Developing this blog, I decided to begin Day Two on the late night of Day One. After attending the event, peanutpapa and myself drove to the cabin. The large cabin was reserved by Nelms3 and this cacher thanks him for going above and beyond with the reservation.
All the others arrived later that evening. I had not been involved in the planning stage of this cache run, but I do have a lot of experience in developing and leading cache runs. I figured it would be best to stay out of the planning since I had no agenda. That evening and early morning hours, I observed Tiger130 and GeoYakr go after the maps and what were going to be caches in the target list. They knew what they were doing and felt best that in the morning; I would load up into someone else's vehicle and not drive, a decision that would pay dividends later. I went to bed and awaiting tomorrow's adventure.
Our first find was actually a park and grab, Babble on and on, situated next to a large parking area, the hike was not much more than 100 feet. Cache was difficult to get to and hard to retrieve. Cache was on the target list so as endorider could color in a grid for the Well Rounded Cacher.
From there, the majority of the rest of the day would be spend in the Prentice Cooper area and some hard hiking. Our first stop was Half Way to the Rock. On the same trail was one of the best views in Tennessee, Tennessee's Grand Canyon. After logging this cache, I questioned why a cache that was about 5 years old had such few finds. Our stay was long due to taking many pictures and gather information for our next cache, Snoopers Rock. Getting to Snoopers Rock was difficult to say the lest; having to backtrack and re-route onto another trail. This is where I began to observe GeoYakr's mountain goat skills and wondered if he actually had feet or hooves. On the way to these caches, we stopped at a Wal-Mart where GeoYakr purchased high rubber boats that he wore the entire caching trip. I questioned the wisdom of wearing new boats for long hike and not made for hiking. However, to my amazement, GeoYakr knew what he as doing and I attempted to just keep up.
Next cache was maybe the most difficult, Size Matters. This cache was down a 4X4 trail and took a lot out of me to get there and back. I could feel my knees popping and crunching this entire hike. Thankfully, I had my bottle of Advil with me. The area is very scenic. This cache didn't surprise me with its low number of finds. Our next stop was at Indian Rockhouse. This area near this cache reminded me of my caching in the Shawnee National Forest. This cache was difficult to find, despite that at least four of us either stepped on or stepped next to this cache.
We left Prentice Cooper area and headed towards Signal Mountain. On the way, we pulled over to grab Indian Ammo #50. Again, GeoYakr's mountain goat skills came in handy. We found the remains of this cache, did some maintenance and headed on our way. We went up Signal Mountain and found a lonely virtual Cypher Point Cacher. The views were great and took pictures. This overlook was used by Union soldiers as a communications station.
Our last cache find of the day was after dark at Ruby Falls Earthcache which provided maybe our best group photo. Once we toured Ruby Falls, we drove back to the cabin, where endorider made outstanding venison chili.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Frozen Dozen 2013: Day One
Over the past few years, a cachepedition, normally led by bitbrain and Tiger130, is held on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January. This cacher has missed out on previous cachepedition for one reason or another. This year, I finally attended and had a great time. I will post on this blog the experiences of each day as separate posts, so please stayed tuned.
Day One, was my travel day. Departed Dresden about 45 minutes after my daughter went to school. My first stop was not actually for a cache but at Outpost Armory located on Exit 89 on I-24. I stopped in to see the store where the Barrett sniper rifles are sold, even through, I will never purchase or own the rifle. I did browse for .223 and 9mm ammo, which were sold out....like many other places. Left the store and hit a few caches on the way and in Chattanooga. The only cache that required any real hiking was MTCBSA, ER Dist. Adventures of Scouting #5, a cache on the outskirts of Arnold Air Force Base in Manchester, TN. I picked up some park and grabs along the way. On top of Monteagle, I found I-24 EB Motel & Swag-Monteagle. Got back onto I-24 and got off at South Pittsburg, TN and headed into Alabama to grab some caches. My favorite on that swing was Teary-Eyed Trail. I wanted to grab some caches in Alabama since I only had one find in that entire state and that was in 2006. After a stop at Wal-Mart at Kimball, TN, I headed in the direction of Chattanooga. I intended to stop at Nickajack Lake rest stop, but was closed. As I traveled closer to Chattanooga, I ran up on another rest stop, that I did not bookmark for caches. The day prior, I upgraded to a smartphone and using C Geo application, I saw there were two caches nearby. Not completely understanding how the phone application really works, I brought up the cache page and entered the coordinates by hand to my Garmin 62s and found the caches: Welcome Expansion and Ya All Come Back, you hear!. Took a break and waited around, grabbed a couple of Munzee's, an application on a smartphone.
I arrived near the event in Chattanooga about an hour or so early. I walked around town and did find one cache in the dark without using any lights, Toujours Pret #1.
