AT IT AGAIN

Some weeks ago I had been forced to post a DNF (did not find) for a nearby cache--heavy leaf cover prevented my GPS from updating properly and I could not find my way to the cache site. Since then I've been wanting to give the cache another try, so Wiscongranny (Joyce) and I seized the opportunity yesterday afternoon to check on the site again. The cache was quickly found (first pic), but the real treat for the day was the sun on the fall leaves. Enjoy.

THE 63 MINUTE FIND

Remember that first photo in the post below? The one of me taking a close bearing on the wrong location? Well here I am with our successful find.

BF10 and I looked for an hour in the wrong places, then needed only 3 minutes to find the hide once we looked in the spot where it was. The 63 minute find.

ME, SIS, AND A FRIEND

BatikFreak10 and I got out a couple of days ago to continue the never ending hunt for the perfect geocache. We didn't find that perfect cache, but we did find a new friend.

Fall colors and a red anorak seem to go well together. Here I'm taking a close bearing--on where the cache is not located. We were successful though and found it a short time later. Our preconceived notions made this one more difficult than it should have been.

Nope, this ain't it either. In fact this cache was far from perfect--worn, wet, and a little tattered. People need to take care of their children.

Ahhh, our new friend Goldie the dog :-) We were chasing a cache on the Greenbrier River Trail and this nice dog joined our party. Polite, well mannered and quiet, a good dog indeed.

I'd suspect Goldie is somewhat fickle though. I bet she joins a lot of walkers and bike riders along the trail. She dropped off when we got back to her home.

This new cache is located only a mile or so from my home, but it's way up a very steep hill. Hiking boots and a strong staff are a must for this one.










We has a most excellent day--12 caches and 12 finds. The first perfect score we've been able to record!! Goldie probably had a good day too.

WISCONGRANNY STRIKES AGAIN

Joyce has been making a few finds on her own when she & I get to go GC'ing/hiking and I've finally been able to interest her in signing on the official dotted line at the Geocaching web page and becoming an official chaser of Tupperware.

We hiked out to the High Rocks overlook in the Mon National Forest a few days ago, both to check out the view and to find the cache hidden out there. Below are the results of our afternoon's hike:

Joyce's find--Joyce's picture.

Here's a couple of pics taken from the overlook. Any wonder why we hiked out?

Joyce wanted to choose a "handle" that would acknowledge her Wisconsin upbringing. Thus WisconGranny.

THE ORPHAN

Yesterday Joyce and I had a little business in Lewisburg, so we took the opportunity to catch a nearby cache just over the VA line. It was a nice day to get in a short hike in the woods to watch the colors change close up--a real twofer for a change.

I knew this little cache (think 3X8 box) was an orphan. It's owner seems to have deserted it. The box is in need of replacement, a skunk or raccoon has chewed it and the contents are wet. Someone recently replaced the log and I added this overbag as a stopgap against further deterioration. I left a long note at the GC web page for this cache stating that I would assume care of the sight if the owner did not object, hoping to shame him/her into caring for the cache. So far it looks like I have adopted a child.

Joyce & I both enjoyed looking at the colors too. Nice afternoon.

THE USUAL & THE NOT SO USUAL

10/10/10 was a special day in the Geocaching world. The hobby/sport of Geocaching was itself celebrating its 10th anniversary on this day and as many GC'ers as possible were going to be out skulking around in thorn bushes and dark alleys looking for geocaches. Sally and I were part of the crowd. Check it out:

Sally set up a small cache that came active in the 10th. We did not start out especially early but I was still able to get a FTF (First Time Finder) gift here. Nice hide and not at all obvious.

Here's a textbook cache in the textbook container--an ammo box. Once upon a time nearly all caches were hidden in these boxes, the world sure has changed, see my post below.

Our fave hider in the Beckley area, Waypoint Wayne (he of the multi in the post below) has built this excellent cap for the post. Not all that obvious, but clear to those as devious as he.

