Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Making plans for the Ashland City trail run on 12/26/11, I knew that some of us would drive right by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cache located in Clarksville. I had noticed this before but didn't pay much attention to it since I figured it was like some other caches in reference to the movie "Teenage Mutan Ninja Turtles". Those that I have found were nothing more than an uninteresting magnetic keyholder at a storm drain. The last few months, I began to study this cache and pay particular attention to the 3 difficulty and 4 terrain star ratings. Later, pictures were posted and got a much better idea of the cache. Since the cache had over 20 favorites, I shouldn't be disappointed.

Being that a group would travel from West Tennessee, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for this cache. We arrived at the cache site and began to study the approach. About that time, scoutpaddle comes out of the tunnel and said he found the cache. Yet, after scoutpaddle came out of the tunnel, we were still standing around. I got tired of it, turned on my Surefire tactical light and led the way into the tunnel, followed by chicontater, pcsenn and dhrnrcpa. After getting into the tunnel I found scoutpaddle's footprints and followed them. Made a left turn and soon the footprints were gone! I saw some light and went for the light and could finally stand up. There were several of us in the small area where we could all stand and we were under a storm drain and GPS told us we were in the right location. After shinning the lights around the cache was spotted. We signed the log and made our way back to the entrance/exit of the tunnel. We got out of the tunnel with all smiles. Couple of minutes later, Orion_13 showed up and chicontater's son volunteered to go with Orion_13 into the tunnel where he signed his first 4-star terrain cache!

This was a lot of fun to begin a long day of cache. Prior to departing, I visited the nearby store for refreshments and the employees were inquiring what was going on outside. I told them about our game.

Mopping up Hwy 68/80

Due to my mistakes in bookmarking the caches along Highway 68/80 of the LBL, I didn't have two caches on my GPSr'. The reason I have gone to bookmarking instead of a general pocket query is that I am using a Nuvi for auto-routing and having so many caches on the Nuvi creates a huge amount of clutter.

Last Sunday, minnie mouse and myself wanted to take a bike ride on the LBL Greenway and part of the agreement is that I clear the caches I missed and then take the bike ride. Our first find was Indian Access, this cache was not published at the time of the November cache run, but for us, it was an easy find. Next up was Beach in City of Canton, this cache took a truck with high clearance to make it down to the parking area. After a long search we came up with the cache. A missed cache from the November run was This one's for the birds,... , minnie mouse had a good laugh as I made the tree climb to grab the container. After grabbing the cache I tossed it to minne mouse so she could sign the log. After climbing the tree, I was in no mood to climb down to sign and then climb back up. Minnie mouse signed the log and tossed the container back to me.

Last find in the LBL was LBL Greenway East - Maybe Wet, which is officially the first find while using the mountain bike that I purchased for myself while home on leave in 2010. We rode about 2 miles on the greenway before minnie mouse got tired. She had a good time riding the bike and we plan to return on a warm sunny day and ride the round trip of 5 miles.

Highway 68/80 run

Since my return from deployment a year ago, I had not ventured into the Kentucky side of the Land Between the Lakes. During this time, I watched the amount of caches along Highway 68/80 grow and grow and had been tempted to make a cache run of the area.

Being there were so many caches to go after, I posted on GOWT and RVG sites on Facebook that I would make a run of the area the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Friday after Thanksgiving has traditionally been a free day for me and have used the day to be geo-aggressive. My aggressiveness paid off with 29 finds. All my caching partners set new daily find records and cleared at least two Fizzy terrain/difficulty grids as well.

The highlight caches of the day were:

Turkey Bay ATV Series # 1 The Silo and Turkey Bay ATV Series # 2 Edsel proved to be the most physically challenge with steep hills to traverse. Both are 5-star terrain caches, requiring an ATV. Neither of us had ATV's and we did it the hard way by hiking. Thankfully, we found the caches before the ATV's were on the course.

Mt. Everest, another physically challenging cache, we parked .10 away and hiked straight up the hill.

!!! BE PREPARED !!!, a clever hide. I had found two caches like this in my geo-career and wanted to show chicontator of the work some cachers will put into a cache. The cache container was missing. We ended up taking the entire device apart and repaired the cache. Cache is located in secluded area of the LBL were many duck blinds could be seen.

One of the most unusual experiences was at Bogard Cemetery where dhrnrcpa found a pentagram on a headstone and we were all a little freaked out that someone buried here was a worshiper of Satan.

We also found caches on a brand new LBL greenway. I plan to return with my girls when the weather turns nice for a bike ride. Most memorable of those caches was: LBL Greenway East Duck Island/End of the road took a lot of effort but we found the cache.

Recent Challenge Caches

Since my return from deployment I have been watching the placement of Challenge caches near Jackson, TN. At first, I wondered about the high difficulty rating. I reflected on one of my first challenge caches, Special K. Special K required that to log this find, one must have 1,000 finds. I drove within a quarter mile of this cache many times before I could actually log it. With that in mind, I think the difficulty ratings on the recent challenge caches are appropriate.

My recent Challenge cache finds:

Challenge: Complete 6 new 'challenges': While attending the recent cache event in Paris, I was made aware of 3 challenges that I could complete while in Paris. The "Challenges" are something new in geocaching. Most of the challenges are simple and something like the old locationless caches.

TN---12- 'Souvenir' Challenge: I have over 20 souvenirs, being I have cached 23 states/district and one province in Canada. Now, I await souvenirs for my cache finds in Iraq and Kuwait.

States that border West Tennessee- Challenge: Another easy find for me since I have found caches not only states that border West Tennessee, but all the states that border Tennessee. I have finds in all the former Confederate States. Delaware is the only state south of the Mason-Dixon line I don't have a find.

a 7-Challenge, Challenge: This one took a little bit of work and had to complete a few challenge cache to sign this log.

TN I-40 WB 14-Caches In A Day Challenge: Since my return from deployment, I haven't had many days with large numbers. A trip to Marion, IL managed this one.

Well Rounded MO Cacher (Fizzy Challenge): Grabbed this one on the return trip from Marion, IL. My second Fizzy find. Now I will go after the one in Mississippi.

Going after the challenge caches have been fun. With nearly 7 years of caching experience, the challenges are giving me something to look forward to.

Murray cache run

With some time on our hands, minnie mouse and myself headed to Murray, Ky to grab a few caches. Since my return from deployment, I had not hit Murray. One issue with Murray is that it's not an easy drive from home.

