Colorado Boy Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is located near the Colorado Boy Mine.
There is a great little ghost town called Ironton, between Ouray and Silverton. There are a surprising number of buildings still in great shape. Even more surprising is that Ironton is located adjacent to Hwy 550, but is relatively unknown (probably because you can't see it from the highway). To get there, take 550 south out of Ouray (over the Million Dollar Highway). About half way to the pass, you'll find a straight stretch of road with some large mile tailings on the east side. You can take any of about three dirt roads off the highway towards the tailings (one road even has a sign pointing to Ironton Park). Follow the road south as far as you can make it. A 4WD can go all the way to Ironton (about 0.7 miles). I stopped at about 0.5 miles in my SUV just because there was a pretty deep puddle across the road). Once you reach Ironton, enjoy the buildings and then proceed further up the road to the sign indicating the Colorado Boy mine. That trail is about 0.5 miles long and is an easy walk with just a slight elevation increase. Just before you get to the mine site, you'll find a meadow on your left. Go through there and across the gully before you start searching. Our GPS coverage was spotty, so you might want to read the hint below.
The cache is in a grey taped peanut jar with a blue lid.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ner lbh FGHZCRQ? Gur pnpur vf whfg bss gur navzny genvy (ornevat 210 qrterrf).