Getting Back to Dune Hiking
Continuing with my intention to find all geocaches in the coastal dunes on foot, my objective today was three caches in the general vicinity of Saunders Lake and Clear Lake.
I used the public parking access to Butterfield Lake within Riley Ranch county campground as my staging area. It would be nearly 1.75 miles before arriving at the first of the three - Bling with an Attitude. Took a few minutes to find because I didn’t read the hint and description CAREFULLY!
Approaching the Mushroom Tree
Number two cache - The Windfall Cache - was another full mile northward. It was a pretty easy container to spot and had my signature in the log book quickly. Rescued a TB whose goal was to visit ICE skating rinks around the world - seemed like the right thing to do since it was currently stuck in the middle of miles of sand dunes!
The third and final cache for the day - Trash or Treasure - took me another half-mile to the SE (thankfully, that’s back towards my vehicle!). This was the most intriguing hunt of the day. It involved discovering a uniquely shaped tree and trying to decipher cryptic description and hints. Upon arriving at GZ I had to wait out a family of ATVr’s stopping for a bite to eat and photo op with the aforementioned tree. Once they were gone I emerged from hiding and finally spotted the clues and eventually found the cache container….as advertised. Back to the truck now…..
Lunch Break at the Octopus Tree
Total mileage for today’s adventure was 6.4 miles. It was an invigorating and satisfying hike. I know better than to say “Whew!, now I don’t need to go back out there again….good to have those caches done” Oooops! Said it, didn’t I? I’m sure it won’t be long before a new one gets placed right in the middle of this area now that I’ve cleared it out! (Update: Yup, new cache published in this same area 6 days later! - Told ya!)