GCG2Y1 Traces
Type: Traditional | Size: Micro | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Random Acts @ | Hide Date: 05/08/2003 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 37.142 W103° 35.751 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 2
                             

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Long walk to cool waters and dinosaur tracks in an historic canyon.

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The name of the cache refers to the traces of the passage of many dinosaurs about 150 million years ago. It's near the location the largest dinosaur track way in the world. It's a long way from the trail head, a little over 10 miles round trip, hence the 4 star rating on terrain. However, except for about a mile of 'ups and downs', the trail is pretty much flat and well marked - an old vehicle road. Coming back out of the canyon at the end of your hike is a bit of a bugger, though, with an elevation gain of about 350 ft. This trip is best done early spring or fall, and is a fine walk on a warm winter day. Bring plenty of water any time and wear sunscreen and insect repellent. A hiking staff or trekking poles are a good idea, too.

There is a second option for non-hikers: Take advantage of the Comanche National Grasslands Picketwire Canyon automobile tour. It runs on Saturdays May-June and September-October. A 4WD vehicle is a must (or ride with someone who has one). To get on the tour call 719 384 2181. Bikes and horses are also allowed on the trail. Camping is available at the dedicated camp ground at the trail head. There are toilets there but no water. There are also toilets near the dinosaur tracks.

Not far from the cache, on the near (north) side of the Purgatoire river you will find tracks of apatosauri (sauropods) and allosauri (therapods) There are a lot more sauropod and therapod on the other side along with a few ornithopod (duck-billed dinos). If you wish to cross the river, bring water shoes or sandals. It's usually not deep, but can be cold. The bottom is flat, some moss and those occasional holes are sauropod tracks.

You'll be able to see vast canyon vistas, 100 year old ruins, petroglyphs, rock formations and 150 million year old dinosaur tracks. Our newly replaced cache is in the spirit of the paleontology. Please leave it as you found it.

02/18/2019 By Random Acts
Checked the cache this past week. Still there in good shape!

09/10/2018 By Random Acts
N37° 37.142 W103° 35.751
Coordinates changed from:
N 37° 37.138 W 103° 35.749

Coordinates changed to:
N 37° 37.142 W 103° 35.751

Distance from original: 25.9 feet or 7.9 meters.

Longish story: We replaced the damaged original container in June. It was just too big, which caused us to have to put it in a huge, unsightly UPR. We have replaced it with a micro in a new location nearby.

09/01/2018 By taylorsgeotracker
Thank you for a nice find on a hot day while o. The nfs tour! TFTC

05/29/2018 By Random Acts
The container has been replaced with a new one and moved about 3 ft. Coords have not been redone, but the new location is easy to spot. The new container is larger, and is pretty empty. Some swag would be nice.

05/29/2018 By Random Acts
The container has been replaced. To place the new one, we had to move it about 3 ft. We didn't redo the coords as it's pretty obvious.

11/14/2017 By Random Acts
Logs say that the cache is in really bad shape, requiring replacement. We'll get out there and fix it soon!

10/21/2017 By Izzifix
On the guided road trip to the Dinosaur tracks we were able to make a quick visit at GZ. Not easy to find the remains of the container, so we decided to write our initials on the stone. TFTC and best regards from Switzerland, Izzifix

10/21/2017 By HarvestMoon2
TFTC! Out with Izzyfix and FWIA grabbing a few today. SL HM2

10/21/2017 By FWIA
Was able to quickly visit the area for this cache with izzifix and harvestmoon2 while on the guided Canyon tour. As stated in a previous log, the conatainer (?) has seen its last days. We inscribed our initials with a rock into the stone at GZ. Definitely needs owner maintenance. TFTC

08/05/2017 By TTO2
We targeted in this beautiful area this cache and the nearby earthcache. Sadly the container on this one has seen it's last days. CO should look at replaceing it.

05/28/2017 By WingsAndTales
I took a quick look but didn't see it. I didn't have much time since I was on the auto tour of the canyon and needed to stay with the group.

11/05/2016 By roc buff
Beautiful area to hike

11/05/2016 By nerak2001
We found this one along with the other earth caches in the area. The lid still closes, although all of the locking tabs have fallen off. Thanks for the fun!