GCA942 Forget Me Not - WWII Crash Site
Type: Traditional | Size: Regular | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Team jasks @ | Hide Date: 11/16/2002 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 57.812 W104° 54.622 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 24
         

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Using trail 713 from within the AFA visit the WWII 1943 plane wreck.

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Some have heard about the plane wreck in the Springs that can be still examined, but few really know where it is. Now you can explore the crash site using a cache location as your guide.

Most maps have the location of trail 713. Follow the trail up the dirt road in West Monument Creek Canyon until you come to the huge ground level water tank on the left. Cross the footbridge and go around the tank to the left. Ford the tiny stream (bed), and ascend the ridge southeast. You may notice an intermittent trail, but don't worry about following it; just stay near the spine of the ridge, choosing a route that suites your preferences and skirting around rock outcroppings for safety. After about 1/2 mile, as you reach the second plateau, start looking ahead and down over the east side of the ridge; in the clearing, the trail of a wrecked aircraft will come into view, about 20 yards down. Be cautious in visiting it: the slope is slippery, and aluminum strew about has sharp edges.

History: The aircraft was a C-49J twin-engined transport, en route from Pueblo to Denver on 23rd Feb. 1943 in overcast weather. It crashed at 1205 MT, instantly killing the pilot and crewmen.

Total Hiking time ~3-6 hours depending..

Cache, is a theme cache, in an ammo can. Please add items that are patriotic in nature. Currently the cache contains AFA stuff, Flags, and other USA related items.

06/29/2019 By TopJumpmaster
Thanks for the hide. A challenging hike but worth it. With the Boy Scouts of Troop 79 on the Air Force Academy in our very own backyard.

06/29/2019 By arkeener
TFTC. Great place for a few if it weren’t raining on us he whole time.

10/21/2018 By pennytheclimber
TFTC more later

08/15/2018 By gampa&gamma
We needed 2 more D/T combinations to finish our Double Fizzy, and both caches were hidden on the slopes north of Blodgett Peak. So we started our hike up Blodgett Trail early this morning to beat the heat and afternoon thunderstorms. The trails were really washed out from recent rains and we lost the trail a couple of times, but we eventually reached the saddle and started our hike down to the caches. We stopped at our first target cache and then moved along to this one. Quick find using the hint provided. We signed the log and replaced the container as found. What awesome views from the top of the ridge! Thanks for the fun cache.

07/31/2018 By krazykatzen
On the approach, there was a helicopter flying around the ridge to the south and then the sound of muffled machine-gun fire from somewhere down below on the base. The sounds carried on for the hour I was in the area, which along with the burned forest gave a mood of war. I was hoping for a more peaceful spot, but it was very scenic. It looks like there is a cascade along monument creek below, so might have to make it on the base for some more exploration.

Took the US flag TB, but did not see the other travelbugs in the cache.

04/28/2018 By weizen
Stopped by today...almost 14 years to the day I originally found it. Fellow hiker wanted to see the crash site. All is well.

01/19/2018 By Back Country Horsemen
Made the BIG hike up here with J of KJKlock. I dropped a US flag TB which I thought would be appropriate.

12/18/2017 By PayMeCache
Catching up on my ridiculous amount of logs that have accumulated the last couple of months.

Wonderful day for a hike with KJKlock. Weather couldn’t have been better. Really enjoyed the scenery and history here. Favorite point earned for bringing me here and sharing this with me.

All is well here with the cache and log.

Found GCA942 - Forget Me Not - WWII Crash Site on December 18, 2017 using Cachly for iOS.

Some may call me seriously mentally ill. Some may state that I am in a state of mind that prevents social interaction. Some may say I am in a state of mind that prevents normal perception and or behavior. I prefer to say that I tend to do the same thing over and over again, but I expect different results. That being said, I believe we only live one life and I am trying to make the best of it. I thank you, jjasks for placing a fun geocache to fuel my "insanity" or addiction as I call it. I appreciate you bringing me here so that I can try and sign my alias on a piece of paper that you have hidden.

I look forward to finding more of your geocaches. I also look forward to potentially finding geocaches with you one day and sharing stories of our insanity... I mean hobby or addiction? Cheers!
Photo

08/16/2017 By hartsdale
After grabbing the new hide above here, I mozied down to see the crash site.

Been wanting to hike to this one for years and had a good reason to make the hike.

Nice to find an old original cache.

Thanks for the hide!

Now where did I park?

HD
Nice old log book..

08/13/2017 By RPieperCO
Set out on one hell of a hike today! I've been wanting to get up Blodgett for so long now! Kerewin0430 was happy to join me on this killer hike! The final destination for today's hike. I have to admit. While at the top of Blodgett Kerewin and I really contemplated whether or not we wanted to go WAY down there! I took a few moments to plot out a good course. Going down wasn't so bad, but knowing each step down was a required step up really had me second guessing our choice. Once at the GZ it was a fairly short search. Signed and stamped the log and replaced as found. All is well. We took some time to explore and examine all the wreckage pieces and we were amazed that this crash is so old! Looks like pieces from a new plane! We took a few moments in somber remembrance to honor the fallen men here. Very nice memorial. Hope someone is able to replace the flag. It's a bit tattered from the years being here. Great location and history. THIS is what caching is all about. Adding a favorite.

08/13/2017 By Kerewin0430
Set out for a hike with RPieperCO today - had no idea it would be this steep! Wow, what a good workout!! Geez! We went to the top of Blodgett and back down the other side to check out the plane wreck. We both drew blood along the way, but our efforts were rewarded with wild raspberries - SO MANY wild raspberries! Thanks for placing this special memorial cache. The flag could use replacing, as it it becoming quite tattered. (Any idea who to reach out to for this? USAFA in general?) This area is very treacherous...definitely earned the 4.5 T that I needed for my fizzy grid (thanks)!!

05/29/2017 By ColoradoSmith
Tftc!
Great sunny day for hiking up Blodgett
Hoping to find the wreckage, because what better way to spend Memorial Day than by honoring those who fought for America?
Thanks for an awesome cache to show where to find the wreckage
Earns a favorite point

08/21/2016 By mmariotti
Like many other logs, I always heard during my cadet days of a WWII crash somewhere out near Blodgett. This cache is well placed near the site. It was a perfect day for the hike and the site itself is quite solemn.

Mil access to the AFA makes it easier as you can hike in from Pine Dr/Falcon trail. We underestimated 713 and we got creative to exit the trail down to the foot bridge. The final 0.5 is rough, but we followed the spine of the ridge and ascended. I would add that the last 0.1 is in and out of the Waldo canyon burn scar which was interesting to see in and of itself. The descent was the most challenging part of the day.

Thank you again for this cache and the directions to the site. I left some cadet squadron paraphernalia. Didn't see any trackables...maybe next time. TFTC!
AFA from GZ

Tesla power plant from GZ