Golgatha

09/11/2018 By Denali41
I have a note from Geocaching.com that based on "recent activity" on this cache it might need my attention. The last actual log on the cache by a seeker was a Found it log. There is no reason to anticipate that the cache is missing. It's a very challenging one to find.

06/12/2018 By kittquest4
I looked for this one several years ago and came up with DNF. I may be going back up in early July. Does anyone have some tips? I searched for a long time the last time I was there.

09/21/2014 By kittquest4
Congrats icezebra11! That's great! Wish I had found it. The difficulty rating more appropriate now? It will be a long time before I can make it out again since I live in South Dakota.

09/21/2014 By icezebra11
The second loneliest cache in Colorado (according to lonelycache.com) has had its first new find in 7 years!!! I love the lonely caches and this one has been on my radar for some time now. I made one trip here in June 2013 and scored a big DNF. (See my log below.) So I've had a watch on this one since that day. When I saw the recent notes about the cache being transferred to Denali41 and his confirmation that it was still somewhere up there, it jumped up quite a few notches on the priority list. I figured the confirmation would spur more cachers to give it a go so I felt I had to get there soon. Today was that day.

I left my home in Loveland a little before 7, picked up a little breakfast on the go, and then headed up Poudre Canyon. When I entered the canyon there were signs that there was a running event this morning so I anticipated meeting runners on their way down the canyon. What I didn't anticipate was being stopped at Poudre Park and having to wait an hour for the runners to come through. Fortunately I had picked up the morning paper from the driveway as I was leaving and read it to pass the time. So after that delay I was back on my way.

Arrived at the trailhead parking area at about 9:30 am and headed up the trail. The first three miles is pretty easy going, gaining about 1100 feet. But starting at about mile 3, the last 1 1/4 miles was twice as steep and slow going, gaining about 1200 feet.

I made it to GZ at 11:40 am and began my new search, having a lot of confidence due to the recent verification. My GPSr put me in a spot that had a lot of vertical possibilities and the location for GZ today was no different than the first time I was here. I began re-searching many of the same places I had looked before. The first time I was here I spent a good 45 minutes to an hour looking for the container. Today I ended up expanding my search area some. About 10 minutes after I started looking, I picked up a rock and BAM, there it was! The long lonely Golgatha was found again!!! Talk about a rush of excitement. I took some pics including one of the first log book page with the FTF by greengineer and Uberquandary.

So yes, absolutely, this cache is still up there on X11167 and it's waiting for more visitors. It doesn't want to wait as long as this last time.

Thanks idkmn for placing this cache and thanks Denali41 for adopting it!

Pingree Park colors

Golgotha on the left

Golgatha through the trees

09/03/2014 By Denali41
Golgatha was transferred from idkmn to user Denali41

08/30/2014 By kittquest4
The difficulty is clearly not accurate then as I spent some time looking and DNF. Why make it so difficult after such a long hike? I was disappointed not to find it. Loved the hike.

08/30/2014 By Denali41
Golgatha is extremely difficult to find. It took Tahosa and me far more than an hour once we were at GZ, as I recall. When I was up there last month for a climb of Comanche Peak I checked on it, and it is in place and ready to be found by those who are willing to make the tough hike and are prepared for a very challenging and long search. Even recalling approximately where is was hidden, the cache took me a long time to locate on my recent search. The loneliness of a cache (in this case 7 years) has no relationship to a need to archive. In some cases neither do a couple of DNFs for caches that are very difficult to access, and very difficult to find. This is a great cache, and its there for people willing to expend the necessary effort.

08/30/2014 By estrek
Last found almost 7 years ago.

07/12/2013 By kittquest4
Looked for this cache on July 8, 2013.

I was on staff at Sky Ranch in 1989 and 1991 and was visiting from Sioux Falls, SD for a staff reunion.

I have been on this peak at least twice before but made the ascent from cirque meadow by bushwhacking. This was the first time that I had taken the Comanche Peak trail. The scenery is beautiful as you are able to look to the north and the south as you walk along the ridge toward the base of Golgatha.

There used to be three large wooden crosses on the peak but the forest service asked Sky Ranch to remove them from the peak a few years ago. You could see them easily with a good pair of binoculars or telescope from Sky Ranch.

My dad and I really enjoyed the hike from Sky Ranch up to Golgotha. We left Sky Ranch at 7:30 AM. We had a beautiful day with clouds that kept us cool. My dad stayed back as I did the last 300 vertical feet on my own. He is in his late 60s and did not feel confident on the boulder fields. The final ascent was fairly easy and the view was breathtaking. The winds were fairly high so I tightened my cap and pulled it down.

I got up and signed the register in the Nalgene bottle and had a snack. Then I spent 30 to 45 minutes looking for the cache. I thought for sure that I would find this cache! It is listed as a 1.5 difficulty and if this is true, I don't think it's there anymore.

Photo

06/22/2013 By icezebra11
It had been almost 5 years since this cache was found so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, it's still not found. Got to the trail head a little after 11am and headed out. The trail signs are in good condition and there is almost no chance to miss them. After taking the Comanche-Incomplete fork the trail is much less traveled but as the CO says, the cairns are very helpful. It's pretty easy to follow the trail until you get near the point where you leave the trail and you have to cross some boulder fields. The cairns become a little more difficult to discern but they're still there. I made it to GZ and spent quite a while searching for a small tupperware but no luck. It was supposed to be under a rock but there are hundreds of them near GZ. I have found many a pill bottle in the rocks so I figured since it's a 1.5 D I should be able to come up with it. I sat an ate a sandwich and then searched some more but still no luck. Decided to call it a DNF. I signed the summit register in the Nalgene bottle and headed back down. Quite a few people have signed the register so I'm guessing other cachers have tried for this over the last 4+ years but didn't post. I guess I'll put a watch on this one and wait to see if anyone finds it or it gets replaced. Maybe the CO will make another trip out here and check its status. Smile

Golgatha

Flowers along the trail

the cirque

09/24/2007 By jeiseleincolo
Found it on our way to Comanche Peak. TNLN.