By The Internet   Wed, Jul 21, 2010

I really enjoy the inspiration of geocaching.  The beautiful locations, the creative hides, and the time being out on a small adventure.  I also really enjoy getting a glimpse of what experiences others are having while on similar pursuits.  Seeing different terrain in places far from my location, unique hiding techniques that I haven’t encountered yet, and (especially) the fun stories that accompany a trek bring a smile to my face.

I thought I would create a simple place that would be an easy combination of these elements.  My attempt at this is called cacheoftheday.com .  The concept is one hide is featured every day; no more, no less.  The cache is accompanied by a short story of the find and a few pictures to help narrate and share the experience.  No GC names will be listed (to keep from a ‘walk-thru’) and caches will be accepted from all over the world.

I hope you find this idea as interesting as I have and will share in the experience at www.cacheoftheday.com .

Thanks,  Andy

Tue, Feb 16, 2010

Dan White is the creator of the webcomic 'Geo Trackers'

Dan, tell us a bit about you.

Ok where to start? I'm Dan White, 22 from London, UK. I spent 3 years in NJ, USA getting a degree in Graphic Design. During those 3 years, I learned a lot that has helped me with my strip, like drawing, color theory and anatomy. (Even though I'm still not very good at it, lol) I came back to the UK about 2 years ago, and began looking for my dream job, Graphic Designer, unfortunately that hasn't come off yet, so I'll just stick with a job for now.

How did you find out about geocaching?

My uncle (Steve) got me into Geocaching late last year. He found it online and had a few days off work, and decided to take me with him. Our first adventure was up a very, very steep hill (I would say mountain, but I might be exaggerating), we made our way to the top and found our first cache. The other caches that day were less easy, up and down hill (mountains) all day. We both had a good time and since then we have been out quite a few times, not as much as we would like to, but we definitely have a lot of fun when we do.

One of the things I personally enjoy so much about geocaching is all of the opportunity it can afford people to be creative and to share that creativity with the community. How did you come to express yours through a webcomic?

While in the USA, I discovered webcomics and instantly loved them. I quickly become a regular reader of quite a few, PVP online, Sheldon, and of course Penny Arcade and a few others. Without really knowing what to do, I started my own called Larry & Gary and put it up on a free server. After a few weeks, I realized I needed to do some research and stopped Larry & Gary and began reading everything, watching all the videos and learning as much as I could about creating webcomics. When I came back to the UK, I still wanted to do a webcomic, I just didn't know what about. I didn't think I could carry Larry & Gary on for years like some of the pros have done. Then, while Geocaching on that steep hill, Steve said to me "You should do a strip about this!" 2 months later my first strip was up.

How well has your webcomic been received so far?

I posted on the Geocaching forum about it and to my surprise; a fair amount of people went and looked at the strip. We did have big problems with the free server because visitors were getting pop ups and the geocaching people complained about that. A few days later, Steve called me and said "I've got an early Christmas present for you...a new website!" This was great news, as it meant no more pop ups and no complaints. Since then the site has undergone a lot of changes, When we started I was only going to do one strip every two weeks, that quickly changed to one every week and a few weeks ago that changed again to two strips every week. I have also done a couple of story lines that have lasted a full week, most recently the Star Trek one.

I've really enjoyed the enthusiasm and humor you've shown in your strip. You've got some likeable characters and put them in situations many geocachers find themselves in.

How do you see your characters and your strip growing in the future? What are your dreams for them?

Well the 2 main characters are based on my uncle and me, so as long as we are having fun geocaching then there will be new strips. As for the future, I have big plans for the strip, such as expanding the site, a Geo Trackers cache in the real life geocaching world and possible a few new 'full time' characters too. My dream for the strip is for it someday to become as popular as some of the 'mainstream' webcomics out there, as for now, I am very happy with where it is for the short time it has been up, and would like to thank all the geocaching (and non-geocaching) people that have made that happen.    

Thanks Dan! We wish you a lot of success and a long future for "Geo Trackers'

Visit Geo Trackers at www.geotrackers.co.uk You can leave comments and tell Dan how much you like his strip. A little encouragement goes a long way!

Sat, Dec 12, 2009

Hopping along from cache to cache,
Dropping eggs as my sparkly stash,
Pop open the egg
and here’s what you seek
For you have discovered,
This coin to keep.

The Easter Geocoin Bunny

Hello, come on in! I'm glad you could stop by, I was just thinking back a few years on something I did that was fun and special. Would you like to hear about it? You would? Wait one moment and I'll put on some tea.

Ok, where was I? Oh yes, a very special time:

In the winter of 2006 while snuggled up in my den, I thought of the coming season and how few egg hunts were in hopping distance and I so wanted to make children happy everywhere. Contacting many cachers, I laid out my plan to them. I'd send them mystery Easter egg coins to hide in their areas

.

  One moment. Here we go. Yes, it does smell delicious, a special blend of clover and hops. Would you care for sugar? Cream? You're quite welcome.

  Now all of the geocachers eagerly accepted and Easter Geocoin Bunny coins were mailed out to each of them in February, each package contained four plastic eggs on a carpet of green grass, with each egg containing one of four kinds of egg geocoin (pink\green, blue\red, lavender\gold and a special edition: light blue\red). Over the next two months 300 glittery Easter egg geocoins were dropped into geocaches around the world.

   Oh do have a scone, I know this lovely bakery that make marvelous scones. I like to go there each Thursday afternoon. Yes, oh, sorry I'll get back on track.

Together with the eggs were Easter Bunny stickers for my helpers to help mark the logbooks of the caches the coins had been dropped into, I specifically wanted them placed in kid friendly caches for young ones to find. A forum thread was started when the first egg appeared in a geocache in South Carolina, found by a darling little girl, Bella, and soon more people found coins and told of the smiles it had brought. People drove 100's of miles to get to the dropped eggs, writing about their experiences of finding one in the forum thread. As the days passed I logged into the caches where the coins had been dropped, so I could look at the smiles on a map. Each coin was a gift to a lucky finder to keep.  Each finder was another smile for me. A few weren't logged or came up empty, but for the most part people had fun. There were many thanks and happy faces in the forum. Here, I've found a few, please take a look.

I took a few years off after that and tried some different work, like designing apps on facebook, (I still like hiding things.) But you never know, I just might be back this spring. It's sure been fun remembering about it.

Say, here's something a friend sent me that might interest you, think he can make it in hip hop?

Now Easter Bunny's been in the game, hiding eggs, that is his fame

Long before the first geocacher, fun to hunt, he was a master

Now he's found a brand new thing, filling caches in the spring

He finds them all with gps, to place an egg, as in a nest

For little girls and boys to find, theirs to keep, he doesn't mind

Twist it open little folk, find inside, the sparkly yolk

A geocoin the Bunny hid, he made you smile, I saw he did

And your smile is all he needs, as he hops off, through the weeds.

But you can thank him anyway! Let him know, it made your day!

It's kind of embarrassing, but it made me laugh too!

Oh, it is getting late I'm afraid, but I'm glad you could stop by this afternoon. Yes, my pleasure and please do come again!

 Hmmmmm hippity hoppity!

Easter's on its way!!

By Photo Submission   Sat, May 23, 2009

By Photo Submission   Sat, May 23, 2009

 In January I celebrated my 60th Birthday with my wife and Brother in Mazatlan, Mexico.  We were deep sea fishing on my birthday.  My brother and I found several caches, one on the way to the top of the lighthouse.  I have made this trip to the top several times.  On the way back down I said there should be a cache on the top of the El Faro.  So a couple of days later we made the hike back up.  The base is at sea level and the elevation on top is about 520 ft. above sea level.  So if you are ever in Mazatlan MX, find Minnesota loves Mazatlan.  (GC23R8E)

Have you ever been "on the hunt" and felt like you were being watched?
 I don't mean in the middle of muggleville, while you're "tieing your
shoes for the fourth time looking under the park bench for that blinky
cache.  Out in the woods, all by yourself, and that burning, someone's
out there feeling comes over you.  Jewell Park, in Bellevue, Nebraska
is one of those places where you ARE being watched nearly the entire
time you're searching for the numerous caches hidden therein.  Only
some of the eyes watching are animal.  Locals say the place is
haunted, but you shouldn't believe them...or should you?

Wed, Aug 25, 2010

Yesterday we planned on making our first cache trip to Lake Mead, but plans changed.  I looked up the weather before leaving and found out Lake Mead was a good 105+ degrees, which quickly turned us off.  Within 10 minutes I created a new route for Mount Charleston at Mary Jane Falls, loaded the coordinates onto the GPSr and we were off!

On the drive we passed by Fletcher Canyon Trail and soon hit Mary Jane Falls trailhead.  We got packed up, checked the coordinates and walked in the opposite direction of the trail, but to pick up a cache of course!  We walked down the gravel road to a spot of freshly cut trees.  The GPSr was pointing in the direction of the cut trees so we continued.  After a bit of hiking my Dad spotted the cache, as I walked right by it looking down at the GPSr.  The cache was a micro so I just signed the log and continued on.

After actually making it to the real beginning of the trail, we started the hike!  There were many muggles on the trail, because it is one of the highly hiked trails in Mount Charleston.  Once about 30 min passed we found the first cache which was a regular size, signed the log, took a quick video and continued on our way.

The entire trail seemed to increase in elevation ever so slightly with each step.  This made a “moderate” hike a bit more difficult.  Not much time passed until we were on the GZ of the next cache.  Apparently my GPSr was confused by the high trees again, because I wasted 15 minutes digging under a tree stump when the actual cache was just behind a few rocks under an adjacent tree.  This area was covered with other families who were taking a break in the shade, so we had to wait everyone out.  Once we were the only ones left, we grabbed the cache, signed it, and quickly put it back before anyone else arrived.

We continued on the trail and were already less than 525 feet from the next cache.  The description stated to “watch your footing” so I knew I’d have some climbing.  The clue also stated it was at eye level, so we figured it was hanging.  After some upward climbing in broken branches and leaves, I was directly on the coordinates but couldn’t see the cache.  My parents stayed where the coordinates said to, because it was too difficult for them to go any higher.  A good 10 feet upward, I walked into the cache, literally.  Cache was well hid and a successful find to add to my log!  Signed the log, and with some swift steps made it back on ground level.

From this point we had already snatched 4 out of 5 caches, without even making it to the Mary Jane Falls!  My book, which has worked amazingly so far, said that once we make it to the switchbacks to take the switchbacks and continue on.  However my GPSr was telling us to continue on away from the switchbacks for the last cache.  We decided we would do the switchbacks first and make it to the falls and then on the descent pick up the last cache.  We started the switchbacks not knowing what we got ourselves into.  A switchback is a series of levels used to get up a steep hill or mountain.  You walk in one direction, then at some point it turns upward and you walk in that direction, and then switch and so on.  We saw many families and hikers on this trail taking breaks because the incline was so steep.  You could literally miss one step and be sliding down the mountain, and it wouldn’t be fun. 

After an extremely intense hike constantly going up on the switchbacks, we finally caught a glimpse of the falls.  Due to the season and weather, the falls were not gushing water, but it was a better sight to see than another switchback!  The switchbacks alone took a good hour to hour and a half but it was worth it.  Once we made it to the base of the falls we enjoyed the view, ate some lunch, and relaxed.  Some families even went in the water, not quite sure how because the mist alone hitting us was freezing! 

From where we were sitting, I could see two people making their way to this big cave.  Of course I had to make my way over there and see what it was.  After lunch I put my backpack on and turned the walkie talkie on because my parents weren’t coming.  The cave seemed far away, but within a matter of minutes I was already there.  It was quite a view inside and out the cave.  After spending some time in the cave, I made it back to my parents, and then the descent began. 

The descent was somewhat worse than the ascent because once you got going it was difficult to stop, so you had to walk very slowly down the switchbacks.  We passed many, many families that had no idea how high the Falls actually were and didn’t seem too happy to say the least.  After a tiresome descent, we were finally back on the floor level of the trail.  We continued passed the switchbacks onto the fifth and final cache.  By this time of the day we all were tired but couldn’t leave knowing the last cache was less than .2 miles away.  The last stretch towards the final cache had an incline that was too great for my parents so I went on and found the cache myself and took it to my parents who “hid” themselves off the trail on a downed tree.  My Dad and I scrounged through the cache, signed the log, placed it back, and were officially done! 

We successfully found 5 out of 5 caches that were planned.  These 5 caches make my grand total 34!                       

Wed, Aug 25, 2010

The trip was only semi-successful to say the least.  It was our first time going to Mount Charleston to hike and look for caches, so we were all very excited.  The hike itself didn’t let us down one bit, it was the fact I had to log my first ever DNF, but to make matters worse, I had to log two DNF’s!  I’ll get to them later, but first I’ll begin with the hike itself.  We pulled up to Fletcher Canyon trail, and stepped out of the car to feel the dramatic change in weather.  For once it was actually “cool” outside compared to the constant 110 degree weather of Vegas.  We began the trail surrounded by pine trees and oak trees, which was all new scenery for us compared to the desert.  With the smell of the fresh air in our nostrils, we began the trek to hopefully find 5 caches. 

The first cache was found within approximately 45 minutes, but not without any difficulties.  This was my first time using my GPSr in a setting that had many tall trees so I wasn’t expecting such an issue.  After a short but useless hike through some thick trees, branches, and rocks, we finally found the first cache.  If I would have known, we could have stayed on the trail and simply walked right to the cache, but if it was that easy, it wouldn’t have been as much fun. 

The second cache on our trip of hopefully five was an important one to say the least.  The cache was a bit off the trail, but on our way to it, I spotted our first wildlife and snake for Mount Charleston!  There is a pipe that is extremely rusty and used to run from the top of the mountain to the bottom, and I’m guessing its use was for water transportation.  These days it is broken up and rusted out, which makes a perfect place for a good 3 foot long snake!  Before I could grab it or take a good photo of it, he squirmed his way back into the pipe.  If I or my parents hadn’t noticed him, we would have walked right on top of him, which would have been a bad situation to say the least.  After the snake incident, we found the cache merely 10 feet away from his spot, so I quickly signed the log, not wanting to meet any of his snake friends!

What was supposed to be the third cache in the line of five was quite some trouble.  We arrived directly on the coordinates and began searching.  The cache name had “log” in it, so we searched the nearest log.  After about 15 minutes of searching one log that seemed to be perfect, we searched the area.  My Mom and Dad needed a break, so they set up “camp” which was a blanket on the ground giving me more time to look.  Once 45 minutes passed and still no cache, I was getting impatient and really wanted the cache.  Pine needles covered the ground so I figured it might have been buried by Mother Nature, so using a stick I brushed away hundreds upon hundreds of needles hoping to see some Tupperware looking back at me beneath the mount of needles. 

With no log signed, we continued on to the fourth cache, and planned on looking again on the way out with a new perspective of the land and a fresh start.  We headed up the trail and walked for a good hour until the scenery began to change.  With help from a family taking a break near a small running stream, we were guided towards the canyon, still not knowing what to expect.  After some climbs over small hills, we were met with enormous walls of rock and were astounded.  We had never seen anything like that and couldn’t wait to get inside it.  Within minutes we were surrounded by 30-40 foot walls of rock.  Luckily for us, there was no rain that day because this would not have been a good place to get trapped in with running rain.  The climb through the canyon was treacherous, due to the rocks being very slippery from the constant pressure of water running over them in the winter and spring.  After some amazing views and pictures of being inside the canyon, we made it to where the waterfall would be if there was snow melting. 

It was very cool being inside of it, but the GPSr lost service extremely quickly.  This left us in quite a pickle, I remembered from the one cache’s page, it being behind a log.  Sure enough, my Dad points out to a log, and told me to check in it, and so I did.  Reached my hand in behind some oddly placed rocks, and there it was, cache number 3!  We had to quickly sign the log and place it back because a family full of young kids who were not Geocachers was on our tails.  Not thinking they could climb up the steep ledge to get where we were, we continued on into the canyon to where it ended.  Knowing from memory that there was another cache in this vicinity based on coordinates, I began scrounging around.  I saved the clues onto my phone, and the clue stated you would need to find a way to climb up the canyon wall, and so I did.  Not knowing I climbed into the completely wrong area. 

After looking for what seemed like hours in this small ravine barely big enough for my body, covered in dirt and dust I finally called it quits once I turned on a small light, and saw mounds of bat guano, also known simply as poop.  The sight of all those droppings turned me off on the cache and I jumped down as quickly as possible.  Once a bit of climbing and sliding down a ledge I was back on the ground with my parents where we regrouped and were met with the family of small children.  We still don’t know how they got up there, but we politely said hi and carried on our way out of the canyon.  Leaving the falls area, we found a “waterslide” that was made probably by the pressure of the water, so I attempted to “slide” down it when it was dry, which didn’t work out.  Either way we left the canyon disappointed yet again, hoping to go back to the spot of the other hidden cache and locate it to make up for the last cache. 

After some back-tracking, we made it to the original spot of the unfound cache which was supposed to be some “log.”  Again, my parents relaxed as I frantically hunted for the cache.  Hikers were constantly walking by us, but since we were somewhat quiet and out of sight, they never even knew we were there.  I dug up many, many logs, piles of needles, rocks, etc.  Luck was not on my side that day, I had to give up and log two DNF’s.

Besides the two caches that slipped by, the hike was great and we found a snake and 3 making the grand total 29!  Hopefully in the near future we can get back to this trail, because I have some payback to give for those 2 caches that I missed! 

Sun, Aug 22, 2010

Ammo Cans are Paradise (Cheeseburger in Paradise)

Got to amend my geocache habits

Gonna change the way that I play

Gaining smiles without stress, terrain 3 nothing less

Drinking out of water jugs and hiking all day

Cause at night I have these wonderful dreams

Some kind of cacher’s rare treat

Not a blinkie, micro mini or bison tank

But a fifty cal can that shuts with a clank!

Chorus:

Ammo cans are paradise

Before you hide, please take my advice

It is particular and quite precise

I say that Ammo cans are paradise

Heard about the newbie cacher men

They hide the same thing again and again

Pine tree ahead, its bison tube I dread

Well it defines to me the micro cache slump that I’m in

Times have changed for cachers these days

When I go out I sort what I need

No, not nanos or more nanos or bison tubes

But that military steel can is what I need

Chorus:

Ammo cans are paradise

I'll say it again, just take my advice

I'll be particular and quite precise

And say that Ammo cans are paradise

I make mine with plastic alligators,

A clean blank log and swag from the Raiders.

A big glassy marble and a Mc’D toy,

It’s all stuffed and ready to give finders joy. Yes an

Chorus:

Ammo can is paradise

Before you hide, just take my advice

I'll say it again and I won't be so nice

I say that Ammo cans are paradise

Yes them Ammo cans are paradise

Nothing but Ammo cans in paradise

Mon, Aug 16, 2010

Here's a link to my geocaching blog. I hope you enjoy it!

My Geocaching Log

Enjoy!

Sun, Aug 15, 2010

“With firm application and determination... I made a fossil of myself!” 

Court Jester (sort of)

July 16, 2010: Today we headed north to Dakota again! Making a nice, two-hour stop at Ashfall Fossil Beds first. Aside from the fact there was an earthcache there, I'd been eyeing this particular spot for several years, ever since I'd read a book called “A Short History of Nearly Everything”, by Bill Bryson. I'd wanted to get here for so long... and it didn't disappoint. It EXCEEDED! We even got to meet the palentologist (YOU try typing that after too much rum!) Mike Voorhies, who originally discovered the fossil beds. He is retired now, but still comes back a lot. They have built a huge barn over the area they are excavating, to protect it from the weather while they work – every year, there is a waiting list of student interns champing at the bit to come work here.

This place was awe-inspiring. We quickly got the answers for the earthcache, and took the required photo, but it was the other photos that really tell the story. We also got to talk with one of the students, who was working on uncovering a baby rhino. It was so nice of him to stop to talk to us, and he really knew a lot! We spent at least two hours at that site, despite the heat, and we could have stayed so much longer...

But... enough of that! Some photos. First of the geodad excavating... then of the intern doing it for real!

And inside the rhino barn... this was awaiting us.

Yes, that IS real. And just one of many!

“These are trained cachers, Larry. They won't stop until they hear a specific word.”

“Oh, you mean a word like... DAKOTA!”

Night at the Museum (sort of) 

July 17, 2010: Other earthcaches were calling, and the pull of South Dakota on the geodad was strong. We continued north, after camping at Niobrara State Park in Nebraska – chalk up another earthcache, and some great sunset pictures. This area of the river is getting very choked up with sand, which was part of the theme of the earthcache – even with all the flooding this year!

Coming up the way we did, we crossed into South Dakota on a fairly new bridge at Vermilion – the geodad liked that, we'd never been over that bridge before. It was a hot day, we sort of meandered around South Dakota according to where that little caching arrow led. And, much to my embarrassment... HE found the first two caches... but I was too vertically challenged for one of them. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I told him he had to be careful, or he'd lose his 'honorary cacher' status, and I'd make him start logging them online!

Took a few minutes to drive around the University of SD campus at Vermilion where his father had gone to college, before we headed for Yankton. And here's where I realized my error.... on a 100+ day, excluding all the park and grab micros from your pocket query – NOT smart. All the larger caches required longer hikes, and we dinna wanna hike! So... not much luck in Yankton. North again... to nab earthcaches – but first I did some sitting on the dock of the bay. And the geodad made a new friend.

“The *engine's* overheating, and so am *I*! Either we stand down, or *blow up*! Now *which* do you want?”

Battle of Britain

Okay, this was the less fun part of the trip. The “out in the middle of nowhere and the car is acting up” nailbiting part of the trip. Really hot day, and as we discovered on getting back to Yankton, the car was very low on coolant. I'd noticed it was running rough, but … well. The engine refused to catch for about five minutes while at the Beaver Dam earthcache site, and we had to pop the hood, wait for it to cool down, and hope for the best. It finally agreed to start, and we didn't shut it off again until we got back into the city... Which doesn't mean I didn't cache on the way back, of course – but I was really regretting the lack of micros in my GPS! After we got the coolant in, the car behaved better. Not perfectly, but much better... dumped in some HEET as well, for good measure.

“I'm gonna divide the river.”

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (sort of)

We wanted to camp at Lewis & Clark State Rec area in SD (and grab those caches), but it was completely full up, so we got the last tent site at Cottonwood Campground, in the shadow of the Gavin's Point Dam, one of the five (or was it seven?) huge dams on the Mo. It looked like it was coming on to storm, but it never did. So after the clouds cleared some – we drove around a bit, crossed the dam back into Nebraska and came back up, ate dinner, cached, and got some great shots. In other words... we lived the caching experience!

Stormclouds & sunset over Lake Yankton... and Gavin's Point Dam, from both sides.

Going home the next day was sort of anti-climatic. We'll just skip that part.

“From this moment on, you shall now be known as Mosquitobait.”

“Mosquitobait! Hoo ha ha!”

“Welcome, Sister Mosquitobait!”

“Mosquitobait! Hoo ha ha!”

“Enough with the Mosquitobait.”

Finding Nemo (sort of)

August 7, 2010: Why am I here? How did I get here? Where is here, anyway? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Ah, philosophical questions like this are endless. Here, in this case, seems to be be Goat Island, in the middle of the Missouri River, between South Dakota and Nebraska. How I got here – well, the most immediate answer is bobbing in the river behind me – two canoes and three kayaks. Here's a photo, just before pushing off...

Why I am here – well, supposedly I'm here to help this group find caches... but I'm starting to sense that the real reason I'm here is to feed the mosquitoes. The fact that the first cache we are after is called “Starbucks” is a clear giveaway to... something. And they seem to be laughing at the layers of bug spray we have on! insert sound of one hand slapping.

Joined up with a group of northeast Nebraska cachers for their annual pilgrimage to Goat Island – there are about 26 caches on this 3-mile long island in the middle of the Mo. The only way to get there is by boat, and gosh darn it, I missed out on it last year, I wanted to give it a try! Now I'm thinking... maybe I knew something I didn't know I knew!

By god, it was hot – heat index of 111, I heard. The kids spent much of the time in the water along the edges of the bank, Old Man 124 rolled his kayak and got a nice bath in the Mo... I got to play lifeguard and throw him a rope, go me, go me, and my pitiful canoe-paddling skills were demonstrated for all! I felt like Goldilocks - “oh, no, this paddle is too long!” “oh, no, this paddle is too short!” I never did get one that was “just right”, and eventually switched to kayak instead – hadn't used one since kayaking on the Potomac 9 years ago, but hey, it was like riding a bicycle, or something.

Unfortunately, they'd already gotten most of the caches on the island, so we only went after a couple – including a FTF! Or maybe it was fortunately – it /was/ really hot, and the Mo was running REALLY high from all the rains – all the usual landing places along Goat Island were underwater. A lot of scrambling up 90-degree banks. Docked at the camping ground where we were going to cook and camp, after about 7 hours on the river. And the mosquitoes were waiting for us, there, too...

Regarding the FTF – little wonder why it was so tough to find! We had to search some Remnants of the Past... which didn't include the unhappy encounter with barbed wire one of our group had. Ripped pants and skin, oooouch.

Back to the water, where the mosquitoes DIDN'T roam... Dinner was under the cottonwoods:

And so were more mosquitoes! But my tent was a mosquito free zone! We all turned in pretty early, it had been a long, hot, tiring day. But looking back, I wouldn't have missed it – even if I'm STILL scratching at mosquito bites now! Meant to cache on the way home, too tired, just drove home the next day.

August 14 – 15: Made homemade calzones, beer bread, and went to church. Exciting, no?

Until next Chronicle – cheers!

Sun, Jul 18, 2010

My wife’s job is to criticize me.  It is her duty to mold me into something better.  Whenever I do something blatantly wrong she will be right there with words of rebuke.  She does this out of love.  Although when she is chastising me for my latest blunder it is hard for me to see any of that love.  Conversely, it is not my job to help her be a better person.  Once I stupidly pointed out a failure on her part and was immediately put in my place.  When I asked why it was alright for her to transform me but not alright for me to do the same with her, I was told she didn’t need improvement.  She reminded me that while we were dating, sometime in the past century, I had told her she was perfect.  Of course I said I did not remember saying any such thing. 

Wife:  “So, now you’re telling me I’m not perfect?”

Well, I could see right off no good would come from denying having said such a rash thing so I was backed against a wall.  

Me:  “I didn’t say that.”

Wife:  “Good, go pick up your socks.”

I hate to admit it but it was my idea that the wife come geocacheing with me.  As much as I regret my indiscretion there’s nothing I can do to change it now.  For some reason she seems to think the husband improvement doesn’t end in the home but applies to caching as well.  Reading the following story will prove my point.

Past experience should have taught me not to, but I usually start out a day of caching with unbridled enthusiasm.  As we pack up the GPS, Palm and tools needed for a successful day I can’t wait to make our first find. 

I think some people have way too much time on the hands.  Do you remember the saying “Idle hands are the Devil’s playground”?  Nothing could be more correct when applied to cache owners.  I believe some of these evil minded CO’s stay up nights trying to think of new ways to torture poor unaware cachers like me.  I blindly go out to find these caches without giving a thought to what some twisted mind might have invented with the express purpose of tormenting me.  I don’t understand it.  I haven’t done anything to them.  I don’t ever remember meeting them.  So, I could not have said or done anything to warrant this kind of abuse.  Here is an example of the kind of sick minded people that are laying these traps for me.  At the same time they are giving fresh fodder for the wife to have bountiful opportunities to correct my caching techniques.

We had done a few uneventful caches in the area and took time to have lunch.  It was an unexpectedly nice day in December for the state of Michigan.  We took our time with lunch and enjoyed the beautiful day.  After we finished we plotted out our next conquest.  We found one we could park fairly close to called “Goofy’s Twist and Shout“.  Off we went to claim another find.  We parked a short distance form the GZ and walked quickly to the cache.  The cache consisted of a large PCV tube sticking out of the ground about four feet tall with another slightly larger tube with a cap which fit snugly over the top of the first tube.

Wife:  “There it is right out in the open.   What a lame cache.  Some people have no imagination at all.  Go ahead and pull that top tube off and let‘s get on to the next one.”

Me:  “I can’t get it off.  It seems to be catching on something.”

Wife:  “Well pull harder.  Why do you have to take a simple task and make it so difficult?”

Me:  “What was the name of this cache?  Wasn’t it something about twisting and shouting?”

Wife:  “That’s right.  Maybe it doesn’t come straight off.  Maybe you have to twist it a little to get it to slide off.” 

Me:  “It doesn’t look too complicated. I should have it off in a minute or two.”

I twisted.  I pulled.  I pushed it back.  This sucker was not going to give up.  It didn’t help that the wife kept letting me know everything she thought I was doing wrong.  About an hour later the wife took over.  Did you ever notice how some people like to critique but don’t take kindly to criticism aimed at them?  I’m not saying the wife is that way but she let me know it might be in my best interest if I were to “Keep my mouth shut”.

When we started this cache it was a very pleasant early December day.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the planets were aligned, and everything was right in the world.  Now after too many hours in the same woods at the same cache, the skies were turning ominous.  Darkness was setting in, the winds were picking up, nature was getting ready to unleash its furry, and demons were approaching from all sides.  The wife had given up and set me back to the task of removing the tube.
 
Wife:  “If you don’t get that thing off of there in the next two minutes; I swear I’m going to brain you with it.”

I knew her threats were idle because try as I might, and believe me I did, I couldn’t remove the tube from the ground.  Then suddenly a miracle occurred.  Quite unexpectedly it came off.

Me:  “I got it.  I can’t believe it.  It does come off.”

Wife:  “Quit patting yourself on the back.  Its snowing so hard I’m not sure we can find our way back to the car.”

We quickly signed the log put everything back together and drove away.  On the way home I was forced to listen while the wife pointed out all I had done wrong with the cache and detailed everything she felt I needed to do to improve my caching tecniques. Then after an extended period of sullen silence the wife said not too convincingly…

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

By catsnfish   Fri, Jul 16, 2010

Ok, maybe a little.
Here is a new cache critter, once again made of PVC pipe. The photos are of the second one we made, in the 4 inch diameter PVC; we had previously made a prototype out of 1 ½ inch tube.
I had seen similar birds for sale on the internet and one site even had patterns for sale but of course not the pattern I wanted. I could tell from the pics, the techniques would be relatively simple but would need a good pattern to follow. With my limited drawing abilities (stick figures) I turned to autocad, which also allowed me to scale the patterns to match the different diameter tubes available. The 1 ½ size would be my prototype since I had that size tube laying around at home and I designed it to fit on 11 x 17 paper. After I was happy with the design onscreen, I printed a smaller version and cut it from paper to test how it would look formed. A tweak or two, and my pattern would be ready to use. The 4 inch size drawing would be printed in sections on 8x11.5 paper; I could then put the pieces together for a full size pattern, tape to the PVC and trace in pencil.

The thicker, schedule 40 PVC is a good choice for this project in diameters 3 inches and over. It will give your bird much more strength and since we will be forming simple bends and not ‘sculpting and stretching’ as we did on the cobra, the extra thickness won’t work against us.

