Master Index Nearest Caches
Shiprock Special by dblust (1.5/1.5)
N41° 40.877 W108° 49.963 (WGS84) UTM 12T E 680387 N 4616660 Use waypoint: GC6236 Size:  Regular Hidden on 6/1/2002
In WY, United States Difficulty:  Terrain:
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| A little scenery, a little history, a little hike. Should be a particularly good choice for those traveling through Wyoming on Interstate 80. Area of the cache is readily accessible with a passenger vehicle, followed by a walk of less than 200 yards. |
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: As of November 30, 2003, the 2.9 miles of dirt road from Interstate 80 to the area of the cache is a bit sloppy. For the time being I'd recommend an SUV or other four-wheel-drive. In addition, back-country boots will be far preferable to street shoes.
The cache is a GI ammo can containing the following:
-1 AA flashlight scabbard
-6 bandaids
-1 sheriff’s deputy shoulder patch
-4 keyrings
-3 junior deputy sheriff badges
-6 pens
-4 pencils
-1 Walt Disney “Jose Carioca” figure
-1 plastic crusader figure
-4 packets of Ibuprofen
-1 paper clamp
-5 Wyoming bucking horse pins
-4 erasers
-Happy Haunt, the Hitchhiking Ghost (A Travel Bug, HH moved
on not long after the cache was first hidden.)
Exit Interstate 80 at Point of Rocks, Wyoming. Directly south of the interchange is a sign describing the history and location of the nearby Overland Stage Trail. (The Overland Stage Trail was a going concern between 1862 and 1869, when it was established and used as an alternate to the Sweetwater River-South Pass stretch of the Oregon Trail, avoiding the Indian trouble often encountered there. Particularly where it passed through Sweetwater County, Wyoming, it often followed the course of the longer-established Cherokee Trail.)
Reset your odometer at the sign; you’ll be driving for another 2.9 miles.
From the sign, drive a short distance west on the paved frontage road, then turn 90 degrees south and cross the Union Pacific railroad tracks. Follow this good dirt road generally west past the old Point of Rocks Stage Station, an official historical site and great place to check out once you’ve found the cache.
As you continue west, you’ll notice a series of “Overland Trail” and “Cherokee Trail” markers along the road, which, along this stretch, follows the exact route of the original trails.
As you approach 2.9 miles, you’ll see a Shiprock, a distinctive summit well known along the Overland Trail, to the southwest. Park where you can pull over between 2.9 and 3.0 miles from the sign - you’ll be within about 200 yards of the cache.
