Bear creek trail

08/24/2017 By budabeli
Caching my way from Grand Junction to Pagosa Springs on a warm overcast day.

Decided to take an extended driving break and hike the Bear Creek trail up to the Grizzly Bear mine (saw no bears today, which is good since there are very limited escape options). Found the replacement cache and rescued TB before the long winter set in... Tftc!

06/30/2017 By K Trackers
I picked this one up while in the local area during the end of the June transition month for what I called the "Freeze and Fry Run"...snivel cold at night and in the morning, sun beating hot in the afternoon. I had to go to Cortez, CO to pick up some old friends from New Jersey to act as their tour guide while enroute to DIA. Of course, I was trying to hike and pick up a few caches before they arrived. I decided to give this one a try because it looked fun, had a decent D/T rating, and was lonely. I had targeted this cache back in 2015, but I was recalled home early and did not have the opportunity to come after it. While planning this trip, I was surprised to see that there was still no activity on this cache. It is a shame that this cache has had only one find on it since 2011. I imagine the distance and previous DNFs served as a deterrent for most, but I still wanted to try. Prior to my departure, I talked to the CO about possibly making a field replacement; the CO has allot of remote caches so I figured he could use some help. After getting the green light, the hunt was on since no one wants to hike all of that way for a cache that might not even be there.

Once the trail leveled off while passing GC33G8T Its a Stumper, I was able to finally pick up the pace. At this point the trail really changed its character. Still narrow, the trail was anchored with steep cliffs on the left and the ever-present drop offs to the right. While negotiating this part of the trail, I was reminded of the "Promontory scene" from the 1992 film, Last of the Mohicans (the scene where Magua is killed)...although the trail in the movie was much wider and safer. The irony came when the music from that scene came up on my Ipod...fitting background music indeed!

Unlike the previous GC33G8T Its a Stumper, I had much better reception here. The GPS and the terrain agreed where I should be going; the hunt was on. I was surprised how far down I was able to go, the stream at the bottom seemed closer than the trail was. At GZ I began the search. I quickly discovered a spot that not only the GPS liked, but looked like a hide. In fact, I was so sure that this was the spot and for a second I thought I actually saw the container...but that was only wishful thinking. Expanding my search radius farther, I soon eliminated all of the other potential spots but still came up empty. This is a challenging spot to place a hide, this is a clear run off area and even a well secured container will face a tough struggle with nature. I eventually went back to the spot that screamed "here, here" and deployed the replacement container I had "just in case."Not only does this spot offer the best hiding spot, but the best protection against the elements. The new container is camo'ed pill bottle in a spot that I think was were the original hide was and will hopefully shelter it from the natural elements. Hopefully, cachers will come to this trail...it is too cool to be passed over. I dropped off a TB to help entice cachers here, hopefully we will not have to wait another five years for the next cacher. Besides the cool hike and fun hunt, it was an additional bonus that the cache was so lonely. I keep track of caches that are one year or more lonely for challenges. With this find, I now have (counting only 1 year or more lonely) a total of 92 years, 1 months lonely time on 49 caches from 11 North American States & Provinces.

Thanks to the CO for making this placement, bringing me to this cool spot, and providing a venue for another nice adventure. TFTC.

06/12/2015 By yogya
No chance! Is it still there. Last found was in 2011!

05/03/2012 By Pauleefox
DNF going up...DNF coming down.

09/05/2011 By sjclimber
Another new cache along the Bear Creek Nat Recreation trail. Makes this trek more entertaining for cachers. Took a minute to find, but not a hard find. Appreciate the hide, thanks..