Alta Lake mountain goat Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Cache is located in a meadow at the top of a steep 1 mile switchback trail.
Follow Alta Lake Rd into the state park. About 1/4 mile into the park you will see parking spaces on the left, park towards the top (Discover Pass required www.discoverpass.wa.gov). Carry on walking over the the top of the hill on Alta Lake Rd and you will soon come to 2 white gates follow the trail to the big rock at the trail head (N 48*01.555 W119*56.548) This is the beginning of the switchback trail which will climb over 1000 ft in 0.7 miles. BE WARNED - The trail is steep and narrow in parts, but the views are worth the hike. At the top the trail opens out to a meadow where the cache is hidden. There is a seasonal waterfall that runs in the spring. The cache is well hidden. Cache may be difficult to access in the winter.
Things to look for;
Look for the signs of fire as you make the hike. Two fires have come through the area recently - 1980 and 2012. On the switchback trail you can still see the red fire retardant from 1980.
Looking south down the lake is the route of the old road to Chelan through the narrow canyon.
Looking east across the lake is the Waterville Plateau. You are standing on the transition zone where the conifers end and the shrub steppe begins.
Across the lake you will see a lighter color on the rocks where the talus slope meets the water. You will notice this line is higher than the surrounding houses. The lake has no outlet and is fed from snow melt and springs. Pictures from over 100 years ago show the water at roughly the same level but at some point it was much higher. Currently water is pumped from the Methow River to maintain a minimum height for recreation.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jurer gur qbhtynf svef ner qbja ybbx haqre gur fntrohfu