The mining town of New Idria grew up around local cinnabar
deposits, a reddish ore that contains mercury (quicksilver)
that was used in the processing of silver. In the 1880s New Idria reached its peak, employing between 200 and 300 men to mine the valuable ore. Today, many of the ore processing buildings, the general store, the Mine Rescue station, and the post office are all still standing. The town is not completely abandoned however; the sign welcoming people to New Idria indicates that its population is three. Yes, three. The structures that still stand probably outnumber the population by ten to one.
Important note: All buildings in New Idria are private property; you may not enter any of them. I spoke to two-thirds of the town's population(!) and they had no problems with people coming into town and taking pictures of the buildings as long as visitors stick to the roads (which are all public.) Both they, and the numerous "No Trespassing" signs, did make it clear however that entering the buildings is not allowed. You do not have enter any man-made structure or area to find this cache.
Continue through the town and up the road above it in search of the cache. Four-wheel drive vehicles are not required, but you will have to drive carefully in a few spots. The roads leading to New Idria from the north are in remarkably good condition, but they get a little rough starting about a mile before the cache. The last mile or so is probably impassable after a heavy rain. Because of the roads and the distance you'll most likely have to drive to get to New Idria, I've rated the terrain and difficulty fairly high. You can park within feet of your goal though and you won't have to hike to get to the cache.
The cache itself is a green ammo box. Its initial contents are:
- a Geocache welcome message (laminated)
- a log book with pen and pencil
- a disposable camera
- LEGO minifigs of R2-D2 and C-3PO
- a SJ Sharky plush doll from the T in the Road cache
- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
- a brass whistle
- a sealed pack of Cinnamon Altoids (always!)
- a purple carabiner keychain
- a Pokemon spinning top (Gengar)
- a red van
- a Giants rubber ducky from Florian's Pacific Valley cache
- an underwater camera (a goodie to be taken as well as a hint for my next cache!)
- a chunk of pumice from the Mojave Desert
- a Wallace & Gromit toy
- a $1000 bill
Take a picture of yourself and post a message with how many pictures are left so I can develop the film and post the pictures on my web site. Hidden within the cache itself is a clue that will help you find a forthcoming mystery geocache.
Have fun and be sure to bring your camera! There is a historical marker for New Idria that's quite a distance away from the cache at N 36° 43.749 W 121° 16.740, but you may be coming from that direction anyway. Somewhat closer to the cache is an adobe building at N 36° 26.306 W 120° 39.535 that's worth checking out.
On January 19th 2002, this cache was reported as missing. Until I get a change to replace it, you may treat this as a virtual cache provided you can locate the "Dwarven Door" at this spot and tell me, via email, what symbol is painted upon it. Do NOT state the symbol in your log, even if you encrypt it. Thanks!
Other caches in this series:
'A' Is For Alum,
'B' Is For Beachhead,
'C' Is For Cave Dwellers,
'D' Is For Desert Phone Booth,
'E' Is For Expedition,
'F' Is For Faultline, and
'H' Is For Highpoint.
Thanks to Julie for helping me place this cache!