We begun the day with Arboreturn, a really cool location. It's an easy find, afterwards we looked around at the Murray State University facility. A short drive later, we found The 1,000,000th Cache!!!, we chatted with some new cachers while at this spot. Backyard BBQ was the next stop. I figured it would be a commercial style cache and was amused when we arrived.

We swept much of western part of Murray, finding Back to the 80's" series #2 "Hell is for Children". When I find these caches regarding the 1980's music, I attempt to give some of my viewpoint or experience about the group/singer or music. Couldn't give much about this song, since I was not much of a Pat Benatar fan. We also found Rock Solid. Later we visited the Murray State University campus and found Sole Mates, a really cool location, but was annoyed that the coordinates were over 200 feet off.

With the end of the cache day nearing, I agreed with minnie mouse, we would only cache to lunch time. I headed out for I See the Light since it was favorited a number of times. Minnie mouse spotted this hide. We then opted for a difficult cache survivor. This was a return trip to the Clarks River Recreational area, a great place for caches. I was concerned about this cache since it was listed with a 4-star terrain and would have a 9-year in tow. I scouted the initial trail and decided to go after this cache. It earned the 4-star rating with very difficult terrain to transverse. Thankfully, the river was down and the hike was uneventful. We found the cache after some searching. A great cache, with so few signatures. Minnie mouse commented, that not all cachers are as tough as she.

We picked up Skip Skipping these Skippers just before lunch and needed this break after survivor. We headed for Pizza Hut for some lunch and grabbed Back to the 80's series #4 "Burning down the House".

Ranger Rick series

On the 15th of October, I saw the Ranger Rick cache series being published.  The Ranger Rick series is a set of caches on the Pin Oak Trail of the Natchez Trace State Park.  I had caught wind of the series when the series was mentioned on the Facebook page of JAG (Jackson Area Geocachers).  After the publication, I joined in on the conversation and mentioned that I would go after the caches on Saturday the 22nd if the weather was going to be pleasant.

On the 22nd, I awoke at 5:30 am and was on the road to the state park a little after 6 am.  Picked up some breakfast, water and gas along the way.  Arrived at the state park before 8 am and there was fog near the lake areas.  Began a day with a DNF, which was a park and grab cache.  Thankfully, it would be my only DNF of the day.  Drove up towards the lodge and grabbed Big Cedar in the fog.  By the time I reached the lodge, the fog had lifted.  Went to the front desk and inquired about the 'passport' required for the cache series.  Immediately, I got the deer in the headlights look from the person behind the counter.  I waited patiently so as she made a phone call and I could smell the breakfast buffet.  I had thought about eating breakfast at the lodge before the cache run, however, my body is not inclined to skip or delay breakfast more than an hour after waking up.  She caught on to what I was seeking and pulled an envelope from under the counter; with passport in my possession I was on my way.

First stop was Decontaminate, which is located in a camping section of the park.  Made the quick find even with the morning sun in my eyes.  Then another quick grab at Out on the Range.  After that cache at the archery range, I hit the Ranger Rick series.  I intentionally began on the south end of the trail, I assume the cache owner wanted cachers to begin at the lodge end.  However, since I wanted the two caches on the south end of the park, starting at the south end was more convenient for me.  I did notice the high difficulty and terrain ratings of the caches on the south end verses the north end of the trail.  I suppose the cache owner wants cachers to find all the caches in one setting and be rewarded with high ratings.  I have noticed from my power trail in Wingo, Kentucky that cachers who pass by, only get the one in the parking lot and maybe one or two on the trail, instead of getting all of them.  Maybe this theory of the higher ratings will work?  For me, the ratings were of none issue since I have already completed the 81 terrain/difficulty grid.  While I am impressed with my 1.76 difficulty and 1.71 terrain average, I don't have intentions of bring those averages up since I hit many park and grabs.  Thus the higher than normal average won't stay.  I do focus on the high number of regular cache finds, which is 851 finds, just over 26% of all finds.

I had fun with the series and will keep an eye out for other series at Natchez Trace State Park or other state parks.  Maybe with enough series like these, state parks can host events during off seasons and cachers stay at the parks overnight?

Upon reaching the lodge office at the conclusion of the trail, the worker behind the counter had the bonus cache ready for me.  I then re-walked the 1.5 mile trail in 22 minutes to get my truck, returned to the lodge for a great lunch buffet.

Caches found were:

Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 1
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 2
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 3
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 4
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 5
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 6
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 7
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Trail 8
Ranger Rick Pin Oak Bonus Cache

PYLE!

With cannotreadgps wanting to attend the case lot sale at Ft. Campbell, I negotiated a deal where I could drop her off at the sale when she wanted to be there and I would go out and cache.  I had been to the case lot sale once before and had no desire to stand for three hours again.

I picked out some caches that I wanted to find and to also stay away from the park and grabs since morning rush hour would be a hazard.  My first choice was Gomer Pyle USMC.  The cache is located near the grave of Frank Sutton who played the part of Gunnery SGT Vince Carter in the 1960's TV show.  I recall the show when it was syndicated on local television and was amused by the relationship between Gunny Carter and Pvt. Pyle.  While the show had a military setting, its creators avoided the controversial topic of the Vietnam War.

After finding the cemetery cache and paying my respects to Frank Sutton I went to the nearby Rotary Park.  Again, I wanted to avoid the park and grabs due to traffic and being this was a weekday, there would be few muggles in the park.  Arrived at the park and except for a few people I had the park to myself.

My first find was MTCSBA Cog Dist Adventures of Scouting #9.   At first I intended to stay on the trails but soon learned the trails were not taking me in the direction of my arrow and bushwhacked to the cache.  Took  a little effort to find the cache since the coordinates were not tight.  Next find was Down by the Old Creek Cache, another one that required bushwhacking due to my ignorance of the park's trail system and my time was running low.  Last find in the park was Off the beaten path.  This one was just across an open field.

I hope to return to Rotary Park and find some of the remaining caches, I really had a good time.  During my first year or two of caching, I had noticed a cluster of caches in the park and later a tornado hit the park and the caches were placed on the inactive listing.

In Search of George Owen Cash

Couple of weeks ago, jackthebear posted on GOWT Facebook page he was interesting in hunting In Search of George Owen Cash and wanted to know if others were interesting in hunting the cache with him.  I expressed my interest and gave some dates I could be available.  A date was picked, the night before I loaded up my kayak onto my truck so I could leave Dresden before 5 am and head to Hernando, Mississippi.

