GC3B79K Profiles of Greyrock Mountain--West SW View
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 01/19/2012 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 42.256 W105° 19.523 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                       

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Greyrock Mountain (elevation 7,613 feet) in Larimer County has a highly distinctive profile from Interstate 25 and other eastern vantages. Its steep southern aspect shows dramatically in silhouette as seen from the east. Many admirers of this Ranked Peak do not realize that the mountain’s lines from other directions are also remarkable and highly distinctive. This “Profile Series” consists of eight Traditional caches placed on Ranked Peaks that surround Greyrock Mountain, as well as a Multi-staged cache and a “Mystery” cache. Views of this mountain from each cache location and from the stages of the Multi are captivating, and each provides a unique profile perspective of Greyrock. If you have as an objective finding all 10 caches in this series, you will eventually view this marvelous mountain from many angles. To attain these views (as well as the treasures of the log books in all of the cache containers!) you will have hiked dozens of miles, gained significant vertical elevation, and have reached some remote areas. A challenge confronting you will be discovering the most efficient approaches for accessing certain of these caches. Enjoy this particular profile cache, and consider finding all of the others! Appreciate your adventures as you “Profile” Greyrock Mountain!

This profile cache was hidden after the date of publication of the Profile Mystery Cache (GC2KW91). No codes required for the Mystery Cache are in this cache container.

POINT 7231

The trail system through Hewlett Gulch provides popular hiking destinations off Poudre Canyon. The trailhead is accessed at the Hewlett Gulch parking area north of the bridge crossing the Poudre River, just west of Poudre Park. From parking, an excellent trail follows Gordan Creek, the perennial stream that flows down Hewlett Gulch. Several excellent geocaches are located at the TH and along this nice trail. To reach the West SouthWestern profile cache, you will need to depart from the main trail and ascend fairly steep terrain to the approximate summit of Point 7231, a Ranked Peak shown on the USGS Poudre Park quadrangle and on the Trails Illustrated map for Cache La Poudre Big Thompson. Point 7231 rises above the west side of Gordan Creek. Carefully map out your route, so you’ll know when to leave the trail and begin your climb to the cache. It’s a “hiking” climb up a long, steep slope. It requires no specialized equipment or significant experience. But because you will need to ascend about 1,400 feet of terrain in less than 3/4 mile of horizontal distance, you will need stamina/endurance to reach the cache vicinity. The route is carpeted with beds of prickly pear cactus, so be careful. My puppy Teewinot is an expert at avoiding prickly pear spines, but on her two trips to this summit she has collected some in her paws! But those prickly experiences would not subdue her desire to get up there again!

When you reach the top, first visit the summit of this interesting mountain. It’s marked by a small cluster of upright rocks placed to indicate the highest point. Then, find the cache. It’s hidden about 425 feet east of the true summit, at a location that offers special views of Greyrock Mountain and its neighbors. From the cache location, you can look across Hewlett Gulch and identify the approximate locations of several other caches in this Profile series, caches that are placed on North Greyrock, the Aiguille du Greyrock, Southwest Greyrock, and South Greyrock (as well as the location called East Greyrock). So find the cache, sign its log sheet, and find a soft rock to sit on as you review this great lineup of special places (and caches). If the weather’s nice, spend some time at this wonderful view point, and profile it in your memory!

The cache is easy to locate. Look for a regular-sized container covered by a couple of small rocks in the shallow nook on the east side of the rock formation at GZ. Be careful going down to the trail. Take your time. Most accidents happen during descents. A tumble here could make a pin cushion out of you! I use trekking poles to give me extra “legs” when I descend steep terrain of this nature.

04/24/2015 By Cache U
Found with Mousse the geopup on a grand adventure in Hewlett Gulch. We found stage 1 of "The Pig of Poudre Canyon" first, headed up the canyon for two much easier caches, then went after this one before weather had a chance to roll in. The stream was definitely running higher than our last visit here two weeks ago, and some snow was left over from a recent storm, so wet feet and slippery terrain added to the challenge of getting to this one. I had mapped out what looked like the easiest route up, but there's no avoiding a prolonged stair-stepper work-out on this one. I took a more direct route back down which was snow-free but steeper. Even though I knew no clue to the Profiles Mystery series was in this one, I wanted to challenge myself and find a cache that has had less than 1 visitor per year. Man I miss those DGP points! Anyway, thanks for the awesome challenge and the wonderful views!

02/08/2014 By icezebra11
Like Denali41 says, this one isn't a very long hike, but it sure is a steep one. Not too long ago the Hewlett Gulch trail had been closed due to the September 2013 flooding but the Forest Service has since reopened it. After several very cold days this week (-15°) the 40° day today was certainly welcomed. It ended up that the fleece and shell that I started out wearing was too much and some shedding was required. That slope really got the blood flowing, a good workout that was long overdue. Fortunately there wasn't much snow on the south facing slopes so there were only a few places where the snow was more than ankle deep. I finally arrived at GZ after nearly an hour of trudging up the hill off trail. Found the container nestled in its hiding spot and signed the log, only the second log in over 2 years. C'mon cachers, get out into the hills and away from the lamp posts! I made my way over to the summit and took in the great views. Thanks Denali41 for the cache and the exercise that went with it!

10/09/2012 By Denali41
I had 25 caches or stage containers on the north side of the Cache La Poudre River that were in the fire burn zones. This cache is the final one of the 25 that I've checked and restored or replaced as needed. It's been quite an effort to make all the necessary hikes to reach all these locations, and I'm happy that the effort is over! I had earlier looked at this cache location through binoculars from a peak on the east side of Hewlett Gulch, and had concluded that this cache had been torched by the fire. But when I arrived at GZ this morning I was pleasantly surprised to learn that its position in the rocks had given it complete protection and I didn't need to replace or repair it! So now, all caches I own to the north of the river are fully operational and awaiting cachers who appreciate the hard work of reaching them!

I own seven caches to the south of the river in the burned zone, that still need to be checked. But the areas they are in remain closed to the public. It's likely that all or most of the seven will not be legally accessible until sometime in 2013. All represent much shorter hikes than the ones on the north side of the river, and I look forward to making the post-fire maintenance checks on them when it becomes possible.

01/24/2012 By Pixel Magic
I am happy to report that we have a FIRST TO FIND on this cache as of 11:15 this morning. It took me two and one quarter hours to get to the cache. While this hike was much shorter than other profile caches, the steepness of the climb was noteworthy. I saw three whitetail deer on the way up and another herd on the way down. Nice hike. The hills are virtually free of snow, although some north exposures have accumulations. The lower part of the trail has a couple of icy sections that are quite slick.

I learned a lesson the hard way today. I started down on a slightly different route and soon realized that the terrain I was headed toward was rough. I consulted my Garmin 60 Csx to adjust my route to get back on my tracks. I had to scramble and bushwack to get back on track. After a short distance down a steep slope I reached into my pocket to consult my GPS and came out with nothing. I lost my GPS! It must have been snagged on some of the vegetation or just plain fell out of my deep pocket. Lesson: Attach your GPS when you are bushwacking. I looked around for many minutes trying to determine what route I took through the bush and rocks. I could not locate my unit. I'm sad. That GPS and I have been through many adventures, including all the other Profile caches. Maybe if the snow isn't too deep I can check up there again when I have a lot of time.

Thanks Denali41 for another adventure and a lesson learned to boot.

01/22/2012 By HighCountryAdmin
Published