Here is the pattern I used, you may download and print if you like.   8x10pelican.pdf

   We would be cutting this in the ‘round’ and not flattening it first, so we need a jigsaw with fine, narrow, curve cutting blades. Because of the stroke length on my saw, I had to grind off a portion of the blade so that it wouldn’t hit or cut the opposite wall on the 1 ½ pipe, this won’t be a problem with the 4 in pipe. Rotate the pipe as you follow the lines of the pattern, trying to keep your cut at right angles to the material, go slow and take your time on this step. Clean up and smooth your cut edges with a file, sandpaper or rotary tool.

Now before you begin to form the bird, you’ll need to decide if it will be freestanding on its own feet or if it will be mounted to a base, as that will affect the possible poses you can do. This is where a paper model can be handy as you can get an idea of the angle you would like the body to be at and how to pose the neck and head.

Using the heat gun, carefully begin to heat the PVC, constantly moving so as not to burn it. It will take a bit of time to soften the PVC enough for bending due to the thickness of the material and staying in one spot too long can easily burn or discolor it. Wearing heavy leather gloves to protect your hands from the heat, start forming the legs. Bend roughly 90 degrees where it meets the body and where it meets the feet, this should give you enough room to work on flattening the feet into a good stable base and these angles can be adjusted later. Remember to use ice cubes or cold water to cool and set your bends.

 The head and bill get formed in opposite directions, the head forms up and the bill forms down.  It may help to use a straight edge of some type to keep your bends even along the long length of the bill. The ‘hinge’ between the head and bill should be soft enough to bend also, but if not heat it a bit and form to as natural a look as possible.

 What you do next with the neck can set the whole character of your bird; you can have a sleepy bird with its neck pulled in tight to the body or outstretched about to take off in flight or almost any mood you can imagine. You could turn the head to the side a bit or leave it straight on. Now that your bird has character, you can go back and adjust the body to be breast up or down and to a limited extent, adjust the balance of a free standing bird by centering the weight over the feet.

Taking your cues from the personality you’ve already given your little fellow, you can paint the eyes and other details as realistic or as comical as you like, then give several coats of a clear sealer to protect the paint. So now I’ll introduce you to…

“drumroll”

……….Pellie!

We decided Pellie might get lonely, so we introduced him to Penny, he really turned her head!!

Depending on the size you chose to make, the actual cache container can be a large bottle Velcro’d in the body area or possibly a bison tube tucked up in the pouch. You could even bolt it to an ammo can. In this case, I wanted a container large enough to hold a notepad type log so finders could leave comments.
This is the last of this series of creative cache critter crafting,……maybe, at least for awhile.  I hope you’ve enjoyed them and that they may have sparked some ideas for making your own fun caches.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Sun, Jul 11, 2010

My girlfriend at the time and I went on a vacation down to Cancun back in January. This trip had been planned for some time, and I had decided long ago that this was the time when I was going to propose. But how to do it? I decided that since we have enjoyed geocaching together during our formidable dating years, it would be fun (and unexpected) to pop the question while geocaching.

Prior to the trip, I scoped out the geocaches near the hotel and found the one that appeared to be the most scenically located (I think it was called SouthPoint), it was disabled at the time we were down there (washed away in a storm) and was archived shortly after we returned from our trip; we never got to post this story in the online logs. But from the cache description and other people's log entries, it appeared to be a beautiful area right on a jetty on the beach. With the help of my brother using Photoshop, he removed any reference to the fact that the geocache was disabled. He also removed the clue and replaced it with a new decoded one I had prepared specifically for the occasion. I printed up this doctored cache description, purposely leaving the clue encoded, and for good measure, printed up a few "genuine" caches as well and packed them in our luggage bound for Mexico!

We flew down on 1/7/10. The next day was a beautiful day (the best one of our week long trip). After exploring the hotel grounds and laying around the pool for a few hours, my girlfriend (at the time) KT said she was tired of sitting around and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I said sure, and suggested we bring along the GPS and try to find a geocache or two. Great idea!!!

After a meager attempt to find another cache close by, but getting detoured due to rough terrain and scary bugs, as well as our first bus ride in Cancun, (which could deserve it's own equally exhilarating message board post), we finally started walking toward the South Point Cache. The engagement ring, an antique style custom design I had been researching/saving up for for 8 months, was wadded up in a paper towel in my shorts pocket, and basically had been since we departed from Newark Airport. Since we were on vacation, I was terrified KT would find the ring box when she maybe went through my luggage looking to perhaps borrow a tee shirt. Determined not to let this happen, I decided not to keep the ring in it's box, since that would be a dead give away should she even see the box. KT, above all else, wanted to be surprised by her engagement, and thus far, I got the impression she had absolutely no clue what was about to happen. So I had the ring in a paper towel, in my pocket. Prior to this, it had been on my carry on luggage, as I was also terrified when going through airport security that I would get chosen to be searched more thoroughly, and forced to exposed this big hunk of metal. Suffice it to say, while I was prepared to get down on one knee and propose right there in the airport check point, I certainly hoped to wait till we got down to Mexico!

Anyway, back to the story, we were headed toward the geocache. The GPS read .2 miles, we cut through another hotel property out to the beach. Gentle waves were beating against the light sand. We had our shoes off, and it was wonderful to feel the sand between our toes. January, right after the hectic and blustery holiday season in NJ, was certainly a nice time to be visiting Cancun; it was our first time there.

.1 mile, I could see the jetty, and my heart skipped a beat as I realized that there was where the "cache" would be, there would be where this incredible moment was about to happen. 300 feet. We're walking hand in hand. 200 feet. A small child, the only person in the immediate area, happily runs by, holding a hermit crab he had just caught. There are a couple of table/chairs fashioned out of huge tree cuttings. 100 feet. Closing in on the location, there is a signal beacon nearby, and blue skies as far as the eye can see.

50 feet, 25 feet, heartbeat is getting faster. 10 feet. I start to slow down and veer slightly right. 3 feet.

I stop.

"We're within 3 feet of it. Here, why don't you decode the clue real quick while I start looking?"

"Sure"

I hand her the doctored cache description and a pen. While she starts to decode the clue, I'm pretending to walk around, and also trying to stealthily get the ring out of the wadded paper towel. Now my hands are trembling. Finally, it comes loose in my clammy hand. I turn around.

KT is looking at me, confused. "It says....Will you marry me?"

I get down on one knee, and tell her what she means to me. I propose, and she says YES!!!!

Yay! She also loves the ring, which I am thrilled about, too.

We are getting married this upcoming October in Easton PA, and have told this story to all of our friends/family. We always need to preface the story with the question "Do you know what geocaching is?"

It's nice not to have to type out that whole part of the story!

Editor's Note: I saw this story in the geocaching.com forum and just had to share it with you. Congratulations to The Diggers!

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, Jul 02, 2010

Tune in live to listen to and post online commentary about an Oregon Field Guide radio show featuring geocaching on Oregon Public Broadcasting Friday July 2nd at http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/geocaching/

Sat, Jun 26, 2010

The fame of our superhero team (myself, the Untrackable Geodad, and Sioncat the Trackable Geokitten) has been spreading! We strike fear into the hearts of many an evil cache, and bring hope and joy to travelbugs imprisoned everywhere. In fact... we have been deluged by applications from eager wanna-be superheroes. We have conditionally accepted one of these, on a probationary status, of course.

Introducing: the Sionuvi!

Her nickname is Claire, because she speaks with an Australian accent. At least at the moment. Obviously, for this photo, she has borrowed the famous Sombrero from the geokitten. We have high hopes for this newest member of the team; her superpower is always knowing where she is, and the ability to tell others in many different accents! Plus, she is specially equipped to detect the existence of a geocache, and chime annoyingly.

(Between you and me, I also have dark suspicions of her actual motives, but we will get to that.)

But enough of that! Let's get to the caching portions of the Chronicle! This past June has seen an increase in trips – with the geodad off visiting relatives, I decided to take the Sionuvi out for some solo adventuring. Just her and me.

First, we went north! Up by Norfolk, Crofton, and Fremont, NE, around Memorial Day. I found a fair number of caches – including one named Kitty Killer, I was glad the geokitten was safe at home – but did not get very many pictures. It was very windy that day, and I was out in the country without a hat. The wind kept slapping my hair in my face. Some friends of mine in Norfolk put me up in their trailer for the night (thanks, Lighthouselookers!) and cached with me until the wee hours... much fun was had by all. I got so totally lost and turned around while trying to get the night cache... and there were often reflectors that were not man-made. They moved. Eeeee!

I did get this one pic, in a park near Crofton.

On a complete side note - several of the caches I got in Norfolk are now disabled – June has been the month of storms and serious flooding in Nebraska. Many of my caches are underwater. So are a lot of others. Bridges have been wiped out, roads closed, campgrounds and parks completely flooded. This used to be a nice campground by the Missouri. Now it is Lake Haworth. Because of storms like this:

Yes, that is a grill sticking up out of the water!

The next weekend, I decided to see how the Sionuvi would handle going west, to Hastings, Harvard, and Lincoln, NE. She did well! 50 caches were found and logged that weekend, though it was a real struggle reaching that number. It was very late and I was very tired when I got back from Lincoln.

Again, I did most of my caching out in the country – despite the recent weather, the roads out west were nice and dry, and even the network of dirt roads were great to drive on. This wasn't the case closer to Lincoln, alas, I thought my teeth were going to rattle loose! I stayed overnight in Hastings at a nice campground on the outskirts. While I was there, I was able to add something extra to the superhero armory, see a beautiful sunset, and the next day, watch a storm coming in:

I'm not even going to THINK about my attempt to go east into Iowa. All attempts at caching in Iowa fail. The forces of evil are very strong there. It will take greater preparation and stronger allies to bring them down. And south will wait for the trip on July 4 to Independence, MO.

So... with south and east blocked, what did that leave? Why, northeast to Valentine, for the annual Cache – N – Splash event! This was the one I'd been waiting for!

It didn't disappoint, either. There were fellow cachers and early morning walks in the woods:

splashing around in the waterfall at Smith Falls State Park like a child:

and some time for reflection.

But in the end, I always knew I'd end up here:

The event itself was a lot of fun. There were a lot of familiar faces, and some not so familiar – it was great to meet some of the cachers from South Dakota who came down for the trip. I was hunting a cache in Government Canyon, with no luck, and heard voices approaching in the distance - “I think there's a path here!” Grinning, I leaned against a tree to wait for the relief help to arrive. Sleuthmeisters, if you are reading this, “Yes, there's a path here! And thanks again for the help!” We found the cache together, traded phone numbers, and later on, hints – they were headed in, I was headed out.

I ran into other cachers, of course – Valentine was crawling with them! Some by prearrangement (thanks, catsnfish!), and some by accident (BBMJ, you FTF stealers! Grrrr!) Some STFs, one co-FTF with catsnfish, several DNFs, and just a lot of fun, topped off by great food, COBBLER, and turtletrax cake at the picnic afterwards!

I even picked up a Father's Day gift for the geodad there – he's native to SD and loves the Black Hills, so when jedicachers showed their new Black Hills / Mt. Rushmore coin, I bought one for him. He correctly identified it as a geocoin the moment I gave it to him, too. Good for him! Had to pack up early the next morning, and left the tent drying while I found 3 or 4 more caches in Valentine – then it was off to home.

And into a very bad storm raging over Bellevue. Not AGAIN. But I got home in time to take the geodad out for Father's Day dinner at a great German restaurant, despite the weather. And snagged 47 additional caches that weekend... I can almost taste that 2000 finds coin! (Metallic, in case you are wondering.)

Oh! Yeah, I haven't explained my suspicions of Sionuvi yet, have I? I'm half-convinced that she's a plant or spy, sent to get me arrested or kill me... Cases in point:

A)       Sionuvi → “Turn right on Cowboy Trail.”

           Sioneva (thinking) → “That's a hike/bike trail. Are you kidding me?”

           (repeat at least six times)

B)        Sionuvi → “Turn right on road.”

            Sioneva (thinking) → “I'm in the middle of a BRIDGE!”

I don't know... I'm going to have to keep a close watch on her... but if I survive until next Chronicle...

CHEERS!

(P.S. Forgive the lack of movie quotes for this one. It's a temporary lapse.)

Thu, Jun 17, 2010

I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a geocache kid!
    Somewhere, sometime, long long ago, my childhood ended. Not abruptly,  but over time, the sense of wonder at the world, the imagination and the dreams slowly faded away, covered over by layers of stresses and strains of daily life. Parenthood, a divorce, unfulfilling jobs and other of life’s dramas took center stage and relegated the child I was into the shadows of the wings, remembered as a supporting character on occasion, but never brought into the limelight.
    Life kept changing, a new wife, a steady fulfilling job, her children moving out and a pair of happy every other weekend, empty nesters had time on their hands. Fishing filled some of that time and we both enjoyed those peaceful moments at the lake we spent together, even if one of us wouldn’t bait her own hook. We tried to share this time with my younger children, but it was too boring for them and fish stink and lines get tangled and Nintendo’s got more attention than the twitching tip of a fishing rod.
    One day she came home from the local library, face beaming excitement as she told of the activity they had just done. You use satellites and a receiver to find things, little treasures, cleverly hidden so most people would never notice they even existed.  You follow an arrow until it says you are close then you look very carefully to find the cache. I was told I would have to get my own receiver too because she wasn’t gonna share. Since we had recently started buying collectible cats on e-bay, we looked for gps auctions and soon had a yellow Etrex in hand shortly followed by another. She was serious about not sharing. We began seeking the nearby caches listed on geocaching.com and discovered neat little areas in our own neighborhood we had not seen before. Although a few stumped us for quite awhile we enjoyed the challenge and eventually made the find, even if it took a few visits.  We were enjoying ourselves and our time together on this new activity. We took my children out a few times but they never quite ‘got’ it the way we had. That's ok, it's our activity.
   We began to hide a few caches, fun, creative little ones that people seemed to enjoy and even laugh when they were found and the description finally made sense.
   We planned trips to nearby towns with the only goal being to discover what other cachers wanted to share that was special and unique about their area. And we found little travelers, toys and treasures on a mission to visit faraway places and we could help them along and follow as they visited places we would probably never see. And we enjoyed the wit and humor that some of these travelers and caches exhibited.
  We stocked up on swag and even began filling a treasure chest with all of the trinkets we traded for. We never traded away swag we had got from a cache; it all went into our chest to become a tangible memory of how and when we came by each piece.
   We talked of caches we had done, caches we wanted to do, ideas for containers. We went to events and met other cachers. We planned more trips, more discoveries and more explorations. We sought more knowledge about the activity and began to frequent the forums gaining insights, entertainment and friends from around the globe.

    We worked together, each with their own jobs but with the same goals achieved as part of that team.  Best friends. Caching buddies. Out to explore the world together in a grand series of adventures one cache at a time.
   Childhood is even better the second time around. I can't wait to retire and play on the geo playground all the time... with my best friend!

Mon, Jun 14, 2010

As we approached this cache I could see the wife would not be able to help as she was still recuperating from her broken foot.  I had parked too far away from the first stage for her to walk down the hill.  So, I went on my own and left her in the car to wait.  When I got to the first stage I met a frustrated female cacher.  Not wanting to cast aspersions on her character, for she in no way acted inappropriately, she will remain anonymous.  I will not use her name but instead refer to her as “Red”.  This way no one will ever be able to figure out her identity.

As I was saying, I met Red at the first stage.  She was glad to see someone show up to give her a hand.  When I first saw her she was on her back laying on the muddy ground searching the bottom of the sign for a clue.

Red:  “Look out for the snake.”

She pointed to the big Blue Racer hanging in the bushes.  Well, I must admit I had never met a woman like this.  Not afraid of snakes and willing to lay in mud to find a cache, I was intrigued.  My wife would have been running back to the safety of the car and complaining of how her shoes got dirty.

Red:  “Give me a boost so I can see the top of the sign.”

I cupped my hands and she stepped into them and searched the top but found nothing.  After she got down I looked over the sign to see what I could find.  Shortly, I found the clue for the final.  The way Red fawned on me for making this find was foreign to me.  She seemed genuinely impressed with my caching abilities.  All I usually hear is "dumb luck" or "how on earth did YOU find that?"  Happily Red and I made our way to the final.  It was a short walk into the woods to a downed tree with thick brush.  Feeling cavalier I tried to help Red over the log.  As usual my foot got caught on a branch.  As I fell I didn’t let go of Red and pulled her on top of me as we hit the ground.  My shirt was torn and we were both covered in mud.  After we untangled I could tell Red’s opinion of me had fallen tremendously.  We made the quick find of the cache and went back to our cars.

The wife had gotten bored and was standing at the top of the hill as we approached.  Red had twigs sticking out of her hair and I was a mess.

Wife:  “What have you two been up to?”

Red raced to her car and sped away, leaving me alone to face the wrath of the wife by myself.  My recent admiration for her faded as quickly as her car.  Having to fend for myself, I did the only thing that might avoid trouble.  I lied.

Me:  “That woman tried to seduce me.  It was an awful fight but I prevailed and got away.”

I don’t know what reaction I was expecting but hysterical laughter was not on the list.  The wife sounded like a hyena at the Improv.  I’m not sure what she found so funny.  Was it the fact that any woman could find me so irresistible or that I could have had a chance to win in a fight with Red?  When she at last regained control she had an angry look on her face and said.

Wife:  “Did you enjoy caching with that woman?”

The way the wife treats me in public, one would think she is not the least bit jealous.  One would be wrong.  Its not that she thinks I would be unfaithful, her opinion is who would want me.  What she won’t stand for is me caching with another woman and enjoying it.  If I am going to be happy it will be with her or not at all.

Me:  “With Red?  No way.   I was wishing you could be there the whole time I was with her.”

Wife:  “Red?  Now you’re on a first name basis?  Admit it, you like caching with her more than me.“

Me:  “Don’t be ridiculous, you know I would rather cache with you than anyone else.”

Wife:  “Then how come you’re so dirty?”

Me:  “I promise the next cache we do, I’ll get even dirtier.”

Wife:  “Promise?”

Well this went on far too long.  In the end, of course, I had to apologize for something I didn’t know I did wrong.  I convinced her the episode meant nothing and finally we went to our next cache.  I was hoping that would be the end of it.  Of course the wife got the last word.

Wife:  “I had better never catch you having that much fun again!”

By catsnfish   Sat, Jun 12, 2010

Building a Cache Critter III:  Frog on Log
This one will need a toy frog, a cigar tube, a short length of chain, a bison tube, a few wood screws, a log base and a…fly.

First, we’ll prepare the frog by removing the squeaker from the frog’s mouth and making a few small cuts just big enough to allow the cigar tube to slip through.  This tube will keep the bison tube and its chain from dropping inside the frog and making it more difficult to retrieve, plus it gives it a good presentation. Determine the angle the tube will need to sit at to go through the hole and sit at the tail end inside. Mark the angle on the tube and use the side of a bench grinder stone to take off material creating a flat base with the tube at the correct angle. Next drill a hole big enough for the shank of a wood screw to go through easily. Push the tube through the  hole in the frog’s mouth and make a mark on the tube so that when cut it will protrude just far enough past the inside of the mouth to take a bead of silicon glue all the way around. Cut and smooth the edges.

Open a link of lightweight chain, like what would be used on a screen door chain, and run it through the hole for the keyring on the bison tube, then paint both cahin and bison red. The cigar tube will hold this chain and part of the bison tube ‘tongue.’ Allow the chain to slide into the tube, loosely building up until the bison sits at a point it will be supported but not be completely inside the cut off tube, this is important to make retrieval easy. Adjust the length of the chain by opening links and removing them from the free end.

Make sure that the wood screw will go through the chain link easily yet still be held securely; depending on the type chain you may be able to adjust it with a pair of pliers. Slip the chain into the tube and using a twist tie or string attach the last link so that the woodscrew will go through both.

Apply a little bit of glue to the flaps at the mouth and slip the tube into the frog and by cutting a slit in the frog’s back to allow access, screw the cigar tube and chain link through the frog’s tummy and into the wood base. Run an additional woodscrew into each leg to attach it more securely to the log.

If you’re lucky the screw head will bury itself into the leg and won’t be visible, if not touch the screw head up with a little paint. Load the chain into the tube and set your bison in place. Apply a bead of the silicone glue all around the tube and lastly glue a plastic fly onto the end of the bison. This fly probably won’t last long but it adds a nice touch for the first few to find.

You could mount several frogs all on one wooden log and only one have the paper log, (eeney meeney, miney frog, which one of you fellas has the log?)

I hope you've enjoyed the critter series, I'll have at least one more to share and I think that one will make quite a splash. If you have a creative cache or techniques for camo, please consider sharing it with your fellow readers.

Mon, May 31, 2010

Trip time, once again! This time, we were going North by Northwest... yes, we'll get to that later. This Chronicle covers several days and is VERY long and picture-loaded. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Our route led us across upper Nebraska, along the South Dakota border - we all three were along on THIS trip - me, the Untrackable GeoDad, and Sioncat the Trackable Geokitten! There was skullduggery ahead! But before we ran into any, we had to traverse the solar system, from where the Sun shone in Norfolk, NE, to where Pluto lay, 238 miles from there. Yes, the Sioneva had to complete the Solar System Challenge cache series! (ref: GC15YAM Solar System Challenge) I'd found all of them except Pluto, which turned out to be in Eli, NE.

Let me tell you about Eli. ... That's Eli. There were three buildings, and one cache. What a weird place to find a planet, but hey, I didn't put it there. Pluto always was a weird planet anyway... if it even is a planet, officially, anymore. But I was very happy to find it, anyway!

And then we moved on... there was another place I wanted to get to. (catsnfish, it's all your fault!)

"Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about, and valiantly, he chickened out.

Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat. A brave retreat by brave Sir Robin."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Out past Crawford, NE, lies the Toadstool Geologic Park. Having heard so much about the strange formations at the place - from certain people - I wanted to check it out, since it was more or less on the way to Hot Springs, where we meant to stay the night. Beautiful, desolate terrain, beautiful, desolate clay road, beautiful, desolate storm cloud - er, Dad, wait a minute, that cloud looks like it has company. And it's getting bigger. And fatter. And darker. And this road is VERY desolate, and it looks like it'll be mud in about 5 minutes. And my little hondacar is... a little hondacar.

So, we decided to turn around before actually getting to the park. We're still patting ourselves on the back for that, too - we could see that cloud letting loose to the west of us, just after we got back to the highway. However! We also had storms letting loose to the east - and well, how often have you seen a double rainbow? Here's what WE saw!

Now, that was a good omen! So we continued on, entering South Dakota from the south. My father is native to South Dakota, but he'd never come in from this direction or along this road before, so we both enjoyed the novelty of seeing this:

It rained that night. It rained a lot. But I'd upgraded to a nice little KOA cabin instead of pulling out the tent. We stayed dry. And everything was... say it with me... CLOSED! Yes, everything in SD seems to shut down after 5 PM. Except for the bars. Which can be a pain when you're really hungry. The geodad doesn't do bars. We finally found an open restaurant. Food was decent. The geodad and geocat enjoyed the porch swing at the cabin though, and the sunset was beautiful.

"I want a beer!"

little girl outside our cabin about 8 am

Pancakes and mammoths were on our menu the next morning - and more rain. But no beer, alas.

We'd already planned to tour some of the caves in the area, and what better day to do it then on a wet, dreary day? The geodad was doing allll the driving at this point, since it was his native place, and I was perfectly happy with that! I'm just not used to high, windy, curvy roads. Not too many of those in Nebraska after all. We swung north and headed for Wind Cave first - I absolutely loved this cave. There were so many passages, explored and unexplored, and they estimate they only have about 10% of the cave mapped out. There's a 4 hour crawling tour for just $29 that is calling my name...

There were also two earthcaches there. Just another reason to pay close attention to the tour guide and all the cool areas!

We went to Hill City afterwards, the self-proclaimed "Heart of the Hills". But first I found a cache or two, and sampled the wares at a nearby winery. No cheese to go with my wine... but a sudden burst of anxiety when I called Jewel Cave Visitors Center at 1:45. The last tour of the day would be at 2:30 - and we were about 35 minutes away. Soooo, while my dad drove - I've never seen him take curvy roads so fast! - I booked our ticket reservations over the phone. Ah, the wonders of modern technology! Got there with 5 minutes to spare, quick pit stop, pick up tickets, and the tour started two minutes later. That's called cutting it close!

"Seek ye out the calcite in the rough..."

Aladdin (sort of)

Jewel Cave was completely unlike Wind Cave... much different kinds of formations, and a different method of being formed, if I remember correctly. It was very bumpy, with layers of calcite crystals clinging to the rock. The tour guide was a little bit more showy, too, but in both caves, they turned off all the lights at one point. Talk about pitch, utter dark. I literally couldn't see my own hand in front of my face! The geocat wouldn't have liked it. No light to make her eyes glow weirdly.

However, there was bacon:

And some other interesting formations:

And there were stairs. Lordy, but there were lots of stairs, and slotted metal walkways over yawning gulfs below. First time in my life my fear of heights kicked in when I was several hundred feet below ground, but there's a first time for everything. But my legs hurt from all the stairs for two days afterwards - and I thought I was in such great shape, too. Guess not!

There were two earthcaches at this cave, too, but arriving so late, I couldn't look for the answers... so while the geodad took care of business after the tour, I buttonholed the poor rangers (who just wanted to go home) and held them at GPS-point while I rattled off arcane questions like "What is the chemical composition of calcite?" It worked at least, but they were sure looking at me funny...

Then it was back to Hill City, once again - you see, the geodad had spotted a trainyard there, & it was "All Aboard!" So he saw that, and I saw this:

"It is easier for a trailer to go through the eye of a needle..."

Matthew 10:24 (sort of)

The next day was a full one, too. There was so much to do and see and find! Fortunately, it was sunny and warm in the morning, because we wanted to go up Needles Highway, and cloud cover would have hidden all the needles... of course my knuckles were white from clinging to the inside door handle, but that's par for the course. Lots of hairpin turns, and breathtaking views. And Needles, of course. And... BIRCH TREES! I am particularly fond of birches, and they just don't grow in Nebraska, except in the very north-central parts!

And up near the top, there was a wide pull-over, with room for many cars. We stopped to take in the view, and take many pictures... but I was also absolutely riveted with watching a car towing a trailer try to make it through a very tight tunnel we had just come through. I was making bets with others watching whether it would make it, or get hopelessly stuck in the tunnel. This has happened before, apparently. It did eventually wiggle through, but had to retract it's mirrors, or lose 'em.

It was clouding up again, but didn't start raining until we were out of the Needles and near to our next stop - Rushmore Cave. And pretty soon we were underground, so once again, we could pat ourselves on the back for good timing.

Rushmore Cave was the most "solid" of all three caves we visited. It reminded me the most of a mine, too. We ended up getting a private tour, since we were the only two there for that particular tour time. Very cool, we got to take it at our own pace and ask lots of questions. All three caves were very different; this was my second-favorite, after Wind Cave. Rushmore had teeth. And a pig. And weird, warty-looking stalagmites (or was it stalactites that hang from the ceiling? Whichever!) And pizza-crust rocks. Bubble, bubble...

No earthcaches here, but apparently there had been quite a lightning storm while we were underground. It was still pouring very hard as we headed for Mt. Rushmore, and I didn't go after any caches.

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

LOST, Season 5

"I don't like the way Teddy Roosevelt is looking at me."

North by Northwest

When I was last at Mt. Rushmore, I was 10 years old. I don't remember too much of it, so this felt like a "first time" thing. But first... there was the RAIN to deal with. We retreated into the restaurant at the foot of the mountain to eat our obligatory bison burgers, while these four stone statues kept watch over us. Not bad! But didn't see Eva Marie Saint or Cary Grant come running through, more's the pity... Eventually, the rain let up, and we ventured outside - they've built a walkway that goes around right up to the bottom, so you can get really up close and personal - neither of us had been on it before. Very cool!

Oh - Nicholas Cage was a no-show as well. Actors. Sheesh. But here WE are - and I just liked the angle on this one, too.

"We're going to knock your Wall down."

"By walking around in circles?"

"Yes."

Veggie Tales

I know this is getting really long, but we have one more day to get through. So just bear with me - or not! Our next stop was to be a campground in Wall, SD, that night, but when we pulled in, we didn't like the look of it. So we found a nice, pretty inexpensive motel instead. The tent never left the car at all this trip, it must have been very angry! Most of the stores were - you know it - CLOSED - when we got there, but we still did a bit of windowshopping. And now it's time to just let the pictures speak for themselves, for a moment.

In a really weird coincidence, while I was shopping for T-shirts, in strolls a caching family from my hometown that I'd met several times before at events. They spotted us through the window and just came in to say hi. We had a good laugh over it, before heading on our separate ways again.

We'd originally planned to spend one more night camping, but it was about 11:30 when we left Wall, to head down through the Badlands. We talked it over and decided to make the 450 mile push for home, instead of staying out another night. But first, we DID get to drive through the Badlands, and my camera was busy, clickclickclick. Also picked up two or three earthcaches here - are you noticing a trend? I didn't get many traditional caches, but I got at least 8 earthcaches... and there were so many I didn't get. The Hills were alive with the sound of earthcaches!

A few randomly selected shots of the Badlands, before I close this out. I've still got to get out and cache today, you know...

(If you think the last picture was part of the Badlands, I obviously made this Chronicle far too long. Just testing you! It's actually Smith Falls State Park outside Valentine, NE. We passed by on the way home.)

Until next Chronicle - cheers and happy caching!

By jlondon1963   Sun, May 16, 2010

The Wild Adventures of the Game Are Calling

    This is my story and I am sticking to it!  I stumbled on this sport in June of 2005 after reading an article in the Omaha World Herald.  Very intriguing a scavenger hunt of sorts with a GPS.  An electronic gadget that leads you to a set of coordinates where there is a treasure.  Remember treasure is in the eye of the beholder.  This seemed like it could be right up my alley.  Now close to 5 years later I am still hooked.

    How does this sport hook you?  At least to begin with for me it was the hunt, it is like an adventure leaping off the pages of a book.  I have not run into any lion, tigers or bears but I have stepped over a rattlesnake caching in Indio, CA.  It is the journey taking you on the road less traveled.  It is about getting back to your inner child.  Who doesn't want to be a pirate or a world class adventurer.  This sport encourages you to respect and keep your surroundings free of trash.  With this sport you visit places you may have never have taken time to stop and see if it were not for geocaching.  There are challenge caches that take you to every nook and cranny of a state and you see what that state truly has to offer.  Take Nebraska who knew there was more to offer from this state than corn and the color red.  This game provides exercise for the body and the brain.  I have learned so much more about reading a map including topographic maps.  Puzzle caches do make my brain hurt but as much as I may grumble I do enjoy the challenge of learning something new, and knowing that I did not lose all my brain cells after childbirth.  I still despise math but I am getting a little better and willing to at least try the puzzles.  

