Refractory Views Bakers Hill, Western Australia, Australia
By Bristag on 29-Dec-15. Waypoint GC68TC2

Having DNFed this one at least twice before (when the cache was supposedly a bison inserted into a rock) I was happy to see it had been replaced with a (presumably) easier hide. It still took me a good 20mins of searching before I uncovered the cache. The hint "obvious spot" was not overly helpful as there are at least 50 obvious spots at GZ. Cool survey marker here too. Glad to get the monkey off my back here. Fave point. Tftc

We trecked up here with the expectation of finding nothing. Our expectations were realised. As this cache has been missing for some time now we replaced the container in the most likely of places. Hoping the owner is happy with our efforts. Combined effort of myself and Caperdoodle2.

Exactly what Caperdoodle1 said. Hopefully the owner is happy with our efforts

Same as others found pencil no cache
But there is a lands and survey marker up
There worth finding and enjoy the view

I’ve got a personal note from when I found this previously but I need to find the date. Either way, I searched all over the boulder and I couldn’t find the cache today. To make things more unbearable, someone has recently toileted up on top only a few metres from the rock so thE blow flies are a plenty and the smell gag worthy. Hopefully a more pleasant experience once things dry out! I’ll try to find a photo once I’m back home but for now it’s a dnf today.

Found a pencil but no cache

We searched for quite a while, found the pencil and knew exactly what we were looking for, but we didn't have any luck, I think it's been muggled, a fair few people were here today so it's not a non visited place, a few guys were even camping

Travelling the southwest with richlink using geocaching as our guide. This cache was on our list for today. But unfortunately we were not able to track it down, so a DNF for us.

Out and about with ILT caching rural and back roads. We spent a good deal of time searching but no luck for us today - besides we need to be home for Christmas! Thanks for the hide

Out for a days caching to Northam with the main goal of finding Blasted Rock the t5 abseiling cache.

This was one of the caches we targeted on the way home today, a tough slog up the hill in this amazing location. Must admit we tried a few paf who didn’t recall but ended up finding the cache a few meters from where we suspected it would be.

A great location and thanks for bringing us back here Bristag, hope to have you hiding again soon.

After a yummy pub lunch we continued on picking up a variety of caches as a group as we headed homeward.
Coords out by about 15 metres for us but we eventually made the find.
TFTC Bristag this is find #12205 for us.

A group of us had a trip out Northam way to collect a few caches and get a pub lunch. Took a while to find this one though. TFTC

Thanks Bristag for placing and maintaining this cache. Out and about with Barnzy12 getting a few smily faces.

Managed to meet up with several other teams whilst in the area today, made for a great day out.

Took a while to find this one but B12 got it for the group, amazing location, TFTC.

This one took quite a while but eventually B12s eyes found the cache. Hectic climb - thanks for placing this jasenjanine

This one took a while but we got it eventually! Tricky getting back down the hill though!

What better way to spend a long weekend than packing up the car and heading off on a road trip? We made plans to meander our way to Northam and camp there overnight before setting sail for home. This was one of the caches we had targeted for the day and we also had some GCA caches, Waymarks and Adventure Labs on the radar. Cheers and TFTC.

G’day there Bristag, I was in this area today and found your cache Refractory Views GC68TC2. I added my name to the log book at 10:36 am on 28 February 2021. A huge thanks to you for placing this cache here for us (and others) to find!

A wet and windy day! Lachlan1.77 and I were meant to fly to York in the little bugsmasher, but we decided that a day caching in the car would be more pleasant. So we headed off east of Perth into the hills. Lots of good finds today, with some great spots visited!

Tiger777 and I were going to be flying out to White Gum Air Park for the weekend for the Westfly aviation fly in. However, strong winds and at times driving rain made it an unpleasant weekend to fly and camp. So we opted for Option B. Hitting the road for a few caches to guide our journey East today.

