I came upon this island of rock in the middle of a second growth
forest while returning from a hike to Cherry Lake Falls. This is a
spot that is rarely visited by people, and for good reason - it's
hard to get here. I wasn't lost, but I certainly wasn't on familiar
ground, feeling a bit detached from the world, knowing that if I
got injured I could be stranded here for days before anyone found
me. In some odd way, I was reminded of Alcatraz, also an island of
rock a short distance from civilization, also difficult to get to,
difficult to leave.
The National Parks Service says this of Alcatraz:
"Isolation, one of the constants of island life for any
inhabitant - soldier, guard, prisoner, Indian, bird or plant - is a
recurrent theme in the unfolding history of Alcatraz."
Isolation. A sense of distance not measurable by a yardstick,
but by the time and effort that separates you from your venti
latte. Solitude.
While this location is certainly deserving of a full-sized
cache, all I had with me was a large silver Bison tube. It's meant
to be easy to find. In fact, you can see it shining right here in
the center of this picture (visit the link below for the full-sized
image). With the pictures you should be able to pick this spot out
from a distance, even with bad reception. And you will
have bad reception on the way.
As long as you're out this way, don't forget to visit the falls
further into the woods and pick up the cache there, as well as some
of the many others in this area.