Black Oak Trail Cache Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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The Black Oak Trail drops a moderate distance connecting the Orchard Street Access Area to the Dead Man’s Hollow Trail network in Dead Man’s Hollow. It is considered a Moderate Difficulty Trail because of about 200' of vertical gain/loss. The grade is very constant (unlike the difficult Witch Hazel Trail). The cache is located a few minutes off the trail, well out of sight of other hikers. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring the whole family on this adventure as long as it is not raining.
The conservation group Allegheny Land Trust purchased the area known as Dead Man’s Hollow. This holding includes most of Dead Man’s Hollow and a few smaller adjacent areas. There’s no clear story on how this area got its ominous name. The same can be said of some of the trail names like Dead Man’s Trail, Dead Man’s Loop, Witch Hazel Trail, and Cool Spirit Trail. The Black Oak Trail is the least spooky named trail in the holding. All trails are continuously open, but bikes are not welcome. The Black Oak Trail starts at the Orchard Street Access Area, which has marginal parking (you have to park on the street as the turnaround is a no parking area). To get there from Glassport, head up 6th Street to its end where a half block left then right zigzag is necessary due to the road switching to one-way. Heading ever upwards on the main road leads to a branch of Washington Boulevard to the right. Follow Washington Boulevard to Liberty Way. A right onto Liberty Way leads to Calhoun on the left (at the end of Calhoun is the Calhoun Access Area at N 40 18.680 W 079 50.793 which is the end of the Witch Hazel Trail). Meanwhile a left onto Liberty Way leads to Scenic Ridge, to the right just after the sign “Welcome to Liberty Boro.” Two blocks down Scenic Ridge is a “No Parking” sign opposite River Ridge Road. A turn right at the sign will place you at N 40 19.221 W 079 51.417, the Catfish Pond Access Area. Meanwhile two roads down on the right is Orchard Street. There’s actually a street sign! Follow the street to the end and the trail is to the right of the turnaround. There is no trailhead map or shelter. A short way down the trail is a trail name post (that you could probably lock a bike to) just before a pile of boulders that are to discourage all but foot traffic. The Black Oak Trail is considered to be a moderately hard trail. It is well worn and has a good deal of gravel, and the like, along it’s length so that it holds up well in wet weather. It’s grade is very constant.The key to finding this cache at the stated ratings is to jump off the trail at the proper time. It will be obvious when the jump off is a Terrain 2 versus a Terrain 3 or 4. Don’t jump off too soon – the crow’s path will be a much harder route. I considered rating the Terrain on this cache 1.5. Let my indecision guide your choices.Once you leave the trail you may be able to find some mud depending on when the last rain occurred. It should not be bad. If it is actively raining you may find you are in shallow running water with lots of mud available.After you find the cache, consider continuing down Black Oak Trail to intercept the Dead Man’s Trail. Always head down, you can’t get lost. This trail is my favorite for accessing the heart of Dead Man’s Hollow. Just feet from the creek (Dead Man’s Run) you will intercept Dead Man’s Trail. Most of the trail is to your left. The end of the trail (Dead Man’s Loop) is a short distance to your right. Note that there are a couple of geocaches in this general vicinity.Those interested in a nice map of the entire Dead Man’s Hollow land holdings can find one posted at the Calhoun Access Area.A word of warning if you are using USGS topo maps (like those available via TopoZone): The roads shown on the map are severely out of date. A couple roads shown don’t exist anymore and some (including a primary road near the Calhoun Access Area) are newer and not shown.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[Small Hint:] HCUVYY INYYRL BSS GUR GENVY, EVTUG SBEX, BA GUR YRSG.
[Big Hint:] VAFVQR YNETR EBGGRA UNYS FGHZC.