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Difficulty:
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Size:
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A small plastic jug placed near the original Natural Fort Cache. Be sure to hide the cache well because the last cache here suffered a muggeled fate.
There are rattlesnakes in the area and like to sun themselves on the rocks and to cool off underneath them. Be careful where you put your hands!
*****IMPORTANT*****IMPORTANT*****IMPORTANT*****
B&D just informed me that ours is the third, not second, cache to placed in the area. B&D placed the original (GC1F05) in 2001 and, sadly, it was muggled in just two months. The second cache lasted all of 10 months, so PLEASE re-hide well! If this one goes missing, some of us may find that our paranoia is real! S&J, 06/21/05
Because the last cache placed here had been disturbed a couple of times before it went missing altogether, we have placed our cache slightly away from the fort. Beware of onlookers and re-hide well. It is an easy walk from the parking area and will afford you the opportunity to look around.
A beautiful sunset here is as good a find as the cache. Please enjoy and respect the area.
Expect typical local terrain of short grasses, prickly pear, rocks, and dust. Watch out for the snakes that like to hang out in the area. The fort begs to be explored so give yourself time and wear good shoes.
Between Wellington, CO on the south and Cheyenne, WY on the north, there is a natural fort made up of sandstone and granite, carved by wind and water. The fort was often used as shelter from the winds, as corrals, and as a cache site. It is best known for being used as a fort by the Blackfoot and Crow Indians during a bloody battle in 1833. Since then, it has suffered 175-ish years of erosion by weather, road building, souvenir hunters, and keg drinkers.
Until a couple of years ago the Fort was a rest area along I-25. I remember when the entrance to the Fort was far less than a developed off-ramp, just a driveway with a stop sign. The highway department has since closed its direct access from I-25 and relocated the informational sign to the big rest area a few miles south of the site. You can reach the fort by taking the dirt frontage road, accessible from nearby exits, both north and south of the area.
Although the story of the big battle is no longer displayed at the site, the history reads:
“The year 1833 was an unmercifully dry year. Buffalo were forced to follow the streams to their sources to get water. Indian tribes were forced from their usual places of abode to follow the buffalo to get meat.
“The Blackfoot tribe belonged west of Yellowstone Park and the Crow tribe east of it. The two tribes were deadly enemies.
“One day, a group of around 600 Crow hunters led by Jim Beckwourth, their mulatto war chief, surprised a group of around160 Blackfoot hunters and chased them into these rocks. A bloody battle ensued in which the Crows killed the Blackfeet one by one. ‘Old Jim’ modestly admitted he killed no more than 11 Blackfeet, an understatement for him.
“The carnage was bloody and horrible as the two tribes clashed with battleaxes, tomahawks and scalping knives. The terrified yells of the warriors and the combatants was appalling. Some of the Blackfeet fallen on the battlefield with broken limbs were ripped open with the battleaxes and lay writhing in agony in this bloody encounter.
“When the highway department made plans for Interstate 25 in 1967, Natural Fort was to be destroyed. But a citizen’s group got together and persuaded the highway builders to preserve this historic landmark.”
The original contents of the cache include a log book, geocaching note, beads, a silver charm, citronella oil, Siberian birchwood earrings, and other miscellaneous trade goods.
Have fun and happy hunting.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vg znl or orarngu lbh