Second Creek

Congratulations! You’ve found a geocache that is one of a series from the Grand County Water Tour!

Turn off of US Highway 40 onto the dirt parking lot at the top of Berthoud Pass.

The traditional cache is located along the trail and is within viewing distance of the hut. Not handicap accessible.

DID YOU KNOW???

1. You are near Second Creek which is one of the highest elevation streams in the Rocky Mountains. You can tell this stream has had minimal human impact by its clear rocky stream bed. Second Creek is a tributary of the Fraser River. Once the creek reaches highway 40 however, traction sand from the road fills the space between the rocks where bugs live. Without these bugs trout cannot survive so they disappear as well.

2. Put your hands in the stream on your way down the mountain. Is the water cold or warm? You will find that this creek is clear and cold, making it the perfect habitat for trout, a cold-water fish. At the bottom of Berthoud Pass over half of the river is diverted through the Continental Divide via the Moffat Tunnel, one of thirty trans-mountain diversions in Colorado.

3. The plants that grow along Second Creek take care of the stream by acting as filters that stop sediments from getting into the creek and covering the rocks.

The above information was compiled from the following source: Westernriversinstitute.org/wpo.content/uploads/2012/12/USCID-Transmountain-Paper-.pdf

Thank you to the Grand Huts Association for allowing the placement of this cache!