GC594FY Near the Boundary--Comanche Peak Wilderness
Type: Mystery | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 07/18/2014 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 35.450 W105° 32.740 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
               

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This is a puzzle cache that is NOT located at the listed coordinates.  Review the information on this cache page, calculate the cache coordinates, and then take an easy hike to the hiding location.

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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

This is the 50th anniversary year of the enactment of The Wilderness Act, an especially noteworthy event!

The Comanche Peak Wilderness encompasses 66,791 acres and is located in the Canyon Lakes District of the Roosevelt National Forest. This wilderness was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1980, and is named for the prominent peak (12,709 feet in elevation) that lies along its southern border.  It shares the summit of Comanche Peak with Rocky Mountain National Park, so hikers who make their way to the top of Comanche get to “double dip” by straddling a peak that’s both in the park as well as in the wilderness area.  Despite the proximity of the wilderness to the national park, it receives relatively few visitors.  It also shares with the park a majestic beauty with sweeping panoramas of magnificent terrain. The Neota Wilderness Area approaches but does not actually align with  a portion of Comanche Peak Wilderness near its western boundary. Elevation ranges from approximately 8,000 feet to 12,702 feet.

More than 125 miles of trails exist in Comanche Peak Wilderness along 19 maintained trails. These provide a plethora of hiking and camping opportunities in spectacular visual settings. As summarized in The Colorado Mountain Club Pack Guide entitled “Comanche Peak Wilderness Area Hiking & Snowshoeing Guide” by Joe and Frederique Grim, destinations accessible by these trails include eight lakes, 16 named rivers and creeks, two named waterfalls, Comanche Peak and six other named peaks, and numerous unnamed but equally impressive mountain summits. Much of the wilderness lies above tree line, enhancing the superb viewsheds.  Photos, descriptions, maps, and information about the trails and hikes in this wilderness are available for free viewing at www.joeandfrede.com/comanche.htm.

The World War II B-17 Bomber Crash Sites within Comanche Peak Wilderness Area

My decision to publish this as a puzzle cache was stimulated in part by a multi-cache that Tahosa and Sons published many years ago [GCQ9MB--Disaster and Survival in the Rockies]. That cache has long been a favorite of mine; it's based on a 1944 crash of a B-17 Bomber near Crown Point.  The plane was on a night training mission from Rapid City, South Dakota.  The pilot and copilot had just 10 hours of flight training and the bomber’s inexperienced navigator mistook Laramie, WY for Fort Collins, CO, so the plane was 50 miles off-course.  The plane crashed at about 10,750 feet elevation near Crown Point, and the site, now accessible by a long hike, has become known as the “Crown Point B-17 Crash Site”.  Several crewmen were killed in the crash and some survived.  Their story is indeed a tragic, interesting one.

Eight months before the crash near Crown Point, another B-17 Bomber on a night training flight from Rapid City got off-course and crashed into the side of a different mountain, also within the present boundaries of Comanche Peak Wilderness at an elevation of approximately 10,500 feet.  All eight crew members were killed in this disaster, which is now referred to as the “Pingree Park B-17 Crash Site”.  This site is also accessible by a moderately difficult hike that includes a bit of bushwhacking.

The Geocache

This cache is hidden outside of, but near the boundary of Comanche Peak Wilderness Area.  It’s a small, heavy duty face creme jar wrapped in black duct tape that has been tucked into a crack between adjacent rocks and covered by a couple of small rocks to conceal and keep the container in place.  A fallen, horizontal charred log rests a few feet south west of the cache location. The coordinates of the cache can be accurately calculated from the following information. You will need to determine specific coordinates for both the Pingree Park B-17 Crash Site and the Crown Point B-17 Crash Site. The cache is located 8.365 km north of the Pingree Park B-17 Crash Site.  The Crown Point B-17 Crash Site is 8.334 km west of the cache.

After you have found the cache and signed its log, please carefully replace the container and cover it in the exact spot you found it. Enjoy your hike to the edge of this nice wilderness area! 

 

Additional Waypoints

08/12/2018 By ArkF
Thanks! Found this as the second of two Near the Boundary caches today. I had solved it a long time ago, but just never had quite enough energy when I was nearby before. Felt good today and made the relatively easy hike to GZ and found the cache very quickly (for once). Enjoyed the views a bit and headed back to the car. Nice day for a hike, but not too many other people out on the trails.

03/14/2015 By KingJR
my my my! What a special treat today. I had worked on this long time ago and entered it into my gps... but I made a fatal mistake on my entry! Something didn't feel right when I hit ground zero, no view, didn't make sense. Description was wrong. Granted it was a viable hiding spot so I checked it over for about 15 minutes until I pulled the plug. I fixed my mistake and walla!! What an amazing cache! Picked up the coin and will move it along shortly.

This entry was edited by KingJR on Sunday, 26 April 2015 at 01:25:35 UTC.

08/24/2014 By icezebra11
I solved this one the day after it was published but it wasn't until today that I could make the trip west to find the final. I left my home in Loveland about 7 am and after stopping for gas and some coffee to wake up, headed up Poudre Canyon. Arrived at the point I started my hike at about 8:45. I decided to take the longer but less steep route. Got to GZ and my coordinates were right on as the container was right there. Signed in the STF position and dropped a nice coin from Nova Scotia that was retrieved on Fletcher Mountain. Thanks Denali41 for this puzzle cache with a twist!!!

08/09/2014 By FoCoGeoClan
I solved this cache earlier in the week in hopes of being FTF today. The calculations had some minor hiccups but I was able to eventually get the geochecker and my location to align. It should be noted that in our year plus of geocaching we have never had a FTF. This is partly b/c we don't care all that much in what order we sign the cache compared to others. We have had lots of fun experiences over the last year that didn't require us to rush out and a grab a cache the moment it was published. That being said... there was still a part of me that wanted a FTF. I knew my best shot was a mountain cache since they can often sit for a few weeks before someone ventures out. This one was even better b/c it was a puzzle and involved things I was familiar with. I make maps for a living and I am very familiar with the Comanche Peak Wilderness (at least compared to other nearby wilderness areas) and have been to one of the crash sites.

Today I had the coordinates loaded and knew where I needed to start out from. My sons and I hiked towards our destination and took in the beautiful views to the south and south west. It didn't take long to hike to GZ and we quickly found the cache. The moment of truth arrived... we opened the container, pulled out the log.... AND.... it was empty. This cache was indeed our first FTF!!! We left a Smokey the Bear coin returned the cache to it's home. Then we hiked a little ways into the wilderness. I actually got to talk to my boys about what a wilderness area is and why they are valuable. I know this isn't on every parents list of talks to have with their kids but to me it was important. Thanks for the cache and for another adventure with my children. Hope to do some more of your caches, especially in the hills, in the near future.

07/26/2014 By KingJR
this is on my radar for an upcoming backpacking trip to the area as we are going to visit the crown point B-17 with a scout troop! looks fun! I like the more complex caches!!