Category: Geocaching

Haven’t written anything here in a very long time, so I figured I’d continue my series of “top 10 geocache finds” posts. I neglected to post 2021’s edition last year, so here it is, along with 2022.

Top 10 of 2021

2021 was another year where I didn’t do much traveling due to COVID, so Maryland is very well-represented for a second year in a row, with Delaware making a token appearance.

• Alice Martin Memorial Letterbox (GC7T20G)
  I’ve always enjoyed caches by flyingmoose, and have two of them on my list this year. This was a great hike up Evitts Mountain in Allegany County (MD), near Rocky Gap State Park. The cache is right near the MD/PA border, and there are some interesting survey markers to check out there as well.
• Could I Have Been…Caching at Merriweather? (GC9FH6R)
  This was a fun urban-style letterbox with a solve-at-home puzzle thrown in for good measure. I can’t say too much about the hide without giving it away, but I do enjoy finding caches hidden in this type of location when they’re done well, and this one most definitely was.
• Discovering Soldiers Delight (GC8NQ2A)
  Soldier’s Delight is a really neat place to hike that features a very rare and unique serpentine ecosystem. This cache is a multi-stage hike that was placed in 2020 to encourage folks to get outdoors during COVID lockdown, but things had relaxed somewhat when I got around to it in early 2021. I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend a couple of mornings hiking in the area.
• Drift Adventure Lab: Bigger Thing (GC8VDA2)
  This was an adventure lab bonus cache along a really nice 10-mile paddle down the Patuxent River from the Riverkeeper HQ to Magruder’s Landing. We did this in September, and had a great time.
• Lizzie’s Long Walk – Redux (GC95RYD)
  Another nice multi-stage hike (are you picking up a theme here?), this time in Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. My first time visiting this area was in 2013 or 2014 to complete the original Lizzie’s Long Walk cache, and this was a fun walk down memory lane.
• ManBear Trail 21 (GC8Z7R8)
  The ManBear Trail is a fun series of hides in Patapsco Valley State Park, on the south side of the river between Marriottsville Rd and Henryton Rd. Many of the hides feature challenges like tree climbs, steep terrain, etc. This was one of the more memorable hides, but this entry is meant to represent all of the caches, as this was easily my favorite series of 2021.
• Polluted Beauty (GC6VWYZ)
  Kind of hard to have a “favorite caches” list of any kind without a ProgKing cache in there somewhere, although it’s getting tougher, as he has (sadly) mostly retired from geocaching. This was out on a rather swampy peninsula at Liberty Reservoir, but I lucked out and got there during a dry spell, which made for an easier approach than several other finders had reported. As usual, it was a great, secluded spot with wonderful views, even in December with the leaves off the trees.
• The Dark Side of the Mountain (GC33GPX)
  This one is just off the Appalachian Trail, near the Pogo Memorial Campsite, and I found it in the pre-dawn hours of the morning during a quick overnight backpacking trip. Great climb up the ridge to the east of the AT, and a nice find with sweeping views of the valley below. I hung around until just after sunrise, which probably would have been spectacular, had the skies not been overcast. Oh, well.. life isn’t perfect.
• Vanishing Bride (GC59ZZB)
  This is the second flyingmoose cache on this year’s list. It’s the second in a series of two letterbox caches hidden in Delaware Seashore State Park, near Bethany Beach, DE. The series is best done in the non-growing season, but I’m usually there in July, so I made do. It’s a well-done pair of true letterbox caches with a great backstory. Just don’t forget the Permethrin if you go in the summertime!
• Wind in the Willows Bonus Cache (GC8ZZ1K)
  This was a serene paddle along the headwaters of the Chester River that we did in mid September. The associated adventure lab had a great story to go along with it, and the find was icing on the cake.

Top 10 of 2022

2022 finally saw the return of some out-of-state travel for me, which is reflected in 2022’s top ten list:

• Arikaree (GC31)
  This is the second-oldest cache in Kansas, and in my humble opinion, a far better cache than its more-famous neighbor, Mingo (GC30) (although that one did make my list in 2016). The Arikaree Breaks are truly a sight to behold.
• Brontosaurus (GC9TPP5)
  This is the final in a really nice series of dinosaur-themed caches in the Rockhaven area of Patapsco Valley State Park, a lesser-traveled section of the park with a very nice trail system. I’m partial to nice hikes and caches in the woods, and this series afforded me 3 or 4 very nice hikes, so it was a no-brainer for the list.
• Turkey Run Stash (GCC6)
  This is one of the oldest hides in Indiana. I think it is officially billed as the oldest to stay active since publication, as apparently there’s another cache up in the northern part of Indiana that is older, but was archived for a significant period of time before being re-hidden and resurrected. Regardless, Turkey Run State Park is not to be missed.
• G.A.Kohler (GC7BA2N)
  A virtual cache located on the beach outside Salvo, NC, at the shipwreck of the G.A. Kohler. Lots of reasons this made the list: I love the OBX; 2022 was our first visit in 5 years; shipwrecks are really cool; and this one was quite impressive. I apparently was lucky to see it in all of its glory, vs buried under the sand as it often is.
• GoT: The Wall (GC8RCD3)
  Another epic 10-mile paddle on the Patuxent River, a little bit south of last year’s. This one started at King’s Landing Park and wrapped at Hallowing Point. The caches are part of a 50-cache series based on Game of Thrones, some of which are land-based, and others which are accessible by boat only. Completing the series is one of my projects for 2023.
• Grand MasterMind (GC9TPR1)
  A fun, left-brained puzzle followed up by another great hike in Patapsco Valley State Park. Not much more to be said about this one!
• Il Milione (GC9G3AT)
  This was a really nicely done field puzzle and gadget cache, with progressive clues to help guide the gadget-cache-challenged among us to a solution and a successful find. A well-constructed and well-done cache all around.
• Kerckhoffs (part 2) (GC9PAWZ)
  A tricky, but fun, encryption-themed puzzle cache that had me scratching my head for quite a while, although not nearly as much as its sequel has me scratching my head!
• Lakeview From 1700 (GC950D)
  This is an older hide along the Appalachian Trail near Annapolis Rocks. Lots of fun rock scrambling, culminating in a nice, secluded spot on the side of the mountain with a spectacular view. I love caching along the A.T.!
• The Mailboxes of Hawk Ridge (GC9A68J)
  A unique suburban puzzle/scavenger hunt type cache that tested my observation skills, and a Tomulus hide! What’s not to like??

2020 isn’t technically over yet, but the odds of me finding another top-10-worthy cache in the next 10.5 hours are pretty darned slim. This year, I used caching as an excuse to get out on my bike. Bike caching limits me to about a 30 mile round trip from home, and I had no business travel this year, so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that all of my top-10 finds were in Maryland this year — the first time that has ever happened. I’ve really missed traveling, but on the plus side, I’ve discovered all sorts of new biking routes all over the area. Prior to this year, I only really biked between home and work. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when I start going back to the office, which presumably will happen some time in 2021, though I’m not expecting it to be before summer. Anyhow, I’m going off on a tangent. Here’s this year’s list of caches. Interestingly enough, 5 of the 10 are multi-caches:

