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new series of caches in the area of the old Bear Camp Curve cache. 17 caches in about a 3 ½ mile loop. Most of them on top of a ridgeline. Be sure to check them all out!!! The closest one to the parking area is "GCN65G: Just An Appetizer". | |
Hey Louisville area cachers, it's time some more of you get away from the city caches and head for the woods. The Siltstone Trail in Jefferson Memorial Forest, the nations largest urban forest, traverses 6 ½ miles of the knobs of southern Jefferson County. Nearly the entire hike is through heavily wooded areas, this is a great hike in the fall, when the leaves are off in the winter and early spring.
A group of us local cachers have created a series of caches that covers nearly the entire trail. There are 19 caches along the Siltstone trail plus one bonus cache in the Scott Gap section and an additional four caches adjacent to the Bearcamp Road and Tom Wallace Areas. The following descriptions separate all of the caches into separate sections, Scotts Gap, Bearcamp Road, Jefferson Hill Road and Tom Wallace Lake and the best parking areas to accomplish each of them. Come prepared, bring plenty of water, good hiking boots and any other navigational aids you might need. These descriptions and maps are meant to assist you with finding all of the caches in the series. Of course how you decide to enjoy yourself is up to you, the main thing is to get out, enjoy the forest and hopefully find some caches!
Show Me The Cache
Lumberjack Tom
Turtle3863
Jeepstaff
Eagles61
and
Cachin' Up
Scott's Gap Section
To get to the parking lot: Off the Gene Snyder Expressway take the Stonestreet Exit going south. Stonestreet shortly becomes Blevins Gap Rd., which you continue to take in a southerly direction for 2.75 miles, where you turn left onto Scotts Gap Rd. The parking lot is 0.9 mile on the right at N38°03.515' / W85°50.533'.
This section offers some very physical and mental challenges as well as some major backwoods bushwacking so come prepared. Long pants, water and navigational aids are highly recommended. Although a couple of these caches are not technically along the Siltstone trail, they are included here since two of the multi-caches either start or end here and have elements along, or near the Siltstone Trail.
The Scott's Gap section has three multi-caches, Help Me Geppetto-- I'm Being Taken Far, Far Away!, Siltstone Bigfoot, and Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave. There are also three regular or micros, Electrifying View, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Squeeze Play. If you plan well, all caches can be done simultaneously with very little backtracking, but come prepared because these caches will take the better part, if not the whole day or possibly even two. If you can complete all of these caches in one outing you will not only have an extreme feeling of accomplishment, but you will feel it the next morning.
To get to the parking lot: Off the Gene Snyder Expressway take the Stonestreet Exit going south. Stonestreet shortly becomes Blevins Gap Rd., which you continue to take in a southerly direction for 0.6 miles, where you turn left onto Blevins Gap Rd. Continue on Blevins Gap Rd. for approximately 0.6 mile and turn right on Bearcamp Rd. The parking lot is 1.1 mile on the left at N38°05.191' / W85°48.214'.
This section will provide you with both mental and physical challenges and is an excellent way to spend a morning or an afternoon. With the exception of a couple caches, all of them are within sight of the blazed trail although, the trail can be steep at times. Long pants, water and navigational aids are highly recommended.
The Bearcamp Road section offers one multi-cache, BUDDY'S TREK. It should be noted that BUDDY'S TREK is located almost exactly in the middle between Bearcamp Road and Jefferson Hill Road and can actually be done with the Bearcamp Road section caches or the Jefferson Hill Road section caches, whichever you choose. Also includes eight regular or micros, Wedgies Are Cool, Indestructible, From The Heartland To Here, Indecision, Crazy Eights or Infinity?, X Minus One, FIDEL'S FINEST, and Tangled Up In Blue.
In addition to the Siltstone Series caches in this section, there is one additional cache located just a short distance south of the suggested parking area. Geography Quiz is a regular cache . Be sure to stop by this after you have completed your hike on the Siltstone.
Bearcamp Road Section
Jefferson Hill Road Section
To get to the parking lot: Off the Gene Snyder Expressway take the New Cut Rd Exit going south, continue on New Cut Rd. south for 0.1 mile to Old New Cut Rd and turn right. Continue on Old New Cut Rd. for 0.4 mile, turn left onto W. Manslick Rd. Continue on W. Manslick Rd for 0.3 mile and veer right on Keys Ferry Rd. Continue on Keys Ferry Rd. for another 0.6 mile to Jefferson Hill Rd. Turn right on Jefferson Hill Rd. The parking lot is 1.5 mile on the left at N38°05.299' / W85°47.569'.
This is the easiest of the four sections and should only take about an hour or two at the most. This section will provide you with both mental and physical challenges and is an excellent way to spend a morning or an afternoon. The trail can be steep at times and long pants, water and navigational aids are highly recommended. Just some minor bushwacking on these caches, meaning that the trail is usually within sight.
This section offers two multi-caches, BUDDY'S TREK, which can be done from either Jefferson Hill Road or Bearcamp Road, and Stairway to Heaven. There is also one micro cache, All Tied Up to complete the Jefferson Hill Road section.
Tom Wallace Lake Section
To get to the parking lot: Off the Gene Snyder Expressway take the New Cut Rd Exit going south, continue on New Cut Rd. south for approximately 1.5 miles to Mitchell Hill Road and turn right. Continue on Mitchell Hill Road for approximately 1.5 miles to Tom Wallace Park road and turn right. Continue on Tom Wallace Park road to the parking area near the lake. Park only in the designated parking areas.
This section will provide you with both mental and physical challenges and is an excellent way to spend a morning or an afternoon. The trails can be steep at times. Long pants, water and navigational aids are highly recommended.
This section offers one regular cache, TOM WALLACE PARK and one micro cache HEY....CACHE IN A NEEDLE STACK..
In addition to the caches in this series, there are three caches in the adjacent area that can be reached from the same parking area. There is one multi-cache, Will the Circle Be Unbroken?, one micro cache, YOGI'S AXIOM and one smaller regular cache, 12 POUND TEST.