I picked out a few caches to complete on the way since the meeting at the posted coordinates wasn't until 9 am.  I stopped at the I-40 Westbound Rest Stop and picked up I-40 WB Rest Area Walkin' and Stretchin' and TN I-40 WB 14 Caches in a Day Challenge.  The challenge cache interested me and had completed 14 caches in a day recently.  Was a bit challenging to me in that I don't rack up big numbers on a daily run.  After I got into Mississippi, I grabbed DeSoto Trail #6 Southhaven and May I see your License?.  The DeSoto trail cache was an easy ammo can find and when I drove up; I recalled that I had been to this cemetery once prior for a cache.  Was a little interesting at May I see you License, in that a Hernando Police Officer drove up when I was heading back to my truck.  He saw my GPS and knew what I was doing and asked if I had any problems finding the hidden box.  We chatted a little more about geocaching in Mississippi.

I was the first to arrive at the posted coordinates and immediately saw that using the entrance to the law enforcement would not be suitable for parking.  I parked at a nearby business and waited.  It wasn't heard to spot me when others drove up in that I had a kayak on top of my truck.  After everyone showed up, we (jackthebear, prontopup,  part of nelms3 and pcsenn) walked to the posted coordinates and obtained information for stage 2.  We all drove to stage 2 and more information was obtained.

After going to the incorrect point, we all finally arrived at Hernando Point and met with chimps8mybaby who had an extra kayak for nelms3.  Arriving at the point, I was horrified to see the wind kicking up and seeing some white caps.  We placed the kayaks into the water and off we went.  I went into the water first and attempted to stay around for others to get going.  But I found the best way to deal with the wind and waves to get moving.  I found myself doing a zig-zag motion in the water and not allow a wave to hit me broadside. I guess it work, when I arrived near the cache location I didn't have much water inside my kayak.  I did observe at least one cacher beach his craft to dump the water out.  With my zig-zag motion I saw it was best to keep clear of other cachers so we wouldn't ram each other.

About 1/2 way to the last stage, we found an area of water near a point that was calm were I rested and took some pictures.  After the resting, some of the cacher went straight for land and walked the rest of the way.  I was tempted but jackthebear and myself stayed on the water and beached about 400 feet from the cache.  We hiked the rest of the way and we arrived about 10 minutes before the overland party.  After signing the log, we rested and took pictures.  None of us were in any hurry to get back on the rough water.

The trip back was again against the wind, except for the last leg.  I found going with the waves and wind was more treacherous since my kayak wanted to go broadside in the trough of the waves.  I began to use braking motions to keep the bow straight at my destination and rode out the waves.  When I arrived, I then poured out a few gallons of water.

Overall, this was an experience and will probably be the last kayak cache run of this year.  It was good experience to hit the rough water and know what rough kayaking is like.  This was nelms3 first experience on a kayak and he seemed to be a trooper about the trip.  This not prontopup's first kayak trip but when he arrived at the landing, he was worn out and commented it was his last kayak cache run.

Giving back

Soldiers from my unit, the 1171st Transportation Company of the Tennessee Army National Guard have expressed interest in geocaching from time to time. While at weapons qualification in Tullahoma, I had an afternoon for caching and took along three soldiers. One, Bellesrecruit, was already a member of the website tagged along for about 2 and 1/2 miles of walking. We did mostly micros near the base. Bellesrecruit recorded her finds, but since not being a premium member was unable to log one of the finds. We did manage to add a puzzle cache (Waitin' on the Car) to her profile.

A few days later I found myself overnight in Smyrna and the new prospective cachers went for a nearly 6 mile walk on a greenway and netted about 1/2 dozen finds. The new cacher, Chicontater soon began to log his finds. We enjoyed our long walk and saw many wildlife.

This past weekend, I sold my old Garmin 60csx, since I know have a Garmin 62s, to chicontater and he and his family are off on their own caching.

When ever we deploy or go off on mission or training, I have a couple of soldier-cachers to count on to be partners.

Shawnee National Forest

Due to health issues discovered since my return from deployment from Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn, I have made several trips to the VA medical faculties, including the hospital in Marion, IL. The last trip to Marion I decided to stay the night since I was ordered to take measures to 'clean' out my system. Prior to the trip I decided to take a route that would take me into the Shawnee National Forest. For years I have read on the River Valley forums about the forest and I had a desire to go after those caches. However, distance is a problem; a hour and half to two hours just to get to the forest, hike/cache and then at least two hour drive to return home.

On the way up I went after Ghost Dance by GEO.JOE, which would test many of my limits. Overall, it was not far from the parking coordinates, but the terrain was extremely complex. Crossing a creek, crossing the same creek again. Finding the correct trail was a huge challenge. More than once, I found myself in the wrong area only to backtrack and start over. Arrived near the cache coordinates, spent another 15 minutes negotiating how I would get to the cache. After some climbing the cache was found. Returning to the parking area would prove as much a challenge as the hike to the cache.

The following day I grabbed a few caches in the Marion area before going to the hospital. Scouting around too was fun in that I met a park employee that had questions about the game. After my CT scan at the hospital I had lunch and began my drive back home. I stopped along the way at Bluff Trail another cache by GEO.JOE. The terrain was not nearly has tough as the previous day and was a very enjoyable hike.

Ghost Dance and Bluff Trail was my first experience in the Shawnee National Forest and hopefully won't be the last.

Frozen Flight Scuba Cache

Received notice on Facebook that a caching team from Memphis would be at Mermet Springs, IL to conduct their open-water check dives and invited to go after Frozen Flight Scuba Cache. I accepted the invitation and check my equipment. It had been a couple of years since my last dive and except for some cleaning, my equipment was good. I also planned to rent anything else I would need.

Upon arrival, I registered and went to the rental section. One of the staff saw my shirt with the geocaching logo and knew exactly what I would be seeking. I was fitted with a 7mm wetsuit and hood. Met up with bitbrain, Tiger130 and their family. Since Tiger130 was going through her check dives, the cache would have to wait. After the family went into the water for their instruction, bitbrain and myself prepared for the deep dive. Thankfully, bitbrain was more rehearsed in diving and aided my setup. After reviewing the map we hit the water and swam to the buoy for the 65 foot platform. However, I was not able to descend at all. The added layers of the wetsuit made more for buoyant. Bitbrain attempted to give me a 2-pound weight that I dropped. In disgust, we swam back to the dock where I got out of the water, took off the equipment and rented 10 pounds of weights. With the added weight we hit the water once again, swam to the buoy. I let the air out of my vest and sank like a rock.

We descended down to 65 feet, which later I would see my gauge was at 68 feet, this would set a new personal dive record for me. We swam around in the cold dark water and finally found sunken Cessna airplane and found the cache. We signed the log and then I noticed bitbrain was not wearing dive gloves. I knew how cold my hand were and I had gloves. I helped him close the cache and we gave ourselves a thumbs up and ascended back to the surface.

