GC305YP The Twins of Owl Ridge--Western
Type: Traditional | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 07/12/2011 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 35.377 W106° 14.767 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0

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North Park is bisected by a long ridge feature that extends from Jackson County Road 27 in a northwest direction all the way to the Illinois River. This ridge line once extended continuously many more miles to the northwest, but its continuity is interrupted by the Illinois River’s cut through it. The northwest extension is called Peterson Ridge; Peterson Ridge runs to the North Platte River, ending a short distance southeast of Delaney Butte. Combined, the length of Owl and Peterson Ridges totals almost 20 miles. But the ridge feature is hardly noticed by traffic along Colorado State Highway 14, even though the highway passes over the western ridge extension. It’s gentle slopes tend to conceal the scale of this long, long ridge that divides North Park into southern and northern portions.

Owl Ridge supports two Ranked Peaks; one is near its western edge, just before the ridge drops into the Illinois River Valley. This high point is named Owl Ridge West, and has an elevation of 8,942 feet. The other is positioned at the ridge’s eastern end just as the ridge drops to Jackson County Road 27. This eastern high point is of course named Owl Ridge East. Its elevation is 9,182 feet.

The cache at Owl Ridge West is slightly west of the actual summit, on BLM land. The container is between the size of a “micro” and “small” cache. Be certain to bring a pencil or pen for your signing ceremony.

From the cache’s position, one has stunning views in all directions. You are “ringed” by high mountains from this location! So be certain to budget some time to sit and appreciate your surroundings: the high peaks of the Rawah Wilderness are to the east; the marvelous Never Summer Mountains extend south from them, into Rocky Mountain National Park. The mountains along the Continental Divide of the Rabbit Ears Range form the southern boundary of North Park, and are advantageously viewed from Owl Ridge West. And the majestic beauty of the Park Range mountains, including those of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, are in your face from this location; they form the western boundary of North Park and Jackson County.

Enjoy your time reaching the cache vicinity, finding the cache and signing its treasure, and drinking in the special scenery!

07/19/2018 By nerak2001
Made the hike to this one after returning from a backpacking trip. Made the search too hard because of not using my hands instead of a stick. The log was last signed 3 years ago. All is well with the container. Also discovered the nearby benchmarks. Thanks for the hide on a beautiful spot!

05/01/2015 By blueskiescindy
Found just after a moose sighting while hiking today....didn't have to hide she turned away at a trot

08/24/2013 By 2xblack
Denali's caches are always a treat, awesome views from GZ, TFTC

08/21/2013 By biosolid
Found this one on the second attempt. Saturday Mrs. Biosolid, Saylor the wonder dog and I had good intentions on finding this cache on International Geocaching Day (Happy International Geocaching Day, by the way), but got too late a start. Headed out from town and approached a two-track via CR 21 which passes through the Cohagen. Hiking up from our parking spot we got within a half mile of the site and figured we'd better scrub the mission as the sun was already behind the western horizon. Luckily the moon was near full and we were able to pick our way down the trail to the car hand-in-hand.

We returned this time with our4 bicycles and made good time up the two-track road almost to the top. From there it was an easy trek across the top of the ridge with miles of vistas in every direction. The ride back to the car was quick.

Thanks for the cache and the research done on this land feature.

09/29/2011 By RDAD
Of course we had to go up and find the cache on western Owl Ridge, and we did just before we very unexpectedly had to leave North Park. A very nice spot. Thanks!