Settled in at the event and chatted with many local cachers. After the event, myself and peanutpapa drove to the cabin on the Georgia side of Lookout Mountain.
Day One, was my travel day. Departed Dresden about 45 minutes after my daughter went to school. My first stop was not actually for a cache but at Outpost Armory located on Exit 89 on I-24. I stopped in to see the store where the Barrett sniper rifles are sold, even through, I will never purchase or own the rifle. I did browse for .223 and 9mm ammo, which were sold out....like many other places. Left the store and hit a few caches on the way and in Chattanooga. The only cache that required any real hiking was MTCBSA, ER Dist. Adventures of Scouting #5, a cache on the outskirts of Arnold Air Force Base in Manchester, TN. I picked up some park and grabs along the way. On top of Monteagle, I found I-24 EB Motel & Swag-Monteagle. Got back onto I-24 and got off at South Pittsburg, TN and headed into Alabama to grab some caches. My favorite on that swing was Teary-Eyed Trail. I wanted to grab some caches in Alabama since I only had one find in that entire state and that was in 2006. After a stop at Wal-Mart at Kimball, TN, I headed in the direction of Chattanooga. I intended to stop at Nickajack Lake rest stop, but was closed. As I traveled closer to Chattanooga, I ran up on another rest stop, that I did not bookmark for caches. The day prior, I upgraded to a smartphone and using C Geo application, I saw there were two caches nearby. Not completely understanding how the phone application really works, I brought up the cache page and entered the coordinates by hand to my Garmin 62s and found the caches: Welcome Expansion and Ya All Come Back, you hear!. Took a break and waited around, grabbed a couple of Munzee's, an application on a smartphone.
I arrived near the event in Chattanooga about an hour or so early. I walked around town and did find one cache in the dark without using any lights, Toujours Pret #1.
Settled in at the event and chatted with many local cachers. After the event, myself and peanutpapa drove to the cabin on the Georgia side of Lookout Mountain.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Black Friday Caching
dhrnrcpa and I had communication in regard to a cache run on the Friday after Thanksgiving, in which, retailers call Black Friday. I try to pick a location to stay away from shopping areas. We settled for the area around Chickasaw State Park located on Highway 100 south of Jackson. We also discussed the route to stay away from Jackson. We met in Huntingdon, traveled through Lexington, later turning West on Highway 100. dhrnrcpa found over 20 caches that day and was much closer to his 1,000th career find.
We had a good time exploring the highway and state park. There were many trails and terrain was a little tougher than expected. For some reason, my ankles were really bothering me by the end of the day. This has me concerned in that I planning on some hard hiking in January.
The Highway 100 series by dannobub, while area a powertrail and not the caches expected like the guard rails/sign posts in Selmer and Columbia, TN. All had a place to park and forced everyone to get out of vehicle to search.
My favorite of the day was Lake Lajoie Semaphore . Being a US Navy veteran, I was aware Semaphore being a communication form. Solving the puzzle was easy.
We had a good time exploring the highway and state park. There were many trails and terrain was a little tougher than expected. For some reason, my ankles were really bothering me by the end of the day. This has me concerned in that I planning on some hard hiking in January.
The Highway 100 series by dannobub, while area a powertrail and not the caches expected like the guard rails/sign posts in Selmer and Columbia, TN. All had a place to park and forced everyone to get out of vehicle to search.
My favorite of the day was Lake Lajoie Semaphore . Being a US Navy veteran, I was aware Semaphore being a communication form. Solving the puzzle was easy.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Retirement
After 25 years of service, I retired from the Tennessee Army National Guard. Upon completion of my last deployment from Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn, I took my medical conditions to the Veteran's Administration. 22 months after filing for disability, I was awarded 80% disability. With the high percentage; it was advised by the full time staff that it would only be a matter of time before I would be discharged from the Guard and in the mean time, I would not receive drill pay or retirement points. After my conversation, I prepared and submitted my request for retirement.
My military career began with the US Navy at the naval station at Great Lakes, IL with basic training. Later, I attended "A" School in NAS Millington, TN and studied on being a technician as Aviation Support Equipment Electrician. During that school, I was awarded orders to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Upon completion of the "A" school, I attended "C" schools at NAS Jacksonville, FL. My time in Florida was probably the most fun period of my military career. Visited beaches in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and visited Magic Kingdom and EPCOT center.
Served the next 3 years in Puerto Rico within the Aircraft Immediate Maintenance Department. My work was not very enjoyable, at times working 18 hour shifts under a supervisor whom had no leadership ability who obtained the position due to extortion and blackmail. I did enjoy the island, visited San Juan several times, a rain forest and swam the beaches. I also made two trips to the US Virgin Islands, which were only 40 miles away.
