GC1HZAB Stand 6 - The Flag
Type: Traditional | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Polaski @ | Hide Date: 11/08/2008 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N39° 25.694 W107° 55.942 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
           

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Climbed up the hill today to take down the flag for the winter. The weather was cold, the trail snowy, the air was clear and the views were breathless. For more information about this series of caches, go to www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/staffride/library_staff_ride10.html

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This cache is placed near the Number #6 Stand Marker. At stand #6, firefighters are ask to reflect on their own close calls, Safety and the hazards of fighting wildland fires.

This stand is also the location of the Stephen Furey Memorial drip torch. The three firefighters tried to take refuge in this "ditch" as the fire blew over them. In the end, Tony Czak and Scott Nelson got up and ran from this location. Only Stephen Furey and John Gibson standed and whethered the intense heat, smoke and flame. Stephen lived through the burn over, but succumbed to his injuries shortly after the flames subsided. John Gibson was flown from the mountain and taken to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junciton. The flagpole and memorial drip torch were put up during the summer of 1998.

To get to this cache, park at the bottom of the trailhead, sign in at the registry notebook and start up. Depending on the time of year, the trail can be slippery from loose shale or more slippery from mud, snow and ice. It was possible to ride a 4 wheeler up to the bottom of the last pitch, but not much further. The rest of the way is by riding your White Cadillacs. (White's Smokejumpers are the brand of boots worn by most wildland firefighers). In the summer, be sure and check for ticks, they love to hitch rides much like a travel bug.

If you run into a firefighter along the trail, be sure and thank them for the job they do :0)

09/07/2010 By gjhiker
A great view on a beautiful clear day! The Fall colors have started to show. We found the cache easily using A & J's coordinates. TNLN. SL. The flag is getting a little tattered. Thanks for an interesting series of caches.

06/26/2010 By SurfNut79
wow, what an awesome trail
itīs a hard way up, but it was a fun!
nice location and a new part of the "polaski"- history- lesson.
i saw two firefighterīs on the way. god bless their souls.

i didntīt found the cachebox, īcause i had no informations about the new coordinates.
so i searched the nearest area around the flag, looked under every bush - nothing!
i think a photo log is okay, upload 2 pictures with the "6" and me later this day.

that was my last hike in this area for this year, come back soon!
greetings from germany!

TFTC!!!!

06/19/2010 By HighCountryAdmin
N39° 25.694 W107° 55.942
Coordinates Changed From
N 39° 26.694 W 107° 55.942
Distance From Old: 6080.3 feet or 1853.3 meters.Updating coordinates per owners request.

HighCountryAdmin
Volunteer Geocache Reviewer

06/13/2010 By A & J - Adrift
As we approached Stand 6, the weather was getting worse and we started getting pelted with hail. We tried the same strategy that we had for Stand 5. We relied on the hint. But, too many places matched. After searching a while, we decided to go up to the Lookout and try again on the way down.

When we got back, we thought about the problem. We speculated that the coordinates listed for the cache were wrong in some sort of systemic way. We wrote down the current coordinates and compared them to those listed for the cache. We figured out what the problem was. We plugged in the revised coordinates and went straight to the cache. We think we'd looked here before. But, on the earlier attempt we were looking in a much larger haystack.

So, instead of the listed coordinates:

N 39° 26.694 W 107° 55.942

try at:

N 39° 25.694 W 107° 56.942

On the way back down, we performed a similar analysis at Stand 5. For it, instead of:

N 39° 26.851 W 107° 57.162

try at:

N 39° 25.851 W 107° 57.162

By, the time we reached the bottom, it was raining hard. The last of the hill was slick and we were getting muddy clay balls forming on our feet.

04/17/2010 By Polaski
Hiked up the mountain today and verified the coordinates to be accurate. The last part of the trail today was muddy and snow covered. Some of the drifts were up past my knees. The snow at the flag was up to the bottom of the drip torch, about 30". I've included a better description of the cache container in the hints for those that need it. Hike safely and always carry a couple of extra AA batteries, Polaski