08/31/2013 By kenyansherpa
Proud to be among the first finders in over 3 years along with Denali41 and icezebra11. Thanks to the CO for bringing us to this historical spot. Except for the crowd on top of Mt Elbert, most of which were celebrating with Vorticity on his accomplishment of summiting all 54 14ers, we saw no one on the Echo Canyon Trail and only a couple lower down on the Black Cloud Trail during our big loop. TFTH!!
icezebra11 and Denali41
08/31/2013 By icezebra11
Denali41, Kenyansherpa, and I left the Echo Creek Trailhead at 4 am and had a great hiking day! We ascended to this Golden Fleece Mine cache and then on to the summit to meet Vort and all of the fellow cachers that made the climb for the Mt Elbert Flash Mob event. Really liked the location of this cache - neat history! Thanks!
08/31/2013 By Denali41
Started at the Echo Canyon Trailhead with kenyansherpa and icezebra11 at 4 AM, heading to Mt. Elbert for the Flash Mob Event. In the dark, we failed to note the obscure spur trail that branches off the Echo Canyon Trail, and we mistakenly proceeded up the incorrect trail for perhaps as many as 0.75 mile before realizing the situation. After the backtrack and the re-climb of lost elevation we finally made it to the Golden Fleece Mine and took our first rest stop of the day--a short one while we looked for and found this delightfully-placed cache. It was fun reviewing the short listing of prior finders. It was also startling to note that we are the first finders in more than three years. A great 3-year "lonely" cache was held in our hands! Thanks, climbstuff, for a good one!!
After the Event at the summit of Elbert we descended via South Elbert and the Black Cloud Trail, making for a long day...
Oops, correcting the date!
This entry was edited by Denali41 on Sunday, 01 September 2013 at 22:05:02 UTC.
08/13/2010 By estes01
First stop on a route that took us from the Echo Canyon Trailhead through a never-ending hike to the highest cache in Colorado. The original estimation in our journey to capture 4 of the highest caches in Colorado was about 11 miles, with a 5,800 foot elevation gain. Somehow we managed to tack on an extra 2,000 feet of elevation – possibly because Ernie66 placed a new cache at the summit of an unnamed peak, appropriately called "66rand Central Elbert," and partly because of all those "little" ups and downs needed to cross major boulder fields. Grueling as it sometimes seemed, it was fun - and a huge accomplishment for me. Thank you for a reason to do this hike – it was worth it.
08/13/2010 By ernie66
Estes01 and I started at the Echo Canyon trailhead and followed the trail through its switchbacks until the mine was in sight. It's interesting to imagine what the area was like when the mine was still in operation. From here, we proceeded to complete the rest of the Tour de Elbert caches - a long but rewarding day. Thanks!
06/20/2010 By RDAD
It was a good hike on a nice day. I enjoyed exploring both the Last Chance Mine remains and the Golden Fleece Mine remains. I found the cache in perfect condition, signed the logsheet, and put it back in it's resting place. Thanks cirrus142!
10/01/2008 By Doppelboch
Went up the Echo Canyon trail to grab this cache, and then went on to get the Bull Hill and South Elbert caches. A long hike with lots of vertical... I met a few four-legged friends along the way -- they seemed to climb effortlessly while I sweated out the switchbacks. On the way back down, I cut the switchbacks by running down the scree and shaved quite a bit of distance and time off the return trip. TFTC!!
[This entry was edited by Doppelboch on Monday, February 09, 2009 at 5:43:01 PM.]
[This entry was edited by Doppelboch on Monday, February 09, 2009 at 5:43:54 PM.]
The aspens were in full color...
I made some friends along the way...
Jumping for joy when I found the cache...
06/21/2008 By Pinerypros
TFTC. My son and I had a great time hiking to this cache and enjoyed all of the scenery including 3 big horn sheep who crossed our path 3 times. The only bummer was that the creek rose so much during the day that we almost were not able to make it back across at the make shift bridge. Unfortunately my son had a tree branch fling off his brand new glasses into the creek and into oblivion. Had a great day none the less.
07/21/2007 By greengineer
Nice little hike to start out the day! It was fun to see all the mining remnants about the hillside, especially liked what appeared to be ventilation equipment at the Last Chance Mine on the way up. FTF
hehe, TFTC
07/21/2007 By Uberquandary
OK, I'll bite. You can talk me up the Echo Canyon trail. But schnockers, quel tour d'Elbert! It rained like the dickens the night before, and when we hiked up we were soaking wet when we met my dad and brother at the trail junction. Fortunately nylon and happy polyester wicking blends dry quickly and we were all better by the time we found this cache. We saw a ptarmigan on the way back down. Oh, and Greengineer actually found it first. He found most of them first because he hikes faster than I do.
Golden Fleece Mine
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