Discharged from the US Navy, I joined the 1174th Transportation Company of the Tennessee Army National Guard while attending the University of Tennessee at Martin. In 1990, my company was ordered to active duty and we deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operation Desert Storm. During that campaign, I was assigned to the wrecker and completed dozens of missions retrieving non-operable equipment. Experienced the Highway of Death, bombing of Iraqi positions and burning oil fields. Returned home later in 1990, completed my enlistment and left the Guard in 1992.
Re-joined the military in 1995 with the 498th Military Police Company in Murray, KY. Work in that field was enjoyable with trips to the prison at Eddyville, KY, Kentucky Derby, concerts, Fort Clayton, Panama and Ecuador. After about 4 years with the MP's, I transferred back to the 1174th in Tennessee.
In 2003, my unit was once again mobilized for war in Iraq. We deployed to Kuwait and later moved to southern Iraq. We hauled fuel to Baghdad and other places in Iraq. We came under fire several times resulting in one KIA (SGT Roger Rowe) and one WIA (SGT Jackson, who was awarded the Purple Heart). We came home at the end of 2003 and I remained in the Guard. I transferred to the 1175th Transportation Company in 2006 for about 6 months and obtained the rank of Staff SGT (E-6). Returned to Dresden that had become the 1171st Transportation Company. The old trucks were gone and we drove newer Freightliner trucks with air ride seats and air ride cabs. More comfortable trucks along with air conditioning would make haul missions more pleasant.
In 2009, the 1171st mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom that would become Operation New Dawn. I stayed in Kuwait most of the time and did volunteer to go on one mission to Iraq. Many of our missions were fired upon; and thankfully with armored trucks there were no injuries or deaths.
In November 2012, I retired after 25 years with nearly 4,000 retirement points. In my career, I have deployed, visited or transitioned at: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Panama and Ecuador. Within the United States, I visited Louisiana, California and Nevada.
My military career began with the US Navy at the naval station at Great Lakes, IL with basic training. Later, I attended "A" School in NAS Millington, TN and studied on being a technician as Aviation Support Equipment Electrician. During that school, I was awarded orders to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Upon completion of the "A" school, I attended "C" schools at NAS Jacksonville, FL. My time in Florida was probably the most fun period of my military career. Visited beaches in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and visited Magic Kingdom and EPCOT center.
Served the next 3 years in Puerto Rico within the Aircraft Immediate Maintenance Department. My work was not very enjoyable, at times working 18 hour shifts under a supervisor whom had no leadership ability who obtained the position due to extortion and blackmail. I did enjoy the island, visited San Juan several times, a rain forest and swam the beaches. I also made two trips to the US Virgin Islands, which were only 40 miles away.
Discharged from the US Navy, I joined the 1174th Transportation Company of the Tennessee Army National Guard while attending the University of Tennessee at Martin. In 1990, my company was ordered to active duty and we deployed to Saudi Arabia to support Operation Desert Storm. During that campaign, I was assigned to the wrecker and completed dozens of missions retrieving non-operable equipment. Experienced the Highway of Death, bombing of Iraqi positions and burning oil fields. Returned home later in 1990, completed my enlistment and left the Guard in 1992.
Re-joined the military in 1995 with the 498th Military Police Company in Murray, KY. Work in that field was enjoyable with trips to the prison at Eddyville, KY, Kentucky Derby, concerts, Fort Clayton, Panama and Ecuador. After about 4 years with the MP's, I transferred back to the 1174th in Tennessee.
In 2003, my unit was once again mobilized for war in Iraq. We deployed to Kuwait and later moved to southern Iraq. We hauled fuel to Baghdad and other places in Iraq. We came under fire several times resulting in one KIA (SGT Roger Rowe) and one WIA (SGT Jackson, who was awarded the Purple Heart). We came home at the end of 2003 and I remained in the Guard. I transferred to the 1175th Transportation Company in 2006 for about 6 months and obtained the rank of Staff SGT (E-6). Returned to Dresden that had become the 1171st Transportation Company. The old trucks were gone and we drove newer Freightliner trucks with air ride seats and air ride cabs. More comfortable trucks along with air conditioning would make haul missions more pleasant.
In 2009, the 1171st mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom that would become Operation New Dawn. I stayed in Kuwait most of the time and did volunteer to go on one mission to Iraq. Many of our missions were fired upon; and thankfully with armored trucks there were no injuries or deaths.
