This cache commemorates the Adobe Creek Fire of July 2018. It is placed just outside the burnt area. The cache container is a cylindrical canister about 1-qt. capacity.
The Adobe Fire was started by a lightning strike around July 1, 2018. On the 2nd, after smoke was reported in the area, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-16 satellite showed a hot spot in northeast Custer County, allowing the Pueblo Weather Forecast Office to provide the exact coordinates of what would become the Adobe Fire.
Federal fire crews, with some assistance from the Wet Mountain Fire Protection District in Westcliffe, responded on the 2nd. Volunteers from the Wetmore Volunteer Fire Department carried out pre-evacuation notifications in the Trinity Ranch, Adobe Creek, and TV Hills subdivisions to the east, although no evacuations were ever required.
By Friday the 6th the fire had grown to about 95 acres but was contained.
Three ways to reach the cache:
1. Motor vehicle. A high-clearance vehicle is essential due to rough spots and small washouts. From Colorado Highway 96 east of Westcliffe, turn north on County Road 271. After about 3.5 miles, continue right on CR 274. After about 3 miles, turn right (east) on Forest Service Road 336. This is a two-way, one-lane road with pull-outs. After about two miles, turn right on FSR 315 and take it to the parking area. These are bumpy, twisty roads.
2. ATV, Dirt Bike, or Horse. Proceed as above. If you have a trailer, you will find a parking area on FSR 274 just inside the national forest boundary where you can park your tow rig and ride from there.
3. Foot trail (arduous). From the town of Wetmore, at the junction of Colorado 67 and 96, drive about 2.2 miles south (uphill) to the Lewis Creek Trailhead access road, FSR 310. Turn west (toward mountains). The drive to the trailhead is short but bumpy. You will cross private property, then enter national forest. The trail itself is about 6 miles and gains 2,350 feet in elevation. The cache is near the top of the trail. Return the same way unless you have a car shuttle.
Additional Waypoints
018BWFW - Lewis Creek Lower Trailhead
N 38° 11.764 W 105° 06.590
Lewis Creek Trailhead for those who wish to walk up from the bottom (six miles).
P08BWFW - Lewis Creek Upper Trailhead
N 38° 12.154 W 105° 10.655
Large pull-out at upper end of Lewis Creek Trail for those who drive.
Adobe Creek Fire
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