I will be in Helen Ga for about four days in January for a conference. I ran a PQ for the area. What are the must hit caches in the area.

quote:

Originally posted by Ertman110:
I will be in Helen Ga for about four days in January for a conference. I ran a PQ for the area. What are the must hit caches in the area.

All of them

quote:

Originally posted by Trez:

quote:

Originally posted by Ertman110:
I will be in Helen Ga for about four days in January for a conference. I ran a PQ for the area. What are the must hit caches in the area.

All of them

Except phat.baks...er...I mean especially phat.baks.

Kenneth

A couple of questions...

Will you have boots or tennis shoes that can get dirty, or are you looking for caches that you can do in regular tennis shoes or nice shoes?

Will you have a car to get outside of Helen just a bit?

A little clarification:
Will be in Helen at "The Lodge at Unicio" from Monday afternoon Jan 16 through Friday afternoon Jan 20. I don't get done until around 5pm each day. Dress - Business attire/business casual (hoping for casual)
I plan on bringing a mountain bike and "field" clothes.
Monday will probably be my best bet for the nasty get dirty caches. The rest of the week, I will try to hunt ones that can be found in the dark.
I am driving up from Savannah, and will try to grab as many as I can on the way. If I am lucky, I will be in metro ATL on Saturday and get to attend a GGA meeting.

I'm right in the middle of my XMas 'Honey-Do' chores right now, but I will post a small synopsis of the nearby caches in a couple of days. I have done them all, as this is in my stomping grounds. There aren't any drive-bys (so to speak), but maybe I can place a few non-hike caches in the area before then. I have been lookng at a couple of spots for awhile now. This would be a good opportunity.

quote:

Originally posted by phat.bak:
but maybe I can place a few non-hike caches in the area before then.

HA! Cause you don't hike to his caches, you climb!

Ertman110: Sorry I am not really helping.

Kenneth

quote:

Originally posted by kennethpruett:
HA! Cause you don't hike to his caches, you climb!

Ertman110: Sorry I am not really helping.

Kenneth

HEY! I resemble that accusation!

I wouldn't mind seeing the list of caches. My family and I are going to be at Blue Creek Cabins this weekend and plan on doing some caching while we are there.

Daniel

Headwaters of the Chattahooche River (GC875) doesn't require much of a hike, but does require a 4-mile drive on a gravel FS road.

RR Overlook is a virtual and hence doable at night as a driveby.

Anna's Ruby Cache is an easy hike if you can get to it before dark.

Unicoi Gap is an uphill hike along the AT. About half a mile each way and can be muddy at times.

I ran a PQ from my cache 'Helendorff' which starts just outside of town between Helen and Cleveland. A Forest Service map would be very helpful on many of these.

Here is my take on the closest 25.

Helendorff by phat.bak (GCGA9E)
Disabled at the moment, but I am trying to get it up and running ASAP. (Stage 2 was blown away by the tornado)
3-stage cache that takes you on the outside edge of Helen and ends up in the nearby Nat'l Forest. Doable at night with a STRONG flashlight.

2 On The Mountain by phat.bak (GCH8P0)
Nacoochee's Revenge (Yonah Mountain) by CacheousClay/Tupac Cacheur - (adopted by phat.bak) (GC4156)
Both are in between Helen and Cleveland on Mount Yonah. +/- 2 mile hike to the top of the mountain. You MUST hike up the gravel road. You cannot drive to the top. The top of the mountain is Nat'l Forest, but the bottom is private property. The local landowners do not want public access to the top, but by law they cannot deny access. They can stop your car (it is gated), but they cannot stop you from walking up the road. Doable at night.

Unicoi/Smith Creek Cache by phat.bak (GC20B0)
God Bless John Wayne by ejldixie (GCJJWC)
Easy hike starting at Unicoi State Park. Both caches can be gotten from Smith Creek trail. Not sure about access after dark, but it is a campground, so I think you can do it.

it isn't in madison county by dep2061 (GCQHR8)
Micro replacement for the regular ammo box that was muggled. I haven't done this one yet, but have been to the site before. Drive to it, and can be done at nite.