In November 2012, I retired after 25 years with nearly 4,000 retirement points. In my career, I have deployed, visited or transitioned at: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Panama and Ecuador. Within the United States, I visited Louisiana, California and Nevada.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Hydrology series
Pcsenn contacted me and wanted me to tag along for Hydrology 2, a cache that requires watercraft on Carroll Lake outside of McKenzie, TN. This cacher has signed the log to this cache when out with the cache owner. Pcsenn selected this cache for his 5,000th find and most of all to coloring the entire 81 terrain/difficulty grid also known as the Fizzy Grid. We arrived in early morning and had the lake to ourselves. We made the paddle without incident, arrived near the cache location. Since I had already found this cache, I had no intentions of getting out of my kayak to get wet and cold. Pscenn had some trouble getting out of the kayak but did manage to get out without falling into the water. He found the cache and celebrated the huge accomplishment and joined the elite group of cachers in this goal. I figure that less than one percent of all cachers will ever complete the 81 terrain/difficulty grid; even many veteran cachers are not close to completion.
We returned to the boat landing and went out separate ways to rejoin later at an event in Camden. After the event, we drove to Hydrology 3 and found that cache. This was a huge challenge in that the water was high due to recent rain and current was swift. We surveyed the area carefully and placed the kayaks into the water. With the swift current, making the turns on the bends was difficult. I was in the lead and following my GPS and I went right under the cache. Thankfully, a watchful pcsenn saw the cache and I turned around. After signing the log we made our way upriver back to the landing. This took everything we had to make the trip despite being only a 1/4 mile.
We returned to the boat landing and went out separate ways to rejoin later at an event in Camden. After the event, we drove to Hydrology 3 and found that cache. This was a huge challenge in that the water was high due to recent rain and current was swift. We surveyed the area carefully and placed the kayaks into the water. With the swift current, making the turns on the bends was difficult. I was in the lead and following my GPS and I went right under the cache. Thankfully, a watchful pcsenn saw the cache and I turned around. After signing the log we made our way upriver back to the landing. This took everything we had to make the trip despite being only a 1/4 mile.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Park and Walk series in Paris, TN
While on annual training in September, I saw a new series of caches in Paris, TN and kept them under observation. Pulling up the caches on a map; I was aware of the location in and the long sidewalk. Unlike most power trails, such as guard rails along 4-lanes or containers along a greenway, this power trail was entirely on a sidewalk.
Minnie Mouse and myself had a Saturday afternoon to play around and after attending a Fall Festival at her school, we went after the power trail. The first one was not on the same sidewalk and I parked at the nearby Youth Villages office. Made the grab and moved my vehicle to the Memorial Park in Paris. The park was busy with a number of activities; we parked and began our hike. The hike was moderate with two hills to climb, this suited me since I have a physical fitness test upcoming. All the hides were of the micro nature, but in this environment, that is expected. We had a good time on the walk and were tired upon the completion. We did throw the discs around for one hole on the disc golf course and plan to return to this course some day.
Caches found:
Park and Walk V1
Park and Walk V2
Park and Walk V3
Park and Walk V4
Park and Walk V5
Park and Walk V6
Park and Walk V7
Park and Walk V8
Park and Walk V9
Minnie Mouse and myself had a Saturday afternoon to play around and after attending a Fall Festival at her school, we went after the power trail. The first one was not on the same sidewalk and I parked at the nearby Youth Villages office. Made the grab and moved my vehicle to the Memorial Park in Paris. The park was busy with a number of activities; we parked and began our hike. The hike was moderate with two hills to climb, this suited me since I have a physical fitness test upcoming. All the hides were of the micro nature, but in this environment, that is expected. We had a good time on the walk and were tired upon the completion. We did throw the discs around for one hole on the disc golf course and plan to return to this course some day.
Caches found:
Park and Walk V1
Park and Walk V2
Park and Walk V3
Park and Walk V4
Park and Walk V5
Park and Walk V6
Park and Walk V7
Park and Walk V8
Park and Walk V9
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Completion of "What's Shaking?" series
With a trip to New Madrid, MO this week, I completed the "What's Shaking?" series. The series are 8 caches spread out from New Harmony, Indiana to Tunica, Mississippi that bring awareness to the New Madrid Seismic Fault System.
I took leave the much of the day after dental surgery to replace a crown, despite my mouth being numb and later sore, I didn't have any trouble on the cache run. Except, that when I crossed the Mississippi River at Hickman, KY and tried to travel to New Madrid on back roads. 10 minutes after getting off the ferry the road was closed! I turned north and keep trying to go West for the Nuvi to re-route. I ended up in East Praire, MO and finally arrived on the Interstate to New Madrid, that taking 45 minutes. My time was eroding and made quick work of all the caches I selected, choosing the "What's Shaking?" cache to best last since I knew the type of hide and would not have trouble locating the ammo can.
Arrived at the cache location and said to myself, "What a cool location!". I took several pictures before finding the cache. