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.