GC2B0CG Vorticity's Demise
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: smullis @ | Hide Date: 06/27/2010 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 38.075 W105° 02.914 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                   

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This cache is placed as a challenge to Vorticity, a fellow geocacher. The cache is located near the abandon Skaguay Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Beaver Creek Wilderness area of Colorado.

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Brief History
Construction of the Skaguay Dam and Power Plant began in 1899. The Skaguay dam is the first steel-reinformed, rock faced dam in the world. From the dam, 5 miles of 30" diameter pipe, made of wood and metal rings, ran to the power plant. It then dropped 1,165' through a metal pipe to produce the pressure needed to turn the turbines. Thru an architectural error, the piping was 100' too low on the hill, resulting in only enough pressure to turn three of the four turbines.

The Hike

The hike begins at the Skaguay Reservoir parking area. Follow the dirt road toward the dam. The road is gated, so you will need to go thru the designated breaks in the fence. Follow the dirt road for @ 2.25 miles. Just as you come to a gate, take the path to the right. Follow this path until the valley narrows and the tough stuff begins. Below are topo maps of the hike with waypoints denoting the location of creek crossings and boulder fields. There is also an waypoint for a large metal pipe that is visible on the right of the 'trail' @ 1/2 mile before you get to the Power Plant. The ridges on both sides are private property and the terrain can be dangerous, so use caution and avoid making the hike alone.

05/07/2016 By K Trackers
I won't detail my search lest my frustration with this cache ruin the narrative.

The hike in and out was fantastic. A definite "must-do" adventure for all who enjoy the outdoors. Since there hasn't been a geo-visitor in almost 2 years, I'll offer a few highlights on contemporary conditions for future cachers:

1. I did the hike alone and saw no issues with doing that provided you can exercise good judgment and come properly equipped.



2. Route marking from the Reservoir to the Plant ranges from good to poor, it is easy to find yourself on sub-optimal routes. Time has eroded some of the original markers Smullis placed, and non-caching hikers have set up new ones...not always marking the best route to the Plant. Vort's plotted crossings no longer 100% match with the contemporary markings on the ground. Despite having an inbound GPS track, there was a tricky section I couldn't figure out how to return; forcing another unplanned crossing to keep going. The bottom line is not whether you can make it, but doing your best to pick the route that makes the most efficient use of your time and energy. Plan on navigating, use all available information at your disposal, and be aware that you will not always have the luxury of a well marked trail.



3. For those trying to manage time, I would bypass the GC2ED2P Gun Shy cache. The western route south of it is sub-optimal without a clear crossing point back to the east, and you have to approach the Plant from the east side. I eventually dead-ended on the west side after attempting Gun Shy, back tracked and made my own crossing to get on the east bank. Starting slightly north of the Gun Shy cache is a very distinct trail on the east side that provides a super-highway straight to the final crossing point by the Plant. My recommendation is once you make the last west to east crossing north of Gun Shy, stay on the east side until you get to the Plant.



4. The shortest route to the Plant from the last crossing involves climbing a rock / trash strewn slope with a railing covered with mesh wire. The railing runs from a white, wood building to a large rock / sheer cliff. It is hard to see the mesh wire from the bottom, but (looking up at the Plant compound) it falls away to your left (by rock / sheer cliff) . Regardless of which part of the railing you aim for, you still have to crawl under or climb over...tougher if you have a bigger pack like me. However, if you bear to your right and go around the white building, the fence on that side is down. Easier slope, less rock, less trash and no fence, this the best entry point (see the Plant Approach pic).



5. As far as weather conditions for May, I had all four seasons in 2 days: super heat, overcast, rain, hail, and snow. Some portions of the trail were flooded, others still snow covered (prior to my arrival).



6. Although the plant and buildings have been trashed by decades of campers, there are still "Taj-Mal quality" accommodations available. I slept in one of the wooden buildings that had a nice, clean wooded floor. A first aid kit, clean pot and sleeping bag were graciously left behind by previous campers if you need them. The upper wooded building has 2 tents setup and ready to go. While a building provides protection from the wind, keep in mind that neglect continues to take its toll and not all of the buildings are safe.



7. If managing your time, there are numerous camping sites with fire pits all along the trail...the flat, open ground being more valuable than the fire pits. While the Plant is clearly the crown-jewel, you do have other options if circumstances require it. I found one spot that had a log tee-pee, another with a cached sleeping bag, and yet another that a horseshoe "pit" and metal horseshoes. I challenged myself to a game of horseshoes and won!

I hope something in here is useful to future cachers. Thanks to Smullis for placing a cache at this awesome place for all of us to enjoy.

08/16/2014 By colorado gypsies
Wow. What. A. Trip. I am so glad we camped. I don't think we would have made it in one day. It took us 6 hours just to get to the Power Plant. Of course we missed 2 stream crossings (see my log on Vort's Triumph) and ended up following trails made by morons and cachochists like us. Also with this wet summer, the water was quite high. But we made it down eventually and explored the plant and set up camp and cooked dinner (on a 1 match fire:-) before the rain. Then we went and found the cache just before dark. Unfortunately my cleaver decision to anchor the vestibule to the water bottle when a stake wouldn't work led to disaster during a mid-night bathroom break. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes after which I ascended to Vort's Triumph (GC2BX4A) with no water. :-/ By the time I got back,The Lady Gypsy had us all packed up and we headed back on seriously short water rations. After a while we ran into some non-imbeciles who filtered one bottle of water for us and that got us through to the reservoir where we begged more water from some kind fishermen. Whew, What a trip. TNLNSL TFTC Fav for the Experience and the scenery and the history

This entry was edited by colorado gypsies on Monday, 25 August 2014 at 02:27:46 UTC.

05/18/2013 By TANZ!!
Out caching today for a few targeted caches! Had a blast though I am extremely exhausted right now. The hike to the powerplant from Skaguay was NO JOKE. I am in decent hiking / endurance shape and my route ended up charting over 13.6 miles and an elevation gain of just over 4000'. 9 hours and 20 minutes later, I was back in the car needing a beer!

I about died when I scrambled up to the top of the old dump pile only to realize that more scrambling was going to be involved in order to get this beast! But... after making a wrong turn or two, I figured out where I needed to go and made the grab.

Cache was in perfect caching conditions! Thanks for placing and bringing me all the way out here!

A good link about the history of the power plant!

http://actionmatrix.com/Trails/SkaguayPowerPlant/html/Skaguary.htm

05/28/2012 By WingsAndTales
I remember hearing about this area as an interesting place to visit many years ago. It's not easy to get to but well worth the effort. It was great to have two excellent companions for an adventure like this. We were able to bike the first 2.5-3 miles and then set off on foot for the remaining 4 miles or so to the plant. The stream was much lower than normal and made the stream crossing less of a challenge than they would have been in a normal year. We still had to pick our spots carefully and occasionally give each other a hand. There was a little water in the cache so please make sure to put it back so the water will run off instead of into the container. TFTC

05/28/2012 By kenyansherpa
Thankfully this cache was not the demise of Vort nor of us. In fact it was an excellent adventure in many ways. Firstly, it got me to an area new to me with some fantastic companions. Secondly, what a wonderful area to explore and what an outstanding piece of history. And finally, it allowed us to do a triathlon today ( cycling, hiking and stream crossing )! Thanks for a great Smullis as well as for placing all the trail markers, they were much appreciated. Pictures to follow.