Sandy Run Dam Cache Traditional Cache
Keystone: As there's been no report of an adoption in process, I am archiving this listing. This frees up the area for the placement of a new cache.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
nice easy 3/4 mile round trip, mostly level or mild grades. parking area is accessible off water dam rd.
The dams that surround Johnstown, PA, stretching throughout the conemaugh valley were unsuspecting accomplices in the great Johnstown Flood of July 19th, 1977. They were duped by the instigator - the rain, a phenomenal amount of rain, 11.82 inches in just 10 hours. The dams were simply overwelmed, water rushing over thier earthen embankments, quickly eroding them. When they failed, 6 dams dumped 128 million gallons of water into the conemaugh valley. 20 million gallons of water were released when the South Fork Dam burst in 1889.
I was 16 years old and lived in the City of Johnstown at the time and was first hand witness to the horrific devastation and loss of life, 85 lives, and over $300 million in property damage.
This cache is placed near one of those six dams that failed on that fateful night, the Sandy Run Dam. Sandy Run Dam was then owned and still is by the Highland Sewer and Water authority. The dam was constructed around 1914 and had a spillway of 28ft. The dam held 18 million gallons of water that was unleashed down the Conemaugh Gap along the same route as the South Fork Dam that had burst in 1889. Not much remains of the dam and it's washed out embankment in the nearly 30 years that have passed since the waters overflowed it's breast, high grass and small trees now cover it's once barren lake bottom, but if you use a little imagination as you survey the area, it is easy to put it all back together again.
Park at the top of the access road, coordinates are (N40.19.790, W078.48.070). Walk down the old access road to the lake bed and let your GPS guide you to the cache. This area is full of wild turkey and deer and is heavily hunted during the hunted seasons, so take appropriate precautions during those times. You will be looking for a fairly well hidden large camoflauged cannister containing many nice tradeable items. A camera is also included, so please take a picture of yourselves and I will post it when the camera is filled. Please rehide the cache as good or better than you found it. Also, feel free to look around the old breast and spillway, Although still owned by HSWA, it is open for public use such as hiking, hunting, fishing and horseback riding through a special arrangement with the PA game commission.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
snyyra gerr
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures