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Hidden Spring Traditional Cache

Hidden : 4/15/2001
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This hike reveals a desert suprise! Cache is about 2 miles down Hidden Spring Trail off Box Canyon South of Palm Springs, CA.

WARNING: If you attempt these hikes in the summer, you should start very early in the morning, and only when it will be relatively cool. These hikes require walking uphill in soft sand for considerable distances with very little shade. You may want to wait until cooler weather to attempt this cache. Read all of the information and other folks comments.

This hike reveals a nice desert surprise about 2 miles down Hidden Spring Trail. This is a fairly hard hike, especially if it is hot. We placed the cache in 95-degree weather!

Take water.

Take more water. You will need it coming back. The trail climbs 170' or so on the way in, and 350' on the way back. (If you would like an easier hike in the same area, check the 'Painted Canyon - Ladder Trail' cache site at Geocaching.com)

Hidden Spring is in the Mecca Hills of the Orocopia Mountains, about 40 miles South of Palm Springs, CA. To get there from Palm Springs, take I-10 East to HWY 86s to Mecca. Turn left on 4th, cross the RR tracks, turn right on Hammond Rd, left on 66th that turns into Box Canyon Rd. It is a paved road that goes from Mecca to I-10, then continues on to Joshua Tree National Park.

You can also get to the trailhead by taking the Cottonwood Springs/Box Canyon Rd exit from I-10, and drive Southwest.

Leave the road at [Exit Box Canyon Road], and drive to [Parking - Trailhead]. Start up the trail to the [First Ridge Top] coordinate, the highest point on the hike. At [Sheep Hole Oasis Trail], you will see Sheep Hole Oasis to your left and down! (Note: this is not the cache location). Here you must make a decision to go down a very steep trail to [Sheep Hole Oasis], then continue South to [Sheep Hole Wash E].

Or you can continue South on the ridge top trail that descends a little more gradually past [Easier Trail]. In either case, you will want to get to [Sheep Hole Wash E], then up a small hill to [Second Ridge Top]. We went down the more gradual trail, and on the way back walked up the wash to [Sheep Hole Oasis]. Then we made the steep (!!!) climb back up to the ridge trail. We used about twice as much water as usual on this hike. Make sure you take extra water. Energy food too!

Don't miss the turn to the Squeeze! The right side is the easiest ;-) way through. Notice the very different rock here. Now... go to [Hidden Spring]! The sign is supposed to say "Please do not camp or disturb anything within 200 yards of the spring. You gotta let wildlife drink. Now find the cache!

For this hike and cache site, you may want to look at the Topo Map. The cache is pretty well covered with small rocks to keep it concealed in a popular area. Please re-cover it very well so it can not be seen by casual observation.

Note: These coordinates are made using the WGS-84 setting on the GPS. The topo maps generated by TopoZone are NAD-27 CONUS. Remember to set your GPS to the appropriate setting.

THE GROTTO CACHE:
If you want to go to The Grotto cache from here, go back to main wash and turn left (east) go 1/4 mile, take the LEFT large canyon at a Y in the wash. Go another 1/4 mile to ladder. TAKE FLASHLIGHT. You have to scramble/crawl through a really cool almost totally dark area (about 50'). One more small crawl and you come to [The Rock n Road] coordinates, where you need to leave the wash for The Grotto Cache site. See 'The Grotto' Cache for info.

Coordinate List:
N33.58952 W115.92915 [Exit Box Canyon Rd]
N33.58792 W115.92902 [Parking - Trailhead] 660'
N33.58566 W115.92548 [First Ridge Top] 830'
N33.58450 W115.92461 [Sheep Hole Oasis Trail]
N33.58382 W115.92267 [Sheep Hole Oasis - 560'
N33.57986 W115.92335 [Easier Trail]
N33.57803 W115.92168 [Sheep Hole Wash W]
N33.57853 W115.92093 [Sheep Hole Wash E] 480'
N33.57851 W115.91896 [Second Ridge Top] 560'
N33.57814 W115.91711 [Spring Canyon Wash W]
N33.58184 W115.91075 [Spring Canyon Wash E]
N33.58159 W115.90746 [Hidden Spring Squeeze]
N33.58366 W115.90607 [Hidden Spring] 680'
N33.58310 W115.90645 [The Cache] 720'

Have Fun!
Eve'n'Steven

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Pyhr: Va gur ohfurf. N furrc genvy znl uryc. Nyfb frr cvpgherf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)