Tanana Tenderfoot Vantage Traditional Cache

Daddy Ladybug used to routinely drive between Alyeska Pipeline's Pump Stations 6, 8, and 10, and this was a place he would stop to enjoy the view of the Tanana River Valley and the Alaska Range.  Take a few minutes to enjoy a wide pullout with a knock-out view and find a cache while you take a break during your drive between Fairbanks and Delta Junction.

The Richardson Highway connects Fairbanks and Valdez with a paved ribbon of blacktop.  Only a little more than 100 years ago, the highway didn't exist in any form.  It took Felix Pedro's gold discovery near Fairbanks in 1902 to prompt construction of a spur trail from Gulkana on the Valdez-Eagle route to Fairbanks.  This route became the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail.  Then, gold was discovered in the Tenderfoot Creek area north of modern day Delta Junction in 1905.  

The gold in this area was mined using drift mining and sluice box techniques.  Supplies were mostly brought to the area by paddlewheel steamer plying the Tanana River from Fairbanks.  Because sluicing requires large amounts of water, a 3.3 mile ditch was constructed to move water from Banner Creek and Buckeye Creeks located about a mile east of the cache location to Tenderfoot Creek, located even further east.  To learn more about this era, be sure to stop by the Gold Rush Centennial interpretive waystop on Tenderfoot Hill, a little more than three miles south on the Richardson Highway.

In addition to envisioning early 20th century paddlewheel steamers bucking the fast Tanana River currents below you, enjoy the view of the Alaska Range on the horizon.  From left to right, Mt. Hayes (13,832'), Mt. Hess (11,940'), and Mt. Deborah (12,339') dominate the horizon.

The cache is hidden on the downhill side of the guardrail and may be accessible year-round, depending on the the snow removal patterns.  We placed it in a spot that should take you out of line of sight of most muggles, but a short scramble down a steep embankment is required leading to the two-star terrain rating.  You don't need to continue beyond the treeline down the steepest part of the embankment to locate the cache.  We only got six satellites at the cache location (but had an EPE of 16 feet), so we provided what should be a bomb-proof clue.  Please post a waypoint with your log if your coordinates differ significantly from ours.

The initial cache contents include Ladybug Kids personal geocoin #160 as a FTF prize, "Ingrid" the travel bug, the Ladybug Kids' British Columbia traveling geocoin, and a few Alaskan souvenirs including a couple of items from Rika's Roadhouse, located on the south bank of the Tanana River next to the Richardson Highway.