I had a few hours this morning to kill so I decided to snag a couple caches that have been sitting in my todo queue for quite some time. Both are a bit out of the way, and have a higher terrain difficulty. As it happens both also have an indian theme to them (feather not dot).
The first cache, Light Of Indian Grave Mountain, is near an old indian burial site. Apparently the bodies were dug up in the 50s and sent to Washington, DC. The cache is located 200 ft up a waterfall, over which a small creek flows. It was difficult in spots getting a foothold on the wet stones, loose wet earth, and rotting vegetation. More than one tree was knocked over as I vainly grabbed for handholds :) After a bit of clambering I made it to ground zero and located the cache after a few minutes hunting.
On the way down I met a husband and wife caching team, some of whose caches I have found in previous adventures. It is always cool meeting other cachers on the trail.The second cache, called Twin Poplars, is a monument to peace. The story goes that back in 1737 two Indian tribes, Cherokee and Catawba, had a territorial dispute which led to an epic week long battle. At the end both sides got tired of fighting, so they declared peace. To mark the occasion they tied two poplars together, which have since grown together into a rather cool looking arch. For more information on the story check out this article from the Caldwell Heritage Museum: Twin Poplars.
The cache hunt itself starts at a parking space located at the end of a narrow bumpy country lane. A path 0.2 miles long winds through the woods to the bottom of the hill where the twins are located. From there it is a slippery climb as the hill is fairly bare, and muddy. Once you are up to the twins you can proceed 30 feet farther and snag the cache.Even if you are not a cacher I recommend checking out these areas as they are worth the hike by themselves, especially the twins.