When I reached the service I noticed my air gauge, I was at about 1,200 pounds of air. I began with 3,000! We took a break while on the surface for 30 minutes and did a shallow dive of 20 feet to wrap of the dive.

This was an awesome experience and with this, I plan to dive at least once a year to keep my skills up to speed.

Joining the Fizzy Club

Over the holiday weekend I hit a major milestone, I chose Well Rounded Cacher (Fizzy Challenge) to be my 3,000th find. Having the morning of the 4th free, I left home a little after 5 am to head to the cache location. Upon arriving, I recalled the area from a previous cache hunt, 2 years earlier after a kayak run of the Ghost River. Found the first stage easily and a few minutes later was signing a log for a cache I have wanted for over 3 years. I was delighted to sign this log and joining the Fizzy Club. Browsing the statistics of many cachers in the West Tennessee, Northern Mississippi, Western Arkansas and Southwest Kentucky, I have determined that about 1% or less of all active cachers have or will hit this mark.

After making the find, I headed to the landing area of the Ghost River, where I unloaded the kayak and found Up the Creek with Half a Paddle. This was a challenging cache since I had to paddle up river, something that I have not had much experience. After dodging some downed trees, I paddled within 40 feet of the cache, got out of the boat and made the find.

Civil War Tour

After receiving confirmation that I would attend the Advanced Leadership Course at Fort Eustis, Virginia, I began plans to look for Civil War related caches in Virginia. I had a very long trip the first full day on the road covering over 600 miles from Middle Tennessee to Winchester, VA.

Along the way I found where General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is buried in Lexington, VA and also visited the grave of General Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller. I also visited Robert E. Lee Travel Bug Hotel which is located inside the Visitor's Center. I was disappointed that there was not a geocache at Lee's Chapel, I understand that a traditional cache could be a problem, but a virtual at the location would be awesome. Resumed my trip and picked up three more Civil War caches. Visited Chestnut Ridge where Confederate General Turner Ashby was killed. A monument to the exact location where he was fatally shot is the starting point of a waypoint projection.

Later, I found Old Valley Pike: Bloody Ceders the site of the New Market battle. I would end the day in Winchester and the next morning I would find the Winchester's Third. This was a great cache in a city park with lots of walking trails. In 1864, a Union camp was located near the cache location, the pits were still visible.

In the late morning, I found myself in northern Virginia and picked up a virtual called small park for a big battle. It was part of the Battle of 2nd Bull Run. Moving further south, I finally managed to get to I-95 and heading towards Richmond. Traffic was terrible in this part of the country despite being a Sunday morning. I was also hampered only using a Nuvi instead of nRoute. A week before my trip, the laptop that contained all my Garmin software died, leaving me with tunnel vision of the Nuvi.

As I made my way towards Fredericksburg, VA and decided to go after a virtual that I really wanted, Stonewall Jackson's Arm. The plot where the amputated arm is located is near the Union Headquarters for the Battle of the Wilderness. The Battle of the Wilderness fought in 1864 was very near the battle of a year before at Chancellorsville. I went by the Visitors Center at this location also and learned more about the battles. I also wanted to see the Wilderness since my ancestor was in this battle. After the battlefield tour, I got back onto I-95 and later visited Guinea Station where Gen. Jackson died about a week after being accidentally shot by his own troops.

Leaving Guinea Station I headed back towards I-95 and saw another cache pop up on my Nuvi, I decided to go after it and this turned out to be my favorite of the trip, The Curse of the FTF #2, Ghosts of Battles Past. Auto routing my my Nuvi took me to a cemetery where there were hundreds of Confederate graves. This men died in the Battle of Spotsylanvia Courthouse. It was a humbling moment for me as I found graves of men from the 2nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment, that was the same regiment, my great-great grandfather, PVT John Hudson Goodwyn served. I pondered to think that some of the men buried there knew my ancestor. I found the cache and paid my respects. My last find of the day was on the battlefield where Major General John Sedgwick, the highest ranking Union officer killed in action, was shot by a Confederate sniper at a range of over 800 yards with a Whitworth rifle. I made a quick tour of the battlefield and after returning to a internet connection and reading the Confederate Order of Battle, I walked around the trenches where my ancestor fought.

Middle Tennessee Trip

This past weekend, I had a trip to make up June drill and attend a Suicide Intervention class at the National Guard Base in Smyrna, Tennessee. During that 4-day span I had 25 finds. Some caches of interest:

GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit at the Adventures Science Museum in Nashville. I have been reading about the Mazes from Groundspeak and was delighted to attend the Maze in Nashville. For my muggle Facebook followers of this blog, this exhibit may explain the sport to you.

Bunny Box TB Hotel in Murfreesboro. Was nice to see a regular sized cache located in a parking lot. It was physically challenging since there were steep grades of terrain to cover. It gave my ankle a good test after my injury in April.

"The Hang Out", I had driven by this one back in January and passed it up, was a fun find and good to see a regular sized container in such an urban area.

Towards the end of the weekend, -boatman- gave me a call to come by and visit him near Bell Buckle. I arrived and he said lets go for a ride. We attempted a difficult cache in Shelbyville to no avail. Later, he took me back to downtown Bell Buckle, the former side of the Geo-Woodstock that I attended. The town looked much different since it was minus 5,000 cachers roaming about. I picked up, The Treasure of GeoWoodstock Mountain coordinates for that cache are located in the Geo-Woodstock coin that was given out at the event. I also picked up Mission 13: Crawfish Bottom (Project Monkey Cache) by finding the geo-trail. Was really cool to find such large caches in a city park. Later we retired back to the -boatman- residence and spent some time firing a AR-15 rifle.

On the last day, I set out for what I really wanted, jeffbouldin's D/T Bingo Challenge Cache (Tennessee). The biggest challenge I had for that cache was finding the correct trail head. I had to follow the arrow to the end to find the trail head due to the heavy growth. It was nice to grab a challenge cache, something I don't get too many opportunities.

Passing through Nashville, I picked up Going Gibson. This cache caught my attention due to the many favorites it has received. Took a bit to get to the cache location since auto-routing took me to where I could see the cache, but couldn't reach it. The guitar store was closed but I had heard of it from a Visa commercial from years back and one of my favorite band's Motley Crue have visited the store.

Changes to Tennessee Delorme Map

Recent trip to the REI store in Brentwood, I picked up a new copy of the Tennessee Delorme Map. I retired my old map prior to deployment since it was over 10 years old and marked up. I immediately noticed many significant changes that could affect the Tennessee Delorme Challenge Cache.

