GC45FZX Year of the Dragon
Type: Mystery | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: ernie66 @ | Hide Date: 02/02/2013 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 45.171 W104° 54.465 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                       

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This is a 2-stage cache that starts at the listed coordinates. Please note that special equipment is required at stop 1, the reason for the 5-star difficulty rating. Expect a hike or bicycle ride of between 3 and 4 miles each way from the provided parking coordinates.

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Dragons are a crafty lot, always hiding their tracks and even their communications. Most people don't believe they even exist.

There have been reports of unexplained activity in the old railroad tunnels along Gold Camp Road. People say they are haunted. Countless reports of hearing children's voices, chains clashing, and blood-curdling screams have appeared in print. Tunnel 3 collapsed in 1988 and hikers report seeing the end of a school bus amidst the rubble. It's understandable to assign blame for these unexplained phenomena to supernatural forces. We read of the hauntings and wanted to see for ourselves.

We started at the upper end of the closed section of Gold Camp, near Tunnel 7, and proceeded down the old railroad grade to Tunnel 5. What we experienced there cut short our exploration and sent us hurrying back to the car.

Upon entering the tunnel, we kept seeing odd flashes out of the corner of our eyes and heard footsteps and a faint moaning. In the dark, we were just able to see the outlines of a water dragon moving through the tunnel. It stopped for a moment, scribbled something on a slip of paper and hid it in a crack in the wall. Then it slipped through a small door and into a huge vault full of gold and jewels. The water dragon returns every 60 years, according to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, and in a few days its year on earth will be finished.

Eagerly, we extracted the slip of paper the dragon had left but were unable to see anything written on it. Remembering our experiences with the Wyrm clan a few years earlier, we tried looking at the paper with an ultraviolet flashlight. To our amazement, GPS coordinates appeared! Tracking down the location took only a few minutes and we were honored to be the first to examine the treasure the water dragon had left behind. Now we are making this discovery available to the geocaching community. Hurry, though, the water dragon will awaken again in about 59 years.

Trade fairly or thou shalt be hunted down whence the dragon awakes.

Additional Waypoints

PK45FZX - Parking
N 38° 44.226 W 104° 54.653
One option for parking

05/19/2019 By punchappy
I knew just what to pack for this trip... didn’t know if it would be possible to get this. But the family pushed me on... awesome trip to Colorado this week. Family hiked and I got to grab some caches.
I liked this one... little afraid to enter, but took a deep breathe and did it!
Wasn’t too far to go to get the second half... I’ll be sore in the morning

10/20/2018 By CVA64
After making my way down from the loo up the train bed, I found the tunnel with my garlic necklace, holy water, and a crucifix (wait, this is a dragon, not a vampire), er, I mean I have my sword, heat resistant shield, armor, and helmet. Ready!!

Standing there in the peace, I hear a branch snap and quickly glance over to see a squirrel watching among the remaining slightly waving Aspen leaves. Better do this now while the weather is good. Inhale, rush into the dark, cold tunnel, listening to the walls as they talk about the stories of car crashes, trains of gold, horses, and miners coming through the tunnel in days gone by. Using a miner's carbide lamp, I was able to find what was left behind by the dragon for us to know before proceeding. Quickly making use of the strongly recommend tool for the solution, I inputted it into the GPS while still hearing the tunnel walls speak, but louder and louder they were speaking. I knew the tunnel was getting restless and did not want to wake the dragon before its return.

Making a beeline for the exit, I oriented myself to the correct direction and made my way to the geocache where I was offered a seat (see attached photo) by a miner spirit (since there is another old mine nearby) so he could tell me his story while I logged the cache. He had an interesting tale to tell me as I logged the cache before he disappeared into the woods again while I packed away the cache.

Departing the area, I walked the entire train bed back to Old Stage Rd for the long way to the horseless carriage thinking of what I had seen this day in mining country. May the dragon have a long slumber before deciding to reappear for all to see once again!

06/28/2017 By COpackrat
Been meaning to come after this one for a while, but never seemed to be in the area with my bike. Today I took care of that and after yesterday's hike, it was nice to get another part of my anatomy sore... Thanks for the puzzle and cache.

11/04/2016 By gampa&gamma
What a fun multi! We've wanted to go after this one for a while, but waited for a day when we could fit in the 6+ mile hike (we don't own mountain bikes). Today was such a day: cool and sunny and not too breezy. We enjoyed deciphering the clue at stage 1 and after a short wrong turn, we enjoyed the hike to the final where we made a quick find. Dropped a TB and signed the log. Thanks for the fun!

06/03/2016 By Rob14erGuy
Fun puzzle and a nice hike to the great final hiding spot! The first stage brought back memories, I hadn't been there since I was a kid and we drove through.
Lots of good swag. I recognize that stuff!
Thanks for the fun!

11/09/2014 By kenyansherpa
A very enjoyable morning with the coloradogypsies. A nice hike with great company, a cache with a twist and beautiful views. Thanks Ernie! IN - coins from various countries plus an Olympic pin from Tokyo 2020 (in deference to Dragons) Out - cool sticker TFTH!!

11/09/2014 By colorado gypsies
A great trip on a great day with KenyanSherpa. Just terrific weather for November. Our first UV cache. Lots of fun and great locations. We came up Gold Camp from cheyenne canyon. It took about 2 hours to get to stage 1. Lots of great swag at the final. We decided not to tempt the wrath of the dragon and let Kenyansherpa trade for a sticker. SL and enjoyed the view before heading back down to find 66 star challenge. Fav. TFTC