    When I started I bought a blue etrex Legend for less than $100.  it was on clearance.  My first try was for Chalco Hills I, which has since been archived, I would like to say I nabbed it on the first try but that would be a lie.  It took a couple of tries while I learned how to use my new toy.  My first successful cache was Omahopoly 14, also archived, part of a really neat Monopoly series with an Omaha connection.  I have since graduated through several other Garmin systems a 60Cx, Colorado 400T and now a Oregon 550T.  I plugged along here and there until I met this flower child what was his caching name...oh yeah 8601delphinium.  I think when we met in the Fall of 2008 I may have had about 400 caches found to my name then I decided in January of 2009 I wanted to try to get to that elusive 1000 caches found.  As luck would have it I hit 1000 in enough time to earn my Golden Ammo Can at the Kearney Picnic.  I hit my 1000th find with Andrew aka the flower child at Omaha History Series - Omaha Memorial.  I give kudo's to Andrew in showing the fun of group caching and the fun that can be had in getting other cachers to a particular goal, not to mention the stories that can come out of those adventures.  Two words....Geo Kittens!

    I finished the year with 1598 finds.  The best part of all the finds found that year was the camaraderie of group caching and the memories that were made.  Events are a great way to spur adventures like the chili feed in North Platte, NE, or the Jesse James Cache Bash in St. Joseph, MO, and who could forget a Mega event MOGA 2009, or even a Summer College Caching Road Trip with my daughter (who is not a cacher but humors her mother), and the GPS Adventure Maze Trip where Geo Kitty was born, or the KC PIcnic run to get Rotorootie to 5000 finds.  I have even had my first run in with an officer of the law while caching.  I was with a group in Grand Island, glad he knew what caching was he even helped to retrieve the cache that was up in an unclimbable tree.  One thing to keep in mind honesty is the best policy most know what geocaching is about.  MOGA my first Mega event who could forget slogging up and down mini mountains in the pouring rain with the temperatures steadily dropping as we collected punches at the selected cache sites for our four man event.  It took our four man group 2 hours to collect half of the required punches.  We were soaked to the bone and our emergency ponchos were ripped to shreds from the thick underbrush.  Crazy you say it is no different than sitting in a frozen rink watching your kids play hockey or getting rain drenched at your childs soccer game.  Don't forget it is about the adventure.

    Like the adventure I had while caching this past summer with my sister Renee7e in the desert of California, we hit the Pushawalla Power Trail it is a 5 mile hike through the desert there are 29 caches on this power trail.  The trail takes you up to the top of a ridge line then down into an oasis then back out onto the desert floor.  Average temps in the desert this time of year is 115 degrees.  Don't worry it is a dry heat!  We started at 6:30am to beat the June desert heat, we packed plenty of water and we did as recommended and started at the end and worked our way to the beginning.  The views were incredible you could see the San Andreas fault line from the top or the ridge.  We passed another morning hiker who told us to be careful of a rattlesnake sleeping as we went down into the oasis.  I am sure I was looking everywhere but then I heard my sister tell me quietly to keep moving.  She took pictures to prove I stepped over the snake then we debated asleep or dead and should we poke the snake.  We thought better of the latter idea.  We kept moving and kept our eyes open for any other desert dwellers which we did see plenty of lizards and mice.  Note to self to look for snake gaiters for next year.  Walking into the oasis was like walking into an air conditioned room.  We spotted an owl up in the Palms, got some great photos in the oasis then started our trek back out.  We found 20 of the 29 caches we did cut our hunting short as we approached the 10:00 am mark the heat was a good 100 degrees and we were down to our last water bottle. The cache containers were a variety of matchstick holders, decon containers and ammo cans.  A few of the decon containers had been nibbled on but for the most part the caches were in good shape.  We passed by the last four or five caches vowing to save them for next year.  Once we made it back to the car we pulled 2 more water bottles from the cooler downed them and headed to grab some lunch for my daughter who stayed behind to babysit her cousins.

Yes, that is a rattlesnake, you be the judge sleeping or dead.  I went with dead.  Did you know rattlesnakes can strike twice their length.

    Map of the power trail.  There is a visitor center a quarter of a mile up the road from the trail head it is recommended to park there as there has been vandalism to cars parked at the trail head parking. 

story contributed by jlondon1963.

Tue, Aug 18, 2009

Sun, Aug 16, 2009

Geocache GC1W53Y Bat Cave Cache

August 9th, 2009

Here is my latest pieced-together geocaching video. I had to cut out a few sections because I was over the time limit for YouTube.

The round-trip hike is about 3 miles if you go to Beaver Creek and back to Hauser Dam. It’s a nice workout but nothing too strenuous if you’re in relatively good shape. The hike goes along the Missouri River and lots of people head to this area for some blue-ribbon trout fishing.

During the August month, Kokanee Salmon migrate to the Dam where they spawn, lay their eggs and die. The Osprey are heavy in the area during this time because it’s a feast, along with Bald Eagles. If you’re lucky you’ll catch a glimpse of Mountain Goats. Plenty of deer in the area and lots of bird-watching and small critters scampering around.

I really enjoy hiking out here and many times I just hike along the river because I love the sounds and the scenery. Cache Across America is also located along this hike and is the toughest cache to get to because of all the boulder/rock climbing.

I know I enjoyed getting out and spending time with Mother Nature, I hope your weekend was pleasurable also.

Enjoy the video ;)  tsun

By TheAlabamaRambler   Wed, Aug 27, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Sun, Jul 27, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, Jul 11, 2008

By TheAlabamaRambler   Mon, Apr 21, 2008

This is YOUR free magazine, created as a gift to the geocaching community to provide you entertainment and enlightenment. The Online Geocacher is an online medium for geocachers to publish all things geocaching. The Online Geocacher is everything you wish to make it but only what you make of it... submit content and it will thrive!

It is up to you, the geocaching community member, to provide the content!

Who? Me? You talkin' to me?

Yes! We're talking to you! The impetus for this magazine came from a topic on the forums of geocaching.com wherein several geocachers expressed a desire for a geocaching magazine. There have been and still are several attempts to create such a magazine. This magazine is provided to the geocaching community not to compete but to present a free alternative. Choice is good. This is but one.

The basic concept here is that we will provide the magazine structure, editing and management - Geocachers who wish for there to be such a magazine as this will provide the content.

For that to work YOU have to be willing to write something and submit it to this magazine.

Yes, your stories and experiences are important. People want to read them! You do not have to be 'a writer', anyone can tell a story. If you want help with your writing, we will be glad to provide whatever level of help you desire. If you want your story told in your words, that's fine too.

When we say that this is YOUR magazine we mean it literally and personally... without your input we have nothing. Write something, anything, and my bet is that you will enjoy the experience so well that you will continue to do so! Before long you will have a readership eager for your stories... Voila! You ARE a writer!

Well... "Write something" is a pretty broad request, can you be more specific? No. Write about whatever is on your mind! I know that doesn't help much, but it goes to the heart and spirit of what this magazine is all about... geocacher's stories and content. The volunteer staff of The Online Geocacher stands ready to help you develop your content, but we do not want to guide the magazine in our direction... we want you to take it in yours!

Thu, May 13, 2010

For the Cause

By design, The Online Geocacher magazine is an angst free publication where cachers can share experiences, and as such would not normally bring two opposing sides of an issue together in one article. However there should be enough humor and artistic license in the following to be able to make this an exception.

Ladies and Gentlemen…….in this corner,
weighing in with very vocal forum opinions, and new threads every month.
...
Bring Back Virtuals!!
(applause/shouts)  

  
  And in this corner,
The Quiet Giant and heir apparent to the containerless cache……….
I give you…
Waymarking!!
 (applause/shouts)

Tonight’s competition between these two formidable foes will be …
Anthems for the Cause!
 made up to fit…
 Beatles tunes!!
Ok gentlemen, I want a nice clean fight
No nitpicking or gouging, no direct confrontation,
Winner will be determined by individual personal decision.

The World will vote!

And now the cointoss… heads! Virtual, you’ll go first.
Now go to your corners and come out singing!
DING!! DING!!

Uh  mmmm  ok got one!
To the tune of ‘Yesterday’

Virtually
Many great finds have been virtually
But we’re told that this just cannot be
Oh, we still need
New Virts today

Logically
There are places caches cannot be
Many places we would like to see
Oh let us place
Them virtually

Why Virts
Had to go, I don’t know
Signal wouldn’t say,
We were
Told it’s wrong now we long
For Virts today

Virtually
It was such a pleasing game to play,
Now I need a box to hide away
Oh we still need
New Virts today

A-L-
R-‘s were banned, out of hand
They couldn’t stay.
I had
Caches planned so I long
For Virts today

Virtually
It was such a pleasing game to play,
Now I need a box to hide away
Oh we still need
New Virts today

 (wild applause, footstomping , flickering lighters and chants of All we are saying, is give virts a chance!)

                                                      Waymark! You’re up!

To the tune of Day-tripper.

Got a good reason, for taking the gps out
Got a good reason, for taking the gps out, now

I’ll be a way....marker, search great places, yeah
I’m gonna go…..out and find out, what it’s about

Such a big pleaser, all of the places I’ve found
Such a big pleaser, all of the places I’ve found, wow

Now I'm a way....marker, find cool places yeah
It lets me share....sites I found out and you'll seek out

My receiver, it’s a tour guide in my hands
My receiver, it’s a tour guide in my hands, yeah

Yes I'm a way....marker, find neat places yeah
It lets us share…..sites you found out and I’ll seek out

waymarker
waymarker yeah
waymarker
waymarker yeah

      (wild applause, footstomping , flickering lighters and chants of Waymarker, Waymarker, yeah)

Ladies and gentlemen that concludes our bout this evening.

 And now the world decides

               Will it be Bring Back Virtuals with “Virtually” or Waymarks with “Waymarker”?

Vote for your favorite by texting the word “vote” to IGO-VIRTS if you want to Bring Back Virtuals or WOW-MARKS if Waymarkers are the way to play!

Fri, May 07, 2010

Paul and Dana Gillin discovered geocaching and found it fascinating. Experienced writers, they read the available literature about geocaching and found something missing - stories about the people who play this game.

So they wrote a book! Months of research and extensive interviews in person and online with some of the most notable players in the game provided the basis for The Joy of Geocaching. I think it is the most interesting and compelling book yet written about our marvelous obsession.

Here is an excerpt from The Joy of Geocaching:

Excerpt - Chapter 6 - Caching to the limits.

We encountered two kinds of extreme geocachers when researching this book, and they couldn’t be more different. In fact, they don’t like being lumped together in the same category because their approach to the game is diametrically opposed. Nevertheless, we couldn’t resist spotlighting these people in the same chapter because both groups push the game to its logical limits. It’s just that one of them uses a car.

Extreme geocachers place and hunt for targets that require extreme skill, physical fitness, and a tolerance for occasional terror. Power cachers cope with sleeplessness, anxiety, and mental exhaustion in their attempts to log the maximum number of finds in 24 hours. We hope you enjoy meeting them. Let’s start with the crazy ones.

Extreme Cachers
When Wouter “Dutch” Sanders was growing up in Europe, he was fond of windsurfing, hiking in the Alps, and engaging in any “crazy stuff” he could find. Moving to the United States (specifically Macungie, Pennsylvania) and getting married settled him down a bit, but the spirit of adventure was still there.

Linuxxpert (so-named because of some early computer work he had done) discovered geocaching in 2007. Like many novices, Sanders started with the standard parking-lot and suburban finds, but he quickly grew bored. He noticed that some geocaches carried much higher difficulty/terrain ratings, including a few that were classified as 5/5—the very pinnacle of geocaching challenge.

Caches rated 5/5 are rare. If you were to draw a circle with a radius of 500 miles around Knoxville, Tennessee—a 785,000-square-mile area that reaches roughly from Baltimore to Jacksonville, Florida—you would find only 236 5/5 classifications out of the tens of thousands of caches in that range. A hide with a difficulty rating of 5 is “a serious mental/physical challenge that requires specialized knowledge, skills, or equipment,” according to the Cacheopedia.com website. A terrain rating of 5 means the cache “requires specialized equipment (for example, scuba gear, rock-climbing gear, a boat, or a four-wheel-drive vehicle) and the skill to use it, or is otherwise extremely difficult.” In other words, you’d better be in excellent shape to attempt a 5/5 geocache. Or, you’d better be a little nuts.

Linuxxpert is both. Among his 368 finds are 21 rated 5/5 and dozens more rated higher than 3.5 difficulty or terrain. He’s also placed four 5/5s and several others rated at the upper end of difficulty.

Linuxxpert’s geocaching adventures may involve ropes, ladders, mining helmets, and life rafts. He frequently places himself in situations that others would consider dangerous, even life-threatening. But for this extreme geocacher, part of the fun is conquering his fears. “I love to see people pushed to the limits,” he says.

He practices what he preaches. Linuxxpert has rappelled off cliffs over 100 feet high and dangled from railroad trestles spanning major rivers. He has spent over ten hours to find a single geocache and has tracked down some multi-stage puzzles that had 11 stages. “Some of the stages you can find in five minutes, some take two hours,” Sanders says. “That’s one of the thrills of the game.”

His hides are as daunting as his finds. For one recent placement (GC1G86E), his tongue-in-cheek warning stated:
"Do NOT attempt this cache if you are not in good physical shape, or if you are afraid of heights. Climbing gear WILL be needed, and you may get your feet wet. WEAR A HELMET WHILE CLIMBING THIS PILLAR AND/OR WHILE STANDING NEAR THE BASE! There is a lot of loose concrete debris that will fall down. Watch out that you do not knock the container off the pillar with your gear. It will kill you when hit, or more important, it will damage the container."

Rare Breed
Jeff Spencer (SNSpencer) is another thrill seeker. In the fall of 2007, he teamed up with a companion and headed out to grab and replace a 5/5 underwater container near Lake Tahoe that had been reported to be leaking water (GCG62F).

He tells the story:
We grabbed a few caches on our way up the mountain, then rented a kayak to go 700 feet out on the lake and do what we came to do. That’s when the day became an adventure. By the time we arrived at the boat launch, the wind had picked up and the water was getting rough. We headed out anyway, and found the cache on our first try about 12 feet below the surface. But a gust of wind suddenly blew us away. Within seconds, the GPSr showed we were 130 feet away.

We circled back, found the cache, and were blown away again. This cycle was repeated over and over. We finally decided that on the next pass I would dive into the water with the new container, dive down, unhook the old, hook on the new, and swim back to the kayak.

I rolled off the kayak with the new container in hand and swam down, but I couldn’t find the carabiner holding the old container on the anchor’s rope. So I had to pull the whole rope back to the surface. That wasn’t so hard, but the coffee can filled with cement that served as the anchor made it a real challenge! Kicking as hard as I could to stay afloat in the surf, I struggled to switch the containers, but the anchor was too much for me. I had to let the rope go.

Defeated, I swam back to the now-overturned kayak, where Dichroic was floating in the water. We took a short rest, holding onto the kayak, while I put on my life vest. We righted the kayak and paddled back to shore. Waiting for us there was a park ranger who’d been called by someone who thought we were drowning. We were okay, but the worst thing is that we were defeated! Mark my words: We will be back!

Life on the Edge
“Feeling like I’m going to die is exhilarating,” says George Merenich, a Dorrance, Pennsylvania-based extreme geocacher who goes by the handle of keoki_eme. “If it doesn’t involve a hike that means risking at least a little of my life, then I don’t want to do it.”

Keoki_eme and Linuxxpert enjoy a friendly competition in their region. Each says the other is nuts and both go to great lengths to prove his rival correct. They place caches intended to be so difficult that the other can’t find them. So far, neither has the upper hand, although keoki_eme takes particular pride in having subjected Linuxxpert to ten and a half hours of hell to retrieve The Gauntlet (GC1NEPJ).

As keoki_eme tells it, “The Gauntlet is at least eight stages with an extreme elevation change. It’s a killer hike for about a mile-and-a-half; you’re almost going straight up. Every stage is tough. At least three stages require rope. I conned my brother to help me place it and I don’t think he’ll ever go back in the woods again.”

The cache description begins with a four-minute YouTube video that advises the player to bring at least 150 feet of rope and plenty of water. “Start your journey EARLY,” it recommends. “This ain’t no walk in the park.”
Indeed it isn’t.

The experience of completing The Gauntlet is best summed up by this edited log entry from Clancy’s Crew, which found the final in March 2009:
Although we had all rappelled down structures, done some free climbing, and climbed many radio towers, some bridge girders, and a telephone pole with spikes, the whole ascending technique was new to us.… My trip down the cliff didn’t take long, although the lack of a wall to push off the last 15–20 feet was disconcerting. The highlight of the trip for me: After nine hours, I ascended a structure at one of the last stages, grabbed the cache, and ended up hanging in mid-air while removing the ascending gear. You have to trust the safety gear and harness, because it took two hands to remove the carabineer, pulley, and other equipment, with nothing to hold on to, and snow, ice and rocks below. Now we know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry—the cache wasn’t damaged.

Keoki_eme and Linuxxpert are sometimes joined by Maureen McArdelle, who got hooked on extreme geocaching when it taught her how to rock climb. Like other extreme geocachers we interviewed, the challenge of pushing herself to the limit is an important motivator. Extreme geocaching “has made me feel more empowered,” she says. “There is nothing I can’t do. You place it, I can get it. You create that puzzle and I will solve it. It has given me more confidence in myself.”

Being female has raised the stakes, since so few extreme cachers are women. She enjoys the odd blend of camaraderie and competition that’s typical of extreme sports enthusiasts. Players use good-natured insults to urge each other on. Her male compansions “are always teasing me about what color bandana I am going to wear, what color my toenails are going to be painted,” she said. But the taunts help her along. “I honestly don’t think I would have gone over the top on any of [Linuxxpert’s] pillar caches (GC1F925 and GC1G86E) without Dutch standing there telling me I am such ‘a girl’ if I couldn’t do it,” she says. And she adds, with some pride, “I climb barefoot and I think it amazes them.”

Hiding What They Find
With 5/5 geocaches being so challenging and rare, the people who find them are also likely the people who hide them. Linuxxpert recalls his favorite hide, Conquer Your Fears (GC17VAR):
There’s a big industrial park on the Lehigh River and this cache is hidden near an old iron furnace. There’s a[n abandoned] train trestle that crosses the Lehigh River and one of the containers is underneath the bridge. You have to crawl out to the middle of the river on the rail trestle and then climb down. The hint says to “look for what all geocachers desire” which is a smiley. I painted a smiley on the bridge.

In another stage, you have to crawl down into a hole that used to be an old iron furnace. And in the last stage, you have to crawl into the ceiling of another tunnel and make your way around a 90-degree bend.

Keoki_eme remembers another Linuxxpert challenge called “Too Difficult, Too Dangerous And Just Too Crazy!” (GC1812Z):
The first stage is on a[n abandoned] railroad trestle 30 feet above the river, but you have to climb a support tower another 20 feet above the trestle. The second stage is a 40-foot-high concrete pillar in the middle of the woods that you have to climb without a ladder. The third stage takes you down a long tunnel for several hundred feet, and the next stage is hidden in an old signal light.

The final is another trestle that’s missing most of its railroad ties. You have to balance yourself across the beams and walk to the middle of the river. There’s a magnetic ammo can that you can get to by crawling across the trestle.

Extreme-difficulty geocachers don’t play by the same rules as everyone else. One thing they agree upon is that after subjecting searchers to an hours-long physical ordeal, they won’t finish them off with a devious hide. “I make it a physical challenge to get there but there’s no way you’re going to miss the cache when you arrive,” says keoki_eme.

They’re also quick to call owners for advice on how to attack a challenge, and the owners are pretty reasonable about helping out. Everyone knows this is a potentially deadly pursuit, and they don’t want to make a determined player’s job more difficult than it has to be.

And even the extremists will admit that some finds are barely worth the effort. Asked if he remembers a time when he thought he was going to die, keoki_eme remembers one adventure on the Hawaiian island of Kauai with Tunnel #1 (GC146Q9) and The Other Way To Hanalei (GCHH2F):
It was the most grueling hike I’ve ever had. It was two-and-a-half miles on a mud trail as narrow as six inches from start to the finish. Then there was a mile-long tunnel with only a little dot of light at the other end and six inches of water all the way. It took us 45 minutes to get through the tunnel. Then we had to walk back the whole way again. My wife, Amy, was exhausted. I remember thinking, “If she goes down, there’s no way we’re getting out of here.” I’m not sure I would do it again, but I’m damned glad I did it.

Power Caching: Joy in Numbers
Ed Manley, the man we met at the very beginning of this book, prepared for GeoWoodstock IV for months. The annual gathering of thousands of enthusiastic geocachers had been a fixture on his calendar for years, but this year’s event was different. In 2006, GeoWoodstock would take place in Dallas, one of the caching capitals of the world.

Holding GW IV in Dallas was like staging a wine lover’s convention in Burgundy. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is infested with geocaches. In one six-square-mile area of Dallas alone, there are more than 80. Within about a 10-mile radius of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, there are an incredible 940 caches.

So this was the geocaching Olympics, and Manley (TheAlabamaRambler) wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to break the world record of caches found in a 24-hour period: an incredible 246 found by a team in Jacksonville, Florida, in October 2004. Manley thought it was possible to log 300 finds in one day, a figure that would have seemed absurd just a few years earlier because of the relative sparseness of hides.

The planning took more than two months. TheAlabamaRambler and seven other enthusiasts—three Americans and four Germans—had met and become friendly in geocaching forums over the last couple of years. They reached a consensus that Dallas was the chance to break the world record and, operating as a loosely confederated team, they had scoured the list of cache candidates to identify the optimal route.

They boiled it down to 500 cache possibilities, but that was just the beginning. Each cache owner needed to be contacted individually and had to agree to participate in the record attempt. Not all owners approve of team caching, you see, and the record attempt would be made by a group of eight men who, in the interest of time, would sign the logbook only once. Owners had to be cool with that.

Fortunately, the owners thought the thrill of being part of a record attempt was enough incentive to bend the rules. Everyone agreed. Meanwhile, a few of the members began playing with Microsoft Streets and Trips software to create an optimal route. Time was of the essence. Team members calculated that they could spend no more than three minutes looking for any one cache.

The 12-person Chevrolet van would have a driver, a scribe, and a group of designated hunters. When the location was reached, members would jump out of the van and search for the cache in a choreographed arrangement. While a few were searching, others would be in their van feverishly preparing for the next find.

The team gathered on Friday evening, laptops in hand, to go through a practice run. They hadn’t gone very far when it became clear that they had a problem. The process of digging the logbook out of each cache was going to slow them down to the point that the 300-find goal would be impossible. So they devised a workaround: Instead of signing the logbook, they would use a felt-tip pen to mark the outside of each found container. They believed that mark would be sufficient proof that they had found the cache and, after all, the purpose of the logbook was mainly to establish proof of the find.

On Saturday morning, the team hit the road in the van for what would become one of the most memorable days of TheAlabamaRambler’s life. “We laughed the whole time,” he says. “The Germans didn’t speak English, and we didn’t speak German. You can imagine the scene!”

Twenty-four caffeine-fueled hours later, the team staggered back to their hotel. They were bleary and exhausted, but they had found 312 caches out of 352 attempts, obliterating the previous record. In the end, they would agree to record only 295 of those finds, the result of a dispute that arose when the team split up to retrieve a trove of 17 caches clustered together. In fact, a debate raged on Groundspeak forums for nearly three weeks after the team’s feat was recorded, with members debating nuances of the caching rules.

The record wouldn’t stand for long. In late August 2009, a team of three geocachers—f0t0m0m, ventura_kids, and EMC of Northridge, CA—logged 413 finds in 24 hours (see sidebar [below]).

Geocachers, it appears, are sticklers for the rules. Several forum members took issue with the Dallas team’s decision to sign the caches on the outside rather than opening the log books and signing each one individually. Some members argued that record-setting attempts in themselves debased the spirit of geocaching by reducing the game to a mere numbers competition.

Despite the controversy, the so-called “power caching” phenomenon has gathered steam. In a community in which the number of caches a member has found can bestow a kind of celebrity status, enthusiasts are increasingly challenging themselves to amass impressive totals.

Sidebar: One for the Record Books
Power cachers are always pushing the limits of the game, and as we were in the final stages of writing this book, we received word of a new record claim by a team that included two people we quote extensively elsewhere: Steve O’Gara (ventura_kids) and Elin Carlson (EMC of Northridge, CA). They joined with Jim Hoffman (f0t0m0m) on August 29, 2009, in a midnight-to-midnight run that netted 413 caches in one day.

The trip involved extensive planning using GSAK, Google Earth, and Geocaching.com. Ventura_kids created nine possible routes, consuming an estimated 45 hours of preparation. The team figured they needed to log a find every three minutes and 22 seconds to hit the record. Searching time was limited to one minute once they stopped the car and considering that, it’s remarkable the team logged only 23 DNFs for the journey.

Their odyssey started near Denver airport with five “warm-up” caches just before the midnight kickoff. The team logged its 100th find at 5:30 A.M. By then, they had already battled swarms of grasshoppers who thought their car was a nifty place to hang out in the darkness of night. All day long, our heroes suffered through heat and dehydration in the process of traveling 471 miles.

“There were no bathrooms,” ventura_kids told us. “Anytime somebody needed to go, I’d say, ‘Cache is on the left, bathroom is on the right.’"

Everyone had a role. Ventura_kids has a near photographic memory for routes, so he did the driving. EMC posted constant updates on Facebook and Twitter. F0t0m0m was in charge of music (and decided on country music just to annoy EMC, who sings mostly classical music and opera for a living).

“We discarded the multi-stage caches and worked every puzzle we could,” ventura_kids said. “We got rid of the ones that even looked like a problem. I had a map with approach drawings on the left and departure drawings on the right. As we approached a cache, the others would pour out of the car, with Jim saying, ‘I’ve got the left!’ and Elin saying, ‘I’ve got the right!’ I’d turn around and be ready to depart when they got back.”

Fatigue nearly robbed the cachers of their record, as the hours passed. “You don’t realize how tired and emotional you’re going to be,” ventura_kids said. He told jokes to lighten up the crew, even when he was feeling the stress of the day. EMC sang for her friends. Everyone was energized by the prospect of setting a new record, and in the end, they were rewarded with a new world record to their name. Will their feat stand for long? No doubt there are others plotting right now to make sure it doesn’t. (In fact, as we went to press, word came in that a team in Sweden had logged over 500 caches in 24 hours!)

What Is Power Caching?
Power caching is an extreme version of the game that can push participants to and past exhaustion. An outing typically consists of a frantic run through an area of dense placements with the goal of finding each container in just a few minutes. The activity usually involves teams of people, but even individuals have been known to log well over 100 finds in a single day.

In the process of researching this book, we were treated to a power cache excursion by a team of two Austin, Texas-area veterans—The Outlaw, who organized the day, and TreyB. (See “Power Caching Journal” following this chapter.) We logged 102 finds for the day, but we had several advantages, including the fact that The Outlaw had found nearly all of the targets previously and had hidden a third of them. The adventure took an exhausting 15 hours and instilled in us profound respect for the enthusiasts who power cache on a regular basis. These people are just as nuts as the extreme cachers.

There is little elegance about power caching. Difficult or cryptic hides are usually avoided in the interest of time. Participants seek to maximize the number of easy-to-find caches and to optimize their route so that a minimum amount of time is spent in the car. A one-day power caching excursion may be preceded by two months of planning. Veterans say the activity is physically draining and can be monotonous, since it focuses on the least-challenging caches to find. Do it for variety, they recommend, but only in moderation.

Still, the act of running up numbers can be exhilarating. Among the more than 20,000 finds that EMC of Northridge, CA has rung up were 300 on July 4, 2007, with Andy and Jen Perkins (Team Perks) and Bill Varney (Cachepal) in a manic run in Porterville, California.

Ventura_kids (Steve and Sandy) usually power cache with Jim Hoffman (f0t0m0m). Steve drives to the cache in his trademark Jeep. He’s the driver because he has an incredible photographic memory and knows the routes to and all the details of all the caches he’s ever sought. (This is a truly impressive and savantish feat when you consider Steve’s found over 18,000 geocaches.)

Once they get to the location, Steve starts counting down from 40. By the time he gets to 10, f0t0m0m or Sandy has usually found the cache. F0t0m0m hands the cache to Sandy, who retrieves the log as she and f0t0m0m rendezvous with Steve. They each attach log stickers, rehide the cache, and jump in the car for their next destination.

Meanwhile, Steve has started the Jeep up again and is ready to head to the next location. Sandy is the second one in the car and Steve keeps an eye on his dashboard for a signal that the right rear door has closed, indicating f0t0m0m is back in the car. When he sees that dashboard indicator, he goes. He doesn’t turn around to check, as that would mean wasted time. Of course, this means that sometimes they leave without f0t0m0m being in the car. Usually Sandy notices this and yells at Steve to stop.

As for the day’s timing, Sandy keeps the time for the group’s trip, and she’s as severe as a drill sergeant: The rule is if they don’t get 10 caches each hour in the morning, then the team doesn’t get to have lunch. “We created the seven-minute limit to ensure we never waste too much time,” Steve says. “We start our little timers [originally an actual timer; now it’s just Steve counting backwards] as we exit the Jeep, and if the cache hasn’t been found when the alarm goes off, we leave.”

WE4NCS agrees it’s necessary to have a plan when power caching. A 61-year-old who goes on regular power caching trips with Roger Dillard (rldill, age 55) and Granpa Alex (age 63), WE4NCS loads power caching trips from GSAK (once he’s filtered them for ease and cluster locations) to Microsoft Streets and Trips. Then he plugs in his portable USB GPSr and tracks the car’s progress on his laptop, in addition to tracking the progress on their GPS units.

Using this method, the team can alter their plan while on the go and get the most caching bang for their time. They’ve been known to cache for 40 hours at once without stopping to sleep. What possesses 60-year-old men to do this? “It’s better than sitting in front of the television!” WE4NCS says. The team plays so often together that they’ve created a name for themselves—Team CHS (Cache-Hunting Studs).

Why Would Anyone Want to Power Cache?
Doesn’t that mad dash betray the Zen of the game? It’s true that the goal of traditional caching and power caching do not mesh. Traditional caching is usually about a good walk, fresh air, discovering a new park or trail, the thrill of the hunt for that one elusive hiding spot, the details you write in your log, and that one smiley that means so much because of the experience.

Power caching is about getting there and moving on. It’s a numbers game in which your eyes only leave the GPSr long enough to fix on Ground Zero. It is hours of heart-pounding, focused intensity. “When you’re power caching, you can’t be bothered whether the sun is shining,” says dgreno. “Just make sure you carry big flashlights and plenty of extra batteries.” This explains his penchant for 36-hour continuous power runs.

Power cachers often have a goal, such as 100 finds in 8 hours or 500 in a week. They pay the price: Ankles and hamstrings throb the next morning from climbing into and out of the car and dashing between targets. Logging finds can be a chore when you can’t really think of anything special to say about your 78th cache after 11 hours. And that one smiley that means so much in traditional geocaching is only a means to an end in power caching—that final count for the day.

But power caching is actually more than numbers. It’s about setting and pursuing goals and pushing yourself to the limit. It’s about competition with others, personal records, and new targets to shoot for. Ask a power caching veteran to tell you about her personal records and she’ll usually rattle off a string of numbers, dates, and locations, frequently recalling memorable finds along the way.

Power Caching the USA
When elite geocachers conspire, weirdness ensues.

