Disaster and Survival in the Rockies

10/07/2015 By Back Country Horsemen
What a trip! We headed north to Jack's Gulch with our horses to camp, ride & hopefully find a few geocaches. I tried to research these two multi/field puzzle caches as much as I could because I knew there would probably be no cell service or 3 G in the area (there isn't). Fortunately we have ridden here before & I knew where the plaque was. But I went ahead & printed out the photo of the old informational sign, solved for the distance & bearing and projected a waypoint. Unfortunately I can only input degrees on my Garmin, no minutes, etc. so I was curious how far off the projected waypoint would be. We rode to the plaque to get the input for the final location & my point was 120' off the actual plaque location-not very good odds for finding the final container.
Since our goal for the day was to ride to the actual crash site since we had never been there we continued the 5 miles "up" the trail to 10,750'. It was an amazing place. We have never been to a plane crash site, let alone something so big from so long ago. We took many pictures and explored all the bits & pieces.
Back down the trail we rode headed for GZ. We tied the horses nearby and started searching. Unfortunately I had not printed the hint photos (remember, no 3G), but I happened to see what I thought would be a really good hiding spot & sure enough there it was! I was thrilled to spot it right away especially since my projection was still 80' away.

At the Crown Point B-17 crash site

B-17 top gun turret

06/01/2013 By icezebra11
Two and a half years since the last found log. A lot of cachers are really missing out. After bagging "n0wae's Lure" I headed over to this one. Jack's Gulch campground is open but Flowers Rd is not. First I went over to the kiosk to see if the information had been restored but it had not. The kiosk looks to be in good shape, it's just that it's blank - no info on it at all. So I used the alternate method from the web page which info I had brought with me, and headed out to find the plaque. It was a fair hike in. After finding the plaque and gathering the needed information I projected for the final location. Hiked some more to that spot and I did pretty good because my coords got me within about 10 feet. It didn't take too much searching before the container was found. This was an enjoyable cache and some real interesting history. The rescue effort must have been some ordeal. TNLN Thanks Tahosa!!
View 1

Can we put it back together with these

10/17/2012 By Tahosa and Sons
I've added a very cool and moving video to the cache. Enjoy

08/21/2010 By COpackrat
Thanks for updating this one so it can be found in spite of the destroyed sign - It's a good 'un. and TFTC!

11/02/2009 By Tahosa and Sons
Same place but different data is used to solve the final location of this cache. If sign gets repaired then we will have to go thru this again. Be safe up there and have fun.

10/28/2009 By Tahosa and Sons
Due to the fact that the sign has been vandalized. Angry

The numbers to solve the solution are in question. So please give me time to re-work this cache and come
up with a good scenario that will lead you to the cache.

It is also winter and hunting season so the searches up there are questionable at the most.
If you really have the urge and desire to look for this one during this hiatus, please contact Denali41 and maybe you can cajole him into going with you as a guide and mentor to find this cache.

Hope I can have it up before the winter breaks or the PTB's have other notions.

Thank you.

Tahosa

10/17/2009 By jmuser
We found it, but only by sheer luck. The previous two posts are correct. The sign that has the information needed to complete the puzzle and obtain the info to get to the plaque has been defaced and damaged. Many of the other signs in the area are torn up as well. We were able to complete the cache as we have been up in the area before and knew about the plaque. However, if one was brand new to the area and had no knowledge of where the plaque was, it would be a tough go. One might get lucky with a good map. Most of the information for the bearing is available on what is left of the sign, but the distance is hopeless.
This also fouls up another cache, Lair of the Sharpshooter (GCZ8HF), as you need the same information from the same sign to complete that cache as well.

Anyway, we were able to find it. We went to the plaque and projected the location of the cache. As a side note: Trees play hell with GPS accuracy. :-) We went to where we thought the cache was and looked. And looked, and looked. Not even Mrs BSHNA had any luck. I had just put on my day pack and had resigned myself to a DNF. Mrs BSHNA said that we should look over some of the hiding spots that we had already covered as we made our way out. We stopped next to a spot where we had looked previously. She asked me how well hidden these caches are and I replied that you needed to look carefully into the hiding spots, like that one there (as I point), as they are well inside where they can't easily be seen. She stoops down, looks in at a spot where she had walked by twice before, and says "Found it!!". We were on our way back with a DNF and Mrs BSHNA finds it! Sheesh! Cache is in good shape. Neat trinkets and goodies inside. We didn't have anything to trade though.
As mentioned above and in previous posts, the sign that has the info on it is messed up. Not sure if this can be fixed or worked around. You have to get to the plaque to find the cache.

TNLNSL TFTC!! :-) BSHNA

[This entry was edited by bshna on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 5:59:51 AM.]

07/17/2009 By Cacher Checks Only
The bottom portion of the sign is missing, so not all information is available. However, with a bit of deduction and the good fortune to find somebody finally who knew the whereabouts of the 2nd stage, I was able to head off for it. However, my car balked 2 1/2 miles from that point. Since I couldn't commit to the amount of time needed for the hike, I had to hold off until another time. With the information I did retrieve, I was able to research the tragedy a bit more. Glad to know that there is some sort of memorial plaque there.

07/02/2009 By doglover&pups
Hi

I've been wanting to find more of your caches and today seemed like a good day to do so. I drove up to the camp ground, parked my car and started off on my journey. I found the sign that has the information about disaster and survival, but unfortunately it is all tore up. I managed to find the date and how many were stranded. I even saw how many died even though I didn't need that piece of info. It was a very nice drive and I hadn't been up there before. I am hoping that the nice guy still in Colorado who is watching your caches will help me out. Thanks for the fun.

07/30/2008 By Tahosa and Sons
Ok its back online.