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
The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area, Colorado’s third-largest at 226,420 acres, is located in San Isabel and Rio Grande National Forests. The wilderness was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1993 and encompasses the entire Sangre de Cristo mountain range north of Blanca Peak, spanning 70 miles to its northern border near Salida. Sangre de Cristo translates to “Blood of Christ”, but it remains uncertain why the range was given this name.
Unlike most of Colorado’s mountains, the high and magnificently rugged Sangres are fault-block mountains similar to the peaks in the Teton Range of Wyoming. They were uplifted suddenly in massive blocks, creating a range that has dramatic spires and vertical dimensions. Four 14ers are clumped together in the mid-section of the wilderness and three additional 14ers rise just south of the wilderness boundary. Within the wilderness, most of the 180 miles of hiking trails end at alpine lakes set against impassable cliffs.
The cache is located on San Isabel National Forest land a short distance before the trail reaches the Wilderness Area boundary sign. After you’ve found and signed the cache log, consider hiking up the slopes to the south to gain the summit of California Peak (13,849 feet), a Colorado Centennial (one of the highest 100) mountain. It’s a considerable distance from the saddle where the cache is located, but the journey will be a memorable one that you should recall fondly. Of all the named peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range, California is the easiest to ascend. Views from its summit will be indelible in your memories.
Be certain to have a pen or pencil with you for your log-signing ceremony. Enjoy your hike; enjoy approaching this marvelous boundary.
CONGRATULATIONS TO TeamOutdoors68 FOR FTF!!
Near the Boundary--Sangre de Cristo Wilderness
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