Nottawasaga Bluffs & Lookout Valley

This pair of caches -- "Nottawasaga Bluffs" and "Lookout Valley" -- are both located on the Nottawasaga Bluffs and together make an excellent hiking loop (especially in the fall). Since we did this loop in the fall of 2004, a third cache -- "Seize the Day" -- has appeared by the Keyhole Caves, giving us a perfect excuse to return fall 2005. (Not that the scenery around here isn't excuse enough to make a visit!)

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See the picture with the rock wall behind Jakob? At this point, we were crossing a beautiful -- and flat -- forest for 200 m to find the cache. I looked at the topo display on my GPSr and announced that we would be "safe from cliffs" since there were no contour lines to cross. Then we came to the rock wall! We climbed up it, and down it, and up it... etc. until we made the find. (The height of the wall was less than the space between two contour lines, so it did not show up on the map.)

Once we got to the "Lookout Valley" cache, we were having trouble making the find. So we deciphered the clue and tried to follow it. We unwittingly started from the wrong spot, and by sheer coincidence, the clue lead us right down the deep crevace. I really thought the cache would be down there, and sent Jen and the kids in. Once in, I shouted down "Now take three paces to the north!" to which Jen shouted back "IT'S A SOLID ROCK WALL!" We had some fun, regrouped, then made the find in a different spot. (The "Look in the middle of the crack photo" is shot from above, looking into the crevace. Look closely, and you will see some faces peering up!)

You can read our official geocaching.com logs for the caches here:

While in the area, be sure to also visit "Devil's Glen", another cache with a view! (And it's a very short walk in.)