GC7Y9KE Old Stock Barn (Potato Barn)
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Mueller State Park @ | Hide Date: 09/25/2018 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 55.148 W105° 09.881 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
               

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Located in Mueller State Park off the Cheesman Ranch Trail (trail 17) near the intersection with the Buffalo Rock Trail (trail 33), approximately 2.8 mi from the Grouse Mountain Trail Head.  The hide is just off the trail but not in or on any of the historic buildings.  The cache is a plastic ammo can.

 

The Old Stock Barn was used to shelter stock and the top level was used for storage for feed.  The barn was probably used to also store some of the potato crop, hence another name, “The Potato Barn”.

 

Another interesting historic site is less than a quarter mile from the potato barn.  The Cheesman Ranch area has several barns and corrals still standing and are worth a visit. 

 

Here are some notes from the pamphlet by Jeremy Agnew, “A Guide to Historic Sites in Mueller State Park,” available from the Visitors’ Center:

-For your safety, please do not enter historic buildings; they may be unsafe, and bats and rodents living in them may carry diseases.

- When around old buildings watch for nails, barbed wire, broken glass, and pieces of sharp metal that can cut you or tear your clothes.

- Do note collect any natural or man-made objects from historic sites; leave them for others to enjoy.  Collecting any artifacts in the park is illegal.

Day use fee or Colorado state park pass required.

 

Placed by permission of Mueller State Park; please be respectful of all surroundings. Stay on trails as much as possible, avoid creating social trails. 

All trails are open to hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.  The trail map available from the Mueller State Park web site shows which trails are open to biking and horseback riding.  The trails to this cache are all open for horseback

Pets are prohibited on all trails and in the backcountry.

Park only in parking lots or trail heads, not on the roadways or in front of gates or fire equipment.

Please stick to established trails. All the twists and turns of the trail system have been designed to get you safely through the terrain and to protect the wildlife habitat.

See the park brochure for additional park regulations.

 

Please sign the log in this container and trade small unscented items if you desire.
Enjoy the hike and the historic ranch buildings.
Original cache contents are log, pencil, small kids toys ect.

 

Geocaching Responsibly

A great rule of thumb is to leave any caching location in better condition than when you arrived. Observe posted signs, stay on designated trails, do not trespass onto private property, and even pick up any litter you find along the way.

Always make sure to observe safe hiking practices when geocaching, be mindful of your hiking experience and limits.  The most important thing is to get outside and safely have fun!

06/22/2019 By Drummerboi123
tftc

06/01/2019 By phkubats
6 pack family on the hunt - awesome cache!! Loved the story too:)

10/06/2018 By redriderz
Found with geowife visiting for our 24th anniversary. We started from the trailhead and went to the dynamite cabin first. Came around to this one and made the quick find. Then back to the trailhead. That was a long walk for these old bones. Picked up the traveler to move along. TFTCSL
Logged with GCDroid.

09/30/2018 By 3 Williams Kidz
Woo-HOO FTF !!! My mountain bike hasn't been getting much use lately, but with the Kidz spending the weekend with Mom, this was an ideal cache to go for on a blue sky Sunday. The campground was FULL, even on this, the last weekend of September. I parked at the trailhead and set out at 1022am. There is a little bit of uphill on Trail 17 until the intersection with Trail 34, and it is pretty much downhill from there, with very little uphill and some flat terrain. At the intersection where Trail 33 goes both straight and right, I went straight, thinking the cache was at the intersection of this (westernmost) Trail 33 and Trail 17, northwest of Cheesman Ranch. Nope -- at that intersection, I had a little under half a mile to go, to the east. No matter -- I am on the mountain bike. Some flat terrain from here, some uphill, and now I am glad that I made that minor mistake, as I got a good look at Cheesman Ranch on the way to GZ. Very nice ! Made it over to GZ and found the container quickly at 1049am (27 minutes after setting out). Easy to spot with no snow on the ground! Stamped the log, retrieved the FTF prize (THANKS!!!) and dropped off a new Lego Brick trackable of ours (TB8GXJX). If it stays here a while, no worries -- we own lots of trackables, and wanted to leave a nice one for the next finder, whenever that may be. Got back on the mountain bike and headed back to the trailhead parking lot by taking the eastern Trail 33 which is some flat terrain, but mostly uphill.
So, I made a clockwise loop on 33, and loved every minute of it (and did a good bit of huffing and puffing on some of the uphill parts, but we won't talk about that). Got back to the Jeep at 1137am, so total time for this one was 1 hour and 15 minutes, for Mr. Out-of-Shape here.
After starting out and getting onto Trail 34 and then 33 and 17, I didn't see a single person until I got back to within about 0.11 mile of the trailhead parking lot, which is where the intersection of Trail 34 and Trail 17 is.
TFTC -- geocaching at Mueller State Park is AWESOME !!!
A well deserved Favorite Point for this gorgeous Autumn bike ride !!!

09/27/2018 By Heartland Cacher
Published