• CAM 2020: Lone Cedar Point (GC8GPW9)
  I don’t think I’ve ever included a CAM cache in this list, but this is certainly a good one to start with. A wonderful hike on the beach with great views of Assawoman Bay and Ocean City. Strangely enough, the trailhead is in Delaware, but the point (and the cache) are in Maryland. We found this in March, at the beginning of CAM, and right when the pandemic was really starting to kick into gear.
• Gutzon Borglum (GCRJF4)
  I found this, along with several other caches, in February during a 6-mile hike on the AT. It’s a fairly typical Vizardo hide, but it makes the list because it’s a 2005 cache with its original container and log book, and I have happy memories of hiking on that warm February day before COVID was even on my radar.
• MoCo Clue – Billiard Room (GC81Z9J)
  This was another pre-COVID find which I made with luvinlif2k and our respective kids. It’s one of my all-time favorite multis. It felt just like playing a larger-than-life-sized game of billiards.
• MoCo Clue – Final (GC816TP)
  This series probably was my caching highlight of 2020. It was well-crafted and well-executed all around, and the final was the icing on the cake. We found this, as well as all of the prerequisite caches, with luvinlif2k and family. We made 3 or 4 trips to MoCo to complete the series, and it’s well-represented with 2 entries on my top 10 list.
• Paddle Faster, I Hear Banjos… (GC259YA)
  This is a crazy paddle-multi on Zekiah Swamp in Charles County. I’m sure the CO intended it to be a peaceful paddle through calm waters, but when we tackled it, unbeknownst to us, the area had recently flooded and the entire second half of the paddle was against a raging current. Several kayaks flipped over, others got pinned by the current, and we ended up completing the journey by hiking and wading. The paddle back to the launch was fun, though. 😀
• Red Run Stream Stroll (GC8NVFT)
  This was a well-executed walk/hike along Red Run in Owings Mills. There was a bit of a weird vibe to the hike, as it was early May and the whole COVID thing was really taking off at the time. But, it was great to get outdoors, and we even saw a few snakes.
• Tip & Tie (GC8WH5A)
  Another paddle multi that I did solo. I enjoyed paddling on two different reservoirs and finding the cache at the end. I’ve been using one of the photos I took on Rocky Gorge reservoir as my Zoom background. In the past couple of years, caching to me has become more about the journey than the actual find, and this was a great journey.
• Tracey’s Store (GC1NJH5)
  The second Vizardo cache on my list, this one is a 3-stage multi at Prettyboy Reservoir that is rarely found. I really enjoyed the hike, and the final container had some of the best swag I have ever seen in a cache.
• Where the Rivers Flow North (GC7QPWG)
  This made the list partly due to nostalgia. It’s a fairly typical ProgKing hide at Liberty Reservoir. It’s not right on the reservoir itself, but has a great view of one of the feeder streams (Morgan Run?). After hiking countless times at Liberty in 2019, I only made it there once this year. I have lots of memories of hiking and caching there, culminating in the great Liberty Battleship series last year. There aren’t many caches there left for me to find, so I savor every opportunity to go back.
• Who Stole Sammy’s Nuts Adventure Lab BONUS (GC91QY5)
  2020 was “year of the adventure lab”. Several well-done adventure labs popped up in the area, and I enjoyed all of them. It was tough picking just one for this list, but I settled on this one because it was a fantastic hike along Buzzard Rock Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park. PVSP is my home park, and I spend tons of time there doing everything from hiking to caching to mountain biking to rock climbing, but Buzzard Rock is a trail that I don’t hike on often. I completed the labs and the bonus over two visits before work, and had a great time.

That about wraps up 2020. What does 2021 hold in store? We will find out soon.

I did a lot of caching in the first half of 2019, but the second half saw the beginning of a slowing trend that has continued into 2020. With work and family commitments, my caching time has always been limited. I commute to work via bike most days, which limits opportunities to run out and find a cache at lunch time. I’ve already found most of the caches near me, so finding caches I consider “interesting” now requires driving at least 30 minutes one-way on Maryland’s congested roads. I usually do a lot of caching while traveling, but 2019 was a fairly light travel year (2020 is looking better in that regard). On top of all that, I’ve taken up climbing and mountain biking, and have become more active in my kids’ Scout troop, all of which cut considerably into the spare time I used to dedicate mostly to caching.

That’s not to say I’ve stopped caching, or have any intent of stopping. I’m still doing it; I’m just doing less of it, and I’ve become much more selective in choosing which caches to seek out. I’m also cognizant that my kids aren’t getting any younger, so am trying to maximize family time as much as I can. That often includes caching, but the kids don’t have quite the appetite for the hobby that I had during my heyday in 2013-2018. While I do still occasionally cache solo and with friends, I figure there will be plenty of time for that in the coming years when the kids are out of the house, and even more when I eventually retire.

What’s my point here? I’m not really sure. But in spite of my slowdown in 2019, I did find some pretty memorable caches. Here are my 10 favorites. As usual, these are in no particular order.

