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An ammo box at the scene of the area's most heinous crime. This
cache is a memorial of sorts to the ladies that were someone's
daughter who met their end at this spot.
Congratulations to R of Teamolalla for FTF!
(Excerpts from the book Blood Lust. A travel bug of this book
started out in this cache. My comments are in brackets)
Monday, August 31, 1987 was the eighth day of the legal deer
hunting season in Oregon, and thirty-six-year-old Everett Lee
Banyard, a crossbow hunter, was determined to roust one of the
gentle creatures out of the dense Molalla forest before dark that
evening. Banyard left his home in the nearby town of Molalla about
7 PM and headed east on Highway 211. He was going to a secluded,
somewhat mountainous and out-of-the-way area, part of a 90,000-acre
timber farm owned by an East Coast forest industries company
(Cavenham was the name of the company. A few years later they
swapped ownership of this area for some higher ground. BLM took
over the property along the river.), about ten miles south of
Molalla. Although it wasn’t far away, getting there was not an
effortless chore unless a person knew where he was going. Banyard
did. He had been there many times over the years.
He turned right off of Highway 211 at the Mathias Intersection
(Molalla’s “Y”, now the “Y” market is Toad’s Market and Astro Gas
Station, and the “Y” restaurant is a landscape products office),
drove about one-quarter mile to Fryer Park Road, turned left and
continued until Fryer Park intersected with South Dickie Prairie
Road. There Banyard turned right onto Dickie Prairie Road and
continued in a South westerly direction, crossed the Glen Avon
Bridge over the Molalla River, and made a right hand turn that put
him onto the Molalla Forest Road (The directions are confusing here
it should say, “Turned right and crossed the Glen Avon Bridge over
the Molalla river, drove about 500 yards and continued left onto
Molalla Forest Road) which followed the winding course of the river
and took him past recreation areas that are popular with fishermen,
swimmers, hunters, hikers, and other outdoor types (does that mean
Geocachers? The next line should not be here, see previous
brackets!) After 500 yards he came to a fork in the road, where it
swung to the left and right. The right portion became a gravel road
that was blocked off. (Now open, but marked as private. This
intersection is where the two main forks of the Molalla Forest Road
joined and then shot directly across the valley to a log dump on
the Willamette. A series of trip-switch activated lights shut down
the cross streets and allowed log trucks to speed non-stop all the
way to the river at top speed) Banyard stayed to the left and
continued on for about three miles until he reached Molalla Forest
(MF) 75, an old logging road that took him deeper into the rugged
mountain forest of evergreens and deciduous trees. (This area is
now the Hardy Creek trailhead. From October to May the single lane
trails are closed, but the old logging roads are still open for
hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The road takes off
to the north and west of the pit toilet. You will not have to leave
the road except for a few feet to get the cache. A short distance
on the other side of the pit toilet is GCHMVA, Hardy)
He continued along the gravel-covered, steep graded road in a
westerly direction, past a flat portion or plateau surrounded by
dense fern, brush, and Douglas fir. From there the gravel road
began another steep ascent for approximately a quarter mile, at
which point in swung to the left and continued around the mountain
in a somewhat southerly direction. (If you continue on this road
you will eventually arrive in the vicinity of GC16, one of the old
time caches, in fact the third oldest active cache in Oregon. It is
easier to access this one following the directions to the cache
Molly’s Playground, GCW9MB).
However, at the point where MF 75 swung to the south, there was
another road, a small dirt and partially graveled logging spur road
that wound around to the north. Banyard took that road, which he
followed for about 200 feet until he came to yet another fork, or
Y. Although one part of the road continued straight at this point,
it was blocked by fallen trees and dense brush. (This is now
unblocked and is called “Looney Trail”) The other part of the road
continued for about 300 yards, where it dead-ended at another
landing or flat area. Banyard turned his pickup around there, just
before the Y in the road, and used the extra “turnaround” space to
park. He had about an hour of daylight left….(At this point you are
there. About 20 yards away you see the start of the single lane
portion of Rim Trail where it continues past the end of the road.
The cache is an ammo box placed next to a fir tree under a clump of
small maples about 8-10 feet from the road. A large dead tree on
the ground points slightly to the left of the cache, see the
photos.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ab uvagf jrer cebivqrq hagvy n svefg gb svaq jnf znqr. Gur qrfpevcgvba vf abj gur uvag.