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Cueva de Carmela (Carmen's Cavern) Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

txrancher: Land owner decided to withdraw his permission for this cache.
Therefore, I am archiving it.
It had a great run. Sorry it has to go, as it was a really great cache and enjoyed by many.
txrancher

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Hidden : 11/8/2006
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This cache is located on private property. The owner has graciously granted permission for the placement of this cache. The cache is a three part cache, the first section will take you to a cavern, and the second part will take you to the cache itself. The third part will guide you to the 4 'extra' smiley caches. The cache is named after the property owner's wife.

NOTE: THIS IS A PHYSICALLY DIFFICULT CACHE AND IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS; YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INJURIES.

There is parking available at the above coordinates, and also the first container which contains instructions on how to get to the cavern. This container is a plastic bottle and is camouflaged. At the cavern there is a small camouflaged plastic box containing the coordinates for the cache itself. The cache is an ammo box with high quality swag. It will take between 2 and 3 hours to locate the cache and return to your vehicle!
IMPORTANT: You do NOT have permission to attempt to enter the cavern without proper gear and a companion. If you have to ask what is ‘proper gear’ you can’t go there! For your own safety, please do not ignore this caveat. Spelunking can be deadly!
The cavern was explored by professional spelunkers last year. I personally have not been in the cavern, as I don’t go in places where you have to back out! This cache site is rather remote and the trail is very primitive and rough. I do not recommend you attempt to reach this cache without a companion. You may want to take a cell phone or a whistle to attract assistance if there is an injury.
I STRONGLY recommend you wear long pants and sturdy hiking foot gear. Take water and a hiking stick with you. (I have placed several crude hiking sticks at the entrance to the 'blue trail'. Please return them when you return. If you attempt this alone, take a cell phone with you and hope you have service when you fall and break your leg. Read the logs below to get an idea what previous visitors have gone through.
This cache is not suitable for children under 12 years of age. If you decide to take younger children anyway, please watch them carefully.
You will get to see some beautiful hill country woods and hills. However you may be cursing the hills before you are through!
There are plenty of deer, wild hogs, badgers, coyotes and other critters in the area. I saw a herd of exotic big horn sheep just a few yards from the cache site a couple of years ago. They must have escaped from a nearby exotic game ranch.
The cache could have been named ‘dripping springs’ as the actual cache site is at a cliff face where dripping springs emanated back when the water level was high enough to create the springs.
PHOTO SITE!
I have placed 4 other caches along the trail. When you locate the Cueva de Carmelo, you will find the clues and coordinates for the other 4 caches which you can pick up on your way back, giving you a total of 5 smilies for this cache

Please schedule your search so that you will have plenty of daylight hours to complete the search and return to your vehicle; you positively DO NOT want to be in the woods after dark! TAKE HEED!

Enjoy the hike, scenery and the search..

This may very well be the most difficult cache in the state of Texas! As I only have a little over 1100 caches to my credit, what do I know? Please provide your opinion and place your vote in your log, I will post the results here from time to time.

PS. I recommend that you waypoint the parking lot before leaving on the search, so you can find your cachemobile in case you get lost!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur cnexvat nern vf va sebag bs n oneo jver tngr, ab ceboyrz cnexvat gurer. Gur svefg pnpur vf snveyl rnfl gb ybpngr, vg vf ng gur onfr bs gur cbjre cbyr haqre n syng ebpx. Gur frpbaq pbagnvare ng gur pnirea vf va gur pebbx bs n oenapu ba n prqne gerr ng nobhg rlr yriry.

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)