• Merrygun (GC6WQTE)
  I figured it was about time I featured a cache by Vizardo on one of my lists. Vizardo’s caches are all very well-done, and tend to be physically challenging. Most of them are rarely found, probably for that reason. Merrygun was placed in 2016, and to date, has been found only twice. After the initial find, it sat lonely for a little over two years before I came along. It’s a multi-cache which requires hiking a few miles on the NCR trail. The final is in a great spot and has a lot of really interesting swag inside. If you’re ever looking for a challenging hike with a nice payoff at the end, check out one of Vizardo’s caches – you won’t be disappointed.
• Double Dare – Fizzy Challenge (GC2PZXD)
  I used to be a big fan of challenge caches, but I’ve soured on them a bit lately, for various reasons that I won’t get into here. This cache made the list because I really liked the location and the hide. It is located outside Colorado Springs at around 10,000′ elevation, at the top of a large rock outcropping. Probably nothing special for someone who lives in that area, but I found getting there to be a fantastic adventure.
• Orlando’s (GC82ZMB)
  Truth be told, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about this cache. It’s a typical hike at Liberty Reservoir that leads to a classic hide with a nice water view – pretty standard stuff for Liberty. It’s on the list as a representative of the Liberty Battleship series, which is possibly my favorite geocache series ever. Between February and April, I made countless trips up to Liberty, hiking dozens of miles and finding over 100 caches, all leading up to this final find, which I saved until October. There are many caches in the series with even better hikes and better views than this one, so think of this as a nod to all of them. Actually, this probably deserves more than one entry in the list. Instead, I’ll compromise and give a nod to:
• Walking Home From Tumble Down (GC864P9)
  This one is on the list for both the puzzle and the hike. The puzzle was unique – sort of a virtual letterbox, as I think I described in my log. The hike was long, but the views at the end were worth it. It’s easy to get spoiled by water views at Liberty, but there was something about this peninsula that made it stand out, that I can’t quite put into words. Tranquil? Serene? Doesn’t quite do it justice – you have to be there. This is another one that won’t get nearly the number of visits it deserves (it sat for 13 days before the first find) but perhaps that’s a good thing.
• Psycho Urban Cache #13 – Impossible! Give Up Now! (GCY72P)
  Not much to be said here – how can you find PUC #13 and not put it on your top 10 list for the year?!? Truth be told, I was just along for the ride on this adventure (OK, I did help others out with the ascending rig), but even so, nothing quite beats the thrill of making it to the top and spending a couple of hours up there soaking in the views. Of course, I only hung out for so long because I was petrified to start the rappel. But, I’m still alive to tell the tale. And later on, there was a really cool rainbow.
• Great Egging Island (GC7B6HR)
  This was an awesome paddle-virtual that I tackled with my family. I had never paddled at Assateague National Seashore before. This particular area was calm, shallow and very warm in the summertime – lacking a kayak, one could easily reach the island with a SUP, or even a cheap inflatable boat or raft. The island itself was very peaceful and serene, in stark contrast to the launch area, which was packed with bathing-suit-clad muggles. On top of that, there were very few bugs on the day we visited, so we were able to hang around for awhile. Just a great spot.
• Lee, Key, and Teddy (GC7B6WV)
  Continuing with the paddle-virtual theme: this one is located along the Potomac in Washington, D.C. I tackled it on a very hot, hazy, humid day, but got out early and was able to avoid the worst of the heat. It was really neat to see some of the D.C. monuments from the water. There are also nice views of Roosevelt Island, as well as Rosslyn, VA, among other sights. It was a great urban kayaking adventure.
• America the Beautiful-The Final (GC4Q3R6)
  AtB is a series of caches in Gunpowder Falls State Park. The hike is several miles through rolling terrain along the riverbank, and the caches feature a wide variety of creative containers and hides. I tackled it on a sunny, seasonable January day after a very busy week at work. It was just what I needed to unwind and clear my head.
• It’s all downhill from here… (GC27265)
  In mid November, a group of us tackled a hike on the Mason-Dixon Trail in York County, PA. This was our penultimate find of the day, and (surprise, surprise) my favorite of the day – because who can resist scrambling up on a rock?
• 7/16″ (GC7M1TK)
  This is a hide by coiledpigeon near Loch Raven Reservoir. While this perhaps could be called “easy” by coiledpigeon standards, my kids and I had a great time hiking out to it, figuring out the first stage, and scrambling to the final. It’s always great to find a cache that we can all enjoy, and nothing beats quality time spent with my kids, especially nowadays, when they’re usually off doing their own thing.

