Skip to content

Dam Hicks! (Nazgul Secret Trailhead #2) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Nazgul: Regretfully, I'm going to archive this listing simply because it's going to take too much to rebuild and reinstall everything. Also, I'm not sure it should be replaced given the location and changes there. Geocachers would look pretty suspicious poking around near the dam monitoring sheds and such.

I'll miss this cache though, so maybe I will install it elsewhere in the future... Thanks to all who visited and for all the many kind logs!

More
Hidden : 3/16/2005
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

While the county parks website lists only three entrances to Almaden Quicksilver park, there are in fact twice that many. The Guadalupe Reservoir dam, located on Hicks Road, is one such entrance.

The three entrances listed on the county parks site are the ones with large parking lots. These three are:

The three other entrances with limited roadside parking are:

This entrance is the closest and easiest entrance for several caches in this part of the park, including Missing: One Horse, Above the Mine, Los Capitancillos Ridge, Guadalupe Trail Cache, Hotbox, Homage to Trolls, and Above the Pond.

The parking for this trailhead is just around the corner from the gate, off the side of the road, with room for a few cars. It can fill up on weekends and it's a popular parking spot for fishermen.

Besides the parking, the other limitation to this entrance is getting on top of the dam, which is an issue for getting into the park but not for getting to this cache. You have to walk up the sloped side which can be slippery, especially when wet, so be careful! Also, when the reservoir is full, the short trail to the dam gets submerged right by the dam, leaving the only option a bit of a balancing act along the spillway wall, which won't bother some but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. The good news is that the reservoir is rarely full to this level and for eleven months of the year it's not an issue. At the time the cache was placed, the reservoir water level was high, with the path submerged. If you notice that the water has receded for the season, please note it in your log.

The cache is a bright orange matchstick container. It's not been painted or camouflaged, it's just hidden. Log only, bring your own pen. Please be gentle when retrieving the cache. There is broken glass in the area so wear good shoes. There's no need to hop any fences or anything. Have fun!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Abg tebhaq yriry

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)