If you’re in the Silicon Valley area, grab your GPSr and navigate to N 37° 11.329′, W 121° 50.846′. There you will find a geocache filled with WordPress schwag. Two .50 caliber ammo boxes hold WP stickers and t-shirts. You have your choice of black or red t-shirts.
To get there, start at the Mockingbird Hill entrance of Almaden Quicksilver Park at N 37° 11.594′, W 121° 50.191′. There is a big parking lot here as well as water and restrooms. Grab a map at the trail head and head out on New Almaden Trail. Take New Almaden trail approximately 1.4 miles until you reach N 37° 11.475′, W 121° 50.832′. From there, head uphill along an unmarked but well-used trail that runs between New Almaden trail and Randol trail. There’s no sign post, but the trail is easy to spot. Take this trail a quarter mile to get to the cache. If you want a big hint as to where to look (cheater), this gives it away. The cache consists of two ammo boxes. Make sure to check them both. Shirts are available from S to XXL in both men’s and women’s sizes. Please don’t bankrupt the cache. Take only one shirt per person. Stickers I have plenty of, so feel free to take extra stickers. Before leaving, make sure everything goes back in the ammo cans and that the cans are fully latched. From here, you can keep heading uphill for some nice views of Almaden Valley, Santa Clara Valley, and the Santa Cruz mountains. Use your new t-shirt to wipe the sweat from your brow as you climb.
Beware of Western Poison Oak while on your hike. It is everywhere. There are usually plenty of opportunities to observe wildlife. Be on the watch for deer, wild turkeys, California quail, birds of prey, lots of lizards, and gopher snakes. Mountain Lions live in this area, but they are a rare sighting. I’ve spotted a few coyotes in nearby parks, but never in Quicksilver.
Here are some photos of the route you will take, and here are photos from all over Almaden Quicksilver. Enjoy your hike, and leave a comment on this post if you visit the cache.