It took a team of three geo-fanatics—dgreno, Alamogul, and Roger Seaman (retiredprof)—to dream up the most remarkable geocaching story we heard during our months of research and scores of interviews. The team, which has more than 68,000 finds between them, geocached across all 50 U.S. states in just 10 days. Their odyssey covered 12,000 miles, not including the two plane flights needed to log Alaska and Hawaii. It was a masterpiece of planning and execution.

The goal was to qualify for and grab the “Found 50 States, I’m Going to Disneyland!” cache (GCRFNN), which they nabbed in world record time. In fact, like DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, their record is likely to stand for a long time.

The adventure began in San Francisco, where the team rented a new car with less than 200 miles on the odometer. They drove north to Seattle, logging Oregon along the way. Their flight to Alaska was longer than their stay there: just three hours on Alaskan soil.

The plan was to take the northern route east and the southern route west. There would be no sightseeing or lounging by the pool for these men on a mission. Dgreno had been planning for two months.

The goal wasn’t big numbers. In fact, the players set out to log only two finds per state in order to make sure that at least one was recognized. As it happened, they finished with 350.

Among the time-saving shortcuts they employed:
•    Staying on interstate highways to maximize speed.
•    Renting rooms at the cheapest hotels with Internet access every other day to shower,—“so we could stand to be in the same car with each other,” according to dgreno.
•    Equipping the rental car with power converters and plenty of batteries to keep computers and GPSr units humming 24/7 without stop.
•    Alerting cachers along the route of their arrival so that events could be planned—and logged—as they passed through.

Somewhere in New Mexico near the end of the trip, Alamogul slammed his laptop shut with a pen still lying on the keyboard. The screen was destroyed. He called a friend in California to say that the trio would reach Albuquerque two hours later. Could the friend please find some local cachers to lend them time on their computer?

They shortly got a note from a family of Albuquerque enthusiasts who said they’d be happy to meet the team. Dgreno, Alamogul, and retiredprof pulled up at 6 A.M. to find a hot breakfast and a warm computer waiting. They downloaded the missing data, ate, bid adieu to the family, found a cache on the front lawn of the house, and hit the road again.

The Alamogul laptop tragedy aside, the trip went surprisingly smoothly. Returning to California ten days after they started, the team boarded a plane for Hawaii, cached for a few hours and flew back to complete the run. Disneyland, here we come!

Oh, we forgot to mention one big cost-saving tip: renting a car. The bill for the 12,000-mile journey was just $250 (plus gas, of course), thanks to unlimited-miles pricing. The only unfortunate part: The team discovered only on the final day that they had had access to satellite radio all along.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Fri, May 07, 2010

Groundspeak has created a new brochure explaining our game that we can all print and use.

I am going to have a bunch of them printed in full color to pass out!

http://www.geocaching.com/articles/Brochures/EN/EN_Geocaching_BROCHURE.pdf

By Web   Mon, Mar 16, 2009

One of my favorite cache logs...

August 18, 2008 by oldboyhiker (3772 found)
Indiana Hiker was tense. This situation was different than any other he had encountered before. Several months ago an old colleague, Professor Warren Gubbool, had set off on a quest to the great north woods. In his studies the Professor thought he had found the key to answer the age old question of who were the actual first European settlers to live in the new world. Though quirky, off center, & often looked down upon by the mainstream due to his rather "primitive" lifestyle Indy knew the professor had a hunch that very well just might change the history of the new world as we knew it.

There was one slight hitch. The Professor had explained to Indy that an old drunk one legged traveler had once told him that these first Europeans had come to the new world in ships filled with gold from the old world. The story went that the Europeans thought they would need the gold for barter with the locals. But of course the local Indians could be bought off with cheap beads & trinkets, so the gold was never used. The colonist found out the gold wasn't any good for growing crops, or hunting, or building a fort out in the new world wilderness. It didn't make for good tools or even fertilizer. The Colonists decided to hide the gold for safe keeping until they either returned to Europe or a supply ship came by. Unfortunately, for the colonists the local Indians distrusted the newcomers & in a great uprising slaughtered all but only the infants. The Indians found the gold, but of course had no use for it except in the telling of stories of "The sun that you can hold in your hands".

Indy knew the professor couldn't be the only person looking for the first European colony. The gold aspect of it attracted everyone who knew & believed the story. He figured several groups had to be actively searching. A few were not honorable & one or two were just plain rabble. The most notorious was a group of American Irish Republican Army (IRA) sympathizers. The organization had been quiet for over twenty years. But certain "do gooder" American sympathizers saw an opportunity to revamp and refund the terrorist activities if they could only find the rumored gold themselves.

The Professor had disappeared; Indy hadn't heard from him or received a text from him in weeks. Indy decided he had to head north to find the old geezer. So he set out & arrived near the Professor's last known position parched & tired from the long trip. He stopped in a nearby small hamlet called Trussville. A backwards place, the Taco Bell was the ritziest restaurant in town. Indy knew this would be the last store bought food he would see in awhile. He went in hungry.

A hush came over the restaurant when he walked in. The locals had never seen him before. Everybody knew everyone else in this burgh. The young teenage kid at the counter looked Indy over good as he walked up. He was skinny, pimply faced with red hair & freckles. He had dreamed of seeing the world & this worldly stranger from PHAH interested him. What he wouldn't give to go explore with this guy.

"Could I have a taco, a burrito and a coke please" Indy said to the teenager. The boy nodded. People in the restaurant turned & looked. From his accent they knew he was from the far away south. "Maybe even as far south as PHAH" one girl whispered close to her boyfriend. The whispers stopped when the front entrance to the store was flung open heavily, so that it slammed the back of the glass window. The Taco Bell boy looked up. In the back of the store he saw several people, maybe four, all dressed in black, with sunglasses who had burst into the store & spread out inside. Indy, hungry & tired, was oblivious to what was going on behind him as he quietly waited for his order.

The leader of the dark group, a woman, signaled to a man & another woman to cover the other two exits while she took the back. "Pigeons both sides" she snapped. "Scooter go get started". "Scooter" headed to the front of the store & brushed shoulders with Indy as he walked past. Indy thought the man looked familiar. The man didn't notice Indy. The man turned & announced to the people in the restaurant. "Everyone stop what you are doing! Listen to me" the man yelled coarsely. "We are here looking for a cave. The one that has the ancient Indian gold in it. Where is it? We must know now or some of you could die!" All conversations stopped. Indy was at first stunned, then perplexed, then fearful. "What the...." he thought. Someone in the crowd yelled "that's just an old legend. It's not true & never was". Suddenly, from the back the lead woman stepped up. "Listen to me good..... We know that the existence of the cave is a true fact". Indy recognized the voice immediately "O hail! It's O'Hail" his brain screamed. He knows he can't let her recognize him as she was surely looking for the same thing Professor Gubbool was. He looked down at the floor. She continued "There was a man here recently. He walked everywhere. He told lots of stories, gray beard, and funny wide brimmed hat. Probably made a nuisance of himself too I'll bet. He liked cookies...... & he was looking for THIS cave. Where is he now?!" Someone in the crowd spoke up. "Yeah, I saw him". O'Hail, turning to look at the speaker from near the counter glanced at Indy. She then looked back. When she did, it was squarely into Indy's face who was still trying to look down.

"AuuuuGH!" she yelled. "Who do we have here? Indy? Indiana Hiker? Here?" She turns toward the crowd. "See people this is the great Indiana Hiker. He doesn't come all the way out to this Podunk forest for no good reason. He must think there is gold here too... Don't you Indy?' She turns & smiles wickedly & points at him. Pigeons get him!" Just then the red haired kid behind the counter yells "Mr. Hiker! Here's your order sir & tosses a small wrapped up burrito to him. Indy reacts quickly. Caches the burrito & flings it in front of Mr. Pigeon who steps on it, slips, & falls face to the floor. A lady fearful for her child in the crowd picks up the dear girl with a hefty lift & swings her over her shoulder & turns around. The girl's feet hit lady Pigeon smack dab in the face & she is knocked onto the floor out cold. Everyone in the restaurant, now seeing a chance, all dash wildly for the exits. Both Pigeons are prevented from getting up by the trampling crowd passing by. The red haired kid then grabs O'Hail from behind, dumps the coke on her head & wrestles her to the ground. Indy looks up, punches a surprised Scooter in the jaw & turns to high tail it out the door with the crowd.

Out the door Indy takes to the vehicle & begins to start the car. Just as it begins to move forward the red haired Taco Bell counter kid runs out in front of the car. Indy slams on the breaks. CLUNK! The kid hits the front of the car. Indy is stuck. He can't get out without running over the kid. So he gets out of the car to move him. As he tries to push the kid away the kid tells him. "No, Mr. Hiker I want to come with you" "I am sorry kid you can't" replies Hiker. "No you don't understand. I know.... I know...." He pants "You know what kid?" "I know where the cave is Mr. Hiker. I've been there. I used to play there when I was little." Indy offers him a hand & helps him into the car. They leave the parking lot spinning gravel all over a green jeep in the parking lot. The car heads out into the rural night air.

The kid leads Indy to the cave in the dark. As they move closer they both see a small light bobbing around at the mouth of the cave. "You stay here kid. I'll go investigate" says Indy. Carefully, Hiker makes his way down to the cave. He keeps a constant watch on the light. Wanting at all times to know where it is. The light stays over in the far corner of the gully, not moving, as he climbs his way down into the hole. At the bottom Indy quietly moves toward the light. Without warning....WACK,... WACK! Indy feels a pain on the side of his head. Then he hears a shriek. "Son of a Bisket!" WACK.! Another sting. "Son of a Bisket!" WACK! Finally, the beating stops. "You son of a bisket what are you doing here? I've got a gun.." It was a sharp female voice; aggressive & intense. A blinding light as bright as the sun then was shined in Indy's eyes. Indy squinted & covered his eye with his hand. There was long pause.......

"Indiana Hiker!!! Is that you? Sure haven't seen you in awhile....... Ok, now I have. The gold & the artifacts will GO WITH ME! UNDERSTAND?" The voice then softened. "Poor baby" Indy recognized the sweet southern tones. It was Magnolia Tupelo. An eclectic southern girl, more at home in Greenwich Village than the wilds of these parts. The last Indy had heard of her she was the head collector for the New York Museum of antiquities. He hoped she still didn't want his head on a spike, but he couldn't remember for sure what the situation was at their last parting. She was aggressive about her finds & the numbers of artifacts that she collected for her employer was astonishing. A relentless searcher well veiled by her slight five & a half foot frame. "Hi,.... Magnolia" He said as he rubbed the blood on his skull & shook the cobwebs from his brain. "You swing that stick pretty good lady. Somebody teach you to do that did they?" "You know somebody taught me how to use that a long time ago Indy.... You old piddlefart! Just thought I needed a little more training using it. Yeah. Did I pass?" She smiled as she checked the cut on his head. "You know the New York Museum DOES have the rights to this one? This IS going to be my find! So what ARE you doing here Indy?" "I'm looking for Professor Gubbool, Magnolia. Have you seen him?". "Lord No! I haven't seen him in months......." She paused while she thought. "Or even years. He was a mess. Bless his little heart".

Just then falling rocks are heard as the Taco Bell kid comes bouncing down the hillside on his butt. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!! Mr. Hiker! They're coming. The people from the restaurant. They're coming". "You got a name kid?" asked Indy. "Yes sir. It's Jim...... Jim Betterman sir." "Well, Jim Betterman lets get in the cave. How do we get in?" "There's a steel gate over the entrance Mr. Hiker. It has locks. Locks from both inside & outside sir.... But....." "But what Jim?" asked Indy. "But she can't come". "Why not Jim?" "Well,.. Well, ... sir, she.... she's.....a...GIRL!" "Granted Jim. She is. Now how do we ALL get in?". "Ok, I have both keys". "Keys? You just happen to have keys? Both keys Jim?!" "Yes sir. I always have my keys with me at all times. I go lots of places. Everyone lets me have them, so I can get in. My dad was the care taker here many years ago. There used to be a bar in there during prohibition. They had bands, alcohol, & dancing in there during the 30's." "Ok, Jim that's good, but you carry the keys with you all the time?" Jim stares blankly at Indy & says nothing. A long pause..... Indy gives up. "Ok then, Jim lets go in. What's above the cave?" "Oh, there is a lake up there Mr. Hiker". Indy didn't like the sound of that, but figured no point in mentioning it now. "But the valve stays shut off Mr. Hiker, so we'll be safe. There is an escape tunnel. It was so if the cops raided the place everyone could get out. It's very narrow though. They could open up the valve & flood the front part of the cave. That way the cops couldn't get in for awhile & everybody had time to climb out the back. They had to climb out and up a tall ladder though. It's old now." "Did it work?.. The flooding?" asked Indy. Jim looked puzzled at being questioned. "I suppose it did Mr. Hiker. But we got to go I hear someone coming!" The trio opened the gate & locked back all the locks & then disappeared into the black inky hole.

Five shadowy figures quietly made their way into the gully headed for the cave. One extremely large man had joined them. As they stepped down to the gate the large man lifted a large sledgehammer and swung. CLANG!!! CLANG!!! CLANG!!! Cheers of "Go Dib. Go get it!' came from some of the figures.

Jim, Magnolia, & Indy all searched the area for clues of professor Gubbool's whereabouts', the lost colony, or the gold following the dark dank cave passages. In the first room there was clearly a stage over to the left. "That's where the band was my father told me once" said Jim. They came to an ornate set of stairs that spiraled 15 feet or so up to the second room. They were tiled in a bright blue, green & white motif. The tiles were arranged, so that they took the form of a bright tropical parrot from the side and a palm tree from the top. "Cool!" said Magnolia. If the valve to the pipe in the lake is opened the water fills up this room, but doesn't get up past the stairs explained Jim. "You hope" said Indy. Both Indy & Magnolia were scanning the ceiling. What they saw astonished them. "A crystal chandelier!" announced Magnolia. "Double cool" says Indy. Walking through the cave everyone's eyes & lights were active. The light landed on a rough wooden statue of an aboriginal man. "Are there any more of these down here Jim?" Indy asked. "I've seen a few. I don't know why they had them down here. It doesn't fit the rest of the decorations". "No it doesn't" Indy replied. "Magnolia, do you recognize this?" "No not me." Indy smiled. "This is from the Threecard tribe. An ancient savage people who were run off by the other Indians tribes prior to the Mayflower. Legend says though short in stature they ate their dead as celebration & were expert water crafters. The rest of the tribes thought they were devils and chased them away after several wars. Maybe a few of them holed out in this cave. Indy smiled. "Don't you think so Magnolia?" Indy's face lit up when he pulled on the statue's head & it came off. "You BROKE it!" Jim said in a surprised voice. Indy explained "Some of these ancient tribes kept secret things in these statues. Let's see." Indy pulled out a little crystal vile with some liquid in it. "The head always represented the being. So only the most precious things were placed there. Look, see the writing on the top of the crystal?" Magnolia grabbed the bottle from Indy. "I don't see a thing" She said. "Well, shake it then Magnolia. Shake it good until the blue liquid inside coats the top of the vile". "Oh, now I see it. I can't read the symbols." said Magnolia starting in a high pitched excited voice. "Ancient Threecardese is a backward language Magnolia. They were a very coarse people, almost evil, beastly even some say.... May I?" as Indy gestured for Magnolia to give him back the vile. At first she just stood there fighting her own strong desires to keep the vile close to her. It took all her effort to give Hiker back the vile. "Thank you" Indy smiled & then read the symbols. "Room of sun other pathway". "See I TOLD you we chose the WRONG passage getting here." Magnolia dug at Indy. "Where is the other pathway?" Magnolia says looking at Jim & smiling like an angel. Small drops of sweat are forming on her cheeks. Jim replied "Yes, but it is in a lower part of the cave". "Jim is there another statue like this in the other passageway?" "Yes, I think so Mr. Hiker. There is also another one of a monstrous beast."

The group headed back to the front room & back down the spiral staircase. They could hear a rhythmic sound of the sledgehammer pounding at the gate. "It's O Hail" Indy quietly tells the others.. The group stops at the front room to listen. Indy looks at Jim. "Do you know how this valve works? We may have to use it". "I'm not sure says the young man". Just then a cheer is heard from the gate area. "They just broke in the gate. I guess it's time we learn, Huh Jim?" "Yes, sir" the boy answers timidly. Both Indy & Jim start to try & turn the big wheel of the valve in front of them. It doesn't budge. They try again. Nothing happens. It's locked solid. Both Jim & Indy are sweating profusely of fear, tension, & effort. Magnolia walks over to investigate. "What's this lever here?" she says, unlatches it & moves it to the other side. The valve wheel immediately starts to freewheel when the boys push on it again. Jim gets his arm caught on the wheel & rides it in a big circle before being tossed out in the middle of the floor while Indy deftly spins out of the way. The whole cave starts rumbling & shaking as thousands of gallons of water start shooting into the first room. "I didn't do that" Magnolia squeals. Indy turns & tells her "Thank you. You just unlocked that valve my dear".

"This way. I know the way. There is a dam way down the tunnel. We'll have to run!" shouts Jim. The elders follow running. The pathway they are taking is at the same level as the first room, so the water catches them, flows past them & then starts to rise slowing them down. "How much further Jim?" Indy asks. "A long way" Jim replies. Just then a wall of water hits the trio. Indy being behind the other two is caught first & slung onto the backs of his companions. The lights are immediately lost in the wave & arms, legs, feet & heads all tumble against one another. Indy grabs a rock on the top side of the wall & then finds an air pocket. He is now alone. The others washed away. The air pocket starts to shrink as the water rises to the ceiling. He has to tread water. His only chance is to let go & find another big air pocket. He lets go and is gone. Sucked under in the silence, darkness, and airlessness Indy's lungs about burst as he is pulled by the current feet first. His feet hit a wall in front of him & his whole body tumbles from the water. When he is upright he pushes off the bottom strongly with his feet. Straight up. "There has to be air!" he thinks. His head hits something soft, but then it is gone. Indy hardly notices as he takes his first giant gulp of musty air. He floats there for several minutes chocking & gasping for his breath. He is at the dam that was made to allow escape from the flooded section of the cave during the prohibition. On the other side of the dam he hears Jim saying "Where is everyone? I can't see. I can't see." & Magnolia moaning curses in pain somewhere on the other side of the dam below him. Magnolia had run up against the dam just as Indy had. She had waited in the deep water with her back against the dam & had just about pushed herself halfway out of the water onto her backside when Indy surfaced straight up. He rammed her right squarely on her butt with his head with force enough to knock her up out of the water & over the dam where she tumbled down the wet steps on the other side.

There was silence for several minutes. Indy felt his way down the slippery steps on the backside of the dam. "Everybody here?" asked Indy. Both the others responded; but barely. Then more silence. "Anybody got a light?" "No" "Nope". A third very weak voice called out. "Is that someone? I have a light. We need water though. Please help us. We're over here."

A glimmer of hope rose in the dank blackness. "Shine your light" shouted Indy. A faint light is seen 100 feet away "Who are you?" asks Indy. "I'm Scott & that is Jewels". He pointed over to a small ball rolled up over in the corner. "We've been down here for three days. I'm with the local university here. We came to look for artifacts & to place a geocache. We were repelling back up the hole above when I slipped & we both fell back down onto the cave floor". "Any broken bones?" asked Indy. "No" But I twisted my knee". "If you give me a cup Scott I'll get you both some water. There's plenty of it here now" offered Magnolia." "Thanks. Who are you?" "I'm Indy & these are my partners Jim & Magnolia. We were looking for a wooden statue of an Indian. Have you seen that?" "Yes, we found that one" Do you remember where it was?" "I don't recall it at all" Scott says. "My mind is blank. I think Jewel's actually found that one. I have a friend that has found it too. Do you want me to call him & ask?" "You have a phone?" said Indy. "Well, I can use it when we get out of here" replied Scott. "Jewel's dear. Do you remember the statue we found? Do you remember where it was?" Jewel's did remember & gave the directions to the explorers. They all sat & rested for several minutes in the pitch dark while Jim took the light & explored the area of the cave where the cave people had fallen.

"Hey Indy" shouts Jim "This is the exit shaft. No more ladder though. But the repelling equipment is still here, but it's all laying on the ground. Geez, I want to get out of here! HELP, HELP, HELP" Jim starts to scream. The filtered morning light can be seen from above though the shaft. "HELP, HELP!" Jim then thinks he caught sight of a little movement right at the top edge of the shaft. He's not sure. Then he makes out a color. A light gray; & it moved again. Then a little more of the object appears. It's a cowboy type hat... "I saw it move" yelled Jim. "Somebody's up there". "HEY, HEY HELP US we're down here!" Indy fumbles his way over to the shaft in the dark next to Jim. Just then an old grey bearded face of a man peers over the edge. "Is someone down there?" He calls out. "Yes, Yes, we need help to get out of here" explains Jim. The stranger above pauses a short while. Then he calls back facetiously. "There is some climbing rope up here should I tie it off & throw it down? Would that work?" "Ahhhh, yeah that would be good" answers Indy.

The rope comes down & Indy looks up at the would-be savior. The stranger casts a familiar silhouette. The stranger asks "What are you folks doing in these parts?" "My name is Indiana Hiker. I came to help a friend, a professor Warren Gubbool. Any chance you might have seen him in this area?" answers Indy. "Help a friend? What friend can you help from down in that hole? It seems to me if you wanted to HELP somebody you wouldn't get yourself stuck in a CAVE where CAVE PEOPLE live. It also seems to me that if the one you are trying to save, saves YOU instead then you must be a miserable FAILURE at saving people!!!. Especially, when the one who is to be saved is getting along by himself quite well, such as the afore mentioned Professor Gubbool..." Indy looked up, dropped his shoulders & smiled "You're a butt you know it? But I am glad your Ok buddy." It was Gubbool. "Of course I'm a butt. You drove 2200 miles here to be in a cold wet hole & I am up here safe, warm, & enjoying my hot cocoa & pop tarts for breakfast".

The first order of business was to get the cavers out. Every one in the cave was tired, wet, covered in mud from head to toe & cold. It was decided Gubbool & Jim would work on that using Scott's expert repelling knowledge while Indy & Magnolia went back to search for the other statue. Gubbool filled them in on what he had found out & tossed down a couple of good lights to explore the cave by. Indy & Magnolia headed back off down the cave. Both lights were moving quickly along the cave perimeter. Magnolia spied something & ran toward it & grabbed it. It was another small vile hanging on the wall. "But there is no statue here?" Indy wondered out loud. Magnolia holds the vile out toward him. "Read it. Read it Indy. Read it now." Indy looked at her. "Are you sure you trust me?" & smiles. She gives him a grimace. Indy looked. "This one is totally blank. No one has ever found this before!!!!"

"We did it Magnolia!" "Yes, we did Indy!" "What about the gold though Magnolia?" "Aww, forget about the gold. It was the Caver's FTF we really wanted".

WAA HOOO FTF BAY BAY.

We leave our hero's with the knowledge that somewhere deep in the bowels of the Birmingham Beast there is still an unfound cache of ancient European gold more valuable than any geocache. Will YOU be the one to find it?

The end.

Fri, May 07, 2010

Alright, my wife broke her foot.  Every time we go anywhere I hear, “What did you do?”, or “Oh, you poor thing.”  Enough already. 

It's not that I don’t feel bad for her, but what about me?  My life is in turmoil as well.  The constant, “Honey could you get me the…”, or, “Sweetie, I can’t reach the…”, and of course, “I don’t mean to bother you but…”.  Multiply that by a thousand and see how you would bear up.  If things were turned around I’m willing to wager that about the second time I said, “Honey could you get me..?”, and I’d hear an emphatic, “You don’t need it.”  And another thing, you can’t imagine how her accident has disrupted our caching.  Let me give you an example.

Wife:  “I’m bored.  You just don’t know how terrible it is to be stuck in the house for days on end.”

This is where I get confused.  I don’t know?  Its not as though she’s been alone.  Where have I been?  Out painting the town red while she sits home alone moping.  Who’s been her gofer for the last three weeks?  Of course I didn’t mention any of that but instead tried to find a solution to her discomfort and a fix for my caching addiction.

Me:  “Would you like to try to do a simple cache?”

Wife:  “I suppose we could if it doesn’t involve too much walking.  Its so hard to get around with the crutches.  Do you think you could find something we could do?”

Something we could do?  I had a long list compiled of easy caches recently published while we’ve been trapped home.  I tried not to sound too anxious.  

Me:  “I think I may be able to find something.”

So off we go.  That sounded easy, didn’t it?  What really happened was it took about an hour to get her ready and stuffed into the car.  I had picked a cache that wasn’t exactly a P&G but would still be easy and offer the wife somewhat of a challenge.  We parked next to the paved path which lead to the cache. 

Wife:  “How far is it?”

Me:  “The GPS says about two hundred feet.”

Wife:  “That’s too far.  You go get it while I wait in the car.”

I knew if she didn’t go after this one it would be a long time before we would get to go again.  It took some convincing but finally she relented.  It was almost as arduous to get her unloaded as it was to get her into the car.  Soon we were walking down the path.  When I say walking I may be misleading.  It was agony to watch how slowly the wife was moving.  I know she was using crutches and was wearing a large black boot but, come on.  She was moving so slowly I believe if she was in a race with her shadow, she would come in a close but disappointing second.  As I watched her inch along I was reminded of my experience in Army basic training.  Our Drill Sergeant would make all the recruits run a mile on an oval track.  To discourage running too slowly the sergeant would get behind the recruit in last place and kick him in the seat of his pants yelling at him to go faster.  At the time I thought the sergeant’s behavior was abhorrent.  But after watching the wife’s painfully slow progress, I could now better understand the wisdom of the sergeant’s training techniques.  I tried to stay behind her so she wouldn’t see my frustration.

Wife:  “I’m going as fast as I can.”

Me:  “I didn’t say anything.”

Wife:  “Don’t think I can’t hear you sighing.”

Me:  “I’ll try not to breath so loudly.”

Well, after a few days we arrived at GZ.  It turned out the cache was a couple of feet from the path hanging in a small tree about shoulder high. The wife spotted it and quickly retrieved the bison tube.

Wife:  “I found it!”

I stood amazed at how nimbly she could move.  I was equally amazed at how quickly she reverted back to almost helplessness as we labored back down the trail.  By the end of the week, we got back to the car.  I performed the task of reloading the wife and we were on our way home.   Having found only one cache, I was brooding over the miserable time we had had when the wife said…

Wife:  “Wasn’t that fun?”

Fri, Apr 23, 2010

New Geocaching Music!

The Travel Bugs

The CD

 The Travel Bugs are proud to announce the release of their debut music CD “Found It!”

This album is a collection of songs about Geocaching, and the style

of the tunes ranges from poprock to bluegrass to blues with just

about everything in between… a great trade item or gift for the

Geocacher in your family and the perfect soundtrack for caching!

We are also pleased to say that the good folks over at Groundspeak

decided to carry our CD in their online shop. You can purchase a

copy at:

http://shop.groundspeak.com/productDetail.cfm?CategoryID=16&ProductID=300

The Band

The Travel Bugs is a band of worldtouring musicians who travel from

cache to cache in a pursuit to learn about music all over the globe.

You can see where each of the travel bugs is currently at on their

web site at:

http://www.thegeocachers.com/BugsMap.php

…or follow them on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Travel-Bugs/325852328309

Hope you enjoy the tunes and happy geocaching!

By JETSchmidt   Wed, Apr 14, 2010

This might come as a surprise, but I’m not an emotional kind of guy.  I generally don’t get sappy, or melancholy, don’t suffer from road rage, get upset by coworkers or customers, and only rarely do I lose my temper.  I also don’t jump for joy or, or get giddy with excitement, those kind of things, although I do get quite animated when I’m teaching, especially when teaching pilots.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that when my Dad died this last November, I didn’t have much outward emotional grief.  Yes, I cried at the funeral, but in the days following I wasn’t what you would call emotionally distraught.

On the outside.

Something was wrong, however.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I wasn’t right,,, somehow.  There was a giant hole there somewhere.  So one Sunday morning, I got up long before anyone else (normal for me on the weekend), and just left.  No, I wasn’t abandoning my family.  I just needed some time by myself.

It turned out I was on a Spirit Quest of sorts, although I didn’t know it at the time.  The weather was very nice, so I jumped on the Harley and pointed it down the road and twisted the throttle.  At the bottom of the hill, I turned East.   At 25^th street, I turned South.  I decided once I was on Hwy 75 southbound, that I was just going to go where impulse led me.  I felt like I would just ride a little while and then come home to continue on with life.  I reached the northern part of Plattsmouth, there’s an auto dealer there, and just past the auto dealer is a stop light.  Impulse sent me West at that point, and told me just to ride straight on.  I won’t bore you with everything that I saw, but it was a nice ride.  I came, at length, to a sign that read “Low Maintenance Road Ahead,” and stopped.  The road looked kind of rough,  There was a bridge ahead, and I was  considering ending my ride and going home.

While I was sitting there, engine idling, a good sized dog came trotted up toward me.  Now, if you ride, you know what’s going to happen next.  The dog is going to start barking and growling and letting you know that you and your loudness are not welcome.  That was not what happened.  She trotted up like she knew me and put her chin on my knee.  I have NEVER had a dog, other than my own, do that.  I pet her while I was still trying to make my decision, then she lifted her head, trotted over to the bridge, stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.

Well, I know a hint when I see one.  I slowly rode forward, following her lead across the bridge.  At the other side of the bridge, she stepped off to the side of the road, sat down and watched me.  I stopped, told her thanks, and then she trotted back across the bridge and was gone.

I sat there for probably another minute before I put the bike back into gear and headed up the hill.  Hey, it was kinda weird, and I knew it.  The going was slow.  Most of the road was, well, low maintenance, with deep ruts but a good flat strip that I could easily ride on.  At one point I was running about 45 miles an hour, but most of the time, about 15 to 20.  I came to a spot and had to stop.  I had to stop not because of the road, but because of the area.  I actually turned off the engine and got off of the bike, and marveled at how wonderful the area was.  I just sat down and enjoyed the silence for a while, noticing a little pond nearby, and a stand of trees, and other features of the land that we often ignore.  I got up, walked over to the Harley, and pushed the button on the GPSr, saving the waypoint(I have a mount on my handlebars for it).  I’m definitely coming back to this spot.  There’s something almost spiritual here.

Geocaching? Sorry, got kind of wordy there.  I’m coming to that.

After doing my little enjoying the world thing, I got back on the bike and headed down the road again, still not ready to head home.  That’s when it happened.  Well, honestly, I got back onto pavement, took a couple of turns, road down the road some more, and THAT’S when it happened.  A little treasure chest popped up on my screen.  A Geocache called my name, and I had to follow.   "Mopac," the name said under the little treasure.  The area that it led me to was a little parking lot by a trail, one of many.  There were power towers and the like, but what caught my attention was the little stand of trees there.  The needle on the GPSr was pointing into the trees.  I spent a moment standing there, looking at the stand of trees before I headed toward ground zero.  The place seemed familiar.  It made me think of when I was a kid, and Dad and I would go squirrel hunting.  It wasn’t the same kind of place where we hunted, but it felt like the same kind of place.  The cache was a fairly quick find, about 20 feet from where my gpsr said it should be, which was about normal.  After signing the log and rehiding the cache,  I sat there for a few minutes.  Back on the bike and down the road.  Another ‘cache loomed onto the screen, named “Goodbye, So Long.”  Hmm, I’m starting to think this isn’t a coincidence.  I found that one quickly (it was designed to be a quick find) and decided that since I was in the area, I’d get “Another Bridge, Another Metal Bridge.”  I normally spend too much time on caches like these.  I decided that I had plenty of time today, nobody at home was probably even awake yet, so I settled down and prepared for a lengthy search.  I found the cache in less than three minutes.  I walked to ground zero, then walked to the end of the bridge, stepped to the side, and spotted the container.  I came back and signed the log, after fighting to get the little darling free of it’s hiding spot.  It had a really strong magnet.

