Something For Everyone: Top Rock

07/01/2015 By Pixel Magic
Thanks for another great cache with a good challenge. I noticed in reading the log of FOCOGEOCLAN that they planned their trip. Ooops. I probably should have planned my trip a little better. I used the reverse route and climbed up the back (west) side of this summit. It was reasonably challenging, and I made it without any danger. the route was steep and I needed to get around the summit to the north in order to avoid some serious rock climbing before reaching the summit. The views were great. I was keeping a close watch on the clouds because they opened up a little on my way up, but serious clouds were gathering. I kept up a steady pace to get off the summit before the weather moved in. Storm clouds in the south featured some rattling and rumbling, but far enough away to allow me to continue my trek. Thanks for this great cache and this super series.

PS: Contents are now dry.

06/14/2015 By FoCoGeoClan
Going into this cache I was worried that it would prove to difficult for me and my 12 year old son. We do have a few 4.5 terrain finds but I'm not sure any of them were as difficult as this cache seemed from below. The other thing was the mention of needing to get into a fissure made me nervous. Do I look like an Antarctic explorer? Regardless we made our way to the top and if at any point I did not feel comfortable we would abort the mission. Getting to the top required a bit of planning but overall was not bad. The top itself was amazing. What a great spot to bring us! Today was clear so we had impressive views of the Mummies and Rawahs and everything inbetween. I located the fissure and almost immediately said NOPE!. Then I looked some more and decided it wasn't entirely unreasonable. There is a bit of a natural ladder to get in and out which helped change my mind.

Once in the fissure locating the cache was not a problem. I do sadly have to note that the contents of the cache are wet and moldy. I apologize but I did not clean it out b/c I didn't want to have to haul anything out of the fissure. The lid seemed to be on nice and tight when I found it; it may just not be water tight.

The most interesting thing to note about this cache was the log. Denali was not the only signature in it. On 5/15/15 it appears that several people visited the cache. Based on the writing they were younger people. Perhaps a group of scouts visited the site. Denali had put a mention in his log about his dog and I noticed one of the 5/15 logs specifically asked how Denali got his dog up here.

Thanks for placing this most excellent cache. It was a great adventure for me and my son and helped me face my irrational fear of fissures. I really do appreciate the effort you put into this cache!

05/19/2014 By Denali41
Denali50 and I arose this morning expecting our normal Monday morning activities–feed the pets and ourselves and then head in to Fort Collins for 2 hours of gym classes followed by delivering Meals on Wheels on our Monday route. We got all prepared, with gym bags and other things placed in the car. I had a few minutes to check e-mails before we needed to leave at 7:15 AM, and did so. Checking e-mails changed the day–not the six new caches that were published just north of Elkhorn Creek, but ONE specific one: the one having a 4.5 Difficulty/4.5 Terrain rating (Top Rock). For several years I’ve been attempting to complete the Fizzy Grid with only FTFs in each of the 81 grid cells. I’m down to six cells, and expect these six to require several more years to attain because the combinations are unusual, plus the caches need to be within reasonable distance from home base in order to chase the “first” on the find. When I saw the 4.5/4.5 combination, I immediately planned a different day than the one we had just about embarked on! It was suddenly a very “rare” day, indeed! As always, Denali50 was understanding as I transferred Egoscue mats and Meals on Wheels coolers from one vehicle to another for her, and got my day pack ready and my puppy Orizaba set up for several hours in the backcountry.

I drove to the Elkhorn Creek Trailhead and headed north with my puppy Orizaba until we were confronted with a raging creek. Following it downstream for about 1/3 mile brought us to a reasonably safe crossing which didn’t take us far from a straight-line track to the first of the six new Triggur caches. From that point on everything fell nicely into place, and we picked off the {FTF}s on each of these six beauties; I’m now down to “only” five cells needed for my FTF Fizzy Matrix. The day ranks “way up there”!

The large cache container at Top Rock had more than an inch of water in it, but the plastic zip locks had kept the important things dry. I drained the tube and air dried certain things before securing the top back on tightly.

Thanks, Triggur, for a very interesting, full experience. You’ve placed some challenging caches in this series. I was delighted with each placement, and the views from certain cache locations are stunning. And my puppy Orizaba was excited over the entire loop!

[I'm editing this on February 24, 2017--almost 3 years after finding this cache. I have made no further progress on my goal of getting FTFs in each of the Fizzy matrix cells! I still have five to go, despite watching carefully for opportunities. This is going to be a very, very long-term caching objective to get the final five!]

05/18/2014 By Alpine Reviewer
Published