First of all, the old map showed grids 13 to 71. The new map has 6 through 79.

Where the old map has half or partial grids from Stewart County all the wall across the state, the new map are all full grids. This could make the completing the cache easier. There are three partial grids located. One located southeast of Elizabethton, TN, where I-40 enters Tennessee at North Carolina and the eastern part of Polk County.

Currently, I have doubts that I will continue working on the Delorme Challenge due to the changes and that 39% of all my finds are now archived.

Completion of the WRC

Last weekend, I joined a small elite group of cachers who have completed the 81 terrain/difficulty grid towards the Well Rounded Cacher. I begun my quest by targeting Stop at the Ball Park on September 26, 2008. At the time I had over 20 grids to accomplish. Over 2 and 1/2 years later, it was completed with West Fork Waterfalls on April 23, 2011. I joined the company of two West Tennesseans, bitbrain and Tiger130, who finished the the quest years prior.

Accomplishing this goal take more effort and energy than another other challenge. Racing to the 1K and completing the West Tennessee Mega Multi were a walk in the park. I used my year long deployment to spend time on the site targeting the caches I needed and doing the research. Special equipment is needed, such as a kayak to get to the 5-star terrain caches. Cachers who are concerned about numbers, may need not to be concerned with the grid. After a day on a kayak getting a few caches, one is too tired to go after the park and grabs on the way home. Some of the grids I completed alone, some I have the luxury and benefit to cache with others. Yes, sometimes one has to play well with others.

The most memorable part of completing the WLC will be the next to last find for the grid, that being Peace and Tranquility I. My log will speak for itself.

West Fork River Geo-Kayak cachepedition

With completion of the Well Rounded Cacher getting close and my urge to get the kayak out, bitbrain and myself discussed and set up a cachepedition of the West Fork River, that contained the two remaining category grid requirements. Once, Peace and Tranquility I and the West Fork Waterfalls. I invited every cacher that was on my Facebook friends list and others were invited by those I invited. The will attend and may attend numbers changed through the weeks and in the final days, some dropped out due to various reasons. I became quite concerned when bitbrain dropped out since he had a device to do the West Fork Waterfalls, a cache that is a whereigo.

I drove up on Good Friday and knocked out Peace and Tranquility I and did a recon of where to put in the boats. A later blog post will reflect my not so peaceful experience.

Morning of the 23rd arrived and I drove to the park and awaited the cachers who would join me. While waiting I knocked out a Boy Scout cache that is required for the Middle Tennessee Boy Scout challenge and went for a stroll to get Billy's Backside. Soon after returning to the truck, cachers began to arrive with canoes or kayaks on top of their vehicles. Kodiak62 arrives with a trailer in two. He explains to the group he found a put in place on the south and west side of Tiny Town Bridge. With his long trailer, we dismount the boats and reload onto the trailer. The group that left the park and went onto the river were: Kodiak62, MVP Doodle, scoutpaddle, Bubba95, shan7on, lizzie60 and adventuretrekker.

We found 7 of 8 on the river. Most were at or near the river bank. Some we had to get out of the boats to retrieve. The cache West Fork Waterfalls was very high on list, since finding it would complete the goal for the Well Rounded Cacher. We all pulled up the boats at the waterfall and got out to look around for the cache. With the opportunity to grab the last grid for the WRC, I jumped out still wearing my life vest and backpack. I paid close attention to Bubba95, who's iPhone was the only whereigo device that was functioning correctly. I could see how challenging any whereigo could be. After some searching, shan7on laid eyes on the cache and a sigh of relieve could be heard throughout the group. Even if this cache could be retrieved from overland, it would be an easy 4.5 star terrain.

This adventure was my fourth geo-kayak trip, my second trip that was a small river. Some observations, unlike lakes, I didn't have to paddle as much, I used the current to propel me. Wind was not a factor. However, with the swifter current, it made finding caches very difficult. I found that when the boats converged near the posted coordinates, we ran into each other. Lesson learned, when about 200 feet away, slow the boat down and begin scanning where the cache could be located. I consider myself inexperienced with a kayak and paid attention to adventuretrekker who is a veteran with the kayak with 3 times as many 5-star terrain caches as I. Other observations, scuba diving boots are not a great substitute for hiking boots, but did make do. They were better than those with sandals who were exposed to poison ivy.

I am thankful for all those who participated in the cachepedition and those who didn't attend but could advise through Facebook and phone calls. This was an awesome trip and encourage others to make the trip.

Natural Selection vs. Targeting?

Recent conversations with -boatman- we discussed the issue of finding caches to complete the 81 category grid for the Well Rounded Cacher. -boatman- is lacking finds in the 5 and 4.5 difficulty range. He prefers the high terrain rated caches, hence his 1.74 terrain average that exceeds my 1.69 rating. I expressed to complete the grid it would require to solve the puzzle/unknown caches at home. As for most everything below the 4 terrain/difficulty rating, I used natural selection. Just going on a cache run and signing logs and not concerned about the rating. The last several I have had to complete where were in the 4.5 and 5 range, I had to be selective of what I want after, solving puzzles long before I left on the run.

Another cache, Abiectio, the Evil One? (Challenge Cache) requires the cacher to create a bookmark showing they visited a regular size traditional cache in every West Tennessee County. Find an earthcache and virtual within the grand division. Also, a puzzle and multi that at least a 3 difficulty or terrain. For many of the seasoned caches and especially those from the Jackson area, this one should not be difficult. But for the less seasoned cachers from the corners of West Tennessee, such as Lake, Henry, Shelby and Hardin counties, this one will be a difficult challenge.

My purpose of the cache requirements, that unlike the Tennessee County and DeLomre Challenges, where any physical cache will do. For the Abiectio challenge, I want the cacher to experience everything West Tennessee has to offer. Such as the small towns, cities, trails, parks and geological features. For the seasoned cacher, natural selection of the years of caching will accomplish the goal. For a newer cachers, it may require being selective.

Camp Beauregard

Being a Civil War buff, I had heard about Camp Beauregard near Water Valley, Kentucky. I wanted to place a geocache there however, I didn't know the precise location of the camp that is now a cemetery. A cache was placed there and I took the opportunity to find and visit Camp Beauregard. I took a few pictures and saw many Confederate soldier graves. The camp provided the right flank of the larger base at Columbus on the Mississippi River and when Confederate troops retreated from Columbus, the camp near Water Valley was abandoned as well. For most of the soldiers buried in the cemetery near the cache, very few if none every saw any combat. Disease claimed the lives of many enlisted teenage boys and young men in their early 20's. I wanted to tell about this cache since this is the 150th Anniversary of the War Against Northern Aggression. Cacher or not, the place is worth a visit.

