Near the Boundary--Mt. Evans Wilderness, Abyss

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

Special protection for the Mount Evans area began in 1956 with the designation of the approximately 5,880-acre Abyss Lake Scenic Area under the precursor of the Wilderness Act, the "U-Regulations" of 1939. This was followed in 1980 by the creation of the Mount Evans Wilderness under the Colorado Wilderness Act. It now has a total of 74,401 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Arapaho National Forest and Pike National Forest in Colorado, and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. This wilderness is one of the smaller parcels set aside as wilderness in the Rocky Mountains. Albeit small, the wilderness area receives significant visitation and usage due to the Mt. Evans Scenic Byway which ascends a non-wilderness corridor into the center of the wilderness area. This byway, two 14,000 foot peaks (14,264-foot Mt. Evans and 14,060-foot Mt. Bierstadt), and the close proximity to Denver have contributed to very heavy use. For example, the other day as I drove over Guanella Pass, cars were parked bumper-to-bumper along both sides of the road for a distance of a mile before the parking lots for the Mt. Bierstadt Trailhead–people hiking up that 14er!

Despite the high likelihood of encountering other users, the area offers several unique features worthy of a visit including the presence of the two 14ers that attract thousands of hikers and climbers each year. Evidence of past glaciers can be seen in the steep granite cirques and glacial moraines surrounding the high peaks. The Wilderness contains small regions of arctic tundra, rare south of the Arctic Circle. Unlike typical Colorado alpine tundra, which is dry and brittle once the snow recedes, arctic tundra holds numerous small pools of water. Vegetation ranges from lower-elevation spruce-fir and lodgepole forests, through 2,000-year-old Bristlecone pines and Krummholtz near treeline, to delicate alpine vegetation reaching all the way to the highest peaks. Deer and elk inhabit the sub-alpine areas, and bighorn sheep and mountain goats are common above treeline. The wilderness contains 17 hiking trails involving 77 miles of trails. An additional 28 miles of trails that provide access to the wilderness are on adjacent forest service lands. One of the trails is the Abyss Trail, which is associated with this cache. It begins at the parking area for The Abyss and Burning Bear Trailheads and traverses all the way to beautiful Abyss Lake.

THE PUZZLE

The cache is NOT located at the listed coordinates. Solve the puzzle to determine the correct location. The puzzle involves features in the summit areas of both Fourteeners situated in the Mt. Evans Wilderness Area. It is not necessary to actually get to the tops of these mountains in order to find the cache. Near the summit of Mt. Evans is a benchmark that has a reference number ending in “31". The cache is located 5.634 Kilometers west of this specific benchmark. Near the summit of Mt. Bierstadt is a benchmark that has a reference designation ending in “29". This benchmark is 4.7653 miles north of the cache. Determine the coordinates for the cache and then take a hike. The trail you will follow is rocky and moderately steep, so be certain to have appropriate footwear. The cache is a small vial hidden in a nook under the southwest side of a solitary rock. A larger lone rock is about 8 feet to the east of the cache rock. Have fun.

Additional Waypoints

T07T5MW - Trailhead for Final
N 39° 30.661 W 105° 42.651
Parking for trailhead