Mount Zion Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Belleterre and I set off rather early to get this cache up on Zion,
and were disappointed to arrive at a clouded-in summit. Although
the forecast had been promising, it doesn't look like the day got
much better, so I guess the timing didn't really matter much. We
did have some lovely views from a rock outcrop on the way down.
Belleterre hid the cache, and complained that with the margin of
error her GPSr was showing, the co-ords would probably show it
right where we were standing. I took a waypoint right where we were
standing, and we had a good laugh, because it was ~exactly~ the
same as her co-ords for the cache, which was a ways down the trail.
I giggled, and said I bet I could find it, and did. My only real
find of the day.
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The pic is Belleterre, Dad and
the muttley crew on top of Mt. Zion on a clear
day. |
We spent a bit of time there, then, trying to get proper co-ords,
and I think we ended up with reasonable ones. The cache is 10-15
feet to the east of one the little trails on the summit. There is
plenty of covering material to re-hide the cache properly, and the
covering material is bark, if that helps you figure out where it
is.
On the way down, we ran into a very interesting party. There were
two people, each leading 2 pack goats, and a small family who had
won a raffle to earn a picnic trip up the mountain. The goats had
specially made packs and were carrying the lunch and supplies. We'd
certainly heard of llamas hiking before, but never goats. They were
sweet, and quiet, except, there was a slightly tense moment as we
parted, and one of them decided he would much rather follow us
downhill rather than continue his journey up.
About 3/4 of the way down we came across an empty baby jogging
stroller. We had not remembered passing a baby, and Belleterre
thought we should change the name of this to the "Missing Baby
Cache" Find the baby, and get extra points, or maybe a special baby
bottle icon on your cache page. Finally, we remembered a group in
which there had been a girl of about 4, and it must have been hers.
Our driving directions, direct from the National Forest site, were
not quite accurate, but we managed to find the trailhead with no
wrong turns. From Quilcene, drive about 2 miles north to Lords Lake
Road. Follow it to the lake, which is a fenced reservoir, and turn
left onto FS road 28. Follow this to Bon Jon pass. Our instructions
said to turn right there, onto FS 2810. Well, we turned right,
which was the correct move, but it was clearly marked as still
being 28, not 2810, I don't know why, with these really popular
trailheads, they can't manage a little better signage. From Bon Jon
pass, it's about 2 miles to the trailhead.
There is an outhouse facility in the parking lot. The trail itself
has good footing. It's 3.6 miles RT, with an elevation gain of 1323
feet. It's a nice little climb. You will need a trailhead parking
pass, $5. These are available at the Quilcene ranger station, about
1/2 mile south of town, as well as many other places. You cannot
purchase them at the trailhead.
And, umm....be careful of the speed limit signs in Quilcene.That's
all I have to say about that.
Enjoy! And thanks, Belleterre, you are a wonderful hiking
partner!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)