Ammo box in a remote, rugged location. Approximate 7.5-mile round trip. Give yourself time and pack well.
This is the first cache in my "Caching Fire" series.
The Black Mountain Fire preceded most of the better-known fires of the horrific 2002 fire season in Colorado. This was the year that then-Governor Bill Owens famously proclaimed "today it looks like all of Colorado is on fire." He caught a lot of grief for the statement, but he wasn't far off the mark. I remember it well because my sister, who lives in Brook Forest, was evacuated for 2 days, living with my family as we anxiously scanned the southwestern skyline for signs of the fire moving closer to us.
The human-caused Black Mountain Fire started on May 5, 2002 and burned for 5 days. It caused the evacuation of 2,400 people in 1,700 homes in the Evergreen-Conifer area. Approximately 270 firefighters, from the Elk Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and crews from as far away as Virginia, fought the blaze. Equipment included 5 air tankers and 2 helicopters, dropping over 100,000 gallons of water and at least 22 drops of chemical retardant. It burned 345 acres and came within 3/4 mile of the nearest residence. But no structures were lost and no firefighters were seriously injured.
The weather was of little help, with a Red Flag day on the third day of the fire (Red Flag Days are those with the most dangerous combinations of high winds and low humidity). Probably one factor that helped: it was early enough in the fire season that there was less competition for personnel, equipment and other resources. It might have been different if it had happened one month later, when the monster Hayman Fire was raging, 20 miles to the south.
If you visit the cache site, you will be at furthest advance of the fire. The firefighters must have focused much of their effort on this knob, knowing that if the fire were to overtop the ridge, there was little in the way of natural barriers separating it from the neighborhoods along Brook Forest and Shadow Mountain Roads.
Park at the Cub Creek Trailhead off Brook Forest Road (one mile past the Brook Forest Inn, on the right). The cache is about a 3 3/4-mile hike from the trailhead, so give yourself 2 hours each way. There are about 8-10 caches along the way, and if you plan to look for those (and why wouldn't you?), start early and make a day of it. The trail is moderately strenuous, so pack plenty of water and trail bars. Turn left at the fork about 2 miles in (right is private property). The trail steepens at this point, but begins to level off when you get on top of the ridge (about 3 miles in). Leave the trail at the waypoint provided and hike a short distance through the forest to the top of the hill. The cache will be within 50 feet of where you come out of the trees, if you follow these instructions.
While you are at the cache, spend some time gazing out at 360-degree views. Also take a quiet moment or two, thinking about the courageous firefighters who battled the fire and stopped it at this spot. The Black Forest Fire is relatively unknown. Those guys busted their butts to make it so.
For more information, please click "related web page" link at the top of the page.
Additional Waypoints
P162MV5 - Parking/Cub Creek Trailhead
N 39° 34.099 W 105° 23.020
R162MV5 - leave trail
N 39° 33.458 W 105° 25.941
leave trail here a walk towards the highest trees
Caching Fire #1: Black Mountain Fire
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