Box Canyon Overlook Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Compared to some of my recent excursions, this terrain is flat and relatively smooth. For the most part you can maintain 40kmh on the gravel road. No real hiking to find the cache, but the scenery and nearby terrain will invite you in for a closer look.
I heard that the Brits were going to attack "Crack of Doom" again today. It had rained quite a bit during the week, and they suspected there might be water in some of the empty creekbeds in the area. So... they headed off without the American! Mmmmm. Something must have been up! Perhaps they knew about a cache filled with gold and didn't want to share the loot! That wouldn't do.
I quickly jumped into my Ford Expedition after my wife hastily prepared a lunch. We were already an hour behind them, so I decided to find an easier route in to the Crack of doom. The old instructions had us following a dry creekbed in from the bottom of the escarpment, which was a slow, rough ride in. But when I had overshot the Crack of Doom location, I noticed that there were vehicle tracks just 100 meters from the cache! Why worry my knees over rought terrain when could drive in!!
So my main goal was to find the road leading in to Crack of Doom from the top of the escarpment, park the car and wave casually at the Brits from the top of the cliff as they labored up the slope.
Alas, my inexperience soon had me driving over boulders half the size of my truck, and my wife threatened to get out and walk behind me.
If you want to make a day of this, I recommend you try and find Crack of Doom first, but this time, follow in my footsteps. Instead of coming in through the valley, take the paved road that cuts up through the escarpment and exit to the left across the flat near N25 33.189, E046 36.553. Follow the road in (towards the North) about 10.5 km and then use your GPS to maneuver to the West Crack of Doom (but try and stay on the roads). After bagging Crack of Doom, your challenge will be to find the smoothest road over to where I've hidden the cache at "Box Canyon Overook".
There are many dirt roads that criss-cross this region. It is at the top of the escarpment but you would never know that there's a 500 drop to the West because the area is so flat on top. There are many winding tracks near the escarpment edge around Crack of Doom, but I would recommend taking the smoother straight road to the East of the escarpment ridge and then cut West towards the escarpment.
Once you've find this cache, hike over to "Little Knob" at N25 32.442, E046 28.058 * (730 meters) and take in the sights reminscant of the Grand Canyon. Keep your eyes open at "Little Knob". The place is loaded with fossils. Then drive over to N25 32.126, E046 26.831 where you will find a great place to camp and look down across the plain that fills the void East of Riyadh.
You will be tired and hungry by the time you've accomplished these tasks. You won't be disappointed. This trip is fairly easy on the 4WD compared to some of my other trips.
As usual when driving along the tops of Escarpments, be careful. There are not protective fences to warn you that the first step is a big one...
Please note that I had not planned to place a cache here today, so the stash is rather lame. Just a tupperware box and a notebook for you to sign your name. Please help me out and bring a trinket along to make it more enticing for the next person. You may also want to relocate it to a more scenic spot -- like on "Little Knob". I was just too tired at that point to hike back with the box.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx va gur hccre yrsg unaq pbeare bs gur bireunat. Guvf pnpur fubhyq abg or qvssvphyg gb svaq.