Went for a walk up the hill and oh boy did we start to get wafts of a smell all too notorious. Eventually as we reached the old house halfway up I spotted a dead roo in the front doorway under the porch of the house. Seemed relatively fresh. Once we got to the hint we began the search. Still not sure what the hint related to, but 777Tiger eventually came up trumps after 5-10 mins. Not exactly where we expected it to be hidden. Very exposed But we assumed it to be right, because there was a pencil in a hole above. We replaced it as found regardless. A neat view from the top of the hill. Cheers Bristag!

Great views and great hide, TFTC!

After a long time looking badnuz finally found it. Great location!

Well worth the climb, certainly not where I expected it to be and after starting to head back down from another angle I looked back up and saw where it could be.... It wasn't where the obvious place was but it was there!!!

Out for a ride today to finish off the KEP trail and decided to try these caches but i had no luck here. maybe next time. Will bring out a few people to check this place out next time

No luck here. Was almost at the top when a head poked up from behind a rock - there were 3 lads sitting up there out of sight. Was quite a surprise and a little awkward! After a quick chat they wandered off and I killed some time taking photos until they were out of sight. Then had a good search - but this one still escaped me.

Well that was a pleasant climb nice view from up here. TFTC

Great spot for a cache a fav from me

So out on another Geocaching weekender with Spatial Riq, this time off to the Northam for the 2019 WAGB. Great weekend picking up nearly 70 Caches over the two days. A great variety in the area....

Great wander around the area, and a tidy hiding place

TFTC, have a FAV point

On a road trip with the Machman on our way to WAGB 2019 in Northam.

What a great place to wander around. Great hiding spot to. Fav point coming your way. TFTC

Unfortunately not the start to my WA holiday I was hoping

Had a good clamber around, but was just not able to spot it

There are a few D/T combos that are becoming more difficult for us to find in Queensland, so while we are in Perth visiting our grand daughters, Mr Just a Trifle took the opportunity to head out to this cache.

The GPS didn't seem to want to settle on anything specific so the search commenced, initially without success Eventually, Mr Just a Trifle focussed his attention a little further away and succeeded in locating the cache With our name added to the log book, a few other caches in the area were found and then it was time to return home to the family.

Thank you Bristag for having placed the cache and for maintaining it for everyone to enjoy

Perseverance finally pays off. I was determined to get up....and down that flipping hill to add another pair of eyes to the search. TFTC bristag

A nice early start with Neva2old to grab a couple of caches before meeting up with TheMongrel to continue or hunt along the Kep track, we had a fantastic day today with mostly nice quick finds, this one we were super excited when I made the find here, geo sense prevailed. Thank you for bringing us up here to admire the beautiful view, a favourite point for this TFTC

Out and about with Parkacruz and eventually Themongrel to tackle a few more of the Kep series and a few others on the way. The rain held off although temperature gauge said 3 degrees at one stage and the seat warmers set to toasty we had a great day Tftc. I can't believe that Parkacruz actually found this after all the other dnfs and what a great view which deserves a fav point

with neva2old and parkacruz tftc

PP1 had another try today, at least it was not so hot! Unfortunately the same result. I don't think I will get him to go up there again & he will not let me try. I may have to hide it from my map.

Spent far to long here with no result. This was the last one for the day, I think our luck had expired. We'll be back

Teamed up with ullyssia and Photo-Play for a second bite at the KEP series. We went from Bakers Hill to Wooroloo and took the opportunity to look for a few other caches as well, including this one. Unfortunately, this one eluded us despite spending quite a while at GZ.
Thank you anyway for the challenge Bristag.

Headed out with Photo-Play and papillon367 for a ride along the Kep track from Bakers Hill to Wooroloo.
We decided to try a couple more, including this one, before heading home. Unfortunately, six eyes belonging to three tired bodies failed to spot the cache. We spent some time climbing over and around, but decided to take a dnf as a sign to call it a day. We'll try again another time.

Was looking for a DT like this and unintentionally came to this one. With 6 pairs of eyes looking it didnt take too long to spot and thankfully there were small fingers with us to retrieve. Great views aswell as a great hiding spot. TFTC

Having made the hike, rested & then embarked on a lengthy search. We came away empty handed. I will let you know if the views were worth it when I have recovered.

