**READ THIS DESCRIPTION IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS CACHE**
Vogel Canyon is a beautiful sandstone canyon spattered with pinon pine and shortgrass prairie. It was carved out by a tributary of the Purgatoire River and has three permanent springs located at the bottom of the canyon. This area offers some of the best hiking near La Junta with four short trails of easy to moderate difficulty. The sandstone walls of the canyon feature Native American rock art dating from the 1200s to the 1700s. A variety of wildlife inhabits this area including deer, antelope, cottontail rabbit, whip tail lizards, coyote and various birds. The best time to view wildlife is early in the morning or just before sunset.
The cache is located deep in Vogel Canyon near one of the springs. It is an ammo box containing a lot of great goodies. Remember, trade up trade even or don't trade at all. Let's keep these caches great for the next visitors please.
The last part of the trek to the cache involves a moderate amount of scrambling on loose rock, maneuvering over and around large boulders so please be careful with your footing as there NO cell service in this canyon and if you injure yourself you will have to find a way out or become BRUNCH FOR THE BUZZARDS. This is also a very desolate location and I rarely meet others when I'm down here so you really will be up a creek if you twist your ankle. Take your time as GPS bounces around near the canyon walls so your device may throw you off a bit. This is NOT a quick cache & dash. You will need to hike all the way into the canyon, do some moderate climbing, rock scrambling and then a decent amount of exploring for the cache as it is well hidden and NOT visible to the naked eye.
WARNING: the hint will be a spoiler.
LOCATION From La Junta, drive south on Highway 109 for 13 miles. The turnoff to the canyon is well marked on Highway 109. Turn right (west) on
County Road 802 for 1.5 miles. Turn left (south) on Forest Service
Road 505A (to Vogel Canyon) for 1.5 miles to the Vogel Canyon
parking lot.
• FEES
None
• FACILITIES
3 covered picnic tables with grills (charcoal fires allowed in
grills only/ NO FIRES DURING BURN BANS)
1 vault toilet
4 hiking trails
Camping is allowed in the parking area only. However, no
electricity, water or garbage containers are available.
Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails.
• ACCESSIBILITY
The Overlook is accessible to people with disabilities.
Be aware that temperatures can change quick, fast, and in a hurry
in this area. It is common for temps to reach over 100 degrees
during the summer months, so bring plenty of drinking water as none
is available on site. Also tred carefully and watch where you step,
prairie rattlers are commonly seen throughout this part of
Colorado. There are a few different trails that start out near the
parking area. You can head southeast from the bathrooms down into the canyon on more rough terrain, or head from the "Begin Your Journey" waypoint along a well maintained gravel path to the canyon overlook. From the canyon overlook waypoint, backtrack a little and you will see a trail leading down over the stepping rocks to join up to the trail that's come down from the restrooms. Please be cautious for snakes, cactus and other critters along your journey. Leave no trace and be respectful as this is a very historic and spiritual location.
***Please hide the cache EXACTLY as you found it***
Enjoy the peaceful hike and happy caching.