Trains and Ghost Towns of the Santa Cruz Mountians

Introduction: This multi-cache will teach you some very interesting history about the yester-years of the Santa Cruz mountains. In the actual cache (.50 caliber ammo can) at the final location you will find some laminated sheets about the sites that you'll visit on this adventure. PLEASE leave these sheets in the cache for future finders.

NOTE: Most of the sites are 'park-and-find' so they are child-accessible. I'll note otherwise if needed). I had a great time placing this cache - please be descriptive in your posts and let me know about your experience and what you thought.
Bring a good flashlight for the final destination - you'll be glad you did when you get there. Also, make sure to walk down to the water to fully appreciate the area.

THE STEPS: At each location you will get one piece (1/6th) of the final coordinates as well as the missing piece of the coordinates for the next step so they must be done in order. They have been arranged to limit back-tracking where possible. Enjoy!

Step 1: Located @ N 37º 07.011 / W 121º 58.011. Find the year this town's lumber helped to rebuild a major city. The last two numbers of that year will give you AA. Take the number of letters in the last-known name of this town and add 31 to it to get UU. Make sure to walk 50 yards down the dirt road directly behind this to see the structure!.

Step 2: Located @ N 37º AA.638 / W 121º 59.147. You'll need to climb down a very short but steep and narrow path to view this one. Best to leave small kids up top (supervised as you will be near the road). This is the other part of the structure from Step #1. Take the number on top of the structure and subtract 1850 from it to solve for BB. Subtract 1902 from the number on top of the structure to solve for VV.

Step 3: Located @ N 37º 06.491 / W 121º BB.223. Take the year this area was homesteaded and subtract 1602 from it to get CCC. Add 109 to the landmark number to get WWW.

Step 4: Located @ N 37º 08.261 / W 121º 59.CCC. (There is a similar one about 1/4 mile away but you shouldn't have trouble distinguishing between them with your GPSr working. You can look for the other one on your left side on your way to Step 4). Take the 2-digits for the day this monument was erected (October __, 1975) and place a "7" in front of it to solve for DDD. Take the number of letters in the quote at the top and square it. Now subtract 168 to get XXX.

Step 5: Located @ N 37º 09.415 / W 121º 58.DDD. Find the only remaining building of this town of the past (and the only one with a postal address in this town currently). Count the number of posts across the front of the building and subtract 1 from that number to get EE. Add 48 to the number of posts to get YY. Feel free to talk to the people inside if you like - they have some neat stuff and some history on the place as well.

Step 6: Located @ N 37º EE.895 / W 121º 58.462. Subtract 993 from the first date referenced here to get ZZZ. If you like, walk across the street behind you to find yourself standing on the grounds of the former town.

THE END: Park near: N 37º 07.394 / W 121º 57.709 but do not block the driveway or the street. The little-known-about and rarely-used trailhead is located off the top of the driveway at the end of the road on the right side. There is a "Private Property" sign on the top of the driveway to keep people from driving down it, but we have permission from the land-owner to use the trailhead as long as we don't impact the area with trash, parking issues, etc.
Along the trail you'll come across some water pump lines - please do not disturb them! The owner of them knows about the cache and has been respectful of it - please show them the same respect.
Follow your GPS to your final coordinates at: N UUº VV.WWW / W XXXº YY.ZZZ.

5/2/04: If you enjoy this cache, make sure to check out "The Other End" by the fogheads. It will wrap up the day nicely and is nearby!

[Driving Directions]: From Step 1 to Step 2: Take 17N to Glenwood Drive. From Step 3 to Step 4: Head up Mountain Charlie Road and stay on it across the summit for the rest.