The hike can be from either La Luz trail head (N35° 13.188, W106° 28.844) or from the Sandia Crest parking lot. Remember that both locations charge a $3 parking fee or a yearly pass. The cache itself is an 18" section of 4" ABS plastic pipe. Coordinates updated on 5/11/2002, old coordinates are n35° 12.437, W106° 27.354. Anyone else finding the cache post your coordinates. This is big rock country and reflections could do strange things to GPS reception.
Now comes the fun part, finding the cache is easy, just about a five mile hike along a well defined trail. Inside are the usual trinkets. The cache is lying at the base of the rockpile next to a small aspen tree about 75 feet from the signs telling you that the top is 2 more miles, or 5 miles from the bottom.
Inside the cache is the location of the lower La Luz Mine, which is still further up the trail about a mile and almost 900 feet higher. Caution! The scramble to the mine entrance is tough and you don't see the entrance until you are right on it. Very difficult to find, even with the coordinates. The brush and the rock race makes satellite coverage poor, but it is worth the effort. Also take a flashlight and just like a cave, two sources of light is recommended. Use your own judgement about whether you want to enter an abandoned mine.
An alternative would be to go to the cache one day and hike down to the mine from the Sandia Crest another day. Also the hike from the top would be easier than the 10 mile round trip, but if you go from the bottom you can bag two caches along the trail.
Also thanks to Herb for showing me the location of the mine and the old trails.