Trout Fishing Fun

While in Mountain Home, Arkansas we visited the trout hatchery at the base of the Norfolk River Dam. We ended up spending a lot of time seeing the fish, where both my girls had fun feeding the fish. I looked for the information for the virtual Trout Fishing Fun. I knew the plaques were moved inside and we went there to find where the trout are hatched from the eggs. Was amazing to see how the fish develop. We spoke to a US Fish & Wildlife employee and he showed Carolina more details of the fish. He saw my GPS and he knew what I was seeking and pointed me in the right direction.

Next to the hatchery was a flowing stream and we could see the trout in their natural habitat. This virtual was educational and fun. One of the reasons I would like to see a return of the virtual geocaches.

Gorilla Stash

At the end of my girls spring break from school we headed for Mountain Home, Arkansas. My goal was to find the Gorilla Stash. One part of the Missouri Fizzy Challenge is to find a cache placed in the year 2000. After running a search, the cache in Arkansas was the closest and it was just over 200 miles from home. We enjoyed the Ozarks and countryside along the way.

It is nice that when I run my GSAK stats, I have something found in the year 2000.

Late Night Visitors

This past Friday night I was at home with the windows up, catching the breeze and playing around on the computer. Saw a car pull up in the driveway, went outside and the car was gone. Noticed the halogen headlights of that car go past a couple of times. Continued on with what I was doing and then saw a flashlight in the yard. I knew then they were cachers coming after What I afraid of? I grabbed my Surefire tactical light and went outside the greet the cachers. Turns out they were DrewsephVladmir, The 40 Foot Pandas and 1/2 of FarklinNinjas, a group from Union City, TN. The found the first stag and then went about entering the coordinates for the second and final stage in their high tech phones. We chatted a bit about the phones being used as GPS receivers. Then the group said their good byes and were headed back to their cars. I asked them to check their receivers and then they noticed the cache was in walking distance. I watched them trying to find the final using the phones that didn't seem to have an arrow screen. One of them ran out onto the highway to re-gain satellite reception. We spoke more about the phones and I mentioned that once their caching careers take them into areas with high tree cover such as Land Between the Lakes, they may want to think about a GPS with better reception.

We had a very pleasant conversion and hope to run into the group again on the trails.

New PT test

While at Ft. Campbell, KY several days ago, I browsed the headline of a Army Times of the new Army Physical fitness test. Regrettably, I didn't purchase a copy. Searches on the Internet of the new test have not come up with anything concrete, the best I found was this You Tube Video. The new test is supposed to be Army wide by this October. Asking a few people, including AGR's and technicians at this weekend at drill, I discovered I knew more than they.

Current test includes three events. Push ups, sit ups and a two-mile run. Due to a knee problem of a floating knee cap, I have a profile and substitute the 2.5 mile walk that I have to complete in about 36 minutes. For the most part, I start working out about two months prior and use a treadmill. I have noticed the PT test does not equal combat readiness with some much emphasis on running in shorts and t-shirt. It doesn't prepare much for a long road march with body armor, a weapon and ammunition.

The new test will be seven events. Thankfully, the sit up is gone. Since information is sketchy, it's hard to say what the events will be like and how to complete the test. I did notice in the video parts of the test were in PT uniform, others in battle uniform, including body armor and weapon. This leads to a argument, as a member of a transportation unit of the National Guard, we carry the M-16 which weighs 7.8 pounds and is 39.625 inches. My active Army counterpart carries the M-4 which is 6.36 pounds and 29.75 inches when the stock is retracted. Regarding training for combat, it would be better to carry the weapon one will carry in combat. But for a test that is scored and a soldier will be in competition for promotion, the field should be even.

Some other events that I know of; are a casualty drag and an ammo can shuttle run.

I will have to do more to prepare for these events, like carrying a pack while hiking the trails with more water than usual. The geo-kayaking I have planned for warmer weather should help my upper body strength as well.

26 Smilies

Last weekend I returned to the southern LBL and found seven caches and one DNF. After entering my finds and pulled up the map, I noticed 26 smilies on the map with 11 to be found. Number has increased this week with the addition about five caches.

First pulled up to Homestead, a nice area for a cache with old buildings, but couldn't find the cache again. Will return sometime. Next was Meteorite Rock, where I redeemed myself a DNF about 2 years ago. I don't see where I went wrong, but it was found. Next was Lickity Split, not being a fan of micros in wooded areas, I was impressed with the hide technique. Thankfully, coordinates were on the dot. Had it been back in the Garmin Legend or Etrex days, it would have been a cache I would have passed up.

I really wanted to get Nuts About Dreadlock Tree since I was in the area. But, I couldn't get close to the cache due to high water on a creek I needed to cross. Looking at my topo map, I didn't see an easy way. Went onto Lake Shore a 3 terrain cache. The road to the cache fit the rating. Parked about .10 from the cache and had an easy walk to the find.

At this point, I began to look at the downhill side of this cache day. I drove up north and worked my way down. Found Welcome to Model, TN, a great cache and great location. Owner did an excellent job researching and setting up the cache page. On my nRoute, I saw how close the cache was to the Trace and wondered about the 3 terrain rating. After a good climb up the hill, I appreciated the 3 star rating.

Now the highlight of the day. Went after Roundtop. Made excuses for myself and was concerned about the 1 mile hike each way and my knowledge of the terrain of the LBL. The hike was much easier than anticipated. Ran into a Boy Scout troop on the way and return trip. Chatted some about the geocaching merit badge. Was a nice hike. Ended the day on the Bear Creek Loop Trail. Found MTCBSA COG Dist Adventures of Scouting #5 and Bear Creek Loop Cache. Prior to hitting the trail, I was tired and hungry, I found the caches and went to a nearby McDonalds in Dover and headed home. With more energy, I would have hiked the entire trail and posted the trail online.

Maybe another time.....

Over the Deer v2

This past Sunday, I hooked up with -boatman- for one last cache adventure before he leaves West Tennessee for Middle Tennessee for good. I have always enjoyed caching with -boatman- and didn't pass up this opportunity.

