Tuesday, December 22, 2009
New Cache! Out the Door I Go!
I kid you not, I was in my car two blocks from home heading to the grocery store when a new cache notification rang on my phone. Stopped to check the location when a text from Bad Duck came through…“Wanna go for it?” I think I surprised him when I said yes. Next thing I know I’m meeting him at NB Library and hopping in his truck…..off we went! Ferry Road Park closes at 10pm - we barely had time to slip down to the water’s edge for BERLINERS FERRY PARK #2. I was ill prepared in the area of illumination since I hadn’t planned on caching when I left the house. Darren had one flashlight and I managed with the light from my cell phone.
Moving around to the other side of the park for BERLINERS FERRY PARK #1 We find parking with no signage indicating we had no business being there at that hour and scoot on down the path and score another smiley face…but not before one of NB’s finest patrols by with headlights aimed straight at us….and stops! He was clear across the park from us and apparently didn’t spot our figures lurking behind a tree because he moved on. Thankfully he wasn’t waiting for us back at the vehicle!
See how much geocaching fun you can have just going to the grocery store? ......Yes, I did eventually make it to the store but arrived home to raised eyebrows that said “Where have you been…..?”
Posted by Mike on 12/22 at 06:37 PM
2009 •
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Sunday, December 20, 2009
Coos County Stragglers
Stragglers! - defined: n. A scattered or disorderly group, as of people or things. In this case, of course, I’m speaking of geocaches that are scattered about the county that I just needed to get off my list. I spent part of the day hunt them down!
The caches ranged from a couple in Coquille:
It’s A Boat Time
Roadkill Cache
...to a pesky previous DNF:
Sticker
...to a remote location adjacent to Camp Myrtlewood:
Kumbaya
Since I was already in the Bridge area I decided to check out the Euphoria Ridge mountain bike trail system nearby. It is very poorly signed and I never did find the trails. Scratch this from the list of potential geocache locations.
Posted by Mike on 12/20 at 03:03 PM
2009 •
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Sunday, December 06, 2009
North Spit Bushwhacking
Today Rod and I joined forces to tackle a couple of new caches in the swampy lowlands of the North Spit.
The first cache was Big Guns (by lanidrax2). The title was quite appropriate because we had to walk by some duck hunters on the way and the area immediately around the cache location was littered with spent shotgun shells! Spending a little time studying this area on Google Earth is highly recommended to avoid constantly backtracking each time one encounters shallow ponds. Eventually we found the right path into GZ and happily discovered we had beaten Mr. Copper (Eric) to the FTF! Sweet!
Just as we were leaving the area a familiar figure decked out in camo Carharts approached…..yup, Mr. Copper! We noted the tell-tale expression of disappointment on his face as he realized he would be signing #3 on the logsheet! Rod and Eric made introductions then we parted way after some fun geo-yakking.
Mr. Copper “I Found It!” - Big Guns Cache
As it turned out, we met up again as we made our way back to Rod’s vehicle. Eric was just getting back to his vehicle and offered to give us a ride. When he learned we were headed for a second lanidrax2 cache - Skull ‘n Bones - he asked if we minded him tagging along. He was first finder a couple of weeks ago. I’m positive he wanted to have a good chuckle seeing how we would approach this cache hunt.
Once again, Google Earth planning was used prior to heading out to this cache but sometimes that doesn’t always mean you’ll successfully find the best way through this swampy area. Long story made short….we missed the best access pathway and ended up thrashing through tall grass, thick huckleberry brush and low spreading willows FAR too long before finally getting our hands on the cache. As is true so many times, we discovered the quickest and easier access route on the way back to the vehicles.
Mr. Copper & Rod taking a break from the Skull n Bones bushwhack
I fear we will be returning to this cache since Bad Duck hasn’t hunted it yet. We’ll want to come along if only to see his approach strategy…..maybe from the comfort of lawnchairs some distance from the cache! Another iced tea, please!
It’s always a kick having others along for the fun! Enjoyed hunting these with Rod and having Eric join in.
Posted by Mike on 12/06 at 01:42 PM
2009 •
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