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GC3NZ9H
Grateful Dead # 4 ~ Friend of The DevilType: Traditional | Size: Regular 
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| Terrain:  By: CO Rockhounds @ | Hide Date: 10/07/2012 | Status: Available Country: United States | State: Colorado Coordinates: N39° 15.654 W105° 06.182 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0 
A Friend of The Devil ~ This cache is dead-icated to Ranger Billy Ellis and his faithful 32 years of service, as of 8/2016, at Devil's Head Lookout Tower! The amazing story of Devil's Head Fire Lookout, the missing Topaz Mines and the 100 mile views are worth every step to the top. Updated Coordinates: N 39 15.654 W 105 06.174.**** Congrats to Hartsdale for FTF & Kdr303 for FTL **** The geocache is located at the old fort built by the Ellis kiddos during one of their many summers at the cabin. The Forest Service required the fort "structure" to be demolished since no permanent structures can be placed in the forest. You can imagine the disappointment this decision made. :( A special thank you to Mrs. Ellis for letting us know what a special place we had chosen for this cache. The following is from Trail Guide: Denver to Pikes Peak by Zoltan Malocsay (and is being reprinted in this listing with his full copyright permission) “Devil’s Head is the last forest fire lookout post in the Pike National Forest, but it’s major attraction is the view. On a clear day, you can spot landmarks for a hundred miles around. Denver and Cherry Creek Reservoir almost look close by. Long’s Peak stands in the distance to the north, and to the west you can see the Collegiate Peaks – Princeton, Yale, etc. – beyond Buena Vista. To the south you can see beyond Pikes Peak to the Sange de Cristo Range, west of Pueblo. For now at least, Devil’s Head still operates as a fire spotting lookout, but the other six like it have given way to more modern methods: radar, aircraft and the many radio and phone-linked personnel who populate the region. Fire prevention seems to be working. On average, people account for slightly less than half the forest fires in the Pike National Forest. Lightening causes the majority. (Colorado also ranks 2nd in lightening deaths, just behind Florida, so be careful.) The Forest Service needs to outfit Devil’s Head with modern lightening protection. Cost is not so much the problem as bureaucracy. You see, the Forest Service has to put such a job out for competitive bids, and because the spot is so remote, the bidders refuse to go up there unless they know they’ve got the job, and nobody gets the job if the bidders don’t go. We believe the solution lies with an individual benefactor who might sidestep the bureaucratic red tape by simply donating the job so the government funds aren’t involved. Know anybody with $20,000.00 for a good cause? “ This cache is located in the area below the Lookout Tower so that it can be found by those with a fear of heights or the if there is threat of lightening. It is a short hike off the main hiking trail. The Tower closes if there is any threat of a thunderstorm. Ranger Ellis, sits on a stool with glass insulators on all four feet. If you are brave enough to make it to the top of the Tower’s 143 stairs during the summer months, he will reward you with a card that makes you a member of the Honorable Order of Squirrels. Make sure you read Billy's lists of the people who have climbed to the tower over 200 times and all of the fires he has spotted from the Tower. This is a 2.8 mile round-trip hike that climbs almost 1000 feet so please be sure to pack plenty of water and wear good shoes. A tornado ripped through the area in July of 2015 and there was significant damage along the trail for the first leg of the hike. Please stay on the trail through the damaged areas!!! Vault toilets are located at the bottom of the trail and in the clearing before the Tower but there is NO WATER or trash facilities available at the top. Please do not put trash in the toilets!!!!! Ranger Ellis has to rake the vaults and this is a difficult task when trash and dog waste bags are thrown into the toilets. This is a family-orientated hiking area and there are always people walking the trail, including dogs on leashes and small kiddos. (Please remember to clean up after your pets!!!!) There are tables and benches at numerous intervals for resting. We also recommend taking the Zinn Trail , FS#615, while you are already here! It is a short hike through a glade, ending in a beautiful view of Pikes Peak. This is a 1 mile round-trip trail that brings you back to the cabin area. This is not to be missed! Devil's Head Recreation Area is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The two main campgrounds and the ranger’s cabin close at the end of the camping season. The trails and the Tower remain open to the public until the main gates to Rampart Range Road get closed due to snow. Devil’s Head has many ATV and motorcycle trails and remains busy into the winter months. Friend of the Devil ~ Grateful Dead I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds >Set out runnin but I take my time Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills Set out runnin but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine, I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there Set out runnin but I take my time Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night, Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee Set out runnin but I take my time, Lyrics By: Robert Hunter and Music By: Jerry Garcia & John Dawson *** 8/22/16 *** We have enabled the cache again due to the amazing help of WildKatCo.
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