That about wraps it up for 2019. I wonder what 2020 holds in store?

A couple of months ago, I found out that I would be going to Phoenix, AZ (specifically, the town of Gilbert) for a short business trip in mid-May. I immediately did what I always do: I checked the area for any geocaches of interest that I could target during my free time. Turns out that there are 3 caches that were hidden in the year 2000, all within 30 minutes’ driving time of Gilbert: Geocache (GC57; Arizona’s oldest active hide), Diablo Point Cache (GCFE), and Senda de Tonto (GCED). Being a huge fan of older caches, I put these on my list, in hopes I could get to a couple of them. My day job was on a Tuesday and Wednesday, so I booked my flight out for early Monday morning, and my flight home for Thursday mid-afternoon. That would leave Monday afternoon and evening free, and Thursday morning. Could I possibly squeeze all three of these in?

Monday afternoon: Diablo Point Cache

GCFE is located in South Mountain Park, the largest municipal park in Phoenix. It’s a short 15-minute drive from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. From a timing and driving standpoint, it made perfect sense to attempt it immediately after arriving, as it’s much closer to the airport than it is to Gilbert. My flight was scheduled to arrive at 9:20am, leaving almost the entire day free. The down side to this plan was the weather forecast. The predicted high for the day was 97°F, and I would be out during the hottest part of the day. I reasoned that if I wore a hat, dressed appropriately, used lots of sunscreen, and drank LOTS of water, I should be OK in the dry desert heat. I’m in pretty good shape, and am used to stifling east coast humidity. A few days prior to leaving, I plotted the hike out on paper using OpenStreetMap trail maps. It looked like about a 4 mile out-and-back hike, assuming I started at the Mormon Trailhead, which is along East Valley View Drive at approx. N33° 21.982′ W112° 01.814′ (conveniently enough, there’s a cache right at the entrance to the parking lot: GC78F3K). While 4 miles is no problem, the tough part would be the roughly 700′-800′ of elevation gain between the parking area and my destination. What could possibly go wrong?!?

For water, I packed my Osprey Manta hydration pack, which has a 3-liter reservoir. I also packed two half-liter water bottles, for a total capacity of 4L. My flight arrived right on time (thanks, Southwest Airlines) and I filled my pack and bottles at an airport bottle-filling station before leaving to pick up my rental car. I had the car by around 10:45, and arrived at the trailhead at 11:30 after a quick stop at Subway for lunch. At lunch, I pre-hydrated with about 20oz of Gatorade, so I was as ready as I’d ever be.

The hike started out easy enough. The trail was dry and rocky, with a steady uphill grade and a few switchbacks. I thought I’d be the only person crazy enough to be hiking this trail during the heat of the day, but I passed an older couple slowly working their way uphill, and a woman heading down. After about a half mile, I approached the first cache along my hike: GCCE2F, “Camelback View”, which was placed on 02/01/2003 and named for its view of Camelback Mountain off in the distance. The area also has a great view of greater Phoenix, including downtown and the airport. After some scrambling around, I located the cache, and rested under a shady rock while I signed the log. From here, the distance to GCFE was a scant 0.83 mile, but distances can be deceiving!

The second phase of the hike was relatively flat. A breeze was stirring up, which felt really good. The area was quite beautiful, with Saguaro cacti dotting the landscape, and a very cool natural rock tunnel as well. Soon after that, the going got tough, though. I left the Mormon Loop trail and hiked a short distance on the National Trail, before taking an unnamed shortcut up the mountain to join a trail called Midlife Crisis. The shortcut trail was steep and mostly rock, and I lost the trail in a few places as I scrambled ever higher. My GPSr was a big help keeping me on course, though, and eventually I found the much-easier-to-follow Midlife Crisis. This trail took me up to a couple of peaks with incredible 360° views. You know you’re doing something right when you can see for miles in every direction. Well worth all of the hard work getting up there, even without the cache!

