GCQC9Q Cascade Flume Cache
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: PurgyMan @ | Hide Date: 08/20/2005 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 40.479 W107° 49.697 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 4
                   

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Fairly easy hike up a forest road to 9262 ft. altitude. You can get very close with a true 4-wheel drive.

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The Cascade Flume cache will take you on a quite easy 3/4 mile hike up Cascade Creek in the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado.

The first feature of the hike will be an open wooden flume that carries water from Cascade Creek to a series of lakes, ending with Electra Lake. This lake is the supply for the Tacoma hydroelectric power plant. The power plant puts its water directly into the Animas River, alongside the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge train route.

About 30 miles north of Durango, Colorado, on US Hwy. 550 is the Durango Mountain Resort, home to Purgatory Ski Area, and about 2 miles further north at a sharp curve is the access gate to Cascade Creek.

Drive west up the forest road past a few summer cabins and park on the left just before reaching a wooden bridge over the flume.

Hike up the forest road from the bridge (about 3/4 mile) to the end of the vehicle road. At the turn around area, go south toward the creek, and find the Cascade Flume cache under a broken off tree stump.

Take time to rest and picnic on the creek bank and enjoy the beautiful, rushing water. Lots of bugs and flies most of the year so be sure to take bug repellant.

Original items in the Tupperware container are logbook and pencils, 4 AA batteries, a digital pedometer, plastic kazoo, a small sewing machine doodad, and TB Conan’s Son (TBHZWA).

Conan’s Son is an original Ski Purgatory refrigerator magnet. He likes to travel the high country and is not afraid to get off the beaten path.

The original container has been replaced with a plastic container. The original cache must have been smashed and covered by a deadfall so the new cache has been relocated close by.

06/13/2019 By RockmanGQ
Found it on 6-12-19. The creek is currently raging. Not much in the cache except the logbook and pencils.

09/21/2017 By GrayFinders2
Drove to parking and took some time to view of the flume. Had some ground to cover, so didn't take time to walk up the road, particularly since we had uploaded only the outdated coords.

08/20/2017 By mrdsw
it would be a lot nicer and more responsible if you updated the cords on this cache instead of just in the logs.

08/14/2017 By PurgyMan
Original cache replaced and relocated due to a deadfall. Note new coordinates N37 40.477 W 107 49.707

07/15/2017 By Machined Parts
Five sets of eyes and still no luck. Beautiful hike really enjoyed the flume.

03/22/2017 By Tahoe Oldphartz
I’ve no idea how we happened to find that one, Purgy!

Several of us passengers on the train strolled off downstream to the bridge near the “Cascade Pavilion” where the train backed up to turn around on the T & we headed off thru the weeds & brush to avoid the crowd & got that major surprise, thought it was either a piece of garbage or part of a relic from the mining days, kicked a rock aside & found the 5x5 black box. AMAZING!

We’ve found about 1,900 so far, but NEVER so unexpectedly!

YES, it’s truly a beautiful place. Wish we’d known about the flume. Didn’t ‘til we just now read your description & saw the picture in the logs.

We’re used to geocaching taking us to wonderful places, but very seldom do the wonderful places take us to a geocache!

Thanks for your note; we’re glad that this IS the cache we logged!

--bob & lou

Tahoe Oldphartz

Hi TO – I can hardly believe you were doing such a cross country. More power to you. Isn't this beautiful country?
So glad you stumbled onto the cache. It is remote enough that I seldom get to check on it, and it doesn't get many smilies.
I have several caches at the Purgatory Ski Area north of Durango.
Have a great time visiting Durango, and have a safe trip the rest of the way.
PurgyMan

03/21/2017 By Tahoe Oldphartz
We're not sure that this is the cache we stumbled upon while walking cross-country from the Cascade turn-around on our Durango narrow-gauge RR trip. We had no GPS with us & had no thoughts of looking for a geocache but walked right over this black plastic container labeled "Cascade Cache" in white??!?

We signed the log & replaced 'twixt a couple rocks partially covered with another rock.

TNLN

GREAT & highly recommended train trip, btw!!

In town for Adam Swanson's Ragtime Festival at the Stater Hotel.

10/07/2016 By MTSD

We found this after a great deal of looking. The cache is about 60' west of the published coordinates. TFTC.

07/24/2016 By Biscuit53
Great summer day for caching with good friends. TFTC !

07/24/2016 By RV'er
Out caching with friends Biscuit53 and Molasses. Meet newbie, Utah.
XNSL TFTC July 24, 2016 9:43 AM
RV'er and Eagle Eyes
"Seeing the World ... One Cache at a Time!"

06/22/2016 By GotWine
Stomped around in the wet bushes for awhile, gave up after leaving a blood sample on the downed trees.