Hi again, ZC!

You know that Rich and I can’t resist the opportunity for a First Find, especially if the cache has been sitting idle for a few days! Sunday morning provided the perfect opportunity for a drive out to North Jersey. This time we picked up an extra sidekick (Aaron) and we all piled into Rich’s ultimate cachemobile, ready for adventure. It was frosty but sunny when we left Rich’s house and not any warmer when we arrived at the site. At the area indicated by the coordinates we found very little to conceal a cache, so we expanded our search to more likely spots nearby. It wasn’t long before Aaron asked “Am I supposed to tell you if I found it?” Wow, we were impressed! Aaron hasn’t geocached in quite some time. “Just don’t tell us where it is,” I replied. We continued to search the likely area with Aaron watching over us all the while (he said he felt weird, but believe me—the people who haven’t yet found it feel even weirder!) Eventually I found the cache in a hiding spot I was sure I’d checked earlier … and Rich found it very soon afterwards. We made our trades—I kept the boot lace and left a fluorescent green rat—and took a few photos. Thanks for a challenging morning hunt that was much more fun than the traditional cache-and-dash!

Zhanna and Aaron

PS Now I’m hungry for Toll House cookies! 🙂

Howdy, ZC! Here I am again, two days later at another one of your caches. Left the house bright and early along with companion cachers Team Zhanna & Aaron. First hunt of the day and it took a bit of searching but after about 15 minutes eagle-eye Aaron locates it without giving away the hiding spot. Zhanna and then I find it on our own a few minutes later around 9:45am. The posted coordinates were leading us about 30 feet due north of the cache, however there is a fair amount of trees at the site to have thrown us off. Signed the logbook, took nothing and left a Varmint Hunters Association patch which was the only thing I had that would fit. The day was certainly brisk, but the sky was clear and the sun felt nice and warm. Thanks for a nice hunt. ~Rich in NEPA~

Hi, BFClan!

We certainly picked a cold day for our North Jersey adventures! When we left the house this morning the temperature was in the low 20s and though the day was brilliantly sunny, the temperature didn’t rise much throughout the morning. Rich drove us in as far as possible on the rutted and rocky Brink Road, and we hiked the rest of the road to the Appalachian Trail and then uphill to the ridge. There was a surprisingly beautiful view and a surprisingly brisk wind. Guess it’s time to start getting used to winter weather again! The coordinates were right on and the cache was found in fine condition, with Waterboy’s bottle of water—not yet ice!—lying at its side. I took the travel bug Java the Pup with me, and I left a small Ello set (no, I’ve never heard of it either, but it’s some kind of construction toy). It was much too cold on the ridge to write my usual amount in the logbook, and unfortunately we didn’t get the opportunity to take any photos, either. We did consume a small snack just to keep ourselves going! Once we were back on the trail and descending, we warmed up considerably. On the way down, we had a very pleasant meeting with Buzz and Abby, his feisty canine companion, who were on their way to the cache. We stopped for a pizza and Snickers picnic and to look for the nearby “Night at the Leanto” cache on our way back to the car. Thanks for a fine hike and a cache hunt that will be remembered as part of a very unusual day!

Zhanna and Aaron

Howdy, BFC! This area is somewhat familiar to me since I was here almost one year ago for the “Night at the Leanto” cache. Traveling this time with Team Zhanna & Aaron we approached from Walpack Center, past Tillman Ravine, and along old Brinks Road. Had no real problem finding the cache and the coordinates I registered where spot on. The view was marvelous from here, but that cold stiff wind was making me so anxious to get back down onto the trail again. I quickly signed the logbook, took nothing, and left two of my Geocaching magnets. Out on the A-T once again we didn’t go very far before we encountered Buzz Lightfoot making his way to the cache with his frisky, friendly dog Abby. We stopped to chat for a bit (a pleasure meeting you, BL!), then continued to the leanto where Zhanna & Aaron proceeded to look for the cache while I lounged in the sunshine at the picnic table. We had a nice little noontime snack during the logbook signing, chatted again with Buzz who was now returning to his car, then it was time for us to leave. This section of the A-T was extremely busy today. All in all it was a fine little adventure and the first of what was to become a day filled with most unusual experiences. Thanks for a very nice hunt. ~Rich in NEPA~

Hi, FM!

Your cache was our third find on this sunny but very chilly day. The main goal of our hike in this area was the nearby “AT Detour” cache, but since Aaron and I hadn’t found “Night at the Leanto” yet, we stopped to search for it on our way back to the car. Rich waited at the picnic table while we searched, and within minutes I came up with the cache. It wasn’t in the best of shape; the container is cracked, the lid doesn’t close tightly, and the contents were moist. We brought the container back to the table to let it air out while nourishing ourselves with a tasty lunch of pizza and sweet snacks. The warm sunshine felt great! Partway through our picnic, Buzz Lightfoot and his dog Abby appeared. We’d met them earlier on their way to “AT Detour”; they were now on their way out and stopped to chat for a few minutes. Abby was very interested in our snacks, but Buzz was able to satisfy her with some Nutter Butter cookies. We left one of Rich’s funny magnets and took the Skully & Mulder Geocoin. Thanks!

Zhanna and Aaron

(Logged on November 15, 2002)

Howdy, OFTGFM! Looks like I’m the first one here. Cache was an easy find—the coordinates led me right to it. The container was quite visible. However, it was still tucked away within it’s hiding place so I don’t think it was disturbed after you placed it there. I kinda get the impression that this cache was placed on a whim. Perhaps not such a good idea. Let’s hope it doesn’t require maintenance. It’s not very well stocked, either. I can’t help wishing that it was better thought out from the beginning. That said, you did pick a really fabulous area to place it. I’ve been to Tillman Ravine quite a few years ago but I never came this far up the mountain. It was very quiet and peaceful here today. A gorgeous sunny and calm Fall day with the temperature around 50° upon my arrival at 10:00am. I didn’t take anything, and after signing the logbook I figured I’d upgrade the cache contents by leaving two of my Geocaching magnets, a wet-wipe towelette, and an assortment of State park maps. Also, since there was no Geocaching note inside, I wrote the pertinent cache information on the cover of the logbook. I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and listening to the leaves dropping in the woods before heading back to my car! Thanks for an interesting morning. ~Rich in NEPA~