The obvious 2x4 approach keeps you on pavement and will get you within about ¼ mile of the cache. From this point, there is no trail or road and it will require a moderate uphill hike over rocky ground, so wear good shoes. For your own safety, I add this piece of advice, if you take this approach, circle around and come in a little from the north. The straight in approach from the closest point on pavement is not the smartest or safest way in.
This area has numerous small jeep trails wandering everywhere. If you take the right combination of trails it is possible to get to within thirty yards of the cache. A 4x4 is strongly recommended when the trails are dry, but mandatory when wet or icy.
The reset cache is only a short distance from the original. The starting cache was unplanned and is made up of stuff found in my truck. So there isn't much there. A small jar of jelly,lapel pin, shoulder patches and a couple of chem lights . Time permitted, I'll return to add to it. In the mean time, enjoy the view.
4/14/02 The mystery of the missing original cache is solved (I think). Back in December when I originally found the cache missing, I found the leather strap used to hang it in the tree laying on the ground. It appeared to have been chewed through by some small critter. But the can itself was nowhere to be found, being on the north slope of a hill, it could have been under a couple of feet of snow. Now that the snow has completely melted back, I returned to do a thorough search. There, about 50 feet from where it should have been , hidden at the base of a dead stump was the missing cache. Checking the log I found an entry dated the 27th of October, (the last weekend of the rifle deer hunt) that wasn't logged in on the web page. This area is popular during the hunting season. The actual entry in the log book appears to been filled out by someone around 10 years old. They probably drove up to the spot while hunting, found the can laying under the tree, and when they went to return it, placed it in a slightly different location. Too bad they only used their initials in the log, or I might be able to contact them to verify this theory. In any case, thank you S.Y., S.R.Y., W.A., C.A. and R.A. for playing the game. Now that I have a cache can already filled and ready for hidding, can my 8th cache be far from being placed?
7/28/01
Well, I just got back from a week of Geocaching. Once again it's funny to see the different ways that people interpret the star system for terrain. So I thought that I would add this to each of my geocache sites for clarification. So here's "MAGNUM'S INTERPRETATION" of the terrain coding. I hope that it helps in your planning the trip. (I.E. Do I leave the wife/husband and younger kids at home on this one.)
One star> If you can handle a Walmart Superstore, you can handle this one.
Two star> Minor elevation changes, some uneven terrain. But if you take your time, you shouldn't be out of breath.
Three star> Significant elevation changes, rough uneven terrain, requiring a number of stops just to catch your breath. If you need to touch the ground or grasp a rock or tree to help maintain your balance, I'd give it a 3 ½.
Four star> Major elevation changes, the need to use your hands and arms to actually pull yourself up is common.
Five star> Forget it, I'm not crazy enough to look for any of these, so I certainly won't be placing any of them!!!
P.S. If only 10 ft of the hike is a four star section, and the previous mile a one star, I'd list the site as a four star.