Hey, unimoggers!

Rich saw your new cache listed on Wednesday night and asked if I’d be interested in going for it in the morning. I was, but when I woke up today I felt sure he’d change his mind: the sky was dark and it was sprinkling lightly. But he still wanted to give it a try. It’s been a long week for me, so I greatly welcomed the diversion.

Arriving on the scene we debated for a few minutes which path to choose. I’m glad we decided on the more interesting route! We did have some trouble following the trail through once it crossed another path (I think the maps mixed us up! Yes, that must be it. ). Once we rerouted ourselves and found the trail again, we enjoyed a very pleasant walk through beautiful woods, as well as good conversation. Unsure where the trail eventually led, when we were just under a tenth of a mile from the cache we decided to make a beeline toward it through moderate brush. This was quite a treat on such an oppressively muggy day! We emerged from the heaviest growth sweaty and filthy, and very close to the coordinates. I walked right up to the cache, retrieving it without any difficulty; your coordinates were just fine. I was pleased to see the very generous First Finder’s prize but didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to use it, so Rich and I passed on it. I’m glad it went to someone who will, I’m sure, have a terrific experience at the restaurant. Enjoy, Brad (and send us your report)! I took the set of gel pens instead. Without many girly things on hand, I could leave only a pack of “Favorite Findings” which can be used as decorative buttons or for scrapbooking.

While Rich signed the logbook I took a little wander up and down the path you probably intended us to follow to the cache. I saw three deer cross in front of me, and then I noticed that it was starting to sprinkle. Rich finished up and we took a few quick photos after packing up the cache. We took a leisurely walk back to the car, and after getting cleaned up and cooled down we took a little drive to find a landmark station nearby on Dancing Ridge. (Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, it no longer exists.)

Thank you for an excellent hike, the chance to spend some much-needed relaxation time with a friend, and a nicely done geocache!

Zhanna

Howdy, U!

It was a very iffy day for venturing out to Pike County. The forecast said thundershowers for most of today. Although this morning’s weather conditions didn’t look encouraging, I was hoping that any serious precipitation would hold off until at least noon or later. There were even a few peeks of sunshine filtering through the heavy overcast during the drive down I-84 and along parts of the hiking trail as well.

But, ahh! … the trail. That’s where we kinda screwed up. We found the parking area with no problem and started out on a very nice orange-blazed trail. But at the first trail junction things just didn’t jive with the maps that I brought with me. We ended up going straight across a doublewide trail and continuing on what we thought was the same trail we started on, only now the orange blazes were gone. Eventually we figured out the mistake and backtracked to pick up the orange trail once more. We were making progress again! The rest of the hike was really pleasant and easy, except for the last 500 feet when we had to bushwhack through some dense brush to the cache site. We found the cache right off … and then we found the trail that we should have used! Zhanna had her eye on the hiding spot as we were approaching it. The container was well hidden, and it was packed full.

I do want to express a big “Thank You!” for such a generous First Finder’s prize. But I didn’t want the gift certificate to go to waste because I didn’t think I’d be able to get down that way soon enough to use it. Zhanna said she felt the same way, so we decided to leave it for the next finder who should happen to live closer to Stroudsburg. I didn’t take anything but I did leave a travel-size “Secret” deodorant stick in keeping with the theme of the cache. I briefly considered taking the “new cache Travel Bug” for a geocache I’ve been planning, but that too is something I might not get to work on for a while yet.

As I was finishing up my logbook entry it started to sprinkle so we packed up and re-hid the container, and then followed the “correct” trail this time back to the car. We also noticed that there was enough time left for a quick benchmark hunt in the area before heading home. Thanks for a fine Geocache, an interesting (if somewhat sweaty!) hike, and a chance to experience an entirely different section of the Delaware State Forest.

~Rich in NEPA~

P.S. Sorry we missed you, Brad. We expected to see you last week at the revised “Take Cover” cache. Maybe next time. Cheers!