Hi, Rich!

This morning, after searching for a PennDOT GPS survey station nearby, we went to collect the First Finder’s prize. We enjoyed walking part of the old Moosic Lake Road, and we found the treasure without any trouble. Be assured it’s greatly appreciated, but we hope you know we were only kidding about there being no “beer money” in the cache!

We’ve decided, as we did with your last tree cache, to return the prize to the “Rocks From Afar” cache the next time we visit it. Hopefully this will provide an incentive for someone else to attempt the challenge! If no one succeeds in finding it within a predetermined time period we will, as before, go back to claim the prize for ourselves.

Thanks for adding an extra little adventure to our weekend!

Zhanna and ~Rich in NEPA~

… We’ll leave this prize for the next finder … but there will be a time limit!

Howdy, Rich!

Guess where we went this morning!

After breakfast we took the bikes over to the mountain to continue exploring more of these unfamiliar trails. One issue still bothering us was just how close we actually got to the cache site during our first attempt. Last Saturday we hiked a trail that we expected would take us to the general area. When we got to within a quarter mile of our “guess” waypoint, a side trail took us only a little closer before it deadended. Now, having found the location of the rocks and the cache site during our second attempt on Wednesday, we wondered if our previous route would prove to have been the better approach after all. Evidently it was, because today we had only less than 400 feet of bushwhacking to contend with, and it was definitely easier to negotiate than the route we used on Wednesday. We visited the cache and signed the log sheet again, just to show that we were there! We returned to our bikes and explored a little further before turning around and heading back home for lunch (BLTs with fresh home-grown tomatoes!).

~Rich in NEPA~ and Zhanna!

Our track log, in MapTech Track Data Format

… We hoped to see Whistler & Co. signed in by now!!!

Rocks from afar, by rxc640

Log by Rich:

Found it! More gory details to follow later … after we recover from the ordeal and have something for supper.

~Rich in NEPA~ and Zhanna!

Back again now, working on the photos. Zhanna will upload them with her log. Just want to add that this cache hunt was a lot of fun and the area is really fascinating. How do you find these places??? Upside: hiking, biking, great views. Downside: short but serious bushwhacking (Ugh!). There must be an easier way to get there.

~Rich in NEPA~ and Zhanna!

[This entry was edited by Rich in NEPA on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 4:38:25 AM.]

Log by Zhanna:

Hey, Rich!

Well, you’ve done it again! Summers just wouldn’t be complete anymore without days of squinting through a scope, poring over aerial photos and topo maps, and hiking over and around mountains in order to find one of your infamous #*&% caches. I was honestly looking forward to attacking your latest offering, but due to work schedules and weather (as usual) we had to postpone our explorations several times.

Last Saturday we finally felt ready to attempt a scouting mission. We had already made several trips to various points where we could view the rocks from afar, and we’d come home with data that would, we hoped, pinpoint the location of the rocks. We weren’t quite so lucky (we really need to buy a surveyor’s transit!) but three particular spots looked like strong possibilities. On Saturday, we hiked toward our first “guess.” All went well until our trail deadended at an overgrown area and rocky cliff with 0.18 miles to go. We backtracked to a slightly more open area, but a bushwhack of 0.25 miles was equally unappealing. Figuring that your #*&% caches are usually easily accessible via trails, we assumed we had done something wrong. We retraced our steps to the main trail and hiked another mile before we determined that this trail wasn’t taking us anywhere near our “guess.” The hike was, at least, a great nature walk: we saw four toads, a woodcock, the mother lode of blackberries, and at least several dozen different types of fungi along the way.

Today was a beautiful day and we couldn’t resist a try at another of our “guesses,” even though by now we were certain bushwhacking would be involved. We rode in on mountain bikes, which meant we arrived at the bushwhack point quickly, easily, and with energy to spare. And so began the scratching, scraping, tripping, slipping, and cursing everyone has come to associate with Rich and Zhanna when they’re bushwhacking. We found the rocks, all right, but we wanted to be up on top, and we were at the bottom. The view was worth the blood we shed to get there, though! Now, where’s that cache? Oh, I guess we have more work to do.

Once we located and then worked our way to the general hiding spot (and a very neat one it was) we found the container easily. It was in great shape, of course, with a blank log sheet, a faint scent of perfume, and … huh? No $20 bill? No $5 bill? No $1 coin? No First Finder’s prize of any kind? I suppose we’ll have to live with the satisfaction of being the first to find the #*&% rocks, the beauty of the view on such a clear afternoon, spotting three deer from above, and the chance to spend such a perfect day exploring the woods together. I can live with that!

Our triumph up at the top didn’t make the bushwhack down any easier. With itchy, bruised, scratched, and burning shins we finally retrieved our bikes and rode slowly back on the trail, stopping just once to fill up a container with blackberries. Later, a Mexican supper and lots of beer made the afternoon complete!

I wish we’d had more time today to explore the area. If we can find an easier way in, we will return to discover more of the secrets of the rocks! Thanks for providing us with another intriguing test of our wits, sanity, and stamina!

Zhanna and ~Rich in NEPA~

PS Do we get bonus points for not using Google Earth?

Our track log, in MapTech Track Data Format

… We liked this little cavern.

… Success at last! We loved the hiding spot.

… "Oh, poop! No First Finder’s beer money!!!"

… A uniquely interesting area, worthy of the effort.

… Rich scans the horizon …

… "Look! It’s Wegman’s! Our new favorite viewpoint."

Another night stopping by after work … and another decent view!

Rich left the scope and binoculars outside for me again, and I stopped by after work for a quick look. It wasn’t too bad tonight overall, though there were some clouds and the bands weren’t steadily clear. All four moons were visible and in a pretty arrangement, sprinkled two on each side of the planet. I could have stayed longer, but my eyes were so tired they were killing me. It’s so nice to be able to relax for a few minutes after work by watching the sky, but it’s even nicer when Rich is home too, and we can enjoy a drink and a snack at the same time (as long as we don’t drink so much gin & grapefruit juice that we might see 12 moons, as Rich feared on Saturday night!).

It was a long day, but nothing soothes like looking at the sky for an hour or two. Rich and I had a clear view around 10:30pm, though we could see nothing around 4:00am.

Tonight’s “wiggly” atmosphere prevented us from enjoying the sharp views of Jupiter that I saw on Monday, but at least we had some kind of a view. Three moons were easily visible; Europa was traversing Jupiter at the time, but of course we weren’t able to see its shadow (I can hardly wait till we get a real telescope that will allow us to see the shadows!).

Mars and Saturn were long gone by the time I got home, but Rich said that he had been unable to find them earlier in the evening anyway due to cloud cover.

3:45am (Friday)

The moon was up and we spent some time sitting in the middle of the yard exploring all the craters and mountains we could see. I pointed out the Apennine Mountain Range just crossing the terminator. Due to its elevation it’s actually visible slightly beyond the terminator, and you can even see this with the naked eye if you look closely. We need to find a good lunar map now so we know what we’re looking at, and so we can plan what we want to search for!

Jupiter was not visible at all at this time of morning.

I had a decent view when I first arrived (not as good as last night, but close: I could see the 3 visible moons pretty easily through the binoculars). But after about 20 minutes, it became too cloudy to see the moons or the bands on Jupiter. And the large tree in Rich’s back yard was getting in the way. I had to move well out into the yard in order to continue watching the planet and moons. I’m afraid we’re losing our great views of our Summer friend!