North Fork North Elk Creek Box

08/30/2015 By Wulff Pack
What an adventure, where do I start? 2,000 elevation, 12.5 miles and about 7 hours all together. My goal was to do this cache, mop up a few others on the Cub Creek trail, hide a cache of my own in the burn area, and possibly hike through to Staunton, where I thought a friend was going to be until 4:30.

Got on the trail at 1130 (late, as always), stopped by mt cache on the Cub Creek Trail (Evergreen Basin: LSA#7) about 1:15, then the fun began. I had never been past the "clear cut" (Stransky Ranch) as it is known, before. The trail is a modest incline up to a high point at 10,100 feet. I had Putty's great log as my guide. Found the cairn and descended the slope, finding this interesting trail marker (see photos) my dog really liked. Found the flag markers and played "follow the flags" for next mile or so. Found road, creek, hill, rocks, cache. The I looked around, because I thought (from Putty's log) that I was going to have passed the burn area, but never saw it. From the hilltop, I finally had a glimpse of the burn area. I had hiked right past it, never knowing that I was within 200-300 feet of the burn area, because the forest was so dense. So I decided to back the way I came and bagged the hike-through to Staunton, which was just as well, because freind left Staunton area early, I later found out.

This was a wonderful cache for those who are up for all-day adventure and challenge. I just place one up on the ridge to the north. Maybe with the additional cache, more cachers will commit to doing the North Elk Box. many thanks for placing this great cache!

07/14/2015 By Back Country Horsemen
I was pretty sure I knew how to get here as I have ridden this two track before from Cub Creek (checking out the future new trail). But today I rode from Staunton as I was finding the caches in the park too. I had ridden the far east trail to the mill then out here. I had to be careful crossing the meadow as there was lots of water running everywhere. I decided not to cross the creek with my horse as it got steep right away so I tied him up and UP I went. Glad it was a quick find as it was starting to sprinkle. A fav point for a cache I could ride my horse to.

06/29/2015 By Greasepot
Had a great hike today. Ended up with 12 miles and 1949 ft elevation gain. Thanks! I followed Putty's directions, and came in from Cub Creek. Lost the flagging going to the cache, but found the old road and the flagging on the way back. Cache in good shape and easy to find. Saw quite a few small deer, and smelled a few skunks. Had fun crossing the creek, and even found a little stepping stone. Only saw a few people on the trail today, and that was near the Cub Creek Trailhead. There was an empty beer bottle in the cache - not sure if that was supposed to be in it! I'm giving this a favorite point! This was too far for Daisy-dawg since she's acting more like a senior citizen, so she relaxed on the couch today while I went hiking.
GreasePot 12:19:00 PM%

07/22/2014 By CentennialPeaks
Nice hike with a last minute ascent to prove you are worthy! TFTC.

07/05/2014 By putty
FTF at 12:38 pm! I have been looking at this cache for awhile trying to figure out how to get there. So here are two options, each is about a 11-12 mile hike round trip (or through hike if you have a shuttle). We tried hiking in from the cub creek trailhead in Evergreen yesterday and was about a mile from the cache but turned around due to weather. You can get to the cache by hiking up the cub creek trail and taking the left at the private property fence and follow the trail to the saddle. You will reach a cairn at N 39 33.475 W 105 25.734. Go left (south) here at a faint trail. The trail will then be marked with many small orange and yellow flags (future trail to connect to Staunton State Park). The trail leads down to a large meadow with a two track old road. Take the road/trail to about 300-400 feet from the cache. Cross the meadow and small creek and then it is straight up to the cache. The other option for getting there is how we got there today (more scenic and more of a gradual elevation gain). We started at Staunton State Park (on horseback this time, tired from yesterday's hike). We went up the Staunton Ranch trail to Bugling Elk trail. You will come to a meadow and go straight on the two track instead of going on to the left to elk ponds. Take the two track to a gate which enters the national forest. This trail leads to the meadow described above. TFTC! Giving it a favorite point for the adventure, scenery, challenge, and quiet outdoor fun!