BACK COUNTRY GEOCACHING EXCURSION

MW sits below ripe elderberries

Tuesday (Sept. 7), Mike and I (with Nellie, of course) went out for our "first annual" late summer back-country geocaching excursion. (Last year we geocached along the Lewis & Clark Trail – Highway 12.) This year's event involved 4-wheeling into the Idaho back country around Elk City. Mike did all the prep work for the trip, which included loading the 4-wheeler onto the trailer and connecting it to the Dakota. I'll share some highlights of the trip and name roads and locations for those of you who know the area.

Of course, no Mickey Warnock adventure is complete without a Mickey Warnock experience. We had just turned from the Harpster Grade to Hwy 14 when Mike checked the trailer tires and decided the left one had to be exchanged for the spare. I guess those little trailer tires don't last long, and we need new ones. No matter – we went on without further incident.

At the junction of Mt. Idaho Grade and Hwy. 14, we located the "elderberry circle" cache. I've seen better clumps of elderberry bushes, but oh well. I did covet some of those inaccessible elderberries.

"Baby Face"

One of the better features about geocaching is that it can take you to some points of interest you'd probably not see otherwise. A case in point is "Baby Face." The trail was steep on the uphill side of the highway, so I opted to wait below, but Mike came back to get me, saying I just had to see it. Up the hill I clamored and I wasn't disappointed. The picture shows the "baby face" carving dated 1929. Undated articles from the Lewiston Morning Tribune placed in the cache box indicated the origin of the carving to be controversial.

When I was growing up, I had driven this route to Elk City with my parents from time to time, and I could swear it was a dirt road. Now it's paved all the way to Elk City – even paved to the Red River Ranger Station. In fact, even the caches we accomplished by 4-wheeler we could have done by pick-up. In short, over the last 50 years the Elk City area has become accessible though still remote. And traffic! "Can you believe all this traffic on a road that goes nowhere!" Mike exclaimed.

KW at American River

Coming into Elk City, our first cache took us to the home of Dave, a local geocacher, one who had set out the caches we would seek along the American River. We couldn't find the cache so decided to let it go and perhaps return later in the day.

We parked the Dakota and trailer at a recreational vehicle parking site near the school and unloaded the 4-wheeler. We left Nellie on her pillow in the back of the pick-up for the back road trip we estimated would be two hours and 18 miles round trip – too far for her to run. I rode on the back of the 4-wheeler. We picked up a series of eleven caches – all hidden in small containers in trees. Actually, Dave's philosophy of geocaching reflects our own: that you've traveled to the site so you should be able to find the cache. After the first several finds, I tired of debarking from the 4-wheeler and removing my helmet and opted just to wait on my perch. However, I did get off to see the moose sculpture. Dave had left a note that it was okay to go inside the fence and find the cache which was obviously someplace on the sculpture.

MW at moose sculpture

It was at this point I noticed the man walking stealthily down the road, as if by walking stealthily we wouldn't see him. Now – you may be aware that here in Idaho we have some paranoia in the back country – you know, anti-government sentiment and distrust of people in general – and I was nervous. I kept half an eye on the man while Mike logged the cache. The man planted himself on the backside of a pick-up parked some yards distant, and I could see him clearly through the windows. Mike nodded at him as we rode past. A hovel with horses was undoubtedly his home. "Can you hear the banjos yet?" Mike shouted back to me.

MW crosses Am River in futile search

Suffice it to say that we found all of this series of caches but one at an old corral, and upon reading finders' comments, we suspected it had been removed because the property owner didn't want it there. I was anxious to get back to the pick-up where I knew "nervous Nellie" was waiting for us. She had lapped up her water but hadn't eaten her food. She was glad to see us and glad to go with us on the next leg of our journey. It was already 4:00 p.m. We had to get a move on because we had another series of caches to pick up. Now we traveled in the Dakota and left the 4-wheeler and trailer behind.

This series of eight caches was along the Red River and placed by a Lewiston cacher with whom we are acquainted. These were not as obvious as Dave's caches but fairly easy -- all suspended by ropes and bungee cords in trees. We found one at the Red River Forest Service Ranger Station and others in campgrounds. The most notable was at the "Red River Corral." "Go ahead and pull into the driveway," the instructions read. "This is my grandmother's place and she has given permission." Earlier in the day Mike had mentioned that it might be advantageous to place some caches in the area if you had property for sale, and we noticed the "for sale" sign on this property. The grandmother came out and talked with us for a while. She said she had lived here for 44 years, and while she didn't want to leave, the time had come that she had to. She and her husband had been outfitters and guides but he had died nine years ago. She must leave her home by the first of November every winter because it isn't safe to stay. They can get up to six feet of snow. She has no other home at this time and in the winter she "sponges off" her children – one in Pullman, several in Lewiston.

Nixon Rocks

The last cache in this series was at Red River Hot Springs, but it was not accessible except with an ATV. After coming all this distance we were disappointed to have to have to abandon this one. Besides, it was after 6:00 and overcast. We were rapidly losing daylight.

On the way back to Elk City, we stopped to pick up a cache at "Nixon Rocks."

It was dusk when we again reached Elk City, but we decided to try again for the cache at Dave's. This time he came out and gave us a clue. The cords were definitely off, probably because of the trees in the area. It was great visiting with him. He said he had placed a lot of caches in an effort to interest visiting grandchildren in geocaching. In fact, he said, he had just placed 20 more in the Newsome Creek area. We agreed we would have to come back to get those. Dave confirmed he had to move the cache at the old corral because someone had a mining claim on the property. "He was friendly enough but didn't understand and in light of his mining claim, the term 'geo' made him nervous," said Dave. Later, Mike and I discussed the sheer number of caches Dave has set out. But, the area is economically depressed, especially with the closing of the mill a few years ago, and bringing people in is probably the goal. It looked like grocery stores and eateries in Elk City have closed, but I counted three bars.

It was after 8:30 as we approached Grangeville and Mike offered to get us supper at – you guessed it – Subway. The sandwich hit the spot and we were again on our way. Home never looked better, the string of red chili pepper lights in the kitchen window sending out their greeting. We had the last of the pumpkin pie for dessert and went to bed.

Mike says we logged 23 caches for the day – a non-urban record for us (him). KW