Forty four peaks in Colorado have “Sheep Mountain” as a portion of or all of their official name. This cache is located near the summit of one of these 44. This particular “Sheep Mountain” has the following characteristics, among others:
• It has an elevation of 8,450 feet
• It is accessible via the Round Mountain Trail off Big Thompson Canyon
• Convenient parking occurs at the parking area for the Round Mountain Trailhead in Viestenz-Smith Park. A restroom is located at the parking area
• Reaching the summit requires an easy but long hike on a well-maintained trail. The final 0.1 mile from the summit cairn to the cache is off-trail, on easy terrain
• The summit is forested, so the area right at the top of Sheep Mountain provides only restricted views–but overlooks a short distance south of the cairn give awesome perspectives of the high mountains surrounding Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park
• It holds the official designation of a “ranked peak”
• An official CMC summit register is located at the summit cairn
So........WHICH SHEEP IS THIS ONE?
If these attributes (and the cache!) interest you, develop your plans for the hike to reach this mountain’s top and then search for the cache at the listed coordinates and sign its log. Also, sign the summit register (this is NOT the cache). The cache is near, but not at the true summit. The cache is a Decon container. Locating it might take some time, so be persistent. Be certain to bring a pencil or pen with you for your log-signing ceremony. The cache does not contain a writing implement. If you forget to bring one, temporarily borrow the pen in the summit register, but return it to that steel cylinder.
You can expect a hike of about 10 miles round trip, almost all of it on an excellent, well-used trail. Approximately 3,000 feet of elevation gain is necessary to reach the cache vicinity.
Have fun on this hike, and enjoy this nice cache and the special view you have from the hide location!