GC1G5FE Spencer Swanger...a true Legend
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Spivey @ | Hide Date: 07/23/2010 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 35.064 W105° 26.732 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
         

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This is a tribute cache... Spencer Swanger was the first person to climb the 100 highest peaks in the State of Colorado, and he completed this journey back in 1976. It is hard to imagine that he completed all of the so-called 14ers of Colorado, before most people, including myself, ever heard the phrase "14ers." What an honor it must of been to climb a mountain along in his footsteps, now we can only hope to honor his footsteps as we follow...rest in peace Mr. Swanger.

This cache was placed near the summit of Mount Lindsey ..now a little history about the mountain. It was originally called "Old Baldy" because of the pronounced absence of trees on much of the peak. It rises from such a low altitude that about half of it lies below timberline -- a situation unique to Colorado Fourteeners. For years, it remained one of the least known of the Fourteeners until Malcolm Lindsey, for whom the mountain was eventually renamed, arrived on the scene.

Malcolm Lindsey was born in Pennsylvania in 1880, but grew up in Trinidad, Colorado, about 55 miles southeast of Old Baldy. Lindsey joined the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) in 1922 and became the driving force behind junior activities in the Club. Over the next 20 years, he led many groups of teenagers to the summit of Old Baldy. He was President of the CMC from 1943-1946. He died on November 12, 1951. Old Baldy was Malcolm Lindsey's favorite mountain, and it is doubtful that any other person has climbed it as many times or has known it as well. He had a deep love for the mountain and considered it a special, sacred place.

In remembrance of Malcolm Lindsey's many years of service to the CMC, the Club's members submitted a proposal to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to change the name of the peak from Old Baldy to "Mount Lindsey." On July 30, 1953, this name change was approved. Formal dedication ceremonies were held on July 4, 1954, with 64 climbers reaching the summit that day in commemoration of Malcolm Lindsey. In May 1955, a memorial marker was placed at the southern foot of the peak in a roadside park off State Highway 160, 3 miles east of Fort Garland. Unfortunately, this marker was stolen within the next month and was never recovered.

*(Reference to the history of Mt. Lindsey, this is compliments via www.14ers.com )

08/31/2018 By COpackrat
Well, that was fun... I've been up here and the nearby 13ers in the past, and remember the climb as being much worse. It goes better with the trail; in the past there was a long section of high angle dirt that was a lot less fun. It was a nice day to be out, in spite of a few sprinkles on the way up, and the views, as always, were wonderful. Thanks for the cache.

09/06/2013 By oldkingog
My friend and I ascended and descended the Northwest Ridge to the Lindsey summit and to find this fun cache. We took about 10 minutes--well hidden! It was a fun, adventurous day with perfect weather. Thanks for maintaining this cache!

07/27/2013 By WingsAndTales
I'm the last one from our group to log this cache because I'm having a hard time coming up with the right words. This mountain has been on our minds for a long time and for me it came at just the right time. I felt like I had enough experience to take it on but it was still challenging enough to stretch my abilities. It's always best to tackle things like this with a sensible, capable group and my hiking partners are the best. It's a privilege to hike with estes01, kenyansherpa and ernie66.

Every 14er I have done has been different and spectacular in its own way. I'll remember this one for the challenging terrain and the views on top. We could see Spanish Peaks, the peaks near Blanca and way to the north Crestone Needle and its neighbors.

07/27/2013 By estes01
This 14er was a bit of a challenge for me as there were so many areas in the chute and final climb where the wrong step or a loose rock could result in severe injuries or worse. But my 3 steadfast and sure-footed hiking partners got me through it. It also helped to have kenyansherpa in our group. It's difficult to wimp out around a person who has just returned from successfully summiting Mt. Everest! You've got to believe he knows what he's doing. Everest or Lindsey, his advice is the same - just deal with the terrain you're on – don't worry about what's up ahead – the focus is on the next step. WingsAndTales and ernie66 were like mountain goats the entire way up and down!

Lindsey is a magnificent mountain. Thank you for putting a cache on its summit and providing an opportunity for people like myself to push their limits.

07/27/2013 By kenyansherpa
What a spectacular day! Great partners in Wings and Tales, Ernie 66 and Estes 01; literally perfect weather; a beautiful approach and climb on great mountain and to top it off an educational cache! Thanks to my climbing partners and the CO for making this a memorable experience.

07/27/2013 By ernie66
Who can resist a cache above 14,000 feet? We've been planning and replanning for a couple of years now, and I've been working with frequent hiking partner estes01 on the details. When we found out that WingsAndTales and Kenyansherpa were also interested, we teamed up with them to attack this cache.

We left Colorado Springs at 3:30AM and were on the trail by 6:15. The loose gully was slow going but the whole group made it through that and on to the summit. The weather forecast hadn't been encouraging with thunderstorms and wind predicted, but none of that materialized and we were treated to perfect weather both ascending and descending. We saw elk, deer, bighorn sheep, marmots, and pikas as well as innumerable birds and butterflies enjoying the plentiful wildflowers. Breathtaking scenery all around. A true Colorado experience, thank you!