Walking back to my motorcycle, it finally dawned on me.  Life goes on.  The game continues with one less player.  Dad didn’t geocache.  I had invited him to join me once or twice, but he expressed that he wasn’t interested.  In fact, any time I mentioned it to other family members, he had this “Terry’s playing a silly game again” grin on his face.  On this day, just this once, I felt like Dad was Geocaching with me, and enjoying it.  Suddenly the giant hole in the middle of me was filled again, and I felt whole as I rode back home.

Oddly enough, incidently, two new Geocaches were published shortly after Dad died.  One’s final location is maybe a hundred feet or so from Dad’s final resting place.  Mom has joined me to look for those, and I think she wants to come along for some more.  Funny how things work out some time, isn’t it?

By catsnfish   Mon, Apr 12, 2010

Dusk on a warm summer evening, and streaks of yellow/green light dart about and happy children chase and collect these flashes, putting them into glass jars to watch closely as they glow and dim, glow and dim. Called glow bugs, fireflies or lightning bugs, they are often the first insects that children really look closely at.

While shopping one day, I came across a little reminder of those summer nights and the fun my family has had chasing lightning bugs and catching them. I figured cachers might enjoy finding them still.

How to do it?? Glass jars are out, and an ammocan just wouldn’t work either. Rummaging through my cache supplies, I notice it is almost exactly the size of some keyholders I had. Gathering up a few other items, I was ready to start making the critter.

The keyholder was a hinge type made of softer plastic than the rigid keyholders with the sliding tops. I had also found some plastic coated wire leftover from our granddaughter’s birthday presents. These are used to hold the toy in the packaging and take forever to untwist and remove, especially with a 3 yr old wanting the toy… NOW!

This firefly is actually a candy container so it will need some careful preparation to get it ready to use. Chop off their heads, suck out the juice and throw the skins away…. Wait, that’s a song, what we want to do is...Twist off the head, suck out the juice and make the rest a cache... yes, that’s better. While the sticky sweet goo begins to rot my teeth, I rinse the tail thoroughly with hot water, getting it as clean as possible and completely empty. Rinse with a mild Clorox solution to rid it of food odors and let dry thoroughly.

Now to make it glow!! …Or not, I chose not, due to indecision on when it should glow and how to make that happen over the entire life of the cache. I’m sure an LED would work, but a power supply and switching would be another matter. In other words, I wanted a simple cache and not a big challenge to my limited technical abilities. However if anyone should decide to light up their own bug, I would be happy to publish your article on how it was done.

The firefly is comprised of 3 pieces, the tail section where the candy was, a body that fits like a jacket over the tail and finally the head or cap. Determining where I’ll be able to wire it to the keycase, two places look promising. The neck area just behind the head is a good place, so I just twist the wire twice and leave plenty of extra to go through the keycase. To keep the tail and jacket together, I’ll have to push a wire or two through both pieces, in addition to a little glue. The plastic covered wire will go through two pre-poked holes on each side of the tail. Be patient here, as it can be very tough to line up the wires with the holes. Using another dab of glue, twist the head on and line it up with the body. It now looks like it has 2 extra sets of legs and antenna on the bottom.

Laying it on top of the keycase, I determine where the holes need to be and poke them through the keycase with a push pin. Make sure it is positioned so that the keyholder can be latched and unlatched easily. Depending on the size wire available, the holes may need to be enlarged a bit, in this case I used a small diameter drill, twisting it by hand, to get the right size. There will be two holes at the neck area and four where the body will attach. Feed the wires through and twist each set together inside the keycase. Twist just enough to firmly hold the bug without putting too much stress on the wires. Clip off any excess and flatten as much as possible before covering each set of twisted wires with a generous glop of silicone sealer to completely cover the wires and not mound up too much.

Allow the silicone to set up, then add a log in a plastic bag and place it somewhere people will have to feel for it. There is nothing like coming across a giant bug while blindly feeling for a cache.

The coated wire and silicone sealer technique also work well with lock and locks and other containers. I have made five or six very different type caches that way. Be creative and have fun!

Sun, Mar 28, 2010

Every DVD has a blooper reel these days. Sometimes the bloopers are intentional jokes – sometimes they are NOT. Well... here's mine. I try to keep up with the latest fashions. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

"I cannot wait to rush in where angels fear to tread..."

Camelot

Cache: Composite 2: The Sequel

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: January 8, 2006

Scenario:  Picture an eager new cacher with a basic Garmin Geko 101, a silver Honda Civic, and a touchingly naïve belief that the shortest, and therefore best, distance between two points is a straight line. Got it? Now picture a network of ATV trails existing between a paved road and the cache site... The hondacar somehow survived, even down what looked like a 45 degree slope – said cacher's touchingly naïve belief died a quick death that day. (Nevermind that I nearly had a heart attack.)

“Stop ripping holes in my pants!”

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (sort of)

Cache: March to the Arch

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: March 7, 2006

Scenario:  Jeans fabric is very tough. The rock surfaces around Las Vegas are very rough. The march to the arch was high and steep. When scooting and sliding on the rear end became a necessity, it became a “irresistible force meets immovable object” type of scenario. The rocks won... and since my car was parked at least a third of a mile back along the road, anyone driving along Lake Mead Blvd that particular day had a better then usual view of my derriere.

“Uh... it was nice meeting you.”

Twister

Cache: First Creek Falls Cache

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Date: April 4, 2006

Scenario:  Two eager cachers heading for a cache in the foothills west of Vegas, where the seasonal waterfalls and pools trickle. One mile, one way, from car to cache, roughly. Half the way in, a rock. Upon the rock, a man. Practicing, as near as we can tell, burro calls – not that we know what a burro call really sounds like, but we had to assume /something/. Rock and man were skirted, and we continued on to successfully find the cache.

We took a different route back.

"It's time to swim or sink...

Toss the cacher over the side, drop her in the drink."

Muppet Treasure Island (sort of)

Cache: The Missing Cacher Series—Part 2—His Lunch

Location: Omaha, NE

Date: October 5, 2006

Scenario:  A seven part series in the woods. A deep, fairly narrow creek winding through. An inconveniently placed road that bridges the creek. Doing the caches in numerical order requires multiple crossings. Once I jumped successfully. The second time – well, that bit of solid looking ground – wasn't. Did I mention the deep nature of the creek? I was submerged up to my shoulders, very nearly! *squish**splash**curse*

"The thing's hollow... it goes on forever...

and oh, my gosh, I just dropped the cache down it!"

2001: A Space Odyssey (sort of)

Cache: Wheels

Location: Bellevue, NE

Date: July 30, 2007

Scenario:  A metallic pyramid, about six feet high, made entirely of bicycle pieces and parts. Somewhere on it – a bison tube on a hook. Six visits to search. On the seventh visit, success! In the excitement of the moment, the cache is fumbled, and disappears into a long tube, presumably never to be seen again, occasioning a frantically apologetic “needs maintenance” log... but it was easily retrieved and replaced the next day by the cache owner, so all ended well.

"Come with me if you want to get inside your car again."

Terminator 1, 2, or 3 (sort of)

Cache: Tombstone Graveyard

Location: ~1.5 miles outside David City, NE

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2009

Scenario:  Let me just quote the DNF log:

A) When out caching, always wear a jacket on windy, cloudy days. That way, if you happen to, say, lock your keys in the car, you won't freeze on the walk back into town.

B) It's really very neat to get to ride in a police car, at least when you are riding in the front seat. :)

C) The police department and the county sheriff are very helpful! And they don't charge for unlocking locks!

D) It'd be better to use that magnetic keyholder I've been hanging onto to *gasp* hold a spare, door-unlocking key under the car, rather then place a cache in. Did you know they can hold KEYS?

"The ends, my friend, are blowing in the wind...

The ends are blowing in the wind."

“Blowing in the Wind”, Kingston Trio (sort of)

Cache: Hides of Horror: War of the Worlds

Location: Bellevue, NE

Date: March 27, 2010

Scenario:  Multi-cache. I have the first stage in my hands, and the coordinates in my GPS. Put it back where it's supposed to go, and with my incredible talent for such things, manage somehow to wedge it in there in such a way it's impossible to pull back out. *tug*tug*tug*SNAP* Suddenly, I'm peering down at the waxed string... it's fluttering in the wind in my hands, happily unattached to anything. The cache is currently disabled, pending replacement – which I've offered to do. Waiting to hear back. Got this guilty feeling – oops!

Mon, Mar 22, 2010

I don’t consider myself a selfish person.  Sometimes life throws you a few curve balls just to let you know things aren’t always going to go your way.  Recently the wife broke her foot.  Very inconsiderate of her, I thought.  Because of her accident our caching has been put on hold.  After a few doctor visits she now walks with a large black boot and crutches.  Without the boot I had to jump up every time she needed anything.  With the boot she was much more mobile.  As much as she complained about the boot being heavy and bulky, I was very relieved to see her getting around on her own.

I was on the internet perusing nearby geocaches. I spotted one not too far away that had yet to be found.  The excitement of a possible FTF got the best of me.  I looked over at the wife comfortably sitting on the couch under her blanket drinking her morning coffee.  I hesitated a few minutes before I decided to give it a go.  The thrill of a FTF got the best of me.

Me:  “How would you like to get out of the house?  There’s a chance for a FTF not too far away.”

The look she gave me made me take a step back.  You would think I had asked her to give up a kidney. 

Wife:  “You’re not serious?”

Me:  “Why not?  You’re getting around much better and I’ll be right there to help you.”

Wife:  “My foot is broken.”

Leave it to her to point out the obvious.  It took some doing but I was finally able to convince her to try.  It took her forever to get into the car.  I think she was going slow just to irritate me.  When we arrived at the Nature Center I thought she would refuse to get out of the car and ruin everything.   To get to the cache was going to be a .39 mile walk .  It was early March and even though the snow had melted in my yard there was ice on the trails in the woods.  We hadn’t made it very far before she fell the first time.  I would have thought with all the practice she had walking with the crutches she should be more stable.  I picked her up and of course she fell repeatedly on the way to the cache.  Again, I think she was going slow just to irritate me.  I would not put it past her to teach me a lesson by flopping in the mud like a fish out of water.

I’m reminded of the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants.  Apparently along the way some of the animals mis-stepped and fell to their doom down the mountain.  I have to believe after several of these accidents he was second-guessing his wisdom in insisting on bringing the pachyderms on the trip.  I think I was sharing his thoughts as I watched the wife land in the mud for the umpteenth time.

Wife:  “I thought you said you were going to help me?  You‘re too far away from me.”

Me:  “That’s because every time I get close you whack me with your crutch.”

Wife:  “Well, excuse me for slipping on the ice.  Remember this was your dumb idea.”

Well, after what seemed to take forever we reached the cache.  By some miracle we were FTF.  I quickly signed the log and practically carried the wife back to the car.  On the way home I had to listen to her go on about all the mud covering her and that I had not been much help to her at all.  I have to admit she was taking quite a bit of the Nature Center home with her.  After we got home I helped her get cleaned up and into clean clothes.  An hour later after she had settled onto the couch with a warm blanket covering her and everything back to normal she said…

Wife:  “It was nice to get out.  Wasn’t that fun?”

Wed, Mar 17, 2010

It's all catsnfish's fault. If you are sure of nothing else, be sure of that. It is directly attributable to catsnfish.

And also Edgar Allen Poe.

With that being established, here is the tale of how a lowly little traditional-seeking cacher advanced in find and hide counts, miles on the odometer, amount of mud on the boots, and many other advances that I won't go into... to become an EarthCache PLATINUM MASTER (dum dum dum!)

WARNING: LONG!

"Once upon a December dreary, while I cached, weak and weary,

For many a quaint and curious 'tainer on Missouri shore"

My first EarthCache, admittedly, was rather a throwaway at Schramm State Rec Area, back in 2006. I was less than a year into this thing called caching, I was lucky enough to be caching with a friend who had a digital camera, and the requirements simply called for a photo to be taken at the site. Barring my usual reluctance to have my photo taken, there was nothing to it. I don't have any other photos... and I was destined to return to this spot again, anyway. So.

"Ah,", thought I happily, "an easy smiley. Only this and nothing more."

"While I focused, quickly snapping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some oversight insistently rapping, rapping, impossible to ignore--

"'Tis some oversight," I muttered, "tapping and impossible to ignore--"

My second EarthCache was a catsnfish EarthCache - and so I came to their attention. This was L&C Allom Stone Clift, in Ponca State Park, Nebraska. From this park, one can look into South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska, depending which way you look. I was camping and caching up in that area in March, '09, and had a conventional film camera with me - so I figured why not! I happily went to the coordinates to view the signs, but alas... no signs. As I stood there, scratching my head, it gradually sank in that hey, I was on a cliff. So I looked down, down, and sure enough - signs! Spent a bit of time kicking myself, and proceeded down - I was too far away to read the signs, from above. Or to search the cliff for fossils, which was the assigned task!

"Ah," thought I self-defensively. "an easy mistake to make. Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was on the D-Day of June;

And each separate fossil layer stared out from the height of the dune.

Then it was back to where I began! The original Schramm EarthCache having been archived, another had been set up in that area (by catsnfish... what are the odds?) And so I resolved, with my non-digital camera, henceforth known as the NDC, to return, get another picture, and answer some crucial questions about fossil layers.

I actually had to return there twice - there was a busload of children at the site the first time I went back, and they were very curious! When I came back again, I was alone, so a self-portrait was the only answer... and I'm not going to post that here! (It wasn't a very good answer.) That made 3 EarthCaches - but only in one state. I needed one in another state...

"Ah", thought I dubiously, "an EarthCache in Iowa is needed. Only this and nothing more?"

Eagerly I wished the excuse;--vainly I had sought why the use

Of the sign's message of welcome-use for those who come--

For the head-scratching puzzled use for those who come--

It was at this point catsnfish took me on as apprentice... or something like that! The next EarthCache I went after, I was with Joe of catsnfish, and he took the pic - the NDC was not needed. This would be the cache I needed to get the bronze earthcache ranking. This cache played off the oxbow-creating nature of the Missouri - and it's unpredictability; the questions to answer all related to river research, and I learned a fair bit.

Most people assume that the Missouri River is the border between Nebraska and Iowa... and normally, it is. Except for Carter Lake, IA, which found itself on the wrong side of the river, due to an ice jam and a shift in the course of the river 1.25 miles SE in 1877. Given that Carter Lake partly surrounds the Omaha airport, it has caused endless confusion to travelers not aware of this oddity, and endless amusement to people who are, when they pass the "Welcome to Iowa" signs! It took them well over a decade to straighten out all the legalese afterward. It's also spawned a pair of caches along "Iowa's Shortest Highway", which is completely surrounded by Nebraska.

"Ah", thought I cheerfully, "THAT'S why! A mischievous river! Only this and nothing more."

And the silken, hurried, undirected rushing of each bubbling cascade

Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic desires to get in and wade;

Later on that June, my father (in the pre-Untrackable Geodad days) came from Arkansas for a visit, and we went up to Huron, SD where my mother is buried. On the way back, we passed through Sioux Falls, SD - you know what is coming, next, don't you? There are two EarthCaches in that city, coincidentally enough centered on... the Big Sioux River Falls! He was perfectly willing to wander the park with me, collecting information and measurements, and I even bought him ice cream after!

The falls have wore down to the pink quartzite bedrock underlying the region, which was highly prized for buildings all throughout the area. That was the focus of many of the signs, and one of the requirements was to get a photo taken next to an old mill. It's in the background of the photo below.

"Ah," thought I wistfully, "if only I had my bathing suit - only this and nothing more!"

So that now, to stop the biting of my skin, I ran swiftly,

"'Tis some mosquitoes seeking a snack buzzing in my ear--

Some blasted mosquitoes seeking a snack buzzing in my ear;--

Well, I'd studied fall and cliff and river... what was next? I needed more! I needed to get that silver EarthCache pin! What was next?

What indeed! How about this?

Well, okay, technically that wasn't the site of any of the three EarthCaches I nabbed in Florida, on the way from Miami to Key West - but who could resist that scene? I went to Florida in July of last year - the story of THAT trip is in another Chronicle, so I won't repeat myself too much. But by the time I was done, I'd studied the effect of tides, the geological composition of the Florida Keys, and beaches and reefs! Not to mention learning firsthand about the ferocious Florida Mosquito...

"Ah", thought I frantically, "What can save me? A can of OFF? Only this and nothing more??"

Presently my surprise grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

"Sir," said I, "and Madam, truly in your debt I am forever more;

Having little money for travel, oddly enough, for the next few months, I bumped around eastern/central Nebraska, collecting smileys and educating myself on alluvial fill terraces (thanks, catsnfish!); the nature and origin of natural springs; aquifers, water tables and river velocities (thanks, catsnfish!); and the nature of saline wetlands. Yes, all of the above can be found in Nebraska - it's not /just/ prairie, y'know. EarthCaches #10 - 14. The numbers were climbing... at EarthCache #12, Borrow Pits, I earned my gold pin. Of course, I had to also place 2 caches for that - but we'll get to those.

Somewhere during those months, I was given a shiny, pink digital camera (thanks, catsnfish!), to replace the NDC; this would make things a lot easier and save a ton of money on developing film.

"Ah," thought I gratefully, "Now I only need to supply batteries. Only this and nothing more!"

But the waypoint I was recalling, and so gently water came falling,

And so faintly water came falling, falling from the white ore,

That I scarce was sure I heard it"--here I studied the type of ore;----

And then it was Thanksgiving... Texas, anyone?

When I'd started out with a Garmin Geko 101, back in January '06, I was living in Las Vegas. My first caches were desert caches. But I had no desert-themed EarthCaches - yet. Though the Sandhills of Nebraska are full of cacti (ouch!) and rattlesnakes (eek!), and sand (naturally), so is part of Texas, around Killeen. And I was visiting family, so... naturally I dragged them with me to observe an ephemeral desert stream and waterfall, and categorize layers of rock. Again, another Chronicle has a more complete accounting. I'll just post this picture and move on. Space's filling up!

"Ah," thought I observantly, "So little rain lately, the fall is a trickle. Only this and nothing more."

Deep into that stone field clearing, long I stood there wondering, peering,

Theorizing, studying rocks no mortal ever dared to study before;

Well, what do you know... on the way back from Texas, our plane landed in Kansas City, MO - and a detour into Kansas STATE won't take too long, will it?

"Dad, let's swing through Topeka. And, oh, yes, while we're at it, let's get these two EarthCaches nearby."

I was closing in... I could taste that platinum pin! (It tasted metallic, in case you are wondering.) And so we journeyed into Kansas, to claim yet another state, and learn more about glacial erratics (boulders picked up and dumped somewhere else) and river channel deposits / cliff erosion. Oddly enough, the boulders we studied were pink quartzite. I wonder now if they came from Sioux Falls - same type of rock! They plainly didn't belong - the rest of the rock around was a boring grey.

"Ah," thought I curiously, "Why the hole in the rock? Was it from ice? Only this and nothing more?"

But the quest was marked as won, and nothing remained undone,

And it certainly had been fun, of earthcaches full score

These I placed, and reflection proudly glinted back the pins I wore--

2009 inevitably rolled on into 2010, and just as inevitably, clouds rolled in and dumped a lot of snow... Omaha set a record for most days with snow on the ground, this past winter. My caching suffered as a result. (I could hear it crying at night.) But that brings us to March, and familiar territory for the last three EarthCaches to complete a set of 20. When in doubt, look to your own backyard - particularly if a river runs through it!

One cache took me out on a walking bridge over the mighty Mo, to study how man's efforts to control the river have changed it; one took me up a tall tower (with catsnfish, male, practically pushing me up the stairs - did I mention my fear of heights?) to study what used to be the Missouri River valley; and the final cache had me studying samples of dirt from both sides of a road - on one side loess soil; on the other, plain river mud. Astonishing what difference 100 feet can make!

And that made 20... but just finding them isn't enough - you have to develop 3 or more to complete the quest for platinum. How I came to do that is a tale for another time, but here's some sneak peeks for the three caches:

Mission Possible: The Smith Falls Adventure (picture taken from Wikipedia, alas)

Mission Possible: Mammoth Springs

Mission Possible: Boyer Chute

"Ah", thought I finally, "There is nothing more to say. Only this, and nothing more..."

...UNTIL NEXT CHRONICLE - CHEERS!

By vartan84   Wed, Mar 03, 2010

^This video may be a spoiler if you cache in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.^

Chester Creek Cache-
My second episode of geocaching comes from my first day of the geocaching hobby. We drove to this site just five minutes from episode 1's location just after making my first find ever and so I'm still fresh to how it all works. Once again my friend Jimmy picked a great cache to help introduce me to geocaching. The bridge the cache is located under is located by the entrance to the great Westtown School, and the river by which the geocache is located goes into a manmade reservoir aptly named Westtown Lake. I really like this episode as it illustrates some of the main reasons I love geocaching: it takes you to great places you otherwise never would notice, you see some pretty nature like the waterfall next to this one, and we ever got to interact with a few creatures who call the site home. You'll see all of this in the video, and if you saw episode 1 you'll recognize the way with which we decide to wrap up our hunt!

By catsnfish   Fri, Feb 26, 2010

This was one of my guardian ideas that I just never got around to doing till now. I decided it would be a good idea to share the process and a few things learned along the way.

We'll start with a bit of background, several years BC (before caching) I wanted to give my children something handmade and different for their birthdays. Didgeridoos came to mind because I had bought one at a big Boy Scout event that was made of PVC pipe and I figured 'I can do that!' Firing up my grill and heating up some tube, I made my first one with twists and kinks in it like the one I had bought, to create the back pressure that was needed to efficiently play a didge. Doing more research over the internet I found various techniques to sculpt the PVC pipe, creating knots and bumps and bell ends and came up with some realistic looking "hollow tree branches." With Vic adding the painted details, we had some unique instruments and when we donated two to a charity auction, they brought in a combined total over 250 dollars. Not bad for a 25 dollar tool investment and less than 4 dollars worth of material.

How to make a cache critter from PVC pipe

First you'll need a heat source, my first didges were made using charcoal in a hibachi grill, but a heat gun used to soften and remove paint is a much more efficient source. The material is the 1 ½ diameter thin wall PVC that you can buy in some hardware stores for around 5 dollars per 12 foot tube. You do not want to use the schedule 40, thicker walled pipe as it is much more difficult to work with. Cut off about a 3 foot section with a handsaw and smooth the cut end. Measure the circumference of the pipe and mark ½ that distance on a piece of paper folded lengthwise.

 That distance will be the widest you can make your template. You'll notice there are 2 different templates in the photos, after making the first cobra I decided to tweak the pattern a bit for a more realistic look. I made the pattern for the hood, head and fangs a total of about 8 inches, the length of the paper I used. The hood was full width and the base was equal to half the circumference.

Using a coping saw make a "smile" cut to about half the depth of the pipe, keeping it as even on both sides as possible and make a pencil line to the end of the tube centered on the smile like this (------. In the photo's you'll see the first trial without the smile cut and the second with it. The cut will allow you to flatten the tube much better and gave a smoother flow to the transition from body to hood. Use the heat gun or other heat source to soften the PVC and use a razor knife to carefully split the tube along this line. Spread open the tube, we used the end of a baseball bat to get it started, and flatten it as much as possible. By using leather gloved hands and pushing onto a smooth surface as the heat is applied you can get it pretty flat.

 A word of caution here, as we were doing this part my son, Jens, had braced the tube against his upper thigh, after a few moments he said "Dad, Stop!" and ran through the door to grab a handful of snow to cool himself off. Super hot air travels down the tube quickly, so be careful where you put the other end. Heat guns can generate 1000 degrees f. Keep your hair covered and away from the heat, as hair can quickly catch fire at those temps. One last warning, unless it is turning brown or melting, PVC does not 'look' hot but can burn you badly; always use leather gloves when shaping it.

After the flattened end has cooled you can trace your template onto the PVC. Cut out with a coping saw or scroll saw with very fine blades. Clean and smooth your edges with a file, sandpaper or a sanding drum.

Now to form the PVC, you'll need to gather some tools to use. We used a large metal serving spoon and a crescent wrench. Jens held the gun as I moved the center of the hood area back and forth in front of it, when the pvc was soft enough I pressed the handle of the crescent wrench into the back side creating a squarish ,raised central 'body' for the cobra. As I held the tube and wrench, Jens grabbed some snow to 'set' the PVC and cool it off to retain the shape. The next steps were to fold over the head and pinch the sides of it together and give the fangs a nice curve, trying to keep everything symmetrical and as realistically shaped as possible. Each time I was happy with a shape we cooled it with snow, but ice cubes will work well too. Using the spoon, we repeated the heating and pressing/stretching process to shape the hood.

Now to give the cobra's body a nice S curve, in a section between your gloved hands, heat until it is warm enough then give it a slight bend. Do this in several spots, the PVC stretches and will flatten some when bending this way. Be careful not to overheat the tube or bend too much as that will burn or tear a hole on the pipe, and if you let it straighten out before it is set a wrinkle may form. If any of those occur, don't worry, it can be fixed but it takes a bit of effort. It was just such a tear on our first attempt that leads me to come up with the next step. The actual cache container for this will be a preform marked 'antivenin' that would use a wire hook to hang on the inside of the body. The hole in the prototype cobra was almost at the same depth the preform would sit at and I thought of pushing a piece of the waste PVC into the hole to create a shelf for the preform to sit on, eliminating the need for wire. I could then use an epoxy putty to fill the hole the same way that I have repaired holes on didges I've made. This putty comes in a plastic tube and has a layer of green hardener surrounding the grey putty. Cut off what you need, mix and knead the hardener into the putty till you have a uniform color, then apply directly to the PVC and feather the edges as much as you can. Enough of the putty will go through the tear to help lock it in place when it sets and if you can reach it inside you can smooth it down as well. Working quickly, you can use wet fingers to help smooth it down and after it has set it can be worked with a file and sanded to blend it into the PVC surface. Another layer can be applied if necessary too.

Go back over all of your cut edges with a fine sandpaper to smooth them out and go over the surface with fine steel wool to prepare it for painting.

We decided on a more abstract look rather than trying for a photo quality cobra representation, in the hopes it would blend a bit better with vegetation. After painting, we give several coats of a matte finish clear coat to protect the paint job without making it too shiny.

And here is the finished Cobra Cache!

I haven't addressed how the cobra will be mounted because I haven't checked with my reviewer yet to see if pushing the tail end into the ground would go against the guidelines no digging rule, or if I would need to make a base for it to sit on.

If you would like to make your own cobra or other PVC sculpture, practice and get a feel for the different techniques and limits, the material is certainly inexpensive enough.

By TheAlabamaRambler   Mon, Feb 22, 2010

FTF Geocacher is a bi-monthly print magazine catering to the geocaching community. It is a paid subscription and ad-supported publication, but as advertising and introduction the premier issue has been published free online as a .pdf file. Read it at http://ftfgeocacher.com/FTFGeocacherMR.pdf

Check it out... if this first issue is any indication then FTF Geocacher Magazine will be a valuable and entertaining resource for all geocachers!

By Gwyn Calvetti   Fri, Feb 12, 2010

Winter is never an excuse to stay inside and let the Garmins collect dust, at least not at our house.  A new snowfall covering the landscape along a stream, hoarfrost on the branches, no bugs, especially no deer ticks.  Perfect!  Winter also brings another kind of caching fun, one that allows you to walk on water for those five star terrains.

Our favorite caches are usually adventures, ones that challenge us physically and bring us closer to places of natural beauty.  Coming to geocaching as already active outdoors people, we have all that extra gear.....snowshoes, cross country skis, chest waders, a canoe, a kayak.  We love paddling adventures, taking us along riverways or across lakes to islands, watching the loons dive in front of us as we ply the waters to our goal.  So why in the world would we want to take on a five star cache in the winter?

Two words: fuel costs.  If we're going to haul that canoe or kayak a couple hundred miles cross state, our gas mileage will drop.  That's not such an issue, but having to figure out shuttling to our start point is.  At least once, we've dropped a bike at the ending point to ride back to where the car is parked, and after paddling the river all day, pedaling the road loses its appeal.

Some might say walking on the hard water is taking the easy way out.  Sometimes, it is. But others......

We'd had our sights set on a cache near West Bend Wisconsin, Cedar Creek Cache (GCGW8Q).  We've been trying to fill up our D/T grid with caches that qualify for the original California Fizzy Challenge and this cache was one of those.  Some had found it in the previous weeks, so we met up with caching friends from around the state, Seth of Team Honeybunnies and Marc, also known as marc54140.  The day was bright and clear, but not too warm. "Not too warm" is a good thing when seeking caches on islands or across rivers.  We headed off for the cache, located in the Jackson Marsh state hunting grounds.  The first challenge was the road itself.  Having received a significant snowfall early in the season, much of that had melted away after recent heavy rains, rains which then froze solid all over everything.  The road was a bumpy ice rink, but we managed somehow to get to the parking area and not fly off into the swamp.

We looked at Cedar Creek.  Some frozen areas along the shoreline created a large broken shelf of ice on the banks angled down a good 45 degrees or steeper.  Not at all conducive to getting onto that ice layer to check strength.  Now what?

"How about we just walk upstream a bit to find a better spot?"

"Good idea."

"Look, there's a nice deadfall that spans a good way across."

"With open running water just beyond it, are you crazy?"

Checking out the ice

One member of our group was not to be convinced. 

"A hare-brained scheme is good for the soul," taunted Seth, while the rest of us were ready to move on to something less dangerous.  A skirt lifter in front of a good local restaurant, perhaps?

Seth wasn't giving in.  Gathering up a large deadfall, he set off to create some kind of bridge across the two feet of open current in the middle of the best crossing point we'd discovered.  What could we do?  The rest gathered equally solid deadfalls and the bridge was laid.  Still uncertain was the actual ice thickness on either side of the bridge, but where current is involved, it was safe to assume it wasn't terribly thick.

Trekkin' and marc54140 carry big sticks

Handing over his Garmin and his cell phone, Seth prepared to cross.  Trekkin' grabbed onto the crosspieces to prevent them from tipping into the current, and when everything was set, Seth got down on all fours and scuttled across like a waterbug.  With a well placed toss, his Garmin was back in hand and the rest of us watched safely as he walked toward ground zero and freed the cache from its ice-encased location.

Making the passage across

The whole process was reversed and he was able to return dry and warm, with a smiley to be logged later that night.

We congratulated him on his brave and probably foolish move and headed off for our next adventure, all of us agreeing that this cache would have been far easier to reach by kayak in June.....with bugs, though!

