. Vehicles of all sorts still crap out trying to get up the grade. In memoriam for those vehicles the cache was filled with toy cars, and some other swag. Bring a semi or another toy car and trade.

To find the cache, exit I-5 at Fort Tejon, (historical displays, etc), Go down the hill (north) instead of to the Fort, and down Digier Road. Less than a mile north, there is a cattle guard. Park just past it and look down towards I-5, and see Dead Man's Curve. (Don't be spooked by the NO TRESPASSING sign -- the road is public.) The cache is near you as you look down to the curve. It's a camo'd garlic jar -- be careful of some barbed wire nearby; there's no need to cross it. If the Fort is open, go there, it's full of history.

History of US-99 and the Ridge Route can be found on the net. Try this site. There is also a Ridge Route museum in Frazier Park, and some more caches to find.

Thanks to Ryan and Zulema, who placed "Grape of the Basevine" (GCGKRH) for the name idea.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

N gnyy pbj jvyy svaq guvf rnfvyl.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)