GC3G4C6 Near the Boundary--Cache La Poudre Wilderness
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 04/03/2012 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 40.531 W105° 27.821 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
             

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Wilderness -- "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain ... an area protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions." —The Wilderness Act of 1964

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The Cache la Poudre Wilderness, named for the river that runs at its northern edge, was added by the U.S. Congress to the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980. This 9,258 acre wilderness is characterized by steep, rugged terrain along the Poudre River and the Little South Fork of the Poudre. Elevation ranges from 6,200 feet to 8,600 feet, and the area is accessible most of the year. The wilderness is administered by the USDA Roosevelt National Forest, and it is located in the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of this unit.

Human use of this small, wild, wilderness gem is low; only one trail, the Mount McConnel National Recreation Trail (aka the Summit Trail), penetrates the wilderness. The total length of the trail within the wilderness is only 3 miles. Away from this one trail, travel is accomplished by tough scrambling and bushwhacking in stream bottoms, on ridges, and along game trails. Nine miles of the Little South Fork flow through the Wilderness, providing interesting, remote fishing opportunities for anglers who enjoy the rigors of backcountry fishing.

This wilderness is primarily montane in characteristic. Forests of Douglas fir, ponderosa and lodgepole pine dominate the landscape, and mule deer, bear, coyote, and mountain lion inhabit the area seasonally.

The cache is located on Roosevelt National Forest land a short distance before the trail enters the Wilderness Area. After you've found the cache and signed its log, continue along the trail into the wilderness and to the summit of Mt. McConnel. This is a great location for lunch and for relaxing while you admire the great views of the rugged landscape that surrounds you! You have two options for descending to your vehicle--you can return the way you came up to the summit; or you can make a loop by following the Summit Trail east and then north from the top of Mt. McConnel. The eastern portion of the trail drops down to the Poudre River and the Mountain Park Picnic Area very close to the trailhead you started at. Take the loop. It will add a special dimension to your hiking day!

I forgot to leave a pen or pencil in the cache. I'd be grateful if the first finder of the cache would leave one in the container. Thanks!

CONGRATULATIONS TO PIXELMAGIC ON FTF!!

07/22/2018 By FoCoGeoClan
My boys and I hiked up to this one this morning. The cache is in great condition and the location has wonderful views. We took the primitive trail down which was a fun challenge. This is only my second cache after a couple years of inactivity. Hopefully we can get out to more of these wonderful mountain caches. Thanks for placing this and encouraging some outdoor adventure.

07/12/2017 By runawaytrain
Found after a summit hike - outstanding views. SL, rehid - all good here - TFTC!

11/25/2016 By icezebra11
I took today off work to have a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend and decided to do some caching up Poudre Canyon since my wife had to work on Black Friday. After a nice hike up Roaring Creek in search of Dan Edwards' cache of the same name, I headed back down the canyon to the McConnel trailhead. I had never been on this mountain and I really enjoyed it.

When I reached GZ for this one I circled the formation looking for the telltale stack of rocks but no luck. So I just focused where my GPS was telling me to go and I came up with the container. Signed the log and retrieved the TB. Then I continued along the trail. Thanks Denali41 for placing another fine cache in the NTB series!!!

11/20/2016 By Denali41
I hiked with my puppy Orizaba to the summit of Mount McConnel today, and checked on this cache while en route. Everything is in great condition. I dropped a TB for the next finder.

11/12/2016 By ArkF
Thanks for the cache. Headed up to Mt. McConnel today with the dog for some hiking and caching. I had done the nature trail a couple times, but never been up to the summit. Started out rather chilly, but warmed up to t-shirt weather soon enough. Not very many people out, probably since the gate was closed. Found the cache in good condition right where the GPS said it would be. Hard to believe a cache on such a pleasant hike could go 2.5 years between finds. Entered the wilderness right after finding and headed to the summit.