EAGLE 1
(Extreme Ascent of Grandeur's Left Edge)
This is the continuation of a series of 15 caches which follow the north ridge of Mt. Grandeur to the north summit. The hike begins with Ghost Road 1 for the first four caches, and continues with EAGLE 1 for the final 11. This ridge is a cache-hider's paradise, as you will see.
This is a difficult hike and in a seldom-visited area, requiring bush-whacking, steep slopes and very minor rock climbing. The good news is, you can descend via the well-established main west ridge trail, making an extremely nice loop hike. The "Ghost Road" caches will guide you to the start of the ascent, and the trail of "EAGLE" caches will get you to the north summit and then onto the return trail.
You can view the entire approach and ascent route in the photo, with the Ghost Road in the foreground above the Interstate, and the ridge beginning in the far red rock area and continuing against the skyline to the summit just above the snowy area. This hike was inspired, inadvertently, by Lockjaw, whose Deep Tracks - It's Alive! cache led me on an extremely circuitous route featuring this ridge.
I am resetting the terrain rating (from Ghost Road) for this first cache down to 2.5 and incrementing it along the series to 4.5 for the summit and full loop. Be sure to bring gloves, long pants and plenty of water. I ended up eating snow after finishing off two bottles.
If doing the entire loop isn't in the cards, feel free to grab just the first EAGLE cache or so after finishing Ghost Road. There are incredible views from even the lower caches on the ascent.
Beginning elevation at the end of the Ghost Road: 4,915 feet
Elevation at EAGLE 1: 5,140 feet
Total gain to the summit: 2,945 (but well over 3,000 from the parking lot)
Next up: EAGLE 2.