GC610DM From Cemetery to Mountain Summit
Type: Multi | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 08/06/2015 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 35.216 W105° 06.721 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                   

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This multi-stage cache was inspired by A and W (GCIN68P) created by Clan Mroczko. Like A and W, the sequence begins in Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins, requires a trip to the public library, and then takes the cache seeker into the country to an area rich in Larimer County’s early settlement and ranching history. By the time you find the final container and sign the log, you should have learned some interesting facts about the lives of several individuals who contributed significantly to the county’s early ranching years in the Livermore area.

Stage 1. Go to the listed coordinates and find the grave marker for two individuals. The correct headstone is immediately to the right of a marker for “Hildegard”. At the correct grave marker, you will find 16 digits, all in a single line. Use the digit at the far left as the “1st digit” and the digit at the far right as the “16th digit”.

14th digit = A
3rd digit = B
10th digit = C
2nd digit = D
15th digit = E
4th digit = F

Stage 2. Now go to a different grave marker, at N 40 35.183 W 105 06.639. The correct grave is indicated by the marker immediately to the left of a headstone for “Berry”. At the correct grave marker note a 4-letter surname and two first names below this surname; the first name on the left has eight letters; the one on the right has nine letters. Order the 17 letters in these  first names from left to right.

8th letter = G
14th letter = H
15th letter = I
17th letter = J
1st letter = K
9th letter = L

The call number for the book you must find is:

ABC.DEF GHIJK L

Stage 3. Go find the book. You will then appreciate the special connection between the book’s story and the two stages you visited in the cemetery. The book’s an interesting historical account of three people who lived together in relatively sparse ranching quarters for 42 years. To truly appreciate this multi-cache, spend some time with the book and understand the relationships that developed amongst the three as well as their interactions with the broader Livermore-area community. You will actually visit the ranch as you proceed to the final cache stage!

To calculate the coordinates for this cache, consult the following pages in the book and determine the specified digit on each page. DO NOT USE DIGITS IN THE PAGE NUMBERS!!

Page 323, 3rd digit on the page = M
Page 252, 2nd digit on the page = N
Page 196, 3rd digit on the page = O
Page 218, 1st digit on the page = P
Page 128, 1st digit on the page = Q
Page 74, 1st digit on the page = V
Page 275, 1st digit on the page = W
Page 169, 4th digit on the page = X
Page 196, 4th digit on the page = Y
Page 168, 6th digit on the page = Z

The cache is located at:

N40 MN.OPQ W105 VW.XYZ

Final Stage. Now, take a drive into the country to the appropriate parking area along the Cherokee Park Road; the correct parking area should be clear, using Google Earth. Then take a hike, stopping by and exploring the old ranch buildings as you proceed to the cache location. Reaching the cache requires a moderately easy scramble up rocks to the top of a peak that provides great views of the ranch land and the remains of the old buildings. The cache is a small jar wrapped in black tape. It’s hidden in a large cavity formed by a large reddish boulder where it joins a large rock that leans on the boulder. As you sit at the cache location, put what you see around you into the context of what you learned in the book!

Enjoy this educational cache that informs you of interesting facets of Larimer County’s history! And enjoy your adventures in reaching the end-point of this cache. It’s likely that few cachers will have preceded you or will follow you to this special endpoint.

 Note: the cache is legally located in a State Wildlife Area that has seasonal access restrictions. The area is open to public uses (hiking, climbing, camping, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, geocache hunting, etc.) from May 2nd through August 31st each year. Between September 1st and May 1st each year, individuals entering the area are to be either hunting (deer, elk, rabbits, doves, dusky grouse) or fishing. So if you plan to find this cache during the period that’s restricted to hunting or fishing, be certain that you have an appropriate license and that you are also hunting or fishing. Hunting just for a geocache is probably not enough!

 

Additional Waypoints

01610DM - Stage 2
N 40° 35.183 W 105° 06.639
Second Stage Grave Marker

08/31/2015 By LasVegasBones
We picked a great day for our 6.5 mile hike into Rabbit Creek area. It was slightly overcast with threat of rain. We read the story of the three individuals before venturing into this area. I thought particularly interesting was the fact the lady schoolteacher was able to be a property owner. We were delighted as we explored the cabin, the root cellar, etc. We marveled that electricity was brought to this area in 1903. We munched on ice cold apples, cheese, energy bars, and water. After we hiked out we drove by The Livermore Hotel where these people lived out their lives. We enjoyed the history so much Denali. Thanks for the cache! The wildflowers were lovely. We encountered very little wildlife...a few rabbits and very few birds. We saw one other couple and their loose Boxer. This is one of my favorite of favorite caches!!

08/30/2015 By Clan Mroczko
Decided we had better get after this one, as the area will be closed soon. We did the initial research last weekend, and decided to head up this morning. It was a nice morning for a walk, but at the final cache site, our GPS was jumping all around, and it was more scrambling that we really wanted to do, as we have not been hiking nearly enough. We came back down and explored the ranch houses, and decided to call this one a journey, and not a destination. Once the area is closed, I think I will check the book out of the library and read the whole thing. It looked very interesting. Got some lovely photos, and had a nice time. Thanks for the history lesson.

Oh, and we also met a couple of hikers heading in that couldn't find the homestead, so we were able to send them down the right road. Heck, we took the wrong one first too!

08/29/2015 By icezebra11
Tomorrow is the last day to enter this area as a non-hunter/fisher so because I plan to hike to Horsetooth Rock tomorrow, I decided to get up to the Rabbit Creek area and make the hike to this cache. I arrived at the parking area just before 9 am. I made the easy scramble to the cache location and after signing the log, I went over and explored the old ranch house. I could picture in my mind Mr. in his chair reading a story to the little one. The bedspring of Mr. and maybe the Marm is still there. I also went over and looked at the ice house where the meat was hung. I took some photos, not with an Eastman Kodak camera of the folding bellows type, but with my smart phone. I bet the Mrs. would have enjoyed the cameras of today.

Thanks Denali41 for this extremely interesting (and scandalous?) history of the Livermore area!!!

08/21/2015 By Sam_I_AM
Found with Cache U. We have limited caching time these days, so we tend to do only caches that are especially interesting. This one certainly met the criteria! We had a short time today for caching, and probably no time thereafter until Sept 1, when this area closes down (unless you have a hunting or fishing license). We're still trying to figure out where you'd go to fish there.
We enjoyed the research which we did the day it came out, and the hike to the final checking out the Colorado scenery was nice. Wish it were a bit cooler, but we managed to keep ourselves and Mousse from overheating thanks to plenty of water. As always, we had a great time doing one of your caches!

08/21/2015 By Cache U
Sam_I_AM and I had about 4 hours today free, so decided to go after this one having figured out the coords and checking them with the CO. It was very hot and fortunately a bit windy, but the weather seemed to have kept all the wildlife at bay, since we didn't run into anything. Most of the hike is along a dirt road, with a short but steep off-road climb to the summit. The views were great, and spotted the old buildings easily from the top. Thanks for a very well done cache that taught us some local history and took us to an area we never would have gone to otherwise!