For those who think accessing a five star terrain cache in the winter is the easy way out, think again.  It gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "walking on water."

Fri, Feb 12, 2010

The Kearney event was coming up and I had offered to hold a mini class on Earthcaches since someone suggested seminars and classes would be a nice change from event caches and games. What had I done to myself?? I may talk a good game in my stories but in real life I’m a quiet guy not prone to public speaking, and enjoy listening much more than talking and especially if the talking is done in front of a group.

  I had made the offer, not because I think I’m an expert, but because of the great experiences Vic and I have shared at EC’s and I feel strongly that Nebraska needs more of its landmarks developed as EarthCaches. So I would be teaching about what they are, what they can be and how to develop them for submission. Beginning an outline and starting to fill it in, I thought wouldn’t it be great if the cachers at the event could visit an EarthCache as part of the class? But what could I develop around there? The event would be held in a state park with manmade lakes, nothing very geologically impressive there but a great place to camp, with fishing and swimming lakes and nice shaded areas to pitch your tent. Tent stakes can be pushed with your foot into the sandy soil and don’t have to be pounded in like… Sand! Why was it there? I had the beginnings of my EC.

    Writing up the page describing depositions of sands from a widely meandering Platte River, I find an article about the construction of Interstate 80, saying material had to be quarried nearby to make the roadbeds. It went on to say, that this material is taken from what is called a borrow pit, (I have a title now) which obviously leaves a big hole in the ground. Knowing the water table would fill those holes; these pits were dug with the intention of creating recreational areas and fishing lakes. Hmmmm, water tables? Well, now I had my logging requirements too!

  After receiving permission from the park superintendant, I sat on the submission for a bit, trying to time the publication of “Borrow Pits” with the event. There had been a large number of EC’s worldwide published in the last few months and the workload was causing some delays in approving and publishing EarthCaches. I sent it in to geoaware about 10 days before the event and made handouts of what would be the page in case it wasn’t published in time, so that we could discuss it.

Of course the subject of fritters came up, both between Vic and I and Sioneva as well, while making our plans to attend. It had become a bit of tradition for us to bring a donut or two for Sioneva whenever we both attended an event, whether a frigid flash mob in the middle of a river or a sweltering summer picnic, we did our best to provide her donut fix. I had been talking up the fritters to her (she normally enjoys frosted cake donuts, but we had been priming her for these) and would make sure she got a “Kearney Fritter”. Vic decided we would buy a few on Saturday morning to share with Sioneva and GeoDad and at the same time place our order for 2 dozen more to be picked up Sunday to take home and freeze.

I was as ready as I ever would be to teach my class and Borrow Pits had just been published! Great! People could visit and log it during the event. Two days to go.

Originally planning to camp until the likely prospect of heavy rain was predicted, we made reservations for Friday and Saturday nights in a motel and offered our previously reserved camp spot for Sioneva’s use. Getting off work early, I was told I would be driving, something to do with Vic being sick of driving after only 2400 miles or so a few weeks previous, no problem, I can step up when needed, if she is ok with my hawk watching while driving. Cloudy skies but no rain, eh, this won’t be bad. About halfway there the skies open up on us, everything is dark and the wipers are struggling to keep the window clear and passing a semi trailer makes them lose the battle altogether and we drop into an abyss at 70 mph. The whumpa whumpa of the wipers and the thrumming din of the rain on the roof combine in my mind to make the sound of screeching, groaning metal and I picture bolt heads zinging off followed by fantail sprays of high pressure water, the glass cracks on a dial and begins to drip as the dark interior of the van starts closing in on us as the needle on the  fathometer reads deeper and deeper.  Whoa..bad time to daydream!! Get your mind back on the road, Joe!!  I’d have to pay attention and do without the imaginary sonar. Traffic slows but doesn’t stop and when the storm lets up a bit, everyone is back at or over the speed limit. We had multiple waves of abysmal conditions, interspersed with the merely torrential, the rest of the way to Kearney and we listened to the wind howl and rain pelt the windows of our room through most of the night.

Then a new day dawned and it was sunny, reflecting its sparkly brilliance from puddles and ponds of standing water that had yet to seep away in the sandy soil of the Platte River valley. With the promise of fabulous fresh fritters, we start our day. A leisurely morning, we didn’t even go caching and rolled into the campgrounds just a bit early (still working on that) with our pasta salad that had aromatically enhanced our motel room in a most delicious manner as we combined the fresh ingredients. (Yahoo, my sniffer works again! and onion smells w o n d e r f u l ! !) Placing the gladware container on the serving table with a blue ice block underneath to keep it cool, we mingle a bit before chow time.

There is a pin the flag at ground zero game going on and the registration table has a box for trackables to be discovered or moved along. One trackable that hadn’t been able to fit in the box was a painting of a very familiar crow, an opalsns WOA TB, in fact the original one. About a week or so before Kearney, I had noticed a painting (?) in the geocoins listings on e-bay and had recognized the name of the seller from the geocoin forums. Thinking of the magazines reader’s, I thought ‘there’s a story here’ and contacted opalsns to do a short interview about this novel twist to trackables. After some correspondence, the interview was published in the new ‘Spotlight!’ column of The Online Geocacher magazine. Having only published the story a few days earlier, I was really tickled to find and discover this caching crow at our event.

Another traveler that didn’t fit in the shoebox was to appear in a little bit and when it did it was green and about to croak, no it wasn’t that hot out, it was …………Signal the Frog, who had hopped all this way just to be a discoverable part of our event and proved to be a well photographed visitor with as many adults as children, handing off cameras to “take my pic” with Signal…myself included.

The next activity was lunch and everyone lined up to sample all of the potluck goodies. I wasn’t seriously dieting this year, so naturally I didn’t eat much. Actually, Vic and I had a fritter each for breakfast and a bit later in the morning we gave into temptation and split one of the two fritters we were going to give to Sioneva.  Now these fritters are, without any exaggeration, a bigger diameter than most dessert plates and a tad over an inch thick, of fruity, dense bread like dough. Fried crispy outside, tender inside and drizzled with glaze, they weigh what seems to be a full pound, and are a meal, or more, to less accomplished fritter critters than ourselves. We later found out the fritter we had given to Sioneva had fed her and her father with a bit left over. Back to lunch, it was all good and tasty and my tummy was satisfied.

Time for the awards and ceremonial logbook signing, I believe the Nebraskache group had 14 golden ammo cans to distribute to achievers of a thousand finds and several coins for those who had multiple thousands . Next, the Delorme and 93 County Challenges and both of those cache owners called up those who had completed them and asked each to say something about their experiences. When we were called up I said “Read about it in the magazine!” no actually I didn’t say that, I had pre written the log for Vic to enter into the logbooks (she has much better penmanship) and made a short remark based on that, but we all knew I would eventually (6 months later) write about our adventures.

Shortly after that people began to disperse. Some would go caching and others would stay for the presentations. I was scheduled to give mine first and setting a time for everyone to be present I began to gather my handouts and courage.

Slipping on a red clown nose found as swag a few weeks ago I began:  “A caching friend from the Netherlands dared me to wear this clown nose today, and it’s actually kind of fitting, So here goes, EarthCaches are fun and like my nose says, they are “The Greatest Show on Earth!” the Earth itself.”  And after making sure we got a pic to prove it to my friend, I took it off so I could be understood and introduced myself; “I’m not a geologist, although I get to play one while visiting EarthCaches. I’m also not a teacher but I did stay at a Comfort Inn last night. Beyond that stellar resume, Vicki and I are platinum EarthCache masters with visits to over 30 EC’s, 5 that we have developed and more in process.” We covered the submittal process, what makes a good EC, the masters program, and good locations in Nebraska that could be developed. A few questions and my time up front was over. The class had gone over well and my jitters dissipated, oh, about the time I answered the last question.

  The next class began with “I am a teacher but I didn’t stay at a Comfort Inn last night.” His class on mystery caches would explain the 9 different types that fall within this designation and go on to discuss creating and solving puzzles. He had brought a large classroom sized pad of paper and needed the help of someone to hold it as there weren’t any handy places to prop it up. A young lady from the audience volunteered to come out front to hold the pad up and turn the pages as needed. She had stepped into Vanna White’s shoes easel-ly and did a good job of it. Vic and I listened closely as he went over tips and tricks for solving and some examples of different puzzles.

After the presentations, we took a very short drive to the site of “Borrow Pits” and met a group going for the EC smiley at the swimming beach. Vic didn’t have her swim suit on this time; I guess she prefers spring fed waterfall showers to lake bathing. It was warm enough it would have been quite refreshing though. Stopping to remove sandburs and discussing why some of us had walked right through the patch of burrs while the other, smarter spouse went around them, we realized it was almost time for the chili and soup dinner that was new this year for the event, so offering a ride to the group of walkers, we all headed back to the shelter.

 You can work up a good appetite sweating out a group presentation, so I was ready for the chili and especially the potato soup someone had brought. Enjoying some conversations, the time flew by and I began to smell charcoal coming from a corner of the shelter. A few more people began showing up and soon it would be ….cobbler time!! Tantalizing wafts of pleasant peach, aromatic apple and cherry fragrances teased me as the fruity delights bubbled in the Dutch ovens, and promised another outstanding finish to the Kearney event.

Lingering the next morning over the continental breakfast, we planned out our day. Find a few caches, go home and do laundry. But first……..pick up the 2 dozen fritters we had ordered. Setting them out of easy reach from the front seats, we go off to find a ball field bison and a huge Wells Fargo wagon. We had a few others that we dnf’ed and decided to call it a day, we just didn’t have a great drive to find any caches since our big push to complete the three challenges in time for this event. We’ll get it back though. After all, Geowoodstock is coming up.

By vartan84   Sun, Jan 31, 2010

^This video may be a spoiler if you cache in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.^

My long-time friend, Jimmy comes from a family of geocachers and he had been telling me about the hobby for a little while. Finally one day he was back in town and we decided it would be the day I would finally experience geocaching for the first time. We picked two caches which looked liked they could be fun in the area and headed up for an early afternoon of caching. On my way I decided to bring my camera, and that's what turned into this video. I start recording within 50 feet of the cache after a quick walk into a local park to get there and my geocaching series is born.

Thu, Jan 28, 2010

We have all done it, whether we admit it or not... We’re out caching some distance from home and we have a list of caches in the area. We do quite a few caches and think we are having a pretty good day. Overconfidence sets in and we start to get a little cocky. Being well aware of my limitations this never happens to me, but the wife seems to be inflicted with the disease.

We had just done “Dakota’s Cache” and saw that “The last Boy Scout” wasn’t that far away. The woods we were in had several paths going up and down large hills. It took a great deal of effort to get the wife up the hills to the top as she is hindered with a bad back and walks with a cane, but she is a trooper and we managed. As we followed the trail from “Dakota’s Cache” to “The last Boy Scout” I saw the needle on the GPS pointing ominously down into the valley. When we got to where the trail descended down to the river I knew we were in trouble. It was a good three hundred foot steep drop down the hill to the river bank below.

Me: “The GPS says its 500 feet down there..”

Wife: “Well we’re a long way from home and we are here so let’s go get it.”

Me: “You’ve got to be kidding? How do you think you can get down that narrow slick path? Not to mention getting back up.”

Wife: “I swear, sometimes I think I married the biggest sissy one could find. You don’t hear me complaining, do you? Stop worrying, we’ll manage just fine.”

On the way down we found the path not only narrow but it consisted of a clay that was like walking on oil. Luckily as we slid down the mountain I would bounce off of various trees which would slow our decent to a less life threatening pace. I must have looked like the metal ball in a pinball machine. What really helped was the wife shouting words of encouragement.

Wife: “Slow down. Can’t you be more careful? That last branch nearly took my hat off.”

How we managed to make it down without going head over heels was nothing short of a miracle. I would be psaltering with the truth if I were to say getting down to the cache was easy; but it was nothing compared to getting back out of that godforsaken valley. We found the cache then planned our strategy to get back up. There was no way we could go back up that slippery path so we had to make our own way. I started climbing the mountain at an angle and would switch back every twenty or thirty feet trying to lessen the incline. It was a long and arduous task. I could appreciate the efforts of those who had scaled Everest. After what seemed like days which was actually only hours the gods smiled at us and mercifully we crested the hill. Slowly we made our way back to the car.

Shortly after the paramedics arrived they were able to get my breathing back to normal and my heart rate to less dangerous levels. The one good thing that came out of doing this cache is that I was able to see how much the wife was concerned about me.

Me: “It was touching to see how worried you were about me.”

Wife: “Well, who else would be stupid enough to carry me up and down those kind of hills?”

Me: “Its just nice to know you care.”

Wife: “You’re welcome. Now wasn’t that fun?”

By JETSchmidt   Tue, Jan 26, 2010

This one isn't about one of Bosac's caches, although I did drive by the hide location for one of his this morning and decided to bypass digging in the snowdrift.

A week or so ago I went "Winter caching," and found a couple of caches in the snow.  It was quite the challenge.  Getting one cache un-frozen from it's hiding place took longer than finding it.  It was fun because I dress for the weather, which allows me to search a little longer before getting cold.

Today I had a few hours before work, so I decided to hit four or five caches.  The first one I drove by was the aforementioned Bosac cache, the First  "Curse of the First to find." A micro in a snowbank?  Nah, let's proceed West.  The second was easy to find, so I was encouraged to head farther west toward 72nd street, where I knew there to be a multi, a small, and a couple of micros.  The first micro was also under a snowbank, didn't feel like digging.

The next challenge was in a park right off of 72nd street.  It looked easy enough, so I parked the car, grabbed the GPSr, and headed toward "One Walked over a Cuckoo's Nest."  I figured it would be a quick find.

I arrived at ground zero and spent a short time looking around before thinking about the cache's name.  Hmmm, it would make sense to me to put it there.   I headed toward where I thought I might get a better view of where the cache might be hidden.  The ice looked thick, it was, after all 15 degrees out, the weather had been below freezing for some time.  There shouldn't be any liquid water down there, right?

Well, I was about halfway across when my foot went right through the ice, into the water below.  I pulled my foot out, cursed my stupidity, and headed back toward the top.  The ice, by the way, was pretty slick, so it was a good thing I had something above to hang on to.

I grabbed my GPSr from where I set it down, within 4 feet of GZ.  I did that so I had a reference to search by.

Are you aware it takes about 15 steps for pants to freeze solid in 15 degree weather?  Thank goodness for Jeep heaters!  My foot never got uncomfortably cold on the drive back home to change.

Now it's off to work!

Make sure you watch your step!

By catsnfish   Sat, Jan 16, 2010

Using a Spreadsheet to Create Ciphers

In January a few years ago, I had proposed to our local group that we collaborate in placing a themed set of caches. The Hides of March was born and the theme would be Roman, Latin, Caesar or none of the above. All caches had to be placed during the month of March. Of course a Caesar shift cipher would work perfectly within the theme. I had decided to add a twist however and came up with this cache description:

 U? V?.. The Hides of March

The Roman alphabet as written had no u, so v did double duty. Certain architectural styles, mostly government buildings, have examples of this. Check ovt the DOVGLAS COVNTY COVRT HOVSE, vvhere ivstice is served. Hmm, I gvess there are some other missing letters as vvell. To solve the coordinate pvzzle use the classical Latin alphabet of 23 letters for a trve Ivlivs Caesar shift cipher.

This is a high mvggle area, so exercise cavtion. You are seeking a nano container.

There are plenty of ROT13 and Caesar shift websites out there but I didn't know of any that used the classical alphabet so I set out to make my own cipher sheet.

To make it work, I set up a table in Excel (Open Office Spreadsheet should work as well for this) and wrote lookups to that table. The table was the Roman alphabet which doesn't have J, U or W and it was repeated on the next line but beginning with B instead of A and continued in that manner until there was a complete alphabet both vertical and horizontal.

Adding a number designation to each row, I could write the lookups. Allowing a cell per letter with empty cells between words, I typed in my coordinates, spelling the numbers out.  A few rows below that I added this formula =IF(AA3="","",HLOOKUP(AA3,$A$4:$W$26,$Y$2+1,FALSE)), AA3 is the cell 2 rows above the formula and the dollar signs ensure that the formula always looks to the  alphabet table and rotation value. The other values would change relative to their position, always looking 2 cells above to the text that you want encrypted, when it is copied across as far as needed for both the North coordinates and the West coordinates. By changing the number in the grey (Y2) cell, the letters would change as the alphabet shifted by that amount.  You'll notice that the coordinates don't use U or W for this alternate alphabet. Of course for added difficulty you could forget to mention it is a non standard alphabet.

This same process can be set up to use a symbol substitute for each letter and follow the same process as above. Variations could be a progressive rotation for each word, alphanumerics, or plain text backwards then ciphered. Vowels can be omitted or words garbled but still readable before encrypting.

By JETSchmidt   Sun, Jan 10, 2010

Ok, it's the 25th of February.  I've found 4 of the Hides of Horror, all very cool containers, all in out of the way places right under your nose that you might never have wandered across without a purpose to go there.  Ah, that's on of the things that's made this such an obsession for me.  The logs are out there for you to read, but I also keep a journal for caching.  I don't write every cache adventure in the journal, but this ones in there.  The cache; The Mummy -- Hides of Horror, GC1GK8H.  The time, lunchtime.  I start the journal entry:

"This was to be a quick, lunch time find.  A 3-part multi-cache in a park.  Find the first part, take those co-ordinates to go to the second part, then the last co-ordinates to the final cache.  The find logs all talked about tough terrain, but I wasn't too worried.

I should have been.  The first find didn't take too long, but the second took me to a place where I had to climb down a very steep hill.  The second part of the hide was more difficult to find.  It took nearly my whole lunch hour to find the first two and in the process, I fell and got my pants and shoes muddy.

No more multi's at lunch, or else I just have to do them one part at a time."--end of journal entry.

Actually, part two would not have needed to take me down such a steep hill, had I approached from the right direction (heh heh, I think I'll leave that pretty detail out).  But I made the note and went back to work with muddy pants.  My co-workers got a chuckle out of that.

The next day was not conducive to searching(very muddy), so I had to wait until the 27th to go after the final.  By now the ground was quite frozen and much less slippery. I had this one in the bag.  Stop laughing, Bosac.  I found parking near where I could go into the woods and get the quick find, and started off into the park.  Wow.  There are some steep drops in there!  I circumnavigated around the park for some time, choosing not to try to make a bee-line to the final location.  It actually was a good decision, although my initial start was all wrong.  I felt like a billy goat back there.  I found the cache after quite the walk.  The container was another one that had taken a little effort and imagination, and I just had to take some photos of the thing.  I got a couple of the container out of it's hiding place, one remote picture of me with the cache, and then I put the cache back into its cover and grabbed my camera to take one last picture of the hide.  Now, I'm somewhat of an amateur photographer, so I was framing the shot just the way I wanted it.  Moved around a little to the right, a step back to get the whole thing in...

Honest, there was a path there just a moment ago.  When I stepped back, my foot found only open air.  I threw my camera and tried to get my balance forward, but I was already gone, over the edge, and down the hill.  When I finally settled at the bottom, I looked up and said, aloud, to nobody, "that could have been much worse," and got up and climbed back up to pick up my camera and my other stuff.  Then it was back to work.  I did get that picture, but I'm not sharing it here.  I don't intentionally spoil hides.  The trek back to the Jeep was much easier, now that I knew where the steep stuff was.  On the way, I spotted a group of deer, something I did not expect to see in this area, but they were too quick for me to get a good picture of.  Oh well.

Sat, Jan 09, 2010

Hi, tell us a bit about yourself.

   I am a recent college graduate now working a regular job and looking for some more interesting things to get involved in. As you might be able to tell from my videos, I live and cache in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area which is where all my videos have been filmed.

   Geocaching came along when a high school friend introduced me to it in September 2008. I embraced it and started caching after work and then on lunch breaks until I had found most of the caches within a 15 minute radius of my job. I recall hearing about geocaching once and visited the website years ago, perhaps as early as 2002, but at that point I didn't know what a GPS was or how to do the hobby. I actually still don't own a GPS myself (yet), and have to thank my next door neighbor- another fellow geocacher- for letting me have hers on a long-term loan. We've cached together a few times as well and once went out very early in a morning to get our first FTF.

   If this hobby had existed when I was in elementary and middle school I know I would have loved it. In my school's yard at recess my friends and I would make certain areas our own special part of nature, would enjoy the trees and sometimes even hide things in it. I really liked the idea that these things were out there- and that I knew that it was there but without others really realizing it. It's sort of hard to explain, but I think you can see the clear parallels to caching! I immediately loved the idea that in geocaching you can have a can hidden way back in the woods where it feels like no one has ever been and that if all goes well it will remain there for years. I often drive by a location where I've found a cache or know one exists and enjoy the secret knowledge that there is something there, sometimes practically out in the open, that almost everyone walking by has no idea about. In reality it isn't that big a deal, but I suppose it sort of gives our otherwise everyday world a bit more magic.

   I've actually been making my own videos for youtube since 2006 (on another channel) where I'd make episodes of my own series based on the world created by a popular youtuber at the time. I also just like to capture interesting things I do on tape, so based on this history I suppose it was just natural to bring my camera along as my friend Jimmy took me on my first geocaches ever. I don't know if I had even decided that I would upload the video or not, but since it was such an enjoyable experience I felt why not upload it? Episodes 1 and 2 were filmed consecutively and are two random caches we picked to find that afternoon. We ended up having a great time finding them, so we really got lucky with our choices. Jimmy had just been visiting the area for the weekend, so even though he had to leave after those finds I continued the hunt on my own and threw myself into the hobby. I didn't film any of those hunts though because I did them alone and I feel like another person being there really adds to the episode. Finally two months later I got to take two other friends on their own first cache hunt in a state park and those hunts turned into two more episodes for the series. Whenever I go on a hunt with somebody else that I feel like is going to be a special one I bring the camera along just in case.

I’ve seen a few of your videos, I like them but they’re a bit of a spoiler aren’t they?

   You know I've had a couple viewers leave me comments like this, that I'm ruining the sport by systematically showing others where caches are hidden, but I don't see it that way. First I've only made 9 episodes, and there are (tens of? hundreds of?) thousands of caches out there- so even if one wants to see my video as essentially "ruining" the cache- I've only ruined about 0.000001% of the hobby so far. Second, I don't see my videos as any different than the potentially-spoiler comments section on each cache's page. People often give away some of the secrets of the cache down there and so people know to read those with caution. I think it is only natural to view a video of finding a hidden cache with the same sort of caution if they are planning on finding it. Also, I found it funny because one of the people accusing me of ruining the sport was from Oregon. I asked in response if they had ever been to this corner of the country or are ever planning to cache here. The vast majority of my viewers come from all over and odds are will never cache anywhere near here to have their hunt ruined by my video. Even if someday they do, there are so many hundreds of other caches in this area, and I really doubt that at that point they will have remembered the exact details of a video they watched months or years before.

  I met the cache owner of the cache in my first episode at a geocaching event a year ago, and she said she was really glad to see I made a video dedicated to her cache. She actually had suggestions for other caches of hers I should make videos finding. Of course not every owner might feel the same way about this, and in fact I've sent links to the respective owners of each video's cache. I either got no response or a positive one. I even discovered that for one of the owners that I had inadvertently made not one but two of my nine episodes with caches (he has great ones!) and he is eager for me to make a video about one remaining cache to complete the set. So while no owners seem to have a problem with my videos now, there is always the chance a future one might. I would be willing to discuss some sort of compromise with them in that case- such as perhaps taking out the last 100 feet of the discovery or mixing it up to make it less easy to determine how to get there. They did place these caches out in nature though and opened them up to the public, so I feel like one more of less lose control over what others do with it at that point. For example muggled caches are a part of geocaching life, so while I'm sure there's some cache owners out there who might not like the "spoiler" aspect of my videos, there are certainly worse fates for caches than someone taking the time to make a video dedicated to it! Two words: Bomb Squad.

  I am totally amateur in this respect. With my original youtube series which I mentioned before, other people would all use webcams to record their videos but I didn't own one, so I devised a method of using my digital camera propped up on a desk recording video to mimic a webcam. As for the geocaching videos I just carry around the digital camera on record and then use very simple editing software to splice together the funny or important moments of the hide. What I'm using is merely the Windows Movie Maker, so I can't do anything special with it, but it serves its purpose. Same for the digital camera, it'd be nice to get a real professional camera someday but for the most part the digital one does a sufficient job.

Thanks! You certainly made my job as interviewer easy. I'm looking forward to sharing your videos with our readers.

Find The Geocaching Adventure Series on Facebook

Sat, Jan 09, 2010

   Well here it was finally, the oft put off, long awaited passage through the panhandle which after completion, would take us most of the way to finishing the Nebraska 93 County challenge. We were ready for it, Vic had finished summer school and I had taken 8 working days off. We would be tent camping. The van was packed to the gills with tent, chairs, air mattress, clothing, cookware, cacheware, food and other necessities and niceties for travel.

   We head out along I-80, bypassing 6 counties south of there, which we would pick up at a later date and since we had cached along this route before we didn't cache along the way. Arriving at our first nights camp spot, Johnson Lake, we setup our tent, a screen house and got the raised queen size air mattress blown up. May as well camp in comfort! Then it's off to find a few caches and collect our first 2 counties of the trip with a short drive around the lake. One cache near a marina looked on the map to be in the lake but turned out to be on a finger of land that jutted out into the lake. After finding that and getting back in the van I noticed we were getting a wi-fi signal. Telling Vic to stay put, I needed to check email, which can be quite a slow process for us at times, but I had submitted 2 EarthCaches a day or 2 before we left and wanted to see if they had been published yet. Nope, so I pop onto the forums, when Vic notices that she indignantly tells me we're not just sitting here while I count cheese in off topic, cause she is hungry and we need to get back to camp and cook dinner. Spoilsport!

    We've tried to think everything through ahead of time and be as efficient as possible in camp so we had more road time. We were using a propane stove, with tried and true camping meals, not only quick and easy to cook but minimal cleanup as well. We would eat and enjoy outdoor time in the relatively insect free screenhouse.  We had gotten an electrical site and had brought 2 fans to keep Vic cool and non grumpy and a coffee maker to keep me caffeinated and there was one other item we would be using for the first time, a bucket privy.

   It proved its worth the first time it saved Vic a hike in the dark to the facilities several hundred yards away, what didn't live up to expectations was the air mattress, we had used it before and was quite comfortable, but between then and now it had developed a slow leak, so if either of us got out of bed to use the bucket the other would get bounced around and towards morning time it had leaked enough air that when one got up the other fell down to hit the ground. Not a great experience but this was the only day of the trip when Vic didn't want to linger in bed until late morning, not that I let her do that of course!

   Popping out the plug and letting the remaining air out I strip off the bedding and start to empty the tent, while Vic starts cooking breakfast, ziplock omelets!! They were ready about the time I had the tent rolled and back in its bag. After breakfast we threw our trash (not much, ziplocks and 2 paper plates, plastic flatware) into the bucket and changed out the liner and added new kitty litter. Then came the fun of trying to fold up the screenhouse, it was the first time we had used it and we hadn't figured the best way to fold it yet. It did end up back in its bag, but we still haven't figured it out. Once that was done all we had to do was toss the bags in the van, head for the showers and hit the road, eager for our first full day chasing the challenge. Later in the day we made sure to buy two twin raised air mattresses when we finally found a Walmart.

   This trip I would truly be the navigator, choosing caches and routes to most efficiently achieve our goal of a cache in every county in the western 2/3 of Nebraska. If we DNF a cache, I had to get us to another one in the county and set us up for the next county. We discussed much of it and some particular caches or locations were on again off again and we didn't really know where we would go next till we found the previous one. The only exception to this was Hayes County; there was only one cache in the entire 713 square miles of this county. It was a "Do or Die" cache, find it or fail. Down some minimum maintenance roads where we spot a red fox crossing warily about 20 yards in front of us, he watched us from the roadside until we turned the corner. Pulling into a lake area, I'm sent off to find the cache and follow a turkey into the wooded area. His gps must have been reading different satellites than mine so our paths diverged. I came up with the cache but don't know if the turkey found what he was looking for. When I came out of the trees, Vic had our sandwiches made and chairs set up facing the tree bordered sedimentary exposure across the lake. After a pleasant lunch, we scratched off Hayes from the list and drove towards the next county.

   At Lake McConaughy we drove over the dam and around a bit to get to the little lake in front of the dam, the big lake being on the other side of the dam. Dam, that word comes up a lot here! As we approached the coordinates for the cache there is a flock of 14 buzzards just ahead of us and we get close enough I don't need my cheat sheet to tell they are not regal eagles. They took off as we tried to get some more pics of them. I wonder what the collective noun for buzzards is. I know that it's a murder of crows, a wedge of geese, and a bevy of doves. Ok, I gotta know, and googling tells me it is a wake of buzzards, makes sense to me.  After locating and signing the cache log, we spot some distant pelicans and do our best to get some good pics of those impressive birds. I won't worry about the pelican collective since they weren't grouped together...<Jeopardy theme>..Hmmmm, Google says... a pod or a scoop of pelicans; curiosity got the better of me.

   One place Vic had wanted to see was the corner of the panhandle and the virtual cache located there but it was a bit of a detour. No problem, we're here to see the sites. The monument was quite interesting with plaques and benchmarks in each corner, 3 for Nebraska and one for Colorado. Vic really wanted her pic taken in Colorado; we discussed picking up a cache in Colorado before the trip, but decided it was too long of a detour. What??? Okaaay, yes, I will..... Vic says "show em the pic! Oh, wait you can't, you deleted those pics!" looks like she's still a bit miffed about that. We were taking a lot of pics and I started to worry about running out of room on the 64k XD card. So I started downloading the pics each night and deleting the images from the card. I missed downloading a few before deleting and when she realized it, I wasn't allowed to delete anymore until she had gone over the pics each day. Anyway it was a neat place and I wish I could show you the pics. "Yes dear, I told them it was my fault."

   Taking a drive around the campgrounds at Minitare State park, we scout out a good site. The first area we drive through is kinda swampy and we continue on only to find out that is the only electrical camp area. A beautiful lake with cliffs and wooded areas and even its own lighthouse and the camping pads are only 5 feet above water less than 10 feet away. Oh well, we decided to stop at the lighthouse before setting up camp and I climbed to the top while Vic stayed in the parking area. The lighthouse is really an observation tower, there isn't a light in the top and being only 55 feet tall, the spiral stairs were built rather narrow to keep the proportions looking right. There are several little benches set into the central wall as you go up but those are more to allow someone coming down to pass another coming up as there is no way to fit two on the steps. But it was a nice view. Back to camp, get everything set up, dinner cooking as we watch a storm start to roll in and it looked to be a nasty one, hmmm maybe there was a need for a lighthouse here? As it turned out the storm blew itself out and we only had light rain for about 20 minutes. Waking the next morning we find we have a young goose we named Alf that has decided it liked us, we tried to feed Alf some popcorn, he didn't seem interested in it but he did like the van's tires. He stayed in the immediate area the whole time as we packed up and got ready to go. Driving off as carefully as we could, not being able to see the silly goose, we make it to the showers, look back and see he appears to be injured. Before we can check him out he waddles off into the water, we certainly hope he his ok, because we would not like to see Alf lack for anything if he was injured.

