GC23DRC Vistas of Miller Fork
Type: Traditional | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: Denali41 @ | Hide Date: 12/16/2009 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N40° 29.895 W105° 27.384 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
           

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CONGRATULATIONS TO WESTERNER FOR FTF!!

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This is the second of three mountain caches that can be accessed by a hike up the magnificent Miller Fork after descending the Indian Trail from Bulwark Ridge. Catch “Swarm Over Miller Fork” (GC1DTW4) on your way to these coordinates. After finding “Swarm”, continue on-trail up the canyon of the Miller Fork and eventually switchback to the right and follow this infrequently used but well-defined trail upward to its connection with the other fork of the trail system–the Donner Pass Trail (on your return, consider taking this other trail down toward the south, so you can appreciate a fuller dimension of this marvelous area. [It links back in with the Miller Fork Trail about a mile downstream of the “Swarm” cache and the junctions of the Indian and Miller Fork Trails.]

From this junction, track north on a good trail toward Donner Pass, and you’ll reach “Vistas of Miller Fork” at a remarkable overlook of Miller Fork and Bulwark Ridge. Enjoy the views here, find the cache, and prepare yourself for the continued effort up to the pass and then on to the final cache of the three at Lookout Mountain ( “The Mummy and the Comanche from The Lookout”, GC23E3Z). Vistas of Miller Fork cache is hidden under rocks about 15 feet from the actual trail. You should have little difficulty in locating it; at the time the cache was hidden, the coordinates were averaged over 300 readings with an accuracy of under 10 feet. The container is a large, camoed Rx vial.

The round trip hike for all three caches will take most of your day, but it will be rewarding and memorable. Make certain that you've packed plenty of water and that you have food and extra clothing for unexpected changes in weather conditions.

Enjoy this series!

07/27/2018 By Denali41
As icezebra11 has explained in his found log, we made a scouting trip for his Leader-in-Training hike that included going near my three caches in this area. They are: "Swarmin" Over Miller Fork; Vistas of Miller Fork; and The Mummy and the Comanche from the Lookout. Each is remote, in a superb location, takes a significant effort to reach, and is generally quite "lonely". They were placed 9 to 10 years ago and have few finds to date. Of course I took the opportunity afforded by this hike to check on these caches. Because they had not been found for a long period I was concerned that one or more might be showing signs of age. That was not the case! Each, including this one, was in excellent condition, as if it had been placed only yesterday!

As a gauge of effort, the loop hike we took from the location where we parked involved 13 miles of hiking and more than 3,500 feet of cumulative elevation gain. We could have shortened the hike by not making a loop of it, but the saved distance would not have been substantial. So anticipate a long outing if you decide to reach all three caches on a single hike.

07/27/2018 By icezebra11
I am currently going through the process to become a trip leader for the Colorado Mountain Club and part of the training requirements is conducting a Leader-In-Training trip under the supervision of an experienced trip leader. Denali41 has been leading CMC trips for many years and he is the person that introduced me to the club. So it was a no-brainer decision for me that he would be the mentor leader for my trip. I decided Lookout Mountain would be the target for my LIT trip.

Today, Denali41, his puppies Zaba and Chimi, and I did a scouting trip of the route as we had heard reports of many fallen trees making the trails difficult to navigate. Fortunately what we learned today was that the trails had been cleared in the last year and they were in excellent condition. Just a little bit of deadfall navigation necessary on the last pitch up the summit trail.

We started hiking at 7:20 am and set a casual pace for the peak. After hiking for over two miles through the thick forest, we came to a bend in the trail and straight ahead was a rock formation. Standing on top of the formation the entire scene opened up. There were fantastic vistas of Miller Fork and beyond from this location, a great place for a cache!

The cache was a quick find and I signed the log. Then we sat and enjoyed the views before continuing toward the summit.

Thanks Steve for placing this wonderful backcountry cache that doesn't get enough visitors!!!

10/23/2017 By Path Pacer
Stopped for this one on our way to Donner Pass. It's been a long time since cachebuff cached, so I thought I'd help him out. Cache is in good shape; left a pathtag.

08/14/2014 By Libertarian Lad
Started at the Dunraven Glade TH, hiked over to Miller Fork and then up Miller to the Pauldy Sawmill cache and beyond, returned, took a "side trip" up to this cache which was a healthy sojourn. Anyhow, the view was spectacular and it was nice to get on some rocks after most of the day walking in the woods and along creeks. Did not have time to continue to Lookout Mtn. The cache should be re-classified as a micro. To me, a small cache has room to leave some things, which this does not. Thanks for putting it up here. Terrific trail. All day out hiking, not a soul seen.

01/08/2012 By Denali41
I led a Colorado Mountain Club group up to Lookout Mountain today from the Miller Fork TH. On our return, I stopped at the cache to check on it. The cache and log are in perfect condition.