The cache I wanted was Over the Deer v. 2 by dalls. I didn't get the opportunity to go after this cache prior to deployment since I am rarely in this area on weekends. I really detest the traffic along Highway 45 By-Pass in Jackson and don't want to travel it when I don't have to. I spoke with -boatman- and we set out for the cache after church. Thankfully, I didn't have any delays leaving Dresden and traffic was light. I arrived at the parking location to find -boatman- already there. We prepared ourselves for the hike. I had not been to the river's edge but have been to this area a couple of times before and didn't know what to expect. I made a couple of calls inquiring if special equipment was necessary and one told me the equipment he used was the cache owner! I really wanted Over the Deer v.2 due to it's unique terrain/difficulty rating. We set out with our packs, hiking poles and I put in a rope in my pack. We first found Bigfoot's Territory. On the way to this cache, we spotted the first snake of the year, a Garter snake sunning himself. It was in the area and I wanted the 4-star terrain rating. I already had it's difficulty/terrain rating but the 4-star would look good on my stats. Besides, if I fell in the river at Over the Deer v.2, I wouldn't be in the mood to make another find, only to get to my truck before hypothermia set in.

We ventured over to Over the Deer v.2 and studied it for a long time of how to approach it. I tied a rope around myself in the event I feel in the river, -boatman- could pull me out. I scooted and straddled across the large tree that was almost parallel with the water below. It took everything I had to remain calm and when the wind kicked up, I just waited for the wind to die down. After several minutes, I had crawled to the cache location and it was just out of reach. -boatman- said, dalls meant for the cacher to stand up. I refused to do that and besides I am taller than the cache owner. I reached and reached and pulled the container down. I could sense -boatman-'s relief that I had it in my hand. I signed the log and in the process dropped the log protector and -boatman-'s pen in the river. Replaced the container and then discussed the return trip. Had pictures of myself on the tree which I posted on my Facebook Account. I scooted across the tree backwards (opposite the way I went to the cache) and asked -boatman- to pull on the rope slightly to give me some momentum and direction.

Hiked back to the parking lot and after some discussion I went home. Only had two finds that day and it didn't matter to me; I was happy to get another Well Rounded Cacher grid number colored in.

Now my magic number for the Well Rounded Cacher is 3 and my terrain avg. is up to 1.69.

5 Icons in a Day

A couple of weeks ago I noticed 5-ICON "In a Day" Caching Challenge I-40 RS East and figured I had that one in the bag since I had a 5-icon in day in July 2008 while caching in Michigan and Ontario. However, after further reading, I had to do this 5-Icon in a day all over again since the cache page reads that my busy day has to be after December 1, 2009. I had cleared much of my surrounding area and but I am keeping some caches in reserve for easy finds to color in a day on my 366 days of caching stats. I pondered what to do; this would be a difficult task. I did notice a Mega event near Mt. Vernon, IL coming up in March. I could get a two-fer with a Mega and Event cache the same day, near same location but different times. Looked around, there is a wherigo cache, but I am not equipped for those, thus I don't much attention to those types of caches. Noticed a mystery nearby but it requires a GPS that can pick up the chirp device, so I am not equipped for that either. Only the Garmin Oregon and 62 with correct downloaded software can pick up the beacon.

While caching with pcsenn and Pharmd93, I informed both of them that after the events of the day, they would be only one icon short of the goal and suggested the earthcache at the Hatchie River National Wildlife Refuge. Turned out Pcsenn had already completed that earthcache. At least Pharmd93 could get the 5-Icon challenge. But after some researching after the event, there was a short multi, Old Wagon Trail in Collierville. We all competed that cache, which was fun and interesting. On the way back we found the 5-Icon challenge. Which by the way, is the third cache that has been placed on that end of the rest stop on I-40, the fifth total at the stop. On the way home, we picked up West Tennessee-Silt 'loess' Deposits-Earthcache. While signing the log, we had only 4-icons, we knew would get the cache since a DNF at an earthcache is highly remote.

"You did them all?!"

Teamed up this past weekend with pcsenn and Pharmd93 for a cache run in the Collierville area. I had set my sights on Flip Dizzy Loves Jelly Beans for the unique terrain/difficulty rating. I also set my sights to complete all the caches in that same park as well. When I arrived at the events for 76Stinger and Jaybirder, I were asked "How many did you get?", the reply was "got them all" and jaws dropped. They knew and we would find out on the trail why the jaws dropped. The terrain and unforgiving, the trails, if they could be called trails didn't have a pattern and were more of ruts than anything else.

I have been to the park once before, grabbing Caching A,B,Z's and More Fun than a barrel of monkeys and knew that park has a paved and unpaved trails. As we ventured further into the park, we did much bushwacking, wading through water and trying to find one trail after another. The cache De-Hydration took a lot out of us getting through the brush. After finding that cache we found a trail and continued to head west. Prior to De-Hydration we found Wild Turkey without any trouble. As we continued west, we found Mirror, mirror. With that find came the most difficult task of navigating to The Saga of the Frozen Dozen. I was having second thoughts at that point but we continued the mission studying the terrain we could see, using the high ground and the topographical map on my GPS. Crossing water was the biggest challenge. Pharmd93 noticed a long 2X4 laying around and we put it across the water and crossed it. Where my 2X4 came from, who knows.... Found The Saga of the Frozen Dozen and then went onto Penny's Worth of Trouble. With that cache having a rope can in handy once again. After that cache we wanted to head towards the parking lot, pscenn noticed the sewer covers in the area and noticed the easement. We headed south and found a better path back to the parking lot picking up the mystery Say What? . My military experience was useful to solve this cache.

After that agonizing nearly six miles of hiking, we picked up Silo Mentality. This cache was fun, but it was an open area and we really felt the cold wind trying to find this one. With 45 minutes before the events, we drove over to LPS001 where pscenn and Pharmd93 had the honor to place their names on the oldest geocache in Tennessee.

After the event, I set my sights on a multi. Story of that will be continued......

Saga of the Frozen One

Over the past three years, each Martin Luther King Holiday weekend in January there have been organized cachepeditions led by bitbrain and Tiger130 and called themselves the Frozen Dozen. The 2009 adventure was at Walls of Jericho in Alabama, 2010 was Virgin Falls in Tennessee and this past year the hike were near Stone Island State Park in Tennessee. I have been invited to these cachepedition but for one reason or another I have been unable to attend. Unlike the group effort, I went about this cachepedition finding three category grids, solo.



This past weekend I had a long trip while not intended to be in Arctic conditions, my caching was in the snow and ice. My first significant find was Stumpy's Path, which was near the end of a 1/3 mile long paved trail. Normally, this is just a walk in the park, but the snow and ice made this a little more difficult. I found the cache and went to the end of the trail to view the spectacular water fall. Later in the day, seeking more difficult terrain cache, I sought and found Ensor Shower. This was a major accomplishment since it was rated a four difficulty. Thankfully, with the frozen conditions, I found the cache with ease. Had it been a recent hard rain, this cache would nearly be impossible to retrieve. I kept on hiking and found No Ships or Loose Lips Here. I had been to this park in 2006 and didn't go after this cache even though I was just about 600 feet away. I recall when I found the nearby earthcache, it was pouring down rain.