Dukes Creek Falls Cache by T. Jess Bowers and Gene Garris (GC16D)
My very first cache find. Just under a mile to the cache, but the trail continues on to the falls. I think you can do it a nite, but not sure if the parking is closed after dark.

Anna's Ruby Cache by phat.bak (GC21C2)
Half mile hike up a paved walkway. Cannot be done at nite (unless you hike in from Unicoi/Smith Creek - 5 miles, one way)

Raven Cliffs First Cache by mtn-man with mtn-woman and the puppymonster (GC2138)
Very good hiking trail. 5 mile round-trip to spectacular falls. I think you can do it a nite.

Cure What Ails Ya: Yonah Get Well? by ChapterhouseInc (GCR5GV)
All I will say about this one is that it is a micro in downtown Cleveland.

Another *!#@ Puzzle! by phat.bak (GCQ926)
Puzzle cache. The location of the cache is NOT near Helen. (It is closer to Lake Lanier)

Enota by ejldixie (GCHA2G)
Multi-cache. Stage 2 is tuff! I would hesitate to pursue it at nite, only because of stage 2; but it is doable. (Notify your next-of-kin) Can pretty much drive to all of the locations, tho.

22 Nov 03
RR Overlook by phat.bak (GCH8P5)
Virtual drive by, but the view will be much different at nite.

Unicoi Gap by phat.bak (GCGA8X)
About a half mile hike on the AT. Steep. It seems like both directions are uphill. Doable at nite. Watch you step.

Headwaters of the Chattahoochee River by T. Jess Bowers and Gene Garris (GC875)
Drive almost to it. Short hike to cache. Doable at nite.

4R's by phat.bak (GCD500)
Doable at nite, but again, watch your step. Very short, although steep hike. GPS reception is erratic in this area (that's why I put it here)

Lacy Salute by Trailerman (GCHBY0)
+/- 1 mile one-way, depending. Doable at nite.

HOTEL HABERFORNIA by dep2061 (GCR7HW)
I haven't done this one, yet.

Ben's Boggs Creek Bonanza by Mictlan, bbotzong and loLA (GCA30B)
Easy cache in the daytime. Doable at nite, but would be a little harder. (Aren't they all at nite?)

In The Pitts by GeoBain (GCREHQ)
Haven't done this micro.

Be careful on the trails, and post if you want info on other nearby caches that have piqued your interest.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phat.bak,

Thanks for all the information, now I have to sit down and digest it all.

Thats a Great list with very informative info. I just need to get my lazy ar up ther and find them hehehe.

Yea, you need to come on up! I thought you were gonna be up this way awhile back and I was ready to snag a Jeep Geocoin, but it was a no-go. Still have your coin and an AG coin on my wish list. I'll stumble upon one soon enuff.

My cache, Helendorff is back in business.

Phat is tougher than most of us!

There is no way I would be doing 4Rs, Heledorff or Unicoi Gap caches at night, certainly not solo.

Wuss ...

How far can you drive up the Mt Yonah road? I was at Camp Merrill many years ago and remember when you could drive all the way to the fire tower.

quote:

Originally posted by Ertman110:
How far can you drive up the Mt Yonah road? I was at Camp Merrill many years ago and remember when you could drive all the way to the fire tower.

You can't drive up the road at all. The gate is 50' from the highway. Thre is a camera, and it IS live. I learned the hard way that they DO WATCH to see who goes up. The gate has a keypad entry and I got the code from a realtor friend. I used it and almost went to jail on my way back down. They had the road blocked waiting for me.
And the tower is long gone.

However you can walk up the road with no fear of repercussions.It is open to the public as it is a Forest Service road and only closed to vehicles.