Four More Caches

This past weekend, I hid 4 more caches. All of them are along the Platte River and three of them are in Waterton Canyon. These three plus one that I hid a week before make up a series devoted to Waterton Canyon side trails. These side trails are rarely visited by people who go into the canyon and they are really interesting places. One of them in particular is about 500 feet down one of these trails and the side trail ends up in a really neat mini canyon. I think cachers will find all of this series a lot of fun.

However, they all require a bit of a hike since you can't drive into Waterton Canyon at all. You have to hike or bike. The closest one requires a hike of about 1.75 miles one way and the farthest one requires a trek of about 4 miles one way. This would be easiset by bike and that is what I recommend.

The other cache was also hidden along the Platte but over in the Two Forks area. It is another cache in the Fallen Flag railroad series. The trail along the river is on an old railroad grade. The road up into Waterton Canyon is also on the old railroad grade but after a little over 6 miles, it reaches the Strontia Springs Dam. At the far end of the reservoir behind the dam, the old railroad grade continues and comes out where the Platte River branches into "two forks". It is at this location that you can park and walk the half mile or so to this new cache.

The railroad through the canyon was constructed in 1878. It eventually became part of the Colorado & Southern Railroad. The last train went through there in 1937 and the rails were probably taken up not long after that - probably that year.

There are some interesting railroad-related artifacts along the right of way and you can see them every 100 feet or so on the hillside along the old grade. There were two methods employed for the telegraph line that followed the railroad and you can see the remains of both along the way if you keep a sharp eye out. The more common method was typical wooden poles. Most of these along this grade were sawed off leaving pole stumps about 3 feet high.

The other method is more interesting and this method is in evidence along this route as well as in Waterton Canyon and just about anywhere else along this old railroad grade. You can see one or two vertical metal poles stuck in rock outcroppings fairly high above the grade. This cache is hidden behind a spot where there is only one of these metal poles.

Getting to this cache requires a bit of climbing but it's not that hard. The cache is hidden about 35 feet above the trail and about 25 feet behind one of these metal poles.

These caches are not likely to be snow friendly and they require some effort to get to. They are all meant to be memorable caches. None of them have been found yet - not even the closest one in Waterton. It will be interesting to see how long it takes. It might even be next spring!