GC8804 CO Midland "telegraph path" cache
Type: Virtual | Size: Not chosen | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Hyrup @ | Hide Date: 08/31/2002 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 15.288 W106° 29.248 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 3

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This cache is along an abandoned telegraph utility line that travels through a specific object at the coordinates posted above, relatively halfway between the the North West and South Esat entrances of Hagerman Tunnel. It served the Colorado Midland Rail company around the turn of the century. Ghost Towns and spectacular scenery suround you.

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This is what makes Geocaching so much fun. On the journey to this cache there are great historic landmarks that take you back to a different time. Abandoned ghost towns and tales of hard living are the bonus experiences you can find on this journey. The now abandoned Colorado Midland Railway brought Silver and Gold from Aspen around 1888 to Colorado Springs. Hagerman Tunnel is the highest point on this historic rout. Depending on your approach this can be either difficult or relatively easy. The Cache rests on the western side of the Continental Divide. Like the old days, you will need some courage, savvy, and fortitude to find this cache.

DIFFICULT: From the South East (Leadville side)the trail head on the Leadville side the hike is either 2 or 4 miles depending on whether you take the shortcuts or travel the old rail bed. From the tunnels entrance (GC6F70 Hagerman "High Line" GEOCACHE) you are .33 miles from the cache. This is the hard part: you will need to climb up and over the Continental Divide to the cache located on the other side of the Pass. Its a scramble / bushwhack up the slope to the Continental Divide but once over it is easy to find. A clever hiker by deductive reasoning should be able to find the cache via clue. This approach takes a little courage but it is not that hard. If you are not seasoned to the altitude or hiking then it is hard, very hard from this side.

EASIER: From Basalt you drive up the old rail bed directly to the Hagerman Tunnel North West Entrance. Literally from Basalt as in the Day of The Colorado Midland Rail, this is the rout. Albeit it goes from paved road to moderate 4wd but you will travel the same path as the old rail to the entrance of the abandoned tunnel. Do your homework to map this route out. Navigation is up to you and part of the challenge. Once at the West entrance the hike is short. There is an great view and it is but a short walk to the Continental Divide for more spectacular vistas. Over and Down the steep slope to the other side is the other entrance where you can log (GC6F70 Hagerman "High Line" GEOCACHE)my original reason for the trip. Be advised that logging both is a challenge.

TO VERIFY: Please answer and e-mail me what abandoned man made object rests closest to the coordinates posted above?
CAUTION: Do not enter the tunnels under any circumstances

09/23/2018 By EntropyEndeavor
Was looking for some caches as practice and for acclimatization, and this group looked perfect. Plan was to make my way to the tunnel and then see how I was feeling to decide whether to continue or not. Decided to go for the other virtual and starting at the tunnel seemed like a good place to do it. The climb up started a bit hard, but then got relatively easy along the part with lots of large rocks. Then however it got very hard being already three quarters of the way there trying to climb up the loose gravel with few rocks for hand and foot holds. Knowing from the bottom what it would be like to get up I would have had to decide not to do it. Became very easy to get around up there though so getting the traditional was no problem. Decided there was no way at all I was going down the way I came, so bushwhacked through the forest to make it to the road for a very easy hike but much longer hike down.

Coordinates just far enough off and terrain just difficult enough to move through that it was quite hard to pinpoint exactly what this cache was asking me to find. Had to read previous logs to get some clues. Very cool to be on top of the Continental Divide!

Nearby photo sphere: https://goo.gl/maps/9vvhRWM6U8K2

05/15/2018 By eldars

Photo

11/13/2016 By Killian33
I found this one with Nickgatt and my geohound, Cuervo. We drove over Hagerman Pass from Carbondale to Leadville. The weather was a bit chilly with some wind and flurries, but considering its the middle of November, we couldn't complain. Thanks for the challenging virtual.

11/13/2016 By nickgatt
@12:42:00 #26841 Yesterday, Killian33 and I decided that the weather was so mild that we should try for the Virtual at Hagerman. We drove from Denver to Carbondale last night and got an early start this morning. There was very little snow until we got to the top of Hagerman Pass. We found a few caches on the way and made it down to Leadville for lunch and a beer. TFTV

08/11/2016 By Jkparmfamily
Amazing area, Heading in from previewing power line climb, grabbed a few caches. thanks

07/03/2016 By TTO2
Took the new Rubicon to this location and had thought I was at the wrong location. I submitted what I thought was the right answer and was summarily denied and had to make a second trip to this beautiful area to take a second look and got it right. Thank you so much for maintaining this cache a such wonderful location.

09/30/2015 By estes01
As WingsAndTales said, we will never get tired of exploring all the beautiful places in Colorado. Just when I think I've seen a view that surely doesn't get any prettier than that, I find out I'm wrong. Thanks for the virtual - too bad they aren't allowed anymore as there are so many outstanding spots for a physical cache is not permitted.

09/30/2015 By WingsAndTales
This cache has been on my to do list for a long time. Estes01 and I thought about doing a 14er hike today but the weather wasn't good enough for that long of a hike. We drove to the top of Hagerman Pass and hiked to several caches from there. The aspens are about gone but there is still enough color in the tundra to make it a pretty hike. We found the wire near the ridge and followed it to GZ. Lots of great views both east and west of here. I don't think I'll ever get tired of exploring this state. Thanks for showing us a little more of the local history. TFTC
View near the cache

09/27/2015 By kenyansherpa
As Icezebra11 described in his log, we did a ridge walk to a traditional cache, then went down to the other nearby virtual, followed by an up and over to this one. Thanks to Hyrup for an interesting time. Will send the info needed for logging to the CO. TFTH!!
Hiking down to GZ from the ridge

09/27/2015 By icezebra11
Kenyansherpa and I met in Leadville this morning with the target being the caches near Hagerman Pass. We had a terrific day in the high country with clear skies, pleasant temps, and little wind. After parking his car at the USFS office, we headed up to the top of the pass in my pickup. The last 3 miles or so are rough but we made it ok.

This cache was our third of the day. After dropping down off the divide to visit the east entrance of the Hagerman tunnel for that virtual, we climbed back up to the divide and then descended west to this cache. We followed the wire down from the top and located the man-made object near GZ. This must have been one tough line to maintain back in the day! Thanks Hyrup for bringing us to see this interesting piece of history!!!
Kenyansherpa near the object

09/18/2014 By COpackrat
Had a nice hike to the East Portal, and then over the hill to this location. Email on its way - Thanks for the cache!