   We stopped along the roadside on the way to Courthouse and Jailhouse rocks to go after an ammo can, I had read a few of the previous logs and decided to take along our walking sticks, something we rarely use but always have handy on our trips. We went past a small hillside cemetery heading towards some rock outcroppings and I was in the lead as I have a faster walking pace than Vic. I was within 20 feet of where my gps put the ammo can we were seeking, when I heard a dreaded sound, the raspy ratchety shake of a rattlesnake's tail. The rattle was a much softer sound than movies had led me to believe, but still instantly recognizable. Acting on instinct, I jumped back hard enough to land on my butt, then quickly got up and took a look around me to see where it was and spied it slithering off in the brush. Looking back I told Vic to stay back and to get on top of a nearby flat rock. Her reply was "what??" but she quickly realized the situation. Taking a moment to calm down, I started ahead, slowly, swinging my walking stick like a blind persons cane hoping to startle up anything that may be in my path. I made my way to the far side of the large flat rock to find the prize. Poking around with my stick and hooking the can back to where I could safely reach it, signed the log and traded for an angel ornament before replacing the container. Repeating the cane tactic back to where Vic has been anxiously waiting, we make our way to the van.  She said she hadn't heard anything until I told her to stay put, I said" yeah, you can't scream like a girl if your heart is up in your throat!" The angel went right onto the rear view mirror and has stayed there ever since.

   A bit after that we arrived at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. After a quick tour of the visitor center, where a Native American was doing beadwork, we decided to make the walk to the excavation sites. The path was a wide concrete walkway that wound up to a lookout spot and then onto the site. There was a fair grade to it but nothing bad for someone who is in decent shape, so we took our time and made use of the couple of covered benches along the path so thoughtfully provided by our park services. At the beginning of the walk way was the now familiar warning to stay on the path, this is rattlesnake country.  Along the way we heard a rattle rattle SNAP sound and when we first heard it, I froze until I saw what had caused it. Grasshoppers, we were scaring up grasshoppers from the edges of the pavement and they flew off with a sound similar to my earlier snake encounter, only louder. After a few seconds of flight there was invariably a loud snap that sounded like those little paper teardrop snappers that are thrown on the ground to make their distinctive noise on the Fourth of July.  After a few more minutes and several more of the firesnapper grasshoppers Vic noticed that with each snap they changed direction almost as if the sound was them being swatted and sent off in a new direction. At one point along the path there were enough to make us think of a roll of Chinese firecrackers, snapping and jumping and traveling down the line as we walked.

   We met another couple coming down as we went up and exchanged comments on the heat and the tough walk up, but I noticed they fairly bounced off as we started trudging up again. At our last stop before the sites, there were blooming prickly pears for us to photograph and few plants that looked like burnt pineapples. Onto the site which we explore for a bit and take a timer photo of ourselves together. I screwed that up though by having a rock in the frame and the camera focused on it instead of us. Taking some parting shots of the view, with a teeny tiny visitor center lost in the panorama we do our best to change that perspective in a hurry, it was lunch time.

   After sandwiches, chips and lots of water, we head for the EarthCache here. It was quite near the entrance, we had passed it on the way to the visitor center. Pulling into the parking area, Vic tells me I'm on my own; she is done in by the last few miles. Grumbling, I tie a cooldanna around my neck and taking along a tripod for the EC pic, shuffle off up the hill. Passing an interesting ripple rock formation I round the bend out of site and soon find a bench and a display behind plexi-glass of the fossilized corkscrew burrows that are the subject of the EC. Taking a pic and making a note, I almost turn back, it is hot and I am tired too, but the gps says it's still a quarter mile away, so I decide to press on and finish the trail. Off in the distance on a flat top bluff I see a silhouette of a pronghorn antelope and try to decide whether it is a plywood cutout (we had seen similar cutouts in other places on this trip) but looking up again after a short walk, I watched it crowhop to the other end of the bluff. Rounding another turn I find the cased daemonalix fossil and set up for the pic and count spirals for the logging requirements. The van looks so far away once it finally comes in to view. I'm exhausted when I get there but not grumpy at all, what I saw was worth the walk in the heat and I was cooled off and ready for more by our next stop.

   Carhenge, sacred tourist trap of Nebraska lived up to its name with a mostly full parking lot and people oohing and aahing at autos painted rock grey and stacked on top of each other in a circular semblance of Stonehenge. Many were saying "I used to have one of those!" as they looked over the variety of vehicles. I was tickled when I spotted an AMC Pacer just like the one my mom used to have. There were other attractions as well with an 'auto'graph where you were asked to sign a car standing on its tail. There was the Conestoga'd station wagon and my favorite sculpture the "Salmon." Near the visitor center was a Subaru Outback with dot painted boomerangs and kangaroos. Making our rounds with an occasional glance at the gps, we narrowed down the search grid until Vic spied the container. It would be difficult to retrieve and sign the cache here without tipping off muggles, but with a loud cry of "Look!  A Pontiac Solstice! Over there!" while waving toward the entrance, Vic was able to grab it. She replaced it after I walked away as all the people kept their eyes on that strange man who carried a tripod and shouted at imaginary cars. Grabbing a cool drink as we waited in line for the single restroom, we fed the sacred tourist trap squished penny machine (4 different images!) You know if there is a squished penny machine, the place is at least revered, if not sacred, in bringing home those tourist dollars! Maybe they should sink a few of those dollars into more plumbing.

   Scotts Bluff, I never expected it to be as big as it is. There is a whole range of massive rock bluffs we gawped at as we drove toward them. We grab a cache or two before checking for our first motel stay of the trip. Catching up on current events and getting a good cool nights sleep, we rollout in the morning a bit later than I had wanted but it ends up we could have tarried a bit longer. Arriving before opening time at Scotts Bluff National Monument we take a little stroll around the parking lot. The visitor center opens and we watch the short film on westward expansion and this landmark, then remark on the stuffed rattler on the desk, "yeah it was about that size, Vic" before buying a hat pin. The gates are open now so we drive up to the summit and enjoy the view. On the way back down we get a few pics of a deer in a grassy area. Wildlife and history and rocks and a view too, what more could we ask for?

   Next stop Chimney Rock. We toured the visitor center and discussed walking out to the rock but decided against it because of time (it was a long walk and warm) and warning signs (we would hate to poison a snake by letting it bite us!) There was a nearby cache and we got a nice view and pic of the Chimney from there.

   Pulling into the Fort Robinson State park, we cruise around looking for a place to camp and they are filled to almost capacity. We find a non electric site and go to register at the office. We park, plop, post and pitch and soon our camp is presentable. Vic decided to make use of the post pool to cool off and after driving there we find out it was closed for another hour. Detouring back they way we had come, we stop at an old gymnasium that now houses the Clash of the Mammoths exhibit. These two full mammoths had been found near Crawford Nebraska. The curving tusks had become locked up in a fight and they had gone to their death bound to each other. The display separated the larger mammoth and used it in a standard museum pose. Beyond this big boy was a large flat raised area representing the field where they had been found, lying on their sides. Using the bones of only one mammoth, the two combatants were recreated. Quite a remarkable display.  After a quick look around the gift shop, we head up for an hour of relaxing coolness in the pool. Waking the next morning we quickly break camp, pack the van and go off in search of bison and mushrooms.

   Making our way down gravel and dirt roads we follow the map and gps to a very thoughtfully placed cache at Hudson Meng Bone Bed. It was thoughtfully placed because it was published just before my last pocket query for the trip and allowed us to find the location with our electronics instead of a paper map. Pulling up to the gate, it is locked, but still before the posted opening time, so after collecting an FTF on the thoughtful cache, we wait for the arrival of the gatekeeper. Pulling into the parking area, it was still a quarter mile walk to the building where a portion of the bone bed was displayed and it was dotted with informational signs. We took pics of every sign because I wanted to develop an EarthCache here. Entering the building, we were greeted by a very pleasant woman who would be our tour guide. Asking about the entry fee we were told it was a fee-free weekend. Man we timed this one right, FTF on a five day old cache, fee-free tour and a very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful geologist giving us a tour for the next 45 minutes. During that time I was furiously tapping text into my palm to use on my EC. After getting contact information, our guide invited us to go on a buffalo hunt with an atlatl. My prey was a plywood bison, roughly 20 yards away and my weapon was a five foot long aluminum shaft made from several modern arrow shafts fitted together. This was the "dart" to be thrown with the atlatl, a flat, narrow piece of wood about as long as my forearm with a raised spot that engages the hollow end of the long arrow shaft and a loop on the other end so you don't throw it along with the dart. Using this, the Paleo-Indians were able to throw further and with more force. My first attempt flew a few inches above the back of the silhouette, I over corrected and threw low on my next try, a few more tries that never did bring home the bison bacon and we give our goodbyes and thanks to our guide. Onto Toadstool Park next, we could walk a 3 mile trail from here or drive several more miles roundabout to reach the same place. The scenery was stunning as we drove to the park. There was another thoughtful cache near Toadstool as well, although it had been placed well before our trip and we DNF after a short search.

  There were a cluster of signs under a roofed area, inside of a loop drive.  We took pics of these signs also, for the same reason we did at the Bone Bed. There were a few groups of people coming back as we went through the gate armed with a self-guided tour pamphlet. It was beginning to warm up as we walked armed with walking sticks and a tripod up the slope. At first glance the slope appeared to be a loose gravely material but it was weathered stone underfoot and solid. What a fascinating area! Toadstool formations the size of pickup trucks, rows of stone gazing balls and wrinkles from rivulets running down the soft stone faces. You could easily imagine being back in time with the dinosaurs or on another planet.  Many of the formations had narrow veins of a smoky, grayish crystal and some areas had crystals laying all over the surface. It was heating up with the sun beating down from a nearly cloudless sky and reflecting up from the light colored rock underfoot and I asked Vic if she needed to hurry back to the ac of the van and she said " I wanna look around more" so you know it must have been quite a place. There was so much to see in the short space of a mile hike, this was probably our favorite spot on this trip, although we appreciated each location we visited for what it was.

   One of those mornings where you just want to lay in bed a little bit longer, I watched a good sized caterpillar's shadow creep up the tent wall behind a dozing Vic. It got to a bit above where Vic's elbow was when the tent wall suddenly bulged in as a bird picked off the easy meal. All at once, its wings or claws made a bonk, frrt frrt kinda sound against the fabric and Vic bolted out of bed with a wild look. "What was that?" after explaining about the caterpillar we noticed another inch up the tent and again a bird came along to fill its tummy with a tasty tidbit.  "Cool!!" we could see each outspread wing feather distinctly as it beat its wings and rebounded off the tent side. Getting dressed and keeping an eye on another brave climber working its way to the safety of the tent's rain fly summit, we wait until he is safely out of reach from hungry birds before we start our own breakfast. When I took the tent down, I picked the lucky fellow off and set him down at the base of a tree since we didn't want any hitchhikers on our trip.

   While planning this trip we had selected certain things we would both like to see and visit and a few things one of us wanted to see. I was getting frustrated and apologetic for the meandering routes I was taking us along trying to catch up every county and Delorme map page. Meandering? More like gyrating at times. I offered to pass on visiting the Museum of the Fur Trade because of how long I thought it would take to go through its displays. Vic said I had let her go to the handle of the pan so we would visit the trappers. The building was smaller than I had imagined but made excellent use of floor space to exhibit the huge amount of artifacts from the period. There was a colorful temporary display about French voyageurs that included some beautiful assomption sashes, fingerwoven with vivid lightning bolts, chevron stripes or the impressive ceinture' flechee' arrow sash. Someday I will learn to make those. We spent about 45 minutes in the museum but could have spent days among the Hawken rifles, plug tobacco, camp kettles and traps and other such truck needed to hunt beaver,  well not Vic, but I could have. As we left to get back on the road, we searched for a thoughtful cache placed here but call it a dnf after 10 minutes.

   We stopped for the night in a small town and decided to hit the restaurant next door for real, not prepared under the hatch of the van or propane heated food. Soon after we were seated it began to fill up with big hats, big belt buckles and boots as it became apparent folks were making their way in for the Thomas county fair that would be in a few days. Our steak dinner was excellent, around here they know beef.

   Most of our planned visits had been completed and we were on the homebound loops. Two places were on again, off again as I adjusted the route to color territory, Happy Jack Peak and a small town where I have relatives. We had visited the chalk mines at Happy Jack a few years ago when we had vacationed out this way, pre caching. Neat place, the only room and pillar mine  in the U.S. that people can visit, but we didn't have time for the tour and Vic said climbing the peak was a once only thing for her and she wasn't going back up to log a benchmark. I told her there was a cache on the peak too and she growled at me. We did pass that way and collected another cache that was in the parking area and had even gone onto Scotia to refill coffee and soda and to look at another possible EC, a building built of chalk from the Happy Jack mine. Later, just before dusk we pull into a little dam site in my relatives town and search for a keyholder over our heads. Vic really shined here as she made a caduceus of our flexi mirror and flexi light and quick work of eliminating possibilities while finding the decoy. I made the find, purely by luck. No time to visit, a few more counties in the dark and we could at last go home. We had been moving, driving, caching for 16 hours today and traveled well over 700 miles.

   We had earned some rest after that last day and we planned to complete the challenge in a few weeks.  I went back to work on a Wednesday and Vic began to settle into her summer routine. On Thursday, Vic told me," We're gonna finish this!" and once again I ran queries and Vic repacked the van for another overnight trip to collect counties. A few of the biggest highlights of a very enjoyable little trip was a clown nose I found as swag and had made good use of for the rest of the trip, ("All I have is a red clown nose, but it's not for blowing..It's for honking through."), the murals and the country's smallest police station of Friend and the final resting place of Willy Wonka.

   We were close to 1000 finds and after a few in town caches, and a run with Sioneva, we went for #1000 at an EarthCache. We had now become a triple threat with the 93 county challenge, the Nebraska Delorme challenge and a thousand finds. We would sign the official logbooks and receive our Golden Ammo Can at the annual Nebraskache event in Kearney. Cobble gobble, here fritter, fritter!

Thu, Jan 07, 2010

The first cache that I ever found was on the 6th of January 2009, and
it was attached (sort of) to the building that I work in.

This is not about that cache, nor is it about the last cache that I
found in that same year, which was in a park across a field of waist
deep snow from where I parked.  I might write about those caches
later.  This is about some of the caches that a certain unnamed hider
(Bosac) has hidden, perhaps with a couple of others thrown in.  Don't
worry Bosac, I won't spoil any locations.

Shortly after I started geocache hunting lunch became the time of
choice to search for caches.  I was working until 4:30 pm, and I had
to pick up my son from school, so that left little time to look for
caches before sunset.  Weekends were available, but I knew there were
several caches close to where I worked, and I wanted to do something
at lunch other than eat.  I spotted a cache on the map called "Swamp
Thing -- Hides of Horror" and thought, "that sounds cool."  When I
brought up the listing, it was a story.  I love a good story, so I
read it and decided that this was the cache for me on this day.  I
borrowed a coworkers Nuvi to take along with my own ETrex, since I was
looking for a replacement, and thought I might as well test his out.
I approached the area not sure what to expect, and parked on the
street to the northeast.

I was, by now, a geocacher with a month and a half experience.  I was
ready for anything.  So far everything I had found was on flat ground
(does Nebraska have anything but...?).  So I had a game plan.  I would
walk down the street until I was directly east of the cache, then walk
directly west to the hiding spot and find the thing.  Easy, right?
Somewhere, Bosac is laughing already.  I found that spot and walked
toward the cache.

Whoa there Nellie!  (who's Nellie, anyway?)
I stepped across the curb and noticed that the ground sloped away into
the woods...no, that's not quite accurate.  The ground DROPPED away
into the woods.  I was looking down a pretty severe hill.  Suddenly I
liked this cache even more(when I was in the military, I learned rock
climbing in the Rocky Mountains)!  I started down the hill with nary a
thought about my slick souled work shoes, but only for the first
couple of steps.  Remember what time this was? February 2009?  Yep.
We had had a pretty good snow, and then a couple of warm days.  The
hill was slick, and I was goin' down!  I reached out my arm
instinctively(read:in a panic) and caught the first thing going by.
That little tree redirected my descent and twisted my body around and
suddenly I wasn't falling anymore.  I looked around again, and chose a
different path to the bottom of the hill, where I knew the cache had
to be now, and headed down again without incident.  I reached "Ground
Zero" a few minutes later, after walking around in circles while the
two GPSr's had a fight over where that was, and the cache wasn't
there.  I turned off the Nuvi, concentrated on the ETrex, and walked
around a little more.  I understand it's called the Geo-chicken-dance,
or some such thing.  When I got to a place where the GPSr said the
cache was located, I looked around for a minute or two for a likely
hiding spot.  I located the cache in about the third place that I
looked.  It was the coolest container that I had found to date, so  I
knew I need to find the rest of the "Hides of Horror."

Fri, Jan 01, 2010

Thu, Dec 31, 2009

Hiders of caches seem to try to bring you to places they themselves have enjoyed.

You know what I mean... you discover a well maintained park and you think to yourself "wouldn't this be a nice place for a cache?"

I remember once being on top of a hill overlooking Wabisis Lake. Of course I had to put a cache there. I was happy when people logged their finds and expressed their gratitude for bringing them to such a beautiful spot.

I have seen videos of people in various states documenting their search on top of mountains. The scenery was breathtaking. You come to appreciate the thoughtfulness of others as they go out of their way to share their everyday experiences.

The point I would like to make is we should be thankful. Not everything may be to our liking and we may not have gone to these places without the benefit of a cache, but still you have to appreciate the fact that owners are trying their best. The wife doesn't feel the same way about these particular caches and I think she is being unfair. Let me present the evidence and you be the judge.

A cacher in our area had placed a few caches that ran along a theme. We've all seen it before; a series of light poles, a group on guardrails, maybe several on bridges. This particular theme seemed to be strip clubs. The owner had place three caches at three different clubs. After the wife and I had finished doing all three caches, I wrote this log.

"First Parkway Tropics, then Sensations and now Lady Godiva. Well done! By the way, if you ever need anyone to help you to place your next cache, I would be more than happy to tag along and help you in your research for another location in context with your theme of"... Excuse me one moment.

"What's that Dear?"

"I'm just logging our cache."

"What?"

"Oh no, Dear."

"I wouldn't think of it, Dear."

"Of course, Dear, I understand completely."

"I couldn't agree with you more. It is disgusting."

Me again. I just looked at my schedule. Unfortunately it appears I'm booked solid for quite some time. So forget what I was saying about the research... Thanks anyway.

Now don't you agree with me? Isn't she unreasonable? Unfortunately the owner of the caches moved back to Alabama. He claimed he couldn't take another winter in Michigan. The wife seemed far too pleased about his leaving. I'm not so sure she didn't have a hand in it. As for his series of caches...

Me: "Wasn't that fun?"

By Shrek & Fiona   Sun, Dec 27, 2009

Shrek from team Shrek & Fiona posted a note to do a cache that is not visited very much.  It is on the lonely cache list.

  Two teams (the Balks and Team Raslas) responded that they would be interested in the challenge to go find this cache. We set a meeting time and place and when we got to the area we did not think about the past weather and all the rain we recently had.  To our surprise, the very small creek is now a raging river!  We looked for a place to cross upstream and at that point we thought about giving up before getting started.  We thought about that for about 30 seconds and all agreed to go get this cache one way or another.

   As a group/team we moved downstream looking for a way to get across--but nothing looked promising.  Now it is time to get serious!  Shrek found a dead tree and pushed it over. This will make a good bridge.  The Balks found a down tree, now it is bridge building time.  Our first try it floated away.  Our second try, the Balks' boots got filled with water when he stepped onto our second bridge,  On the third try, two people made it across the makeshift bridge, but after the second person, the bridge fell apart and floated away. Now what are we going to do--2 people on this side of the river and 2 on the other side.  We still have the dead trees that are now floating away so we made our way through the brush to catch up to the trees in the water and retrieve them.  We let them float farther downstream till we got to a narrower spot, but now the river split and there are two to cross.  We lodged one tree and crossed to the next spot.  We did the same with the next dead tree and made our way across.  Then we thought we better pull that one on land so it doesn't float away.

 The four of us are all together again to continue on our way to the cache. A few steps and the ground is all flooded under the tall grass.  We are now an hour into this adventure and our feet are cold and wet.  The water was deep enough to get into our knee high boots but no one was willing to turn back.  So through the wet marshy area we went stumbling and getting more wet.  This went on for another hour.  We are worn out when we finally get out of the wet tall grass area and back onto some hard ground.

 We rested for a couple minutes and thought how foolish this was, but how much fun we were having as a group.  Now for the easy part--into a small wooded area and out the other side to make the find.  We got the cache and signed our names.  A short rest there and then we looked at the fence that was only a few feet away thinking how we could get over that and walk up to the road just a few more feet away.  But then reality set in.  We can't cross that fence because it would put us on the interstate and there was no way anyone would stop and pick up four wet dirty and rough looking geocachers.  We put our back to the fence and our nose into the wind and headed back. It took two hours to make the quarter mile in and one hour to make our way back out stumbling and falling in the tall wet grass, crossing the makeshift bridges and returning to the cars for our group photo, wet and ducking behind open car doors to change out of the wet clothes. Now it was time to refuel our bellies and go home--but wait it was only noon so we couldn't waste the day and headed into the Black River Forest to hit some more but easier caches.

written and submitted by Shrek & Fiona

Sat, Dec 26, 2009

*Editors note: This is the story that was the source of "A Cachers Carol" that appears elsewhere in the magazine. It has remained unpublished until now. The caches described have been archived and the story is no longer a spoiler.... for those caches!

  We had been Geocaching a month or so when a local mystery cache had caught our eye, but it was rated at a 4.5 D/4.5 T so we figured to get some more experience before going for it. Oh! Let's be honest, the logs had scared us off. A previous log spoke of the hardships and medical trauma incurred during the search for this cache which included an infected foot from stepping on something sharp while crossing a scummy pond, a brown recluse spider bite and a hand that was flayed wide open from grabbing a branch during a fall. The log included very graphic photo's of each of these injuries. Very graphic and frightening. Wow! what a bad day caching. After reading the log Vic sent a get well email to the injured cacher.

   Prior logs also spoke of great difficulty solving the puzzle and retrieving the various legs of the multicache. Personally I never could make any sense of the puzzle and soon gave up trying. Vic is better at solving them than I am but she gave up as well. We put this cache on the back burner and in our watch list.

     There is a perversity in human nature that makes us want to show the extremes of our chosen activities. Maybe it is trying to appear more than we are, or the vicarious bravery we have by taking part in those "possibly dangerous" activities. Whenever we spoke about our new hobby to family and friends and there was a computer handy we would show them the logs and photo's for this cache. Yes, we were taking on a high adventure, potentially disastrous, exciting new hobby.

    A week or two later and we had come across a log on another cache that was near a town west of us. It was written by the owner of the local cache we were watching. It was a very long log and we had discovered the fact that longer logs on a cache generally meant a more fulfilling cache experience. Lamp post caches usually get a TFTC but caches that provide adventure got whole paragraphs. This cache had a lot of paragraph logs on it just like the cache in our watchlist.

    His log spoke of a difficult approach to the cache, dragging a fire extinguisher with him. It detailed a water crossing and using the fire extinguisher to remove the leeches from his skin and other tribulations. Right after finding the cache and logging it, he met up with his wife and dog both of whom, not having to obtain the coordinates to the next leg, took an easier path. At this time they were approached by an angry individual of a stereotypical backwoods type, a redneck or as the log calls him "the bubba." bubba had his scattergun with him and was loudly cursing the cachers and ranting about "no one's gonna have no meth labs in my neighborhood!" The cachers tried to explain what they were doing but bubba wouldn't listen saying he was gonna hold em till the law got here. The cacher offered the use of his cell phone to call for them. In the time before the deputies arrived the cachers were getting pretty bold in what they said to bubba considering he kept the shotgun trained on them the whole time. Even the dog showed his disdain by giving a hind leg salute right on bubba's boot.

     With the arrival of the law enforcement officers, the situation was defused with the cachers explaining caching to one officer who had previously heard about it, while the other disarmed and arrested bubba for unlawful incarceration. The log ends with the explanation that they would have to return to testify in bubba's trial.

       Vic and I talk about this one and we really can't picture the cacher, whom we had met, saying what he did while a man held a gun on him. Never know though, what can happen when you are under duress. We also talked about this cache log to family and friends. Yup, this was quite the hobby we were taking part in!

         Several months later, literally out of the blue, I came to the realization that the local cache was not as it seemed. I don't know what triggered the thought but there it was. This was a cache of fabricated logs, cacher's constructions, finder's fiction. In short, this was a "liar's cache."  I laughed out loud and Vic asked what was so funny. When I told her, she just said "noo" with an incredulous look on her face. We had both heard the term liar's cache before but were just at this moment putting it all together in our heads.

  We reread the logs with our new found understanding and yep it was glaring at us. Too many inconsistent details. We were picturing ourselves in conical caps on tall stools in the corner, when after doing a Google search on brown recluse bites, we find the exact photo that was in the log. We find another of the posted pics as well. And Vic had even sent a sympathy email to the "injured" writer of the log!

   I can tell you our mouths were stretched out really wide from being hooked so hard. We looked up the bubba cache as well and sure enough the logs had all the same traits. We had been taken in totally and completely!

    So how did we feel about this? shocked at the deception, relieved our new hobby wasn't that dangerous, wanting to somehow strike back at those who fooled us. Sure, but mostly we laughed at ourselves, letting out a big chuckle whenever we thought about it.

      We had begun placing our "Guardian Series" of caches last autumn. It was a series inspired by the time Vic reached for a cache and grabbed the fur of a snarling, needle toothed, possum that denned up next to the cache. Shortly after that we began to hide our own caches and came up with the Guardian idea featuring animals or insects that could potentially keep someone away from a cache. I had a whole bunch of ideas for containers and I still have several in the series that need to be placed.

         On one of the warmer late winter days when it seemed you just had to get out caching or go nuts, the cache owner of the local liars cache found several of our guardians. His logs said they were nice quirky containers but he wished more ammo cans and regulars would be placed so younger cachers could trade swag.

   We were miffed! We had put all that work into the containers and the cache pages and finding the perfect spots for our cache critters and we're told the containers should have been bigger! Did he not understand our series?

      Well, we calmed down and realized, he was a good, highly respected cacher who was just stating his opinion and a valid one at that. We can take critiscm. There was no need to bear ill feelings, just as he bore none against us. And in that calmer, more serene state of mind we planned our revenge.

   We decided upon a 3 prong attack, a fully coordinated, synchronized assault upon the vulnerable salients of his fortified domicile. Sending in sappers and our elite Guardian insect troops through the front and sides as a diversion while the reptile Guardians would make the main thrust into the rear and overtake the occupants. Then they would know beyond all doubt that not all Guardians can carry ammo cans!! Yet they can still be an effective fighting force in the war on unfound caches!    

   Or

  We could be a bit more subtle and stealthy and advance our cause through the very heart of his opinion. We would place ammo cans. Not just ordinary ammo cans, mind you. A Generic Ammo Can with a message! (Those of you who have read other stories in this column will recognize the "ANNOUNCER."  The following cache description was the first time he made an appearance in my writings.

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Generic Ammo Can

Read all of the following, out loud, in your best Radio Announcer voice, with enthusiasm! Also read the fine print very quick and monotone.

 The pitch:

    Introducing... The Not another micro in the woods! The 16 gauge industrial steel, built to government spec, stout as a log, alternative to Tupperware. The surprise under the unnatural pile of sticks! The weatherproof, all terrain, keep those trade goods dry .......Generic Ammo Can!!!!  Camouflaged to blend in with its surroundings, it holds a treasure trove of swag in its spacious 461.3 cubic inch interior. Perfect for the family outing!! And talk about your travel bugs, this baby has room for them, keeping them safe and dry in between journeys. Come out for a test find today and see if you don't agree that the Generic Ammo Can is the best caching experience around!

                                              The fine print:

 Taxes, title and license waived, 50 cal version covered with optional camo upgrade, must seek from hidden stock before muggled and archived, thanks to mastercacher  for  this container ,that we won  at the "Geocache the Bluffs" event. Original contents include: children's puzzles, fast food toys, Sacagawea dollar.   Cache description inspired by the thought "How do I sell another Generic Ammo Can?" Please rehide as found, trade even or trade up, please log your visit in a cheerful, fun loving manner. Don't log it was an easy find, of course it is, it's an ammo can under an unnatural pile of sticks in the woods. Coordinates may be Gitchie when the tree cover fills back in. Watch for wildlife of all sorts, enjoy the surroundings, and take some time to appreciate the riparian forest ecosystem. Did you know that Sacagawea lived in this immediate area after the Lewis and Clark journey? Don't listen to, or spread urban legends, no one was ever lynched here and albino's live in houses like you and I, not in trees. Cache in trash out! Unfortunately, the amount of trash dumped here is scary. Help to reclaim this cacher's playground for future generations of cachers to enjoy. Thanks for listening to me ramble and spout, now... go out there and find those caches! Don't you just love this hobby? Wasn't it fun to play announcer and use your big voice like that?

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    So how is that for a retaliatory strike? I had also picked at a few other nits in there, but they don't come into this story. We weren't done there though. We had another guardian (Don't' Worry be Hoppy!) log stating a regular would have been a better choice from this same cacher. This guardian wanted to live under a bridge. The bridge he lived under was over a creek flowing through an urban park. Tough to find unoccupied bridges in this town, the trolls have claimed almost all of them, so he snapped it up. But because of the nearby wooded areas along the banks, let alone the unnatural yet unoccupied, pile of sticks only yards away, I could once again understand the cacher's point of view. So once again we turned to an ammo can to redress this affront to our cache hides. 

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Howdy Neighbor

Hoppy, GC18CY7 was so pleased with the area his guard shack is in that he invited his friend, Howdy, the horse trader,(they can't all be Guardians) to build his cache barn nearby. He took him up on the offer and built a fancy red barn just down the road a piece. There's plenty of room for a trade or two and non-trading visitors are welcome also.
Howdy and Hoppy both, would like to say "Happy Trails to You" as you cache off into the sunset.

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   Subtle, but we felt our point was made. And in a very neighborly un-confrontational manner. Now it might seem that I have wandered off a bit from the beginning where I was talking about a liars cache. Well, just like when I'm out caching I wander some, but eventually get to where I need to be. That don't mean I see the cache, but that I got to where I need to be.

 Time to claim the liars cache and post my final act of revenge upon this outspoken cacher. I had worked several days on my log and felt it had believable details, ok, mostly believable. I had learned a long time ago at work, that if you make something up, do it to the fourth decimal place and it usually won't be questioned. The beginning had a dream sequence that was followed by the fictitious account of my hardships in tackling this challenge. After finding the actual cache and sitting down to log the find, Vic talked me out of posting the dream sequence saying something about burying the hatchet before someone gets hurt. Actually, she didn't like it, plain and simple. She used the hatchet to cut that part out. And I was hurt! What a critic!

And now for the first time in print, the uncut catsnfish Liars Log.

