Ready to find treasure in the Treasure State?

Welcome to Missoula, Montana, a lush yet rugged western town with national forests in almost every direction. A challenging D5 cache awaits you.

Can you spot this magnetic marvel? Test your geo-senses with “Under Pressure,” our latest Geocache of the Week (GC1GPAB).

With over 7,500 geocaches and impressive terrain around every corner, one may expect the State of Montana to host primarily geocaches with high terrain ratings. But what about geocaches that push mental limits with high difficulty ratings? With the highest difficulty rating possible at 5 stars, our Geocache of the Week, “Under Pressure,” might just leave you scratching your head.

Appearing as though plucked from a steampunk wonderland, GC1GPAB leads you to a peculiar yet enchanting sculpture of a bear. The bear takes shape from thousands of rusted gears, washers, and a hodgepodge of scattered metal objects. 

Created in 2005 by local artist Kirsten Kainz, the statue, entitled “Rounded Out,” creates a bear that looks into the distance. With a seemingly endless number of hiding spots, where could the micro-sized geocache be?

To begin the search for the tricky cache, consider a look through past logs for any kernels of wisdom from past seekers. On a recent visit to the cache, Lackey Phoenix48 recalls that “…after reading past logs, we knew that it was going to require us to get on our hands and knees and look low.” Armed with some guidance from geocachers past, it’s finally time to hunt for the cache!

After getting acquainted with the bear, settle in for an extended search. The intricate details of the sculpture are mesmerizing but may lengthen your search due to their intense details. Numerous red herrings, such as the item pictured below, may increase the search time for the devious cache. The frustration is palpable as many items look intensely geocache-like.

Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot something amiss! At last, it’s the cache! With joy, you snag the cache, sign the logbook, and breathe a sigh of relief. The difficult search paid off as you ink your name inside the tiny logbook. Over a quarter of geocachers who attempt the cache leave without a smiley; thankfully your dedicated effort turned into a fantastic find.

As you turn from the bear and head away from its gaze, you can feel a sense of pride wash over you. It takes a special geocacher to both attempt “Under Pressure,” and make the find! The sun slowly sets on the horizon as the last of the light fades from an exciting day. Whether your travels take you to other caches in Missoula or back to the open road, the satisfaction of a D5 cache checked off the list never gets old.

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Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.

Source: Geocaching