Deep Lake Overlook Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Deep Lake Overlook
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A scenic 3-mile round trip hike to a cache that will take you along the Main Canal of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project to the Bacon Siphons and then to a view point of both Deep Lake and a large, deep pothole. You will also be able to see the Castle Lake Cataract (a part of the 4-mile long dry falls) and Castle Rock. The walk along the dirt canal road is mostly level, but the walk from the siphons to the overlook and cache is a bit rough and rocky and is the reason for the 2.5 terrain rating. The hike to the cache starts at a parking lot at the gate along the road on the west side of the main irrigation canal from Banks Lake (parking lot waypoint provided). The hike and the cache are on Bureau of Reclamation land.
At 120 feet deep, Deep Lake is the deepest of the lakes within the Grand Coulee. The impressive twin Bacon Siphons are the beginnings of the two Bacon Tunnels which run underground for two miles before emerging at Trail Lake Coulee.
Pothole |
Twin Siphons |
For a twofer, you can hike to another cache "Ladders to Castle Lake" (GC44MMH) on the way back. For this extended hike, at the siphons hike up onto the top of the berm that parallels the canal road and walk along the top to N47 36.004, W119 18.095. This is the low point of the berm and is the easiest location to for you to get down the slope on the west side. Once down, continue west to the Ladders cache. The terrain along the top of the berm, the decent down the slope, and hike to the Ladders cache is a little more difficult (maybe 3 to 3.5). For more information see the Ladders to Castle Lake cache page.
This is not a hike for young children because of the drop off along the canal and the cliffs near the overlook. In warm weather, take plenty of water and watch for rattlesnakes.
This hike is part of the Castle Lake hike in Bruce Bjornstad's book "On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches".
Congratulations to Mr. Gadget#2 & medicrncen for the FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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