One does not think of Crosier Mountain as being massive, but it is! It’s full dimensions encompass four separate “ranked peaks”. This Virtual requires some significant hiking to accomplish its requirements. Crosier has three primary trails plus an ancillary one, all sharing a steep, final, 0.5-mile spur trail to the true summit, a point that provides superb vistas of the high mountains within Rocky Mountain National Park and of the adjacent mid-elevation mountain peaks visible from Crosier. The main trails are the Glen Haven Trail (8.4 miles RT with an elevation gain of 2,500 feet); the Rainbow Trail (7.5 miles, 2675 feet of gain), and the Garden Gate Trail (9.9 mile, 3,250 feet of gain). The Sullivan Gulch Trail from Big Thompson Canyon connects relatively soon with the Garden Gate Trail, but provides an interesting alternative to hiking the complete Garden Gate route. All trail heads are well signed, as are the trail junctions. Hiking one or all of these trails with a geocaching perspective provides interesting physical, visual, and personal fulfillment adventures.
Crosier contains some superb geocaches, some dating from the early years of geocaching--with Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, a Traditional cache placed in 2001, having the longest tenure on the mountain. At the time of publication of this Virtual in February 2023, more than 30 caches are distributed over the mountain, many requiring significant effort to reach and some involving interesting navigational challenges. Soon after I began geocaching in 2005 I learned about these splendid caches and really appreciated the mapping and navigational lessons that were necessary in order to find certain of the caches. I have always remembered these lessons and have taught many geocachers some fundamentals in the use of GPS features and compass and mapping techniques, by leading and coaching a number of groups over Crosier’s mountain trails.
The caches providing the greatest navigational lessons are those hidden by Tahosa and Sons. Tahosa owns and maintains 16 caches on Crosier, and many cachers have delighted in the challenges of hiking to and finding them. In 2008 I published a Multi-cache that involves finding some of Tahosa’s caches on Crosier Mountain. It is GC1D17, The Celtic Cross—A Tribute to Tahosa on Crosier. Logging this Virtual does not require you to find any of these interesting caches, but I encourage you to look carefully at them and decide if you wish to include some of these navigational learning experiences as an adjunct to completing this Virtual.
To log this cache you will need to do some mountain hiking on a great trail system to collect the necessary information. After finishing, you should have a good sense of accomplishment and of having experienced a pleasant adventure on one of the great Crosier trails. Here are the requirements:
1) At the summit of Crosier Mountain (listed as the cache coordinates), locate the benchmark. Take a close-up photo of the benchmark along with some unique object also showing, and include the photo in your Found it log. Better yet, include a photo with you in it, that also depicts the summit benchmark.
2) To ensue you become familiar with the various “adventure” opportunities that beckon you on Crosier, visit three of the four trailheads listed under Additional Waypoints and take a photo of yourself or a unique object (GPSr, water bottle, day pack, etc.) with each sign. Include the three photos in your Found It log. These signs are all near or within a few hundred feet of the beginning of each trail. It is NOT necessary to hike these trails beyond the signs to satisfy this aspect of cache requirements.
3) Post a photo of yourself or a unique object at the trail junction sign where the spur trail to the summit forks from the main trail for the final ½ mile ascent to the summit and its benchmark.
The above logging requirements provide complete flexibility in choosing the trail you select for your hike to the summit of this interesting mountain. Your choice may be influenced by which, if any, of the 30 fascinating geocaches accessible from these trails you might want to find. Do careful homework to decide which of these caches are realistic for you to attempt.
Now, get out on Crosier Mountain and experience a fine hiking adventure! Geocaching on this mountain can be exciting and personally rewarding. This Virtual introduces you to the fun times you can have on this mountain, or will refresh the great experiences you have enjoyed here in the past! Be certain to inform another person of your planned route, and include extra clothing, food, water, and a first aid kit in your day pack. It’s best to explore the trails with a companion. Some of the caches that might interest you may be difficult or impossible to find when snow is on the ground.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.