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   Well we finally got around to working the puzzle for this one and after several days and late nights we had it solved. It was too cold and late for the attempt so I called and talked to my nephew about prusik knots because my monkey skills are not what they used to be. A last minute check to make sure all my gear was assembled and off to bed anticipating the effort it would take to get this cache.

         It wasn't long after falling asleep that Wedge woke me up,  whining like she wanted to play with something but couldn't get to it. I'm tempted to go back to sleep but my tummy is rumbling (darn diet) and I figure I would raid the fridge. Going to the kitchen wedge is wagging her tail while looking at the wall, silly dog. Anyway, I have a look in the fridge hoping for some leftover tidbit to tide me over till morning.

   I hear a low wavery "catsnfishhh" and turn to see a spectral figure appearing out of the wall. It seemed to be a man, clothed in khaki, wearing a back pack, and an old ball cap. As the figure became more solid I noticed he was spraying something from a can all over himself and that he was followed by dozens of ammo cans strung together on a chain. Ok the "Christmas Carol" bit, I'll play along. Not recognizing the Marley in front of me I ask "Who are you?" As he replaced the can into his pack he replied "I am the Missing Cacher,  by the way you have termites, can't stand termites ughh, worse than ticks!." O ..K, After he took a moment to bend down and play with wedge and even slipped her a dog biscuit, I said "Can we move this along? I'd like to get back to bed" with a long sigh he began his lecture, "This power trail that I'm lugging behind me are the regular caches I did not place in my life. Too many nanos, key holders, yada yada, you get the picture. You, Catsnfish, have a much longer train of cans since you have never ever placed an ammo can!" "So? " I reply "So Repent! What do you think this dream is about? You'll have the standard three spectral visits to show you the error of your ways." "Gotcha O K uh" I didn't know what to say. "Don't just stand there slack jawed, move, so I can go out the window, I won't go through that wall again, can't stand termites! You will be visited by three..." and his voice trailed off as the ammo cans clunked after him.

   I awoke in my bed and thought 'how strange?' the exterminator was here just last year. Hmm maybe the yogurt I had last night was expired. Darn diet!

   Wedge woke me by nudging her cold nose against my hand. "Ok ok I'll let you out, quit drinking so much before bedtime." She bounded into the other room and when I turned the corner into my living room, I stepped into a bright,  boulder strewn, mountain meadow with butterflies flitting and birds chirping and a cool pleasant breeze swaying the wildflowers like a chorus line. 

   Not 20 yards from me was a slender man, again dressed in khaki, sporting a large white handlebar mustache and pith helmet tipped at a jaunty angle. He was leaning over a five gallon bucket that was tucked in between a couple of large rocks. In one hand was a teddy bear and the other a nalgene bottle. Dropping the bottle into the bucket he replaced the lid, and made sure that it was well sealed.

    Turning to look at me, I addressed him "Are you the Ghost of Caches Past?" "Why, yes I am!" as he bounded over and began shaking my hand. " Catsnfish! It's so jolly good to meet another cacher, there's not many of us you know. Maybe one should create a cache to meet other cachers at? Eh what, yes, yes, that would do! Oh dear!, Wedge, I didn't see you. What?" and he flipped a biscuit towards my dog. Seems we have a character here. Reluctant to turn the mood by getting down to business, I hesitantly ask "Aren't you suppose to show me how things were better in the old days of caching before nano's and bison's?" Taking on a very Charlton Heston type demeanor, he stated "Look around, Son, you've found this cache but the next one is in that valley over there, a good eight hour hike away. On that hike you'll see wondrous sights, a bugling elk, beaver in their ponds, boulders from the dawn of time, even a herd of them bison you asked about. This is adventure for those stout enough to seek it! And treasure, the treasure is right here" he said pointing to the chest of the teddy bear. Now I was confused, should all caches be long hikes in glorious settings and have teddy bears to trade? I asked that and he replied " Listen, Son, the adventure is what you make it to be, whether in a wilderness or a back alley.. the treasure's in your heart and what you take from the experience." Beginning to fade as his message was said, his demeanor changed as the British accent reemerged and he began mumbling as he strode off "who'd want to seek a bison? Bison move around. what? Hmm a moving cache! No, wouldn't last, I dare say, what?" I could hear the faint echo of "Tally Ho the Cache!" as I once again found myself in bed.

      "Yes wedge, who is here this time? Let me guess, another ghost?" Whoda thought that? Tail wagging, she leads me down the hallway. The hallway seems endless and is changing as I walk along. By the time I reach the end it has become a bridge and there is a small roundish person dressed in black, standing at the end of it. "Are you the Ghost of Caches Present?" "Do I look like a ghost? No. I'm the Troll of Caches Present!" I should have known better, ghosts wear khaki. "Take my spare Magellan so we can give you the guidance you need." " I can't I'm a Garmin man!" I  exclaim. "You'll be forgiven that, ..maybe, now take it!" he then rocked a little on his feet and popped off like he had been stuck to the surface. As I am pulled along behind him I catch a glimpse of Wedge snapping up a milkbone.

   All was black until little teeny lights began to glow and fade and glow again all around us. In that glow I came to the realization I was upside down with quite a start." Just keep your feet flat you'll be ok" he said noticing my discomfort. Relaxing a bit  I asked about the lights." Those are blinkies! And my Magellan makes them light up, can your Garmin do that?" "no" I said weakly and he gave out a great big guffaw and said "I wish it could, I'd hunt nano's at night all the time. Nope this is a dream, Catsnfish, and they are glowing to make a point." Ok, feeling better that my Garmin wasn't  technologically inferior, I ask "What's the point?" "Why , that there's a bunch of em! What else?" It's kinda peaceful and pretty watching the blinkies while hanging upside down under a bridge. Looking around, I spot a lonely green glow off to the north and ask if that's the nuclear power plant over that way.  "Hmm" he growls as he pulls a logbook from under his hat and flips through some pages "Let's see, .. here it is, the color code for this dream is... nano's are red, reactors are blue, ammo can's green and so are you! Poof" with that last poof,  he pointed his finger at me and we promptly disappeared .

    Back at home, I hadn't turned green at all, that guy was a real kidder. Between worrying about developing a chartreuse hue and the anticipation of the last and most worrisome of the spectral visitors, there was no way I was going to sleep. Making a pot of coffee and grabbing another yogurt, I settle down to relax, wishing I had a big gooey fudge brownie instead..

   In a short while Wedge, who was at my feet, hopped up and started wagging her tail. Slowly a few people came into view, materializing along with some chairs and bistro tables. There was someone in a uniform writing on a tablet, I think he was taking orders, cause I heard something about a tri tip of bison and a side of bananas or maybe it was I'm tired of bison's and signing damn nano's. Somewhere else I catch "natural carrot sticks" or was it unnatural pile of sticks? Hard to tell when there are so many conversations going on at once.

   I heard the words 'ammo can' and perked up, that's what I'm here for! Down at the far table sat a woman in a red flannel shirt, a fishing vest and boonie hat, looking at a palm pilot in her hand, could this be the Ghost of Caching's Future? She must have carried some influence with the assembled crowd because when she cleared her throat and tapped the palm everyone got quiet. "Welcome Catsnfish! I am the Moderator of the Caching Future topics. Everyone here has an opinion on what caching should be. On what to hide and where it should go. How big it must be and what's a no no. Can't hide in the woods, it must have trade goods! Don't place it too high or make us all lie. Must sign in the log, can't sign if a dog! No bargain buys for FTF prize!"

 The waiter stepped up and she turned to that side " He'll have the house special, cut extra wide."

"Stop it!  Stop it! I say! Knock off the verse before it gets worse. Sheesh, the Breakfast at Moose with Seuss on the Loose? Stop it! I say!"

   Incredulous faces looked toward me, then shifted their gaze to the Moderator. Slowly, the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile.

" Whew! that's better. Thank you, Catsnfish, those Off Topic forum games are addictive! Even for us moderators." As the varied conversations began to renew around us, I was motioned to a seat on her right. "As I was saying, everyone has an opinion of what caching should be. Part of the appeal it has for many cachers is the variety. A steady diet  of ammo cans or nano's for that matter, can be as boring as well,  eating yogurt for every meal. There is room for all types and cachers can go where their preferences take them. How to play is not written in stone. Partly for this reason, it is open to interpretation and opinions. Sometimes the expression of these opinions becomes heated, agitated, and even nasty at times. That's where my job comes in. Keep things civil and the forums can be a great source of new ideas that add to the experience of caching. So remember everyone has an opinion, the right to feel strongly about it and to express it in a civil manner for others to agree or disagree with. Got it?"

"Yeah, I think so."  A big grin lights up my face "I'm right they're wrong, but they're entitled to be wrong and all our post counts go up!"

   With a shrug of her shoulders, the moderator mumbled something about 'job security.'

       Right after my last statement, a turtle brownie, drizzled in goo arrived, as I reach for my fork, everything begins to fade away. Figures, Darn diet! Nooooo!!

   At last the visits are over and I can get some sleep! Hmm, Wedge is gnawing on a big rawhide bone that I've never seen before, "Wedge, did you have anything to do with this?"

She just cocked her head in a quizzical look  and went back to her rawhide, wagging her tail.

    Aah, the day begins, I felt rested and strangely refreshed and ready to tackle this long put off cache. The plan was for me to plunge in and Vicki and Wedge would follow along to pull me out of trouble if need be. (Wedge has done that before, literally) I thought the water crossing was safe, but slipped on the ice and tore up my pants on a rock. I checked for lacerations but it was just bruised and scraped. I kept on going and recovered the clue and did the math. Limped on to the next stage. I tossed the rope over and made it fast and tried to climb, but my knots kept slipping. So Vic called my nephew and described the problem. He told her I had to use a flat webbing not a round rope for the prusik knots. Luckily, Wedge's leash was the retractable type and had plenty of length for my needs. Come to think of it, her pinch collar wrapped around my boots would have kept me from slipping on the ice. Oh well, we learn by adversity, hmm, that might be a good subtitle for this cache. Ok got those coordinates and it's on to the physical cache, I knew there were some nasties protecting it from reading past logs, and I figured I could dash in grab the cache and roll on past it to a safe distance to sign the log, but they must have been huddled up for warmth and left me alone. Good thing because I didn't have a plan to rehide the cache. Well by this time my fingers were so stiff and painful from the cold I had to put them under my armpits to warm up. Finally, able to open the container and maneuver my pencil, I signed the log for catsnfish and wedge the cacher, who, being a dog and leashless came bounding up without any trouble at all. Dropped off Everglades 3 Geocoin. SL. Good luck to the next person foolish enough to try this one.

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And now I expect you're looking for a moral to the story. I think the Ghost of Caching Future pretty much summed it up, that and fight cachers with caches.

In a humorous manner of course! That way we all win.

Fri, Dec 25, 2009

There are some days that they are so beautiful!!! The weather is clean, the sun is shining and you can’t wait to go out for geocaching or a picnic, under the trees, in the nature…

You were probably making plans for this day for a long time ago and you were anxiously waiting this day to come! And… when everything looks great… some strange events makes you realize that this is definitely not your day!!! Everything goes wrong and the hits are coming like waves….

That happened to us one geocaching day too…..

Oh… only God knows how much we wanted to go for geocaching… the last days, were not so good, it was raining. It was windy… so when we saw that this weekend the weather was going to be fine we started making plans!!!

….. Oh… we will go for geocaching, we will change a cache from micro into a regular and then we were going to have a barbeque near the sea… sausages and hotdogs…. Everything was going to be perfect…. or not???

My sister and my brother in law came with their car and took us! We were holding bags etc like we were going on a cruise! 

Everything was so perfect! We decided to go first to find a cache in Prasonisi, which is at the end of Rhodes and change a cache from micro to a normal size (I am co owner of this cache!)! Prasonisi is a small island that is connected with Rhodes with a sand road! Of course during winter, this road is not always above water!!! Many times the island is not connected! The stream there is quite strong and in older times accidents happen there, so….

When we went there we saw that it was impossible to pass the road and go to Prasonisi! The sand road was under water and we were not dressed properly to pass…

So… we decided to go back to an area some kilometers back, where a cache was! We wanted to find it quickly and then to eat near the sea…

Our parents couldn’t follow because the place was rocky, but they had no problem at all! My mother saw that the area was clean and that she could relax, see the beautiful view, and maybe collect some snails!

Oh yes! She loves to eat snails!!! Hmm… I do not!!! 

It was not summer anymore, so we had to hurry! We started our way and some meters away we realized that the area was a snail paradise!!! WOW!!! Ok, we couldn’t stop geocaching for them, but we were collecting all the snails that were ok, in our way!

Of course we were following the red spots the area had, marking the way! The owners of the cache had done this to help the cachers to find the way!

There were some goats there guarding the area! They looked surprised to see us there!

My brother in law started telling us to hurry up a little… collecting snails may take more time than you can imagine!!! Anyway… we came in the area where the cache was…. But.. Where was the cache??? We started searching the caves there because the hint was saying that it was hidden in a small cave! My brother in law, walk a little farther, and he continued to see red spots…. I knew that the geocachers who placed the cache there continued their way but… I started having thoughts that we were searching the wrong place… but… the stone arch that was in the cache area was there… the GPS was saying that we were in the destination…..

We started searching and searching but the only thing we could see was snails! 

We climbed on rocks, we went close to the edge of the rocks (it was tall enough and the cliff ended in a rocky area in the sea!!) Unfortunately we couldn’t find it and we realized that the sun was leaving! Night was coming!!! WOW! We were away for too long!!! We started our way back disappointed for the DNF, and we were so hungry… Cold or the moisture started falling and we were talking about my parents… oh… they will be worried and hungry too!! I was saying… how we will eat now? If night falls…. Well there was some light left, so if we were in a hurry… we could eat….

After some time my brother in law turned to us with fear in his eyes!!!!

- Where is my mobile phone???

- Where did you have it??? Isn’t there???

My brother in law made a mistake! He had his mobile hanging from the belt of his banana bag (the bad we wear around our waist…)

Oh and where the mobile phone had fallen???? Why he didn’t put the phone in the bag??? Questions like that were coming in our minds but we did not expect any answers…..

My brother in law wanted to go back but it was late enough! He asked if we could call his number so we could hear the ring…. Then we realized some unexpected things…. My sister didn’t have her mobile phone with her, she had forgotten it at home, and my mobile phone had low battery!!!!! Well… at least did we have any flash lights??? Nope!!!!

We decided to go to the car and see because my brother in law said that the mobile may had forgotten inside!

On our way back, I found a relic of WWII! It was an iron head of a mortar shell! WOW! I picked it up for my millitaria collection! It was not something dangerous so it was ok! It was quite heavy!!!

When we reached the car it was almost dark! Our parents were so worried…. They asked us what happen and we told them the whole thing!

Nothing was in the car, so we had to see what to do!!! It was dark, it was cold and we saw that heavy clouds were coming in the area!!! Oh boy…. If it started raining…. The mobile was going to die!!! Ok, it was in a leather mobile case, but the water….

So… everyone decided to go back home, take jackets, mobile phones, flashlights etc, and come back! There was no time to eat now! Even if we were starving, we had to rescue the mobile phone first! After all… it was a very expensive one!!!!!

We reached home and we started our preparations! We left my mother at home at least to cook something for later, and we left to go back! Me, my brother in law, my sister, and my father who brought a strong flashlight and his mobile phone too!

On our way it started raining!!! What a heavy rain!!!!

My brother in law was desperate! He was saying to go back and forget the mobile phone, but we insisted!!! We brought the car as close as possible, from another road, and we were waiting for the rain to pass! The area was very dangerous to go at night, so it was extremely dangerous to go with or after a rain!!!! When we reached the area we had left the car the first time, it was raining cats and dogs! We couldn’t see clearly, so we decided to wait until the rain stops!

While we were waiting in the car, we made our plan…. Me and my brother in law were going to search for the mobile phone, and.. My sister and my father would stay in the car and my sister would call my brother in law's phone number so we can hear it if we were close! Since the mobile was dark colored and…in black leather case…..

There was a little problem with that….

Ok, my brother’s in law mobile battery was full, but…. With all that rain…. The mobile phone might not work anymore….

Well. We didn’t have any other choice… did we?

After about half an hour, the rain stopped! It was time to move…time to go and find this mobile phone!

We put our jackets (it was cold after the rain), we opened our flash lights and left the car! WOW! During night, the area looked so different!!! Because of the rain it was very slippery too! One wrong step on the rocks…

My sister was calling the number all the time and we were trying to hear the mobile ringing! I hoped that it was somewhere close!

Snails were everywhere now! Everything was wet, there was no sunlight, so it was the best time for them to come out and eat! We couldn’t avoid all of them when we were walking… I still remember the sound of their shell breaking because we stepped on them!

We took a path but after a while we realized that it was a wrong one! Instead of going to the arch, we were going up on a mountain! So, we went back and started again, and this time we were on the right path!

We passed a wire fence and after some time we had to climb down a little… there, I slipped on a rock! I didn’t fell but from that time my anklebone was hurting me….

Where we started seeing the arch we heard a strange noise… a song!!! Oh boy!!! It was the ring tone of the mobile phone!!! We went quickly to the area we were hearing the song louder and YES!!!! The mobile phone was about 30 meters away from the place we first heard the ring tone! It was close to a rock, and that actually saved it!!!

There were only 2 – 3 drops of water on the case!!! WOW!!! We were lucky!!!

My brother in law was so happy! He took it in his hands and thanked God!!! He saw that the battery was running low! After so many calls from my sister (counted more than 100!!!) the battery had only one line….

At that time the phone started ringing again! My sister didn’t know that we found it so she was still trying…. 

My brother in law answered it but he changed his voice! My sister didn’t recognize him and when she asked who was answering the call, my brother in law told her….. “It’s me… the goat from the mountain!”!!! My sister was a little shocked but after some seconds of silence, she started laughing! We were all so happy!!!!

Now we could go and eat!!!! 

On our way back, I had once again a small accident! Jesus… Why all these things happen to me????

The area was full of wire fences, but one of them was so strange… it was tall like it was not there to keep animals out, but humans!!! I didn’t see it in the night and I fell on it! The wire with the iron thorns was on my throat but didn’t hurt me… thank God!!!

We were close to the car when we realized that the sky was clean!!!! Clean??? So it rained only to make things harder???? Hmmmmm……

In our home, my mother prepared food to eat! My sister called her from the car and told her the whole story! Yammies!!!! Plates with spaghetti were waiting us on the table!!!! We ate so quickly!!! We were starving….

I took a shower and then I opened my PC to se if I had any emails and to log the DNF! We were not feeling ok with that and we agreed to go back the next Sunday! This time we were going earlier to find the cache!!! 

The owners saw my log and helped a little with the hint photo! We were waiting the days to pass and Sunday came! This time nothing was going to stop us!!! We went in the area and we found the cache quickly!!! ….Yes!!! We collected some snails again!!! 

This time things were different! We had time to eat and relax after geocaching, in the area near the sea…! 

Now that all these passed, we remember them and laugh…. WOW!! What a day!!! Hey… we went there at night?? …does this considered to be night caching??? 

This game is so fascinating and all you can have adventures all the time….but… isn’t that the salt of life??  After all… everything that is valuable…hurts and is difficult….

Sun, Dec 20, 2009

You know how it is. You've been cooped up most of the winter. Caching is almost nonexistent because deep snow has made it almost impossible to find anything. Then spring comes and you get these deceivingly nice days. The sun comes out, the snow recedes to a few inches and right away you get antsy to go try your luck. That's exactly what we foolishly did.

Me: "There's a five-stage multi with a bonus cache off Cascade Rd we could do."

Wife: "I like multis, let's do it."

Off we go. We arrive to the park and start on our quest. The first stage is under a boardwalk in a swampy area.

Me: "Okay, give me the mirror."

Wife: "Oh, did you need it? I was primping on the way here and left it in the car. If you want I can try to lay on the boardwalk and lean over to see the cords. Of course my back isn't as good as yours seeing I had the operation and..."

Me: "All right, all right, I'll do it."

There was still plenty of snow on the walk so my clothes were getting wet. I'm not sure if the wife was listening, she says I don't speak clearly, but after repeating the numbers to her many times we finally had the coords right. Of course my head was dipping into the water which added to my enjoyment.

Wife: "Sometimes you can be so testy."

Me: "Just give me some more of your tissues so I can dry my head."

Wife: "Don't use them all I'll need them."

The second stage was uneventful so off we go to the third. The third stage was a fairly quick find for the wife. The fourth stage was very difficult. We were about to give up when the wife made the find.

Wife: "There it is. How could I have missed that?"

Me: "Maybe because you had us looking in the wrong area. You had the GPS and we were looking way over there."

Wife: "Its not my fault you're too cheap to get a better one."

We use an E-Trex we got from Marlboro when we used to smoke. It had sat in the drawer for a few years because I couldn't figure out how to use it. Those instruction manuals can be very confusing. Finally someone at work introduced me to geocaching and showed me how to use the GPS. It has worked well, even though I have to admit it can be temperamental at times.

Me: "This one works fine. By the way there's another cache by this stage. It should be a quick grab."

We put in the coords and looked for about an hour.

Me: "I don't know who found this last but I don't think they wanted anyone else to find it. I think they took a shovel and buried it."

Wife: "Here it is. That was sure hidden well."

Me: "Good now let's go to the final of the multi."

Wife: "The GPS is pointing right down there. You go that way and I'll go this way. That way we'll cover more ground."

Me: "Good idea."

I'm not saying it was deliberate but she did make the find awfully quickly.

Wife: "Here it is. Let's get the coords to the bonus."

We get to the location of the bonus and it doesn't make any sense. There doesn't appear to be anywhere to hide a cache. Finally we uncover the mico.

Me: "Didn't you read the cache page on the Palm? This must be a multi."

Wife: "You told me it was a quick grab bonus so I didn't bother because I thought you knew what you were talking about. I'll know better in the future."

We find the first stage and grab the coords to the final. The coords led us to a path which meandered between two swampy areas. When we arrive at the final I didn‘t like where this was leading us.

Wife: "It's pointing out there."

Me: "You surely don't expect me to walk out on that log over the swamp, do you?"

Wife: "Sometimes you're such a baby. What are you afraid of? If it wasn't for the fact that I walk with a cane, I'd do it myself. That log is wide enough to ride a bike across. We're here now, and I know the cache is right over there on the end. Quit your crying and go get it."

Me: "Alright, but I just know this is a bad idea."

I work my way across without incident and find the cache right away.

Me: "You were right. Here it is."

I signed the log and started my way back. Have you ever noticed how you can have just walked on a log and it seems sturdy and safe with no hint of danger? I think it is luring you to become careless. I hadn't noticed that the bark was about to fall off at the slightest touch but sure enough that's exactly what it did. Even though this was the nicest day we have had all spring, I found it difficult to enjoy the weather soaked from head to toe with muddy swamp water. I looked up to see the wife howling.

Me: "I told you this was a bad idea. What's so funny? This is not humorous."

Wife: "It is from over here."

Even walking with a cane she can move pretty fast. She easily beat me back to the car with me hot after her. It took a while to convince her to unlock the doors but when she saw I was no longer red hot but more deep blue from the cold she relented. In the car on the way home.

Wife: "You're taking those clothes off in the garage. Wasn't that fun?"

By TheAlabamaRambler   Wed, Dec 09, 2009

Here's a nice article on planning your geocaching using Google Earth. Locations aren't accurate enough for actually finding them, you'll still need a GPS for that!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5724808_locate-geocaches-using-google-earth.html

Sat, Dec 05, 2009

Thanksgiving week is usually my chance to go on a solo trip somewhere and get away from civilisation for a while.

I've gotten back into the habit after a bloc of years where I was prevented going away for a week from work, even if 2 of the days were given as vacation.

Last year was Death Valley, one of the great wonders of the west. There were a few Virtuals still maintained there and one traditional which was archived shortly after my trip because someone noticed that it was now within the expanded park boundaries.

This year was 6 nights camping at the Grand Canyon, with 3 nights in the canyon itself. The first full day I hit several of the Virtuals along the South Rim as I prepared to venture below the rim on the third day. The Virtuals were quite interesting there, in particular GCF17A - Peace on the Rim, what some park employees did in the line of maintenance in the late 60's.

GCAF3E - Grand Canyon Explorers required reading a memorial which most people just walk around or are photographed in front of. GCF1BC - Abyss Disk was quite novel, while GCF1C0 - Trail's End Rest passed on a nugget of information I was unaware of. The big game I was after, though, lay below the rim.

9:30 Tuesday morning, with 20 Kilos of gear on my back I set off down the South Kaibab Trail into the canyon for 2 nights at Bright Angel campground and 1 night midway up Bright Angel Trail at Indian Garden before emerging from the canyon Friday afternoon. The weather was clear and I had my camera to take photos for memories and Virtual cache requirements along the way, though a smaller camera will be part of the gear next time. The Nikon D70s was quite the nuisance to extract from my fanny-pack and then replace.

The first day I needed photos of myself at two locations (for GCFA7D South Kaibab to Bright Angel) along the South Kaibab trail as I descended into a realm of sandstone mostly ever seen from above. It's quite a different experience being down among the monuments of the abyss, trekking beside, around and below as the sun moved across the sky, changing the play of light in this surreal land.

By 3:00 PM I was 4,700 feet down and across the Colorado River, wedging my pack from my protesting shoulders. A lighter, more compressable sleeping bag is also on the agenda for the next big hike. The tent was more than sufficient but not overly heavy. I had packed well and my meals were enough to propell me around, without running out of steam, (though by the end of the trip I could feel that the canyon and gravity had worked on me, making me more fit than when I had started the trip.)

With camp set up and thoroughly knackered I went off for what seemed to be short walk to find GC5F1 - GCNP Bright Angel. The walk turned into a mini hike as I crossed the second bridge, the Silver Bridge (having crossed the Black Bridge on the last leg of the South Kaibab Trail) and proceeded along the River Trail to where it turned into the Bright Angel Trail to find the cache at a neat location, just across one of the creeks pouring into the Colorado. The walk back was facing light disappearing from the upper reaches of Zoroaster and Brahma temples, an amazing sight.

Wednesday was leisurely, late breakfast and stretching out the tired and sore muscles around Phantom Ranch, with a couple more photos for GCFA7D (whatever was supposed to be on the ground I just don't know, unless it was supposed to be mule poo, which could have been taken just about anywhere along the trails but here.) Mule deer were everywhere and food needed to be stored securely to prevent unwelcome ventilation of tent and/or backpack. Relaxing in the afternoon sun on the beach on the north shore of the Colorado I accepted the donation of a few Oreos from a river rafting expedition and enjoyed the warmth of the lower canyon.

Wednesday also included meeting many of my fellow hikers - brothers and sisters on this less traveled road - and sharing tales of the hike, explanations of geocaching and attending a couple Ranger talks. Ranger Mandi Toy first talked of the California Condor population living in the Grand Canyon, to provide a separate population to carry on the species should some contagious and deadly disease wipe out those living in California. After this I would keep an eye out for very large black birds with numbers on their wings (though mostly I only saw ravens.) The second talk by Ranger Toy was on the Harvey Girls, young women hired by Fred Harvey to work at his chain of high quality dining houses along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. Afterwards, with the assistance of a UV flashlight we saw a few young Bark Scorpions prowling rocks in the dark. Quite fascinating.

The two virtuals down by the river GCB609 - Grand Canyon Techno Trivia & GCGB0K - GCNP Rees' Tragedy were easily logged, if a bit somblerly for the latter. If life with a symthetic backpack on, with lightweight materials and packaged food seems difficult, it behooved the backcountry hiker to consider what life was like 80 or more years back.

Thursday morning came too soon and camp was up and on my back as I made my way about 1,500 feet up from the river, through Devil's Corkscrew, into Indian Garden. Camp set up and the mandatory photo at the sign for the GCFA7D cache and I was off to Plateau Point along perhaps the most visible trail from the South Rim. The net distance from where I had camped the night before was only 0.6 miles as the raven flies and 1,500 feet vertical, but the views spoke louder than numbers. It's a highly recommended visit about sunset for the reason of the spectacular views.

Overnight temperatures were a bit cooler and the wildlife was even more eager to share in my evening's repast. Considering the golden color of the cottonwood leaves, Winter was about to pound on the door and every last minute bit might help.

Friday morning arrived as a touch of grim reality. I hadn't much trouble with the 1,500 foot climb the day before, but this push would be over 3,000 feet up with a mostly still full pack. One virtual to acomplish about half way, while hiking switchbacks in the shade. The shade with its 40 degree temperatures is a mercy for hiking back up to the rim. I was wearing only a polypropylene shirt and fleece jacket and was quite warm. About 3 mile ??house?? I was encountering the casual day hikers who want to scamper a ways down the trail for a better view, without considering how far back up they would be going. It's a bit despairing to see people going down the trail in sneakers, carrying a sack of junk food and a tiny bottle of water or soda. Many of them will suffer on the way back up and never want to do it again, and will only hold memories of how they narrowly avoided grim death-by-extreme-chafing from their blue jeans.

I did better than I thought and emerged at the Bright Angel Trailhead at about 2 PM. A helpful tourist snapped a few pictures of me to help complete GCFA7D and I was on my way to setting up the tent for the final night, and a hot shower and dinner at the cafeteria in the market plaza.

The only down-side of the whole experience came this night as I tried to sleep after the rigors of extracting myself and belongings from the canyon and was kept awake until midnight by people in the campground with too much beer and too little sense.

All in all, it was a good trip and a lot of fun. The caches were the icing on the cake. I'd love to do it again and already am scheming to go again next year.

Sat, Dec 05, 2009

It was our first cache in a while and while it was exciting to try and find one that was both near our homestead and in the beautiful Rothrock State Forest near central PA, I was slightly hindered by the fact that there seemed to be no possible trails leading to it. Since I normally fail at reading the description and just want to get to the juicy part (the cache!) I missed the right of way there. Instead I looked at an old map of mine and took the most undesirable path to the the stash. A steeply inclined path leading strait up the slightly exposed side of the mountain.

Unaware as I drove I arrived at the parking lot which was quite full, obviously because it was a Saturday football weekend. I walked along a pavement path, bordering the water reservoir. I made an immediate right onto a thick tree that had fallen over the small creek (picture). I knew this was a path, since blue blazes were on the trees surrounding. For on tenth of a mile I followed the pristine creek, before jumping left onto a dried up creekbed. It was on my map so I wasn't being stupid, or so I thought. Then there it was, the demon trail.

It loomed over us like those two hippies sitting right next to it. God only knows what they were smoking. Within seconds I had lost the trail and I scrambled through the rhodedendron. The ground was moist and the blazes disappeared. I was on hands and knees with only one direction in mind: up. For about ten minutes I was surrounded. I know it dosn't sound long, but It showed me what I would develop. I finally advanced through the foliage to be greeted with a view 100 feet above the forest floor. The only thing that separated me from it was a few feet and a sheer drop. Blazes reappeared, I stubbornly followed them. Yet even as I went up the trail, it did not back away and the view just became higher and higher. It turned from a sheer drop to a bunch of sheer drops with little flat areas in between. Ouch, that would hurt. In the final climax the trail turned near vertical over 225 feet above the trees. One missed step and I was a goner. I then took a look at my GPS at what I would call the pinnacle. One huge rock jutting 30 feet out of the mountain. Another