Secret summit cave

Have you discovered one?

I stumbled upon one quite unexpectedly. Couldn't see it until right on top of it. Not a conventional cave, but a large joint fracture perhaps ten feet in height. A friend and I went up there one winter, clambered into the depths and spent the night. Large enough we both had a roof over our heads.

My secret only? With the umpteen thousand years of collective experience among us, perhaps someone will surprise me.

Not sporting to shout a secret from the rafters, so here's the game.

1. Please do not reveal the name of the mountain on these forums. Honor system, OK?
2. If anyone posts a name here, I will neither confirm nor deny...
3. If you know the name of the mountain, let's talk--send me a private message
4. I will offer a series of clues. After x number of clues, that's it, no more
5. I haven't yet settled on the value of x

FIRST CLUE

Hundred Highest of N. E.
Fifty Finest too you see
Nature gives each state one tall
High point, but this one's too small
Good luck seeking, seekers all
Hope you find it in the Fall

SECOND CLUE

Happy seekers cave shall find
If they stay on gentler climbs
If they scale 'bout scary cliffs
They shall surely not find it
Peak to cave how far to go
Hundred steps and dos y dos

THIRD CLUE

Summit open all the time
Rising 'bove the timberline
Alpine plants are precious things
Step on them and death it brings
Tundra 'round both peak and cave
Step on rocks and plants you save

Well I can think of one in the Adirondacks; not sure if it matches the poetic descriptions. I've often thought of (illegally) camping there.

Nice work - fun! The meter reminds me of the poem of the barrowwight:

Cold be hand and heart and bone,
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.
In the black wind the stars shall die,
and still on gold here let them lie,
till the dark lord lifts up his hand
over dead sea and withered land.

FOURTH CLUE

Forty-fifth degree of lat
South of there is where it's at
Which direction you may ask
From the summit is your task
North I tell you, make it so
When you get there you will know

x = 4

(amazing, Quick Reply would not allow me to send the above. Msg must be at least ten characters)

Great post...there hasn't been a good cave quest on VFTT since the infamous "Pirate's Treasure" thread back in 2005!

incrementing x

FIFTH CLUE

After which clue should you plan
Twenty peaks plus one to scan?
Have I ever warned you once
Cliffs near summit to renounce?
Yes, I plainly said to you
Stay away or boo hoo hoo!

bump x again

SIXTH CLUE

From the summit you can see
Parts of three states and QB
Plus the high points of three states
Such rewarding views it makes
Catch the clues that let you plan
Seven peaks or less to scan?

We have a winner.

VFTT member srhigham, whose signature is Steve H., correctly identified the mystery mountain in a private message to me. The clues narrowed the possible candidates down to a handful, followed by a little extracurricular research nailing it. That research brought to light new information (new to me anyway), indicating local residents have known about the cave for many years.

Congratulations srhigham!

PERSPECTIVE

Underground and out of sight
Warm in bags and cave so tight
Our reward was pure delight
On that frozen winter's night

Is it legal? Is it right?
Camping on the summit cone?
Some say yes, some say fight
'Neath a fragile alpine zone

If you camp in caves on high
Have fun camping, campers (sigh)
Just remember what was said
'Bout the flora, grass and sedge:

Alpine plants are precious things
Step on them and death it brings
Tundra 'round the peak and cave
Step on rocks and plants you save

This reminds me of the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt:

http://www.npr.org/2016/03/13/469852983/seeking-adventure-and-gold-crack-this-poem-and-head-outdoors

No one's found it yet!

A second person enters the winner's circle, deducing mystery mountain's identity.

Congratulations, TEO!

Successful seekers now include: OnAClearDay

Congratulations!

After a little historical research, I found out that the summit cave was discovered as early as 1903. That's the approximate year a local resident stumbled upon it while searching for treasure reputed to be buried in a cave somewhere on the mountain.

I plan to visit the area this summer and hope to climb the mountain--first time in 35 years. If all goes well I will return with photos of the cave to post here. Maybe I'll even leave something behind for future treasure seekers!

I've returned from the mountain and a visit to the summit cave. It is located only thirty feet from a major trail. The interior of the cave is L-shaped with a rocky, uneven floor. When the floor is filled in and covered with snow it makes for a reasonable camping spot, as I found out when a friend and I spent the night around 1980. The opening to the cave is a bit of a squeeze, 2.5 feet wide. The long part of the L is about twenty feet with a partial ceiling. Then the cave bends at right angles. The short part of the L is about ten feet long, completely enclosed. I should revise my poem to indicate two-hundred (not one-hundred) steps from the summit. I didn't count the steps, because a portion of the alpine zone is closed and signed accordingly. Closed for research purposes, apparently, and other reasons. Therefore I decided not to leave anything behind for treasure seekers. But I was able to traverse the thirty feet between trail and cave quite easily, passing through a short section of evergreen forest and then on rock to the cave entrance. The problem for others, of course, is knowing where to depart from the trail for the shortest route to the cave. Because of the access issue noted above, I recommend that cave seekers NOT approach it by hiking directly from the summit. Suffice it to say that the exit point along the trail is (very) roughly 200 steps down the trail from the summit. Herewith some photos.

Cave entrance