Completed during the 1990s, the 292-mile long TransColorado pipeline moves natural gas from the gas fields of northeastern New Mexico, through nine western Colorado counties, to northeastern Colorado where it’s sent on to consumers in larger markets. After finding the cache you can continue up the road to see the pipeline cut and a better view of the valley.
You have two options in order to find the cache (or to double check). In both cases you will start at the highway and make a few stops and notes along the way to solve for the unknowns.
1. Cache coordinates are [log in and see below]. Turn off the Highway, US 1D0, at the Echo Basin access road near [TURN1 listed below]. Note E, the two digit County Road number here and AB, the speed limit in mph.
Continue on this road for approx 0.9 miles where you will turn off the paved road toward [TURN2]. Note the County Road name and the speed limit sign here as well (F is the ordinal rank of this County Road letter (A is 1, B is 2, etc), and CB mph). Also, for safety’s sake, read and heed the Caution sign regarding the narrow, winding road ahead.
2. The cache is at AB[D-C]° (true), and AB[C+E+F] ft from the brass cap at the listed coordinates. Values are the same as determined for option 1.
If you find the surveyor’s cap, you may notice the two ponderosas nearby with evidence of lightning strikes. A close look shows that both are reference trees for the cap location. Realize that surveyed section lines (and therefore property lines here) run True N/S. To be very near but off the National Forest, the cache is very near to this line. Which side should be apparent.
Some Clarification:
AB: A two digit number. A is the first digit, B is the second digit. 35
CB: Another two digit number. C is the first digit, B is the second digit and the same as before. 25
D: A one digit number. 6
E: This is a two digit number. 44
F: A two digit number. 12
D[E-F]: D next to the difference between E and F. 632
AB[D-C]: A and B together as on the sign (not multiplied) next to the difference between D and C. 354
AB[C+E+F]: A and B together as on the sign (not multiplied) times the sum of C, E and F. 364
Original contents: 2 TBs (Amphi the Frog, and Uncle G the Gorilla); 2 pocket puzzles; 2 blow-up balls; 1 shark squirt gun.