Having made the hike, rested & then embarked on a lengthy search. We came away empty handed. I will let you know if the views were worth it when I have recovered.

Lots of holes and cracks in the rocks here. Took a gander of it all from every possible angle and just as I was about to give up, I noticed something that gave me hope. Which turned out to be the where I needed to look. Great views from up here. Very pretty at dusk. TFTC Bristag

My 1300th cache! (logged slightly out of order for today's caches to make it so ;p) Was hoping for a unique D/T, but upon later inspection, it turned out I had found another of this type already (only one though!). We decided after the caches down the hill that it was getting too hot to walk up to this one, so we drove as far as we could, then left the bags in the car (plus a fatigued member of our party, with the ac on) and walked the rest of the way up the hill. Great views from up here, worth it for that alone.

We searched around for quite a while before reverting to reading back through previous logs for additional hints (that being said I think the current hint is suitable/clever!) - we found the most useful being a reference from the cache owner mentioning that part of the cache plus a key ring should be visible. With a better idea of what we were looking for, it then became a hole-inspection task (edit: as it turns out - I really should have read the full cache description as it specifically mentions the cache is a bison tube lol!). Despite having looked quite close to the hidey hole on the first pass, it took a bit closer inspection to finally locate the hide (thankfully not in a spider web infested spot at our time of finding). Was very happy to get my eyes/hands on this one!! There was a very small rock in front of the cache - not sure if it was meant to be there so I replaced as found afterwards in case it was placed there intentionally.

I feel the D/T rating is appropriate for this cache, and so long as you don't suffer from vertigo (height induced or otherwise), take care with rock clambering, and make sure to keep 3 points of contact in the tougher parts, it's a manageable site (esp compared to some very dodgy spots I have traversed and/or searched for caches in sydney!) - although probably not suitable for younger children. TFTC, I'll remember this one for a long while for sure This gets a favourite point from me!

Last cache for today, given the frustrations associated with "Furnace Fuel". Was certainly worth the effort to go up the hillside for amazing views. However, there with superslothsonya and the cachernator for a while, feeling a little unsafe at times. With sustained tenacity, SSSonya eventually found it. The hint was good, thanks. While we can understand the need for "challenging" caches, in this situation it's pushing the boundary of safety. Would recommend increasing the hint to something like "in a tiny hole on the pinnacle that has the most potential" would help to narrow the searching. Nonetheless, TFTC.

The DT rating looked go and as we parked we realised the last log was a DNF but on reading it figured under the circumstances it was it was not a full look so venture up. We made some good choices and soon spotted the hide. Extracting it took a little bit of effort but we soon had our name in the log. TFTC.

On e again, Monts refused to come with me today. Anybody would think he is becoming a recluse! I told him it would just be a nice day around York, but he still declined. I searched for as long as I dared leave Monts (he wasn't having a good day, as he had some medical
Treatment in he morning), and couldn't find the cache. I do hope to get here again some day. TFTC Bristag

The hubby was on his way to Toodyay to visit a friend and he decided to stop and grab some caches along the way. He came well prepared for this one as he had seen all the DNFS. Armed with his metal detector he found this cache very quickly and was very happy to add our name to the log book. The metal detector has come in handy for a few caches now lol....TFTC Bristag

After seeing all the DNF's come through, a drive to check on the cache was in order, Arriving at GZ I found my cache in exactly the same place I left it, you can see part of it and the key ring attached to it, so no need to turn rocks over as it looks like some have been doing.

I could have placed an easier one to find but some people like the challenge and why should they miss out.

Happy hunting

Out with kb and fam steiner. No luck today

A frustrating DNF here. After making the effort to reach GZ it would be nice to have an easier cache to log. Better luck to others.

While there is a very good chance this is still here I will be along soon to check, my hint is in reference to energy

Spent considerable time here with KB and Orrsome Family but no luck. Thanks anyway.

