Greyrock Mountain (elevation 7,613 feet) in Larimer County has a highly distinctive profile from Interstate 25 and other eastern vantages. Its steep southern aspect shows dramatically in silhouette as seen from the east. Many admirers of this Ranked Peak do not realize that the mountain’s lines from other directions are also remarkable and highly distinctive. This “Profile Series” consists of nine Traditional caches placed on Ranked Peaks that surround Greyrock Mountain, as well as a Multi-staged cache and a “Mystery” cache. Views of this mountain from each cache location and from the stages of the Multi are captivating, and each provides a unique profile perspective of Greyrock. If you have as an objective finding all 11 caches in this series, you will eventually view this marvelous mountain from many angles as well as from close up. To attain these views (as well as the treasures of the log books in all of the cache containers!) you will have hiked dozens of miles, gained significant vertical elevation, and have reached some remote areas. A challenge confronting you will be discovering the most efficient approaches for accessing certain of these caches. Enjoy this particular profile cache, and consider finding all of the others! Appreciate your adventures as you “Profile” Greyrock Mountain!
This profile cache was hidden after the date of publication of the Profile Mystery Cache (GC2KW91). No codes required for the Mystery Cache are in this cache container.
POINT 6740, aka "MOUNT WEBSTER"
Drive to the Hewlett Gulch Trailhead parking area north of the bridge crossing the Poudre River, just west of Poudre Park. From parking, an excellent trail follows Gordon Creek, the perennial stream that flows down Hewlett Gulch. Several great geocaches are located at the TH and along this nice trail. To reach the South South Western profile cache, follow this trail north a short distance and then turn directly east off-trail and cross the creek. After your crossing, proceed east up the mountain that dominates the terrain before you, ascending fairly steep terrain to the approximate summit of Point 6740, a Ranked Peak shown on the USGS Poudre Park quadrangle and on the Trails Illustrated map for Cache La Poudre Big Thompson. The mountain has many cliff faces near its top, so carefully choose your route to avoid technical climbing. If you study your map and the terrain carefully and make appropriate choices, you can keep the entire climb to no more than Yosemite rating Class 2 in climbing difficulty. So carefully evaluate your route options.
You will need to ascend about 950 feet of terrain in less than 1/2 mile of horizontal distance, so you will need stamina/endurance to reach the cache vicinity. The route has many prickly pear cacti, so be careful. My puppy Teewinot is an expert at avoiding prickly pear spines, but on her two trips to this summit she has collected some in her paws! But those prickly experiences would not subdue her desire to get up there again! In fact, she truly enjoys this mountain because of the numbers of mule deer she has encountered on its slopes.
When you reach the top, first visit the summit of this peak. The summit location offers special views of Greyrock Mountain and certain of its neighbors. So find a soft rock to sit on as you review a great lineup of special places (and try to make out the general locations of a series of distant mountain-top caches). If the weather’s nice, spend some time at this wonderful view point, and profile it in your memory!
The cache location is easy to locate. It is placed well west of the true summit on the south side, in a cavity created by a distinctive, large flat rock that projects perpendicularly from a much larger series of vertical rocks. Rotate the flat rock to expose the space below it. Under the rock is a smaller rock. Lift it up and find your treasure. It's a small face cream jar that's wrapped in black tape. Be certain to close the lid tightly when you're done, and then carefully rotate the flat rock back into the position you found it in.
Be very careful going down to the parking location. Take your time. Most accidents happen during descents. A tumble here could make a pin cushion out of you, or worse! I use trekking poles to give me extra “legs” when I descend steep terrain of this nature. And have fun finding this cache!