GCXVH7 Grandpa Jones' Cache
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: RIML @ | Hide Date: 08/12/2006 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 29.597 W105° 50.209 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 5
           

---

This cache is located at that top of a mountain valley above Long Draw reservoir. It is about a 1.25-mile hike from the trailhead, which is at N40 28.831, W105 49.359. The trail has marsh sections and fallen trees and you must cross the stream from the trail to get to the cache. The elevation of the cache is 10,390 ft. This cache is in memory of Wayne Loy Jones.

---

Grandpa Jones' Cache: This cache has been established in the memory of Wayne Loy Jones--husband, father, grandpa, great-grandpa and fly fisherman. This was one of his favorite spots to fly fish. Wayne started fly fishing as a young boy with his father in the mountains surrounding the San Luis Valley and went on to teach his children and grandchildren the love of the catch. About 20 years ago on one of his many fishing trips, he informed his two grandsons that this was the spot where he would like to have his ashes spread after he passed away. Wayne passed away in April 2006 when the snow pack was still high in this scenic location.

The location of the cache is a beautiful hillside overlooking a valley and stream that is the main source of water for Long Draw reservoir. The cache is about 1.25 miles from the trailhead. The trail crosses over a number of high mountain marshes and you can expect to get your feet a little wet on the way in. If you take the main trail in, you will need to cross the stream to get to the location, so don’t go in too early in the spring when the water is high. The area is most easily accessed from mid-July until the snow flies. The area is full of wild life, including deer, moose and bears, so use normal backcountry precautions.

The theme of this cache is fly-fishing and camping. You can experience the true joy of this site if you fly-fish your way up to the cache, just as Wayne would have done. The original contents of the cache include assorted flies, a leader straightener, a nipper, glow sticks, mini flashlight and a stuffed bear (Grandpa always “saw” bears we missed.) Please leave the pens and pencil and sharpener behind as they are for the logbooks. Enjoy the trip!

07/03/2016 By 13shell
This cache was in a beautiful area and it was quite the adventure to get to and from the cache, TFTC!

07/03/2016 By 5x144
Out exploring the area with family member geocachers. Beautiful area and awesome hike. TFTC

07/03/2016 By 2xblack
Out for a drive exploring the area and finding a few geocaches, awesome hike, cache in excellent shape still, was found by a hunter scouting last year, so we covered it a little more, TFTC!

07/02/2016 By Merganser
Fun location, TFTC!

07/29/2012 By two much fun
tftc sl beautiful spot traded beeners

08/05/2011 By Bike&Hike77
Nice wet walk to this one. Saw a few moose and signs of other animals. Liked the fly fishing theme and story with this cache. SL TNLN TFTC

08/03/2011 By beaglesrule
Found this one while camping in the area for a few days. Enjoyed a little fishing on the way out. Great location!!! TNLNSL. TFTC.

07/10/2010 By sassydil
I hadn't been up this valley before. We went out the Grand Ditch first, then I swapped to "mud" boots (ones that I didn't care if they got soaked or really dirty)

07/10/2010 By sepfind
This is a really nice trail, especially down below as it follows the creek. Yes it was wet and muddy but we had a good time finding the cache, thanks!

07/03/2010 By Denali41
This is my week for memorials--two days ago I hiked 12 miles (4,000 feet of elevation gain) to sit at the memorial site of my climbing partner, Carolyn Randall (Denali Queen). Her ashes are near Chasm View on the north side of Longs Peak. I sat there for an hour, feeling close to her. She had climbed hundreds of mountains with me around the world, and died 2 years ago while on her descent from the summit of the Matterhorn during a violent storm. So 2 days ago we had a chance to "visit". Today, I began my geocache finds with Reverse Double Huckleberry, a cache that had not previously been found. It turned out to be a memorial cache for a pet cat that had died soon before the cache was placed. It had a fitting memorial statement as a start to the cache log. The next cache my puppy Teewinot and I hiked into today was this one, with its marvelous writings made by family members as the preface to the log book. I read every one of the special tributes and thoughts. It's nice that all of you shared those feelings so openly and meaningfully.

We enjoyed the hike in a great deal. In the early 1970s I came all the way up the Neota Creek Valley several times during elk archery season. I have not been back into this lovely area again for about 38 years, until today. There is still much snow that's melting, making the boggy areas wetter than they would normally be in early July. And of course the mosquitoes were the dominant "wildlife", even though I saw several moose. Today this was truly mosquito domain! I signed the cache log book and we hiked out to the car with memories and memorials on my mind. Thank you.