JOYCE MAKES THE FIND

Joyce and I had wanted to go for a Sunday drive up to the Scenic Highway (plus a little more) yesterday and, of course, I managed to combine the drive with a little light GC'ing--not anything too complex so that Joyce would have a nice time too.

Here I'm at a small cache a little south (actually C&O Rwy west) from Seebert WV on the Greenbrier River Rail Trail. Easy find but down a rather steep bank when you don't have hiking boots on.

Joyce's find!! She was pleased to find this one. Her eyes have learned to see the rock, sticks, etc that are out of place and therefore hiding the cache. Yes, the container is really primitive but the hide is so well protected it's OK in this instance. Good job!!

Sunday was a day of Earthcaches. They're nice to visit because you may get to stop at some site you had promised yourself to stop at "someday" but had never done. The Cranberry Glades is not one of those for the two of us--it's like coming home to an old friend and finding the welcome mat still in place.

However the "Honeycomb Rocks" site on the Scenic Highway was new to us. Can you see the square segments? The material is hematite, an iron ore that was injected into the sandstone 3-400 million years ago. The sandstone is softer and weathers out more quickly than the iron, leaving behind the square structures. Amazing!! Some of the rocks contain deposits that are so rich in iron that the hematite looks distinctly rusty and more like scrap metal than an ore.

Finally we visited a site called "The Devils Backbone" just outside of Marlinton. For the uninitiated, this is called an "anticline" by those of us in the know (like us Geocachers, ta da). Rocks bent in the opposite direction would be called a syncline. Geologic forces may work slowly, but they exert unbelievable energy.

I enjoy Earthcaches. You are presented with the opportunity to learn new things and to stop and see that site you had wanted to see "someday".

MASTERS OF DISGUISE

Geocaching in town presents a unique problem: How do you spend what may be an extended amount of time looking for something in full public view without attracting undue attention? This is what we hit upon: We take along a simple clipboard and clip our field notes for the cache in question to it. Along with the GPS and a few well placed comments back and forth, we totally disappear from view. Check it out:

We are subcontractors for "Eastern Electronic Services". EES provides tracking & electronic tagging and identification of underground (or above ground if we think the cache may be in an elevated hide) television cable systems.

One cache yesterday was hidden in a very busy KFC lot. I walked the area where we suspected the cache to be hidden while Sally did likewise. At one point she received a cell phone call and began a general conversation. I shouted across a couple of cars in a voice loud enough to make sure we were heard and asked if "they were sure the service was here". She shouted back that the office records and maps showed it to be right where we were located. I kept an eye on the muggles in the cars and saw that once we had become legitimate in their eyes we completely disappeared from view..

DAN AND SALLY'S EXCELLENT DAY

Yesterday Sally and I had a Geocaching blitz. We visited 14 separate sites and were successful in finding 13 of them.

No, she isn't crying here, she's in the process of sticking out her tongue. I had looked for the Intersection Cache (see post below) three times before finding it. She found it in less than 2 (count 'em--I did) minutes.

We had planned a route that contained several thematically linked caches. The series was entitled "It Was Here". The caches were hidden at locations that once housed well known--and not so well known-- Beckley WV sites and businesses from the past. This is a pretty typical small cache with a camera for size comparison.

Below are a selection of caches in the series and their hides:

Caches can be hidden in a variety of ways. Base covers for flag poles, magnetic boxes that can be attached to metal fan vents, the list is endless.


We were unable to find only one cache. We returned to the site three times over the course of the day but never did find it. A check of the log entries at the Geocaching web site reveals that several others just before us had also been unable to find the missing cache. It may well have been kidnapped by some evil muggle.

Very fun day and the usual excellent lunch (this is really why we go) at Anagan Indian Resturant in Beckley--even if there was a little rain.

THE BEST HIDE EVER

I had spent some time trying to find this cache on two previous visits to the site. Finally, between visits two and three I figured out where it was hidden. Can you see the cache?

Now you don't see it.

