This is a little late but it has been so busy here. I finally got the time to write about our little adventure.
On the 20th my wife and I decided that with the kids in school that day it would be perfect to go and hunt the Slate Falls cache (GCRRD0). There had been a record amount of rain recently and had even stormed the night before so we were excited at being able to see the falls flowing.
We hadn't traveled far up Poteau Mountain road when we met some Forest Service workers clearing debris from the roadway. They told us that due to seeing some other vehicles heading the other direction that they thought the road was clear ahead. Well, after driving a few miles we sure enough met with a large tree blocking our progress.
Another Forest Service worker pulled i next to us a short while later and together we waited for the work crew to reach us.
As we waited, she told us about a cave nearby known to locals as "Belle Stars Cave." It was also known as the boy scouts cave as they used to camp there in the 40's and 50's and had even built a rock fireplace for warmth inside the cave. She told us how to reach it and after seeing that we wouldn't have time to reach Slate Falls we decided to visit the cave.
We began our hike from the road and hiked down the mountain to rock creek. With all the recent rains it was REALLY flowing, enough to take your feet out from underneath you if you weren't careful, and it was cold! After crossing the creek it was a short distance to the cave and suprisingly a wonderful 20+ foot waterfall!!!
The whole area there is a protected archaeological site. We explored the cave behind the falls for quite some time and even hiked further down for awhile just to see what was there. Time was getting short though so we had to haul back up the mountain which was rough.
My wife and I had a wonderful time and we plan on returning later. We found another trail leading in from the North that hold who knows what treasures.
