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Little Baldy Traditional Geocache

Hidden : 9/25/2010
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Lock and Lock placed near the summit of Little Bald Mountain (aka Little Baldy)

I have been coming up here for a few years now, as I think it is one of the most spectacular view points in the Wenatchee National Forest and was surprised that it did not already have a cache. Massive Mt Rainer is directly West and in full view, the cascades North and South, and the Columbia Basin to the East and you get a glorious 360deg feast of all of them. In addition, there are some amazing examples of columnar basalt surrounding the peak.

The elevation is right at 6,091 feet, and up until 1980, held a fire lookout cabin. (read more about the fire lookout here) Now the only structures are some antennas and a snowmobile hut.. although because of the location I chose to hide it, it probably won't be easy to find in winter.

It's a long drive up dirt and gravel forest roads and there are a couple of different ways to get here, but consult your maps as there are a maze of roads in here. If you have a Garmin, I cannot recommend Northwest Trails and Northwest Topo highly enough.

The roads are fairly good shape for most of the way.. but the last half mile or so to the top is a bit rougher and the last stretch is over baseball size volcanic rock, so I personally would take a 4x4 vehicle (or dualsport motorcyle as we use), but most other vehicles would probably make it just fine. Just take it slow.

There is also a multi-use trail (trail 961) that leads right up to the peak from the Halfway Flat campground near hwy 410. The trail is open to dirt bikes, mountain bikes, and hikers. It's a beautiful trail that follows the ridge above Bumping Lake, but the last mile or so is quite difficult and rocky and I wouldn't attempt it unless your an advanced rider, but you can bail out on a road near the top, and ride around if your on a bicycle or a street legal motor bike. IF YOU TAKE THE TRAIL, I WOULD RATE THE TERRAIN AS FOUR STARS

Your GPS should get great reception here as there are few obstructions to mess with your connection.

I put a sleeve of Nike golf balls, and a Uno type card game in the cache. If you hurry, you can probably still get this before winter sets in..

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

qb lbh ernyyl arrq bar? bx.. jung qbrf rirel trbpnpur pbagnvare, pbagnva?

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)