Now you do.









Although I've only been  a GC'er for a few weeks, I suspect I'll never see a more ambitious hide.  The owner had cut the bolt in two, drilled out the top section for the log and then simply screwed the bottom section back on.  Very cool.

PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS PART II

For the past several weeks I have been working on a more difficult cache,  Denmar Micro GC1DV2Y 
This is a micro (very small) cache and is listed as a three difficulty--that means it might take a substantial amount of time to find it.  I had read the clue and worked diligently at finding the cache, examining where I thought the cache should be located,  with no success whatsoever.  Finally, on the way home from  the second failed search, I realized I was searching where I thought the cache should be located, instead of putting aside my preconceived notions and looking at things differently--in other words looking where it was actually hidden, instead of where I thought it should be hidden.

Like I posted in the cache log, it took me two hours and three minutes to find the cache.  Two hours of following my preconceived notions and then yesterday three minutes to find where it actually had been hidden. 


I really enjoyed making the find.

PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS

A week or two ago I put in place a small regular cache near home. It was not hidden in "the regular place" but instead I took advantage of a geographical feature to make my hide less obvious and gave what (I thought) was a good clue. Then I waited.

A few days later I received two on line log entries that were, frankly, written by a couple that were--to my mind--complete babies and whiners. They had not been able to find the cache, and made no bones about not finding the cache where they thought it should be!! They went on and on and were rude and curt.

I sent them an equally short tempered email with exact directions to the hide but have not seen anything to indicate they have returned to the site. Interestingly, a day or two after their complaints I received two more log notices indicating others had little trouble finding the hidden treasures.

Gang, I have been working on one cache site for over three hours on successive visits and have not yet found the cache. Am I whining and bummed out? Not in the least. All I have done is to eliminate the spots where my preconceived notions told me to look.

Now I've got to concentrate on looking where the cache is really located and stop looking where it isn't.

Get over your preconceived notions.

ANTHONY CREEK TWOFER

We had a free hour or two today and ran down to Anthony Creek (near Frankford WV) and tried for a threeper, but only got two. The first (not shown) was quickly found on the Greenbrier River Trail less than 200 ft from the parking area. I had expected the cache to be further down the trail and was past the correct site before I even looked at the GPS. Logged and gone just that quick. We did leave a new log book as the cache had leaked and the old log was unusable. For more cache details search the Geocaching Website for GCNR1K.

Our second site did not go well. I had tracked the coordinates right to the edge of Anthony Creek, and could almost see the cache--across the flood. Since I did not have wading shoes etc. along we scrapped that one. Maybe someday--but I'm not too hot to ford a major creek.


The third and final was the This Way & That Cache GC1RHCR. Pictures show the cache in its hide and me signing the paperwork and leaving some swag. Even Joyce enjoyed this one.

SOME DAYS THE DOG BITES YOU...

But some days you get to bite the dog.  Batik Freak 10 (little sister) and I went out hunting again yesterday and scored a great 6 for 6 in the win column.  The odd thing is, I found them all.  BF10 just couldn't seem to find the hides.  I'd be willing to bet that next time I'll be the one fuming in frustration.  Check a few of 'em out:

We're at part three of the Greenbrier Ghost multi-part cache.  Took about 20 minutes to find this one.  The rest of the day was simply walk up to the location, grab the cache , write the log and go on to the next one.  Odd.

The Picnic Treasure was a nice find, several GC'ers just before us could not find it and assumed it was missing.  It was another easy find on our incredible day.

 

 Bingham's Troll (next two pics) was a great find.  No one had visited the site since last November for some odd reason.  BF10 had figured out before we got to the location that it would be under a bridge--that's where trolls live after all.

Here's look at the cache container snug in its hide in the stone bridge abutment.

Spy Rock was our last stop for the day.  In fall there would be a nice view from the rock but right now everything is obscured by trees.  I'd suspect that during the Civil War the area was probably cleared farm land.

We had a fun day :-)