As I closed in on the cache, I had to lose some of my hard-fought elevation. That’s always tough on the morale, as with an out-and-back hike, I knew that I’d have to regain that elevation again! The cache itself was several hundred feet off the trail, near a large rock formation. I won’t give the hide away, but I will say that I read a few logs in advance, and had an idea where I might need to focus my search. After checking a few other places, I looked in the right spot and found the cache. What a hike!! I sat for a good 10-15 minutes resting and savoring the find. As of this writing, the cache still has its original log from December 2000! That kind of longevity definitely is the mark of a good hide.

After signing the log and replacing the cache, I had to hike back to my car. After all that work, it was hard to fathom that I was only halfway through my hike!! I considered taking an alternate route back, which would have taken me past more caches; however, not being familiar with the area, I decided to go with “the devil I knew” and return the same way I came. I was getting a little tired, and wanted to make sure I could get back without running out of water.

The hike back was faster, but still difficult, as anyone who has had to hike a significant distance downhill while tired will tell you. I was really happy when I finally got back to the parking area. All told, I had hiked 5.5 miles with a total elevation gain/loss of around 1500′-1600′. I went through about a gallon of water. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, the temperature gauge in my rental car read an even 100°F.

All in all, this was a great hike with a nice payoff at the end. Perhaps it was a little ill-advised to do alone, but I lived to tell the tale!

Thursday morning: Geocache and Senda de Tonto

The great thing about these two caches is that they are only about 6 miles apart, so it’s easy to combine them into one trip. I had a flight out at 2:10pm, and sunrise was at 5:20am. The parking area for GC57 (along Bush Hwy in Tonto National Forest) was about a 25-30 minute drive from my hotel in Gilbert. I figured that I would get on the road at 4:15 (easy to do, as my body clock was still on eastern time) and by the time I arrived, I’d have enough predawn twilight to begin my hike, and plenty of time before I had to catch my flight. I packed my breakfast to go (a “Which Wich” sandwich that I bought the previous evening) and left right on time. When I pulled up to parking, the temperature was a pleasant 62°F. A far cry from Monday’s hike!!

The area where GC57 is hidden is known as Bulldog Canyon. The parking area has a gate, and beyond the gate is a dirt road that is suitable for most vehicles (although from the looks of it, I think you’d want something high profile to get through some areas). If desired, one can get a free permit from the Forest Service (which includes gate combination) and drive to within about 0.6 miles of the cache. However, I figured I would just park outside the gate and hike in. From the gate, the cache is about 4 miles round trip. The terrain is much flatter than South Mountain, but a little over a mile of it involves bushwhacking through the desert. There are several other caches sprinkled along the road, and I found 3 or 4 of them en route.

The desert bushwhack was lots of fun. It’s not difficult to navigate, though you do have to choose your path wisely and watch your step. The primary hazard is not what you think: yes, there are cactus spines, and you will get some stuck in your shoes. It’s impossible to avoid. However, more so than the spines, there is horse poop literally everywhere!! Apparently, there are herds of wild horses that roam the desert; I wasn’t lucky enough to see any, but I sure saw plenty of evidence of their presence. Aside from that, the area is beautiful, and the views are breathtaking. It’s hard to imagine a better time of day to be there than dawn.

After about 20 minutes of winding my way between prickly plants, I closed in on GZ and found the venerable GC57. After performing the usual rituals (including releasing my own trackable), I worked my way back to parking and found a few more caches. Total hike time was about 2.5 hours, and total temperature gain was around 15 degrees, as it was in the mid 70s when I got back to the car.

Next stop was Senda de Tonto (GCED), which is about 6 miles west of GC57, right along Bush Highway. Of the 3 caches, it’s the shortest and easiest hike. The terrain is hilly, but the hike is only about a quarter mile each way. The cache is along a well-used trail, and I saw several hikers and bikers. There are some beautiful views along the trail, as well. Some of the Saguaros in this area still had blooms, which look to be popular with bees. I wrapped my hike up just past 8:00am, and got back to my hotel a little before 9, early enough to enjoy the free breakfast, finish my packing, and rest for a little bit before leaving for the airport.

I was really happy with the amount and quality of caching I was able to fit in during my limited free time on this trip. I wish all of them could be this successful!