The next day the roads were in better shape however, there was still plenty of snow and ice on the ground. I made my way to the one of three caches I wanted, Love/Hate Relationship Redo. While deployed to Kuwait in 2010, I spent much of my idle time looking for caches to complete the Well Rounded Cacher category grid. The original Love/Hate Relationship was missing and became archived. The redo cache was placed in November and made my plans to find it. Arrived at the parking location, took some pictures and found a nearby cache. While my walk was only about 400 feet, I was freezing. Being I had a little less than a mile hike with elevation changes, I put on another layer of clothes. The temps were below 20. Made my way to cache location taking my time and with small steps due to the icy conditions. After doing some crawling around, I spotted the hiding location and was elated to find this cache. Signed the log and took a long time getting back up to the parking location, a change in nearly 300 feet of elevation. I figured this would be the most difficult and exhausting cache of the day, I would be correct.

Later in the morning, I made my way to Basket Case. I studied the satellite photos of this area and the weekend prior I made a light recon of it from the nearby 4-lane. I got an idea of what I needed to grab this cache by calling the cache owner and took his advise word for word. I must have looked strange carrying so many objects from the parking lot and across the bridge. I spotted the cache right away. Completed setting up my gear and retrieved the cache without incident. Signed the log and then went after Down Below. This one turned out to be the most hazardous since I fell on the icy rocks and nearly smashed my GPS. Thankfully, I was uninjured and GPS only suffered a small scratch. I was going to give up on the cache but after looking from a distance, I spotted what I thought was a hiding place, regrouped and found the cache.

Left that location feeling tired and worn out and elected not go after anymore in this area, I went after the last find for category grid, Protector of the Great War. I had solved this mystery while in Kuwait, studied photos too to figure how I would retrieve the cache. A few days before I was set to return to the United States, the cache was archived. It seemed like a punch in the gut to see this one archived since the nearest 4.5 terrain/4.5 difficult was almost 200 miles from home. After conference with the cache owner, he explained why he archived it and told me I could still find the log the find. I parked nearby and quickly made the find.

The next two days, I paid for the adventure with a sore knee and strained calf muscle.

It was an awesome day, knocking out three caches of the 81 category grid and now my magic number is at five.

Caches on target are:

Flip Dizzy Loves Jelly Beans, a mystery that is about 95% solved, close enough to that I think I can find it.

Over the Deer V2 located in Jackson, TN.

Peace and Tranquility I, located in Clarksville, TN.

Hi Ho Silver, located near Franklin, TN.

Legal Only by Boat Nashville Secrets #1, located in Nashville, the only cache left for the category grid that requires a kayak.

Upgrades to Groundspeak

I've been using GSAK stats on my geo-profile for many months and still plan to keep using the feature. Recently, Groundspeak updated their website to install, a Favorites, Statistics and Souvenirs sections. I really like what the folks at Groundspeak have done and will be watching when more information are installed in the Statistics and Souvenirs sections.

Been paying a lot of attention of the statistics section saw where my 1.74 difficulty average is at or very near the norm while browsing the profiles of many cachers that I know or have passed through TF territory. My terrain average, I find to be a disappointing 1.67. While it's ahead of a few who have completed the Well Rounded Cacher requirements and also tops a reported runner. Heck, I've completed the West Tennessee Mega Multi, kayaked to several caches and no stranger to the trails at Bartlett Park, Shelby Farms, Natchez Trace State Park and Land Between the Lakes. This year, I am going to strive to reach a 1.7 average, which may mean less park & grab and more hikes in the Land Between the Lakes. Also plan to get the kayak out far more this coming summer.

When the Favorites sections was introduced, I went through my completed caches and favorite'd 146 caches. I am going to exclude events and CITO's and most that are archived. Bridge, No Bridge, thus far is the only cache favorite'd that has been archived. Currently, I own one cache that has been favorite'd four times, that being Cache Raider. However, I adopted that cache, the original owner Canoe Guy deserves the honor of having the high rating among peers.

Received many emails from Groundspeak where I received Souvenirs, all of which are from the many states that I have cached. I did noticed that Groundspeak is awarding the state souvenirs in the order the US states were admitted to the Union. Have noticed the art work on the souvenirs is great. I am only awaiting the state of New Mexico. I figure Groundspeak will produce souvenirs for the countries I have cached, which are Canada, Kuwait and Iraq. Time will tell.

Hiking in the New Year

The day of New Years Eve, I pondered where I wanted to go cachin' and selected the southern part of the Land Between the Lakes, a hiking trail near Piney Campground. I got up around 6 am and left just before 7 am heading for Kentucky Lake. First stop was at Wave at Hank, a geocache near the lake, where the cacher has to pass by the home of Hank Williams Jr. This was before 8 am, I had doubts that Mr. Williams would be up, I chose to go after the cache and not make a visit.

Arrived at the parking coordinates and headed for the hike. I had hiked this trail about 10 years ago and knew where to enter the woods. I turned my tracks on the GPS to record my travel where I would later upload the trip on EveryTrail.com. There was much rain the night before and I would later find that many intermittent streams were flowing at a large and fast pace. This made crossing the streams a delicate operation. My first find on the trail was Murray's Cache; took some time to find the cache since the coordinates were off by more than 30 feet. Since I was tracking myself, I elected to set down the GPS and not track all the circling, back and forth, ei cache dance that comes with the game. Found the cache and had just as much a difficult time to finding the trail. I would have another difficult time finding the trail and then began marking where I left the trail to find the right spot to resume the tracking.

Next find was Where's the Door, a cache at a small burial plot marked with stones. Very interesting location. Next cache was Sadee want to cache, too, that one took some hill climbing. Staying on the trail I sought 20th Anniversary then found Volunteer, followed by Micro in the Tennessee Woods. Micros in the woods are not my favorite caches but this one was spotted very quickly and coordinates were dead on.

After returning home, I uploaded the tracks and can be found here.

Returning home, I drove through Puryear, TN grabbing Audrey's Cache, Is anybody home? and ended the day with State Line Evil Micro. I will have to return to Puryear and avenge a DNF at Is anybody home yet?, I DNF'd the cache even through I could see the container. About two feet of water prevented me from retrieving the cache.