GC3KWW3 Traditional Cache Solar Eclipse Cache May 20, 2012
Type: Traditional | Size: Small Small | Difficulty: 1.5 out of 5 | Terrain: 3.5 out of 5
By: glassbead314 @ | Hide Date: 05/20/2012 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 40.232 W105° 13.179 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
Scenic view  Medium hike (1km-10km) 
A cache to celebrate the solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, near the summit of Mt. Morrison
We hiked up Mt. Morrison (carrying a telescope) to watch the eclipse and placed a cache for eclipses and other astronomical events.

The cache is a small rubbermaid container with a description, a log, some solar glasses that allow you to look directly at the sun, information about the 2017 eclipse, and a few other items. My goal is to have somebody observe the eclipse of Aug 21, 2017 from Mt. Morrison, using the solar glasses in the cache.

It is a relatively strenuous hike, and there are a few different ways up the mountain. The standard south ridge trail is recommended. You may also be able to hike up directly from Red Rocks Amphitheater with some off-trailing. You can also park at, N 39° 40.366 W 105° 12.084, hike up to Matthews Winters Park (a large plateau), then go off trail along the north ridge of Mt. Morrison to the top. If you choose this route, you will pass the two radio towers where signs warn you that radio emissions may exceed FCC standards for the public. There is a road on the west side of the mountain, but it is closed to the public.

The cache is not too hard to find once you're there.
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From above, you might be directly on top of it. From below, easy to see.

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 Logs

6 Logs: Found it 6  

Found it 10/27/2018 By Itsallaboutthecache
Cool cache...brings back memories of seeing eclipse in Boise

Found it 11/14/2017 By Back Country Horsemen
So glad to finally make it up here! This mountain stared me in the face every time I drove past it. Don't know if I'll ever do it again though! That last 300' is a doozy! Interesting the cache furthest up has a lower terrain rating!?!

Found it 03/25/2017 By PantalaNagaPampa
The last time we summited Mount Morrison was almost 6 years to the week and although I have been looking at this cache for many years, I know the access to the summit from some of the old access points has been closed and have not had much interest in the open trailhead. Today, however, seemed like the perfect day - barely spring with the snow melted from yesterday - to attempt the 2000 foot elevation gain. The hike moved very slowly but we eventually made it to the top. The clue was helpful and helped in finding the cache quickly. Thanks for the hide!

Found it 03/25/2017 By Evgnhiker
Found

Found it 02/25/2017 By WanderingChickadee
Got this one on my climb up to Mount Morrison! Awesome climb! Thought this one would be a bit difficult to find because of all the snow in the area, but once I got near it I reread the clue and realized I was right on top of it! Cache is in good shape, If I can I will try to get up there for the solar eclipse this year!

TNLN - SL! TFTC!!!

Found it 10/30/2016 By Denali41
It was a neat hike up to the summit area of Mt. Morrison with icezebra11 and my puppy Orizaba. The concept of this cache really captivated me. You see, I've witnessed two Total Solar Eclipses in the past, and Denali50 and I will certainly drive north on I 25 next August 21st (if the sky is clear) from our home near Wellington, to be in the Total band of the eclipse that day--it's not too far north of us, in Wyoming.

My first Total was with Denali50 when we were birding in Borneo on October 24, 1995. Our birding plan that day took us to the entrance of a large cave, where we would go in and in the light of our headlamps see a species of swift that has an extremely limited range. The Total Eclipse was scheduled for our time to be at the cave. Of course we had no interest in going into a dark cave when a Total solar eclipse was scheduled--so we found comfortable sitting places near the entrance and watched the sky darken, and darken, and darken. Not only were we in line for a Total, we were also very close to the point on Earth where the total would be maximum! As the sky darkened, birds interrupted their mid-day activities and went to their night roosts! Then, thousands of bats came flying out of the large cave entrance! And as the eclipse waned, they began returning. Then we were surrounded by bird song, patterned after the normal DAWN chorus! It was quite an experience. As the sky lightened, we got up and went into the cave to find the swifts we had come for. It was an unparalleled experience we shared in Borneo.

My second Total was experienced in lower Central America on February 26, 1996. We were very close to the Total band, barely out of it, but for all practical purposes I was experiencing my second Total just 4 months after my first! Now, we will wait for August 21, 2017 for our third!

Thanks for a great cache on Mt. Morrison! BTW, we have a black cat named "Total Eclipse of the Moon"--not sun.