WIX Archives
B-17 wreck (and GPS coords) in Southern California
Posted by bdk on Wed Dec 12, 2001 06:59:32 PM
In reply top null posted by null on null
Day Six: Sunday September 12
Larry had taken Kristina to the airport for a return flight to Atlanta in the early morning, Bob Newsome had gone home to Salt Lake and Jim Denly had gone home last night with Marty and Chuck so it was just Dad and I checking out this morning.
We were underway around 0900 heading west on I-70. The climb out of Silverthorne took awhile and some of the I is definitely 4th gear territory (Vail Pass) but it's the only way to go west from there. We went via Glenwood Canyon (limit 50 and downhill) via Colo. 82 then County 117 to Ski Sunlight near Glenwood Springs.
We followed the paved road to Forest Rd 300 which goes up to an area called Haystack Gate, named for Haystack Mountain, which is the main feature of the valley just beyond.
I had GPS coordinates (precise ones) for a B-17 wreck there. This was a 1948 crash of a Air/Sea Rescue airplane that had run out of gas. All 5 aboard bailed out safely.
When we got to Haystack Gate, we followed the coordinates to a little dirt road. According to GPS, the wreck was ON this road. No airplane parts though. After studying the the hiking instructions, we realized that the coordinates were dead-flat wrong. Couldn't be here.
It also dawned on us that the trail markers had changed colors, and that we'd come in on a different road: we'd come from the South, not the North. With these insights, we found the hiking/snowmobile trail to the wreck using the written instructions.
We parked the truck, geared up for a short hike and walked the trail.
At the tree with the orange dot with purple circle around it we "turned left" off the trail into the woods. We got lucky and stumbled across the crash site. Like most WWII crash sites, it too had been "cleaned up" by use of dynamite. But all 4 engines were there as was a section of wing with fuel tank bladders left. I recorded the GPS coordinates of both the wreck and the orange dot with purple circle so I could write some better instructions for my web page.
We returned to the truck and then eased off to the side of a meadow to setup camp not far from several other small hunters camps.
It was another 2 bag night and dawn came very pleasantly since we had great eastern exposure for the morning sun.
Glenwood B-17 (For those interested)
Coords: 39 18 01.7 N 107 25 04.8 W
Trailhead appx 39 18 17.5 N 107 26 06.6 W
This is slightly back down the hill from the level meadow that I presume is the actual high point of Haystack Gate.
Turnpoint 39 17 52.5 N 107 25 14.9 W
Walk 029 degrees magnetic for 0.2 mi to wrecksite (all GPS info)