Not a cache at all, but this was truly a day of the unusual as well as the usual. What does this guy watch on TV? Anything he wants of course.

Waypoint Wayne strikes again!! The huge nut/bolt is the cache and it is magnetically attached to the bridge steel.





We had a great day, only one DNF (did not find)out of 12 or 14 caches, but in the words of the immortal Ahnold "We'll be back".

A MOST UNUSUAL MULTI

A multi is a multi-part cache. One in which the finder is required to find part "A" then "B", etc. You cannot find the treasure at the end without find all the other parts first. Clues and hints are found at the steps along the way to the final hide.

Check out the dial phone. Would you believe it's on the side of an ancient (think 100 yrs) 15ft square block of concrete, part of some long vanished C&O Rwy structure.

See the man talking on the phone? Actually he's not talking, he's listening, because when you pick up the phone you get to hear a recording that sounds exactly like a real world phone message. The message is important because it is the clue to finding the real cache. The clue is worded in such a way that it will sound completely innocent to anyone not playing the Geocache Game.

Sally gets to unlock the C&O Rwy switch control box to find the treasure inside--the cache!! The clue on the telephone was the combination to the lock. How cool is that???

Cache found!! Thank you Waypoint Wayne for a great hide.

SALLY & DAN TAKE A DAY TRIP

A few days ago Sister Sally and I got to go GC'ing again. We try to get out every couple of weeks or more often when possible. This time it was "my treat"--we cached in Lewisburg and surrounding countryside. I got to pick the sites we would attempt to find

Old Stone Church and Cemetery were but one stop on the tour. We found a fairly nice cache right in OS Cemetery. The cemetery has stones dating from the middle to late 1700's. Interesting tourist stop. The cache is located in the crotch of the tree.

Working on the log entry and maybe leaving a little swag. I'm well out of sight of muggles here.

If this is Friday (it was), this must be Organ Cave. OC is an Earthcache, a site you visit to learn about some interesting geological feature, in this case the cave itself. The lime kiln was an extra.

The cave was used during the Civil War as a site for processing saltpeter, an ingredient of gun powder and the wooden extraction vats remain in place and can be viewed during cave tours. Several other caves in Greenbrier County contain saltpeter works.

S found this cache fairly quickly. Me...not so much. My eyes kept sliding off the hide, I had gotten mind bound that it was going to be hidden in a certain fashion--it wasn't. I found it after a few minutes looking however. The laughter coming from behind was certainly a help--not.

One attractive feature of geocaching is that you are taken to places you might not otherwise get to see. Here we're over the middle of the Greenbrier River on a long abandoned C&O Rwy bridge. The walk way has been upgraded and made safe so tourists (and GC'ers) can enjoy the view. Nice.

THE WELL DRESSED GEOCACHER

Consider the man before you--the well dressed Geocacher. Note his attention to detail and carefully chosen wardrobe:

Note the head gear, referred to hereinafter as "hat". A carefully chosen hat with some sort of not readily identifiable logo starts to lead the casual observer of the male Geocacher (hereinafter "GC'er) to believe that this is not just a relatively indolent individual but someone who has a job, just not a readily apparent one.

Note the blue jacket, again this reinforces the idea of someone who is employed by some sort of corporation and is at this site, at this time, on official business.

Observe the object dangling around his neck, the GPSr. What is it? No one quite knows, but the mere fact that the GC'er refers frequently to it and seems to follow its every twitching and trembling means that this is important equipment that requires some great level of knowledge to operate.

See the pen clipped to the tee shirt neckline? It is purposely chosen to be highly visible and is positioned such that the GC'er can quickly reach it to record important data.

Not visible in this rare photo is the clipboard and notes thereon that the GC'er frequently refers to. Someone loitering at some public location is just that--a loiterer and therefore up to no good. Someone referring to an unknown piece of electronic equipment (See GPSr, above) and writing notes on a clipboard is recording needed data for reference at some later time and remote place.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to set before you the Well Dressed Geocacher.