June 24, 2008
It's time to plant my first geocache. Streaked Mountain is just a few miles from my home, so I will be able to check on the cache several times a year. There is a great view from the top, and someone has already planted a cache near there. I climbed this mountain for several years before I realized the best view was not from the top but from the southern ledges. In an effort to help share this awesome view with others, that is where I will plant the cache.
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Here's the
"treasure" map.
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You will want to park on Streaked Mountain Road off Route 117. Park at the following coordinates: N44° 14' 47.16" W70° 25' 53.15". There's no parking lot, but there is room for several vehicles to pull off the road.
Once you start hiking you will come across this sign.
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About one minute into the hike you will see where the trail cuts through a stonewall. I met the owner of the land here once. He is working on relocating the trail around the wall.
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The trail gets quite steep at this point. After about a quarter of a mile the trail comes out of the woods and onto the ledges. From here follow the red arrows to the top. If the ledges are wet, they can be very slick so please be careful.
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Don't forget to turn around once and a while to enjoy the view.
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It is about .7 miles from the trailhead to the summit. The summit is nice but it is filled with antennas and towers. The southern ledges are much nicer and only about a quarter of a mile or so away. There's no marked trail from here, but there is plenty of open ledges with small paths. You shouldn't have to do any real bushwhacking. I've been over there several times and seem to find a different way each time. Perhaps the easiest way is to first look for the other geocache that is up here - "The Streak". To do this head to the right of the tower and back into the trees.
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Once you've found that cache, you are in a great position to head south toward the cache that I planted.
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There's one spot on this mountain top that seems to stay wet most of the year . . .
. . . but if you go just to the left, you should be able to keep your feet dry.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My goal of this cache is to make it easy to find once you are at the right spot. You've done enough work just to get here, right? This is a picture of the cache. It is in a Lock-n-lock container.
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Hmmm? That looks like a good spot to hide the cache.
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I left the cache partially visible, so you shouldn't have to do too much searching.
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Here's the view from the cache location.
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I also took a 180° video clip.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It can be cold and windy even in the summer so you may want to bring a light coat. Also, if you come in the summer you may want to bring a small container, blueberries are usually plentiful then.
Update: April 2010. I was informed that someone has taken the container. I have not bothered replacing it. I encourage you to still try this hike. The view is worth it.
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