Mountain Lake is one of only two freshwater lakes left in San
Francisco. It is on the Presidio and it's Western edge was filled
to make way for Park Presidio drive. You may very well have driven
past here on your way to or from the Golden Gate bridge and never
known that the beginnings of San Francisco were just a few hundred
feet away.
in 1776 Juan Bautista De Anza led an expedition North from
Monterey to scout the San Francisco Bay area. There are many
markers in San Jose and the Penninsula showing their route. Here in
San Francisco's Mountain Lake park (just south of the Presidio) is
the last one. Mountain Lake is where De Anza made his Northernmost
camp and it was while camped here that he founded the Presidio and
the friars accompanying him founded Mission Dolores.
This is another one of those darn gather-the-numbers caches. I
hate them, but I seem to keep on making them...
At N 37 47.238 W 122 28.214 is a plaque. There are two four
digit years on the plaque.
- C = the last digit of the first year.
- F = the 3rd digit of the second year
At N 37 47.241 W 122 28.250 is a large interpretive plaque
describing "Early Explorers".
- A = number of days the spanish camped here
- B6 = "years these would be the northernmost outposts of Spain's
empire."
- D9E = "settlers of Anza's main party"
The cache is at N 37 47.ABC W 122 28.DEF
If the numbers get screwed up, the hint is pretty much a
spoiler. Please at least go look at the lake, perhaps sit on one of
the benches for awhile.
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