Looked with Chwiliwr nut no smiley here.

I enjoyed the view however I didn't enjoy looking for the cache. Is it still there?

I spent around 30 minutes looking. No luck for me. Amazing that despite how far off the beaten track this is, there's still rubbish.

After successfully finding quite a few caches on the KEP trail today we thought we were done, however there was just two more caches we could try for that weren't on our list not too far away from where we 'finished'! This one caught our eye! After a generous hike up to GZ and with a 100% strike rate for the day our hopes were high and so was the location! We narrowed down the search zone with the aid of the clue and meticulously worked our way over the area! Still after some time we were almost ready to call it when Geo M who had found a place to sit patiently and wait for the others tried one last spot and found it! Awesome! TFTC the views and the challenge! A favourite point from us!

TFTH This seemed like to good an opportunity to miss. With robroy_co we headed towards the summit and GZ. Did not look too steep when we started. What great views we were rewarded with when we got to the top. Such huge boulders covered with lichen of the most amazing green colours. Anyway we were here on a mission. We hunted high and low felling in this cranny and that one, over the top of the rocks and down low. We were ready to call it quits a couple of times and the geo grandkids were more than ready to stop. At the last minute Geo M said "I think I've found it!" Bless her she had. So pleased to be able to sign the log!!

Chuffed to bits to find this cache. Two of us here today, methodically examining every possible hidey-hole until we found it. Needed some small, nimble fingers to get it out from its hole. It's one of those caches that you can spend hours on or find straight away, but I'm willing to bet it won't be found very often! The coordinates ARE accurate, if it helps.

Now for the geology bit. The rocks around here are mainly schists of the Jimperding Gneiss Complex, together with a few granites and dolerite dykes. The refractory fireclays mined here developed from the weathering and decomposition of schists of the Jimperding Gneiss complex, blended with residual clays from weathered dolerite dykes.

Around the cache you can see a few layered and folded "stripey" rocks. These are Banded Iron Formation (BIF) similar to those mined for iron ore in the Pilbara. The very first production of iron ore in Western Australia was from Clackline. Lateritised BIF was mined here (19 000 tonnes in total) between 1899 and 1907.

We persisted for a long time at this and didn't find. Will be back to figure it out on a less rainy cold day

Sigh, no luck again today
Gave up before heat stroke set in, car air con was calling out to me!!

Quick find along with Robbo56 in one of the first places we looked
TFTC

Another DNF for us today
Will be back (and bring boots next time!!)

pug002 didnt find it, extensive search which prouced 2 old batteries, several beer cans but no cache grrrr ! Lots of scratches and bruises and mutterings.

Blimey! This will be one with a story to tell. This is just to log the tried-but-failed-but-enjoyed-it-nonetheless thing.

Will be back for the Geocache, obviously, but was transfixed by the old Clackline Refractory workings.

Thank you Bristag! This one will run ....

A good 30 minute search but no luck - tricky little hide - we will be back

Published

[^][^][^] YIPPIDY YAY!!! [^][^][^] ... *FTF* at 14:45

After a slight detour for a nearby FTF a little closer to home, this one was again back in my sights . Although a little concerned with the D/T rating, i continued on hoping that i could nab this one without too much drama!
I managed to drive within about 40m of GZ, and hoofed it from there. With a huff and a puff, the T rating was soon sorted ... now to conquer the D rating .
Thankfully, it didn't take too long to lay my hands on the cache, where i added my name to the top of the clean log sheet . Feeling quite chuffed with my achievement, i replaced the container as i found it, before taking the time to admire the great views from up here. I enjoyed rock-hopping about the place and taking photos of the surrounding area, before heading back down to the fenced area. WOW!!... certainly got the butterflies going as i neared the unprotected edge for a look over Wouldn't want to loose your footing here, that's for sure!
Thanks for bringing me to another great spot Bristag ... very much my favourite part about geocaching is the great spots you get to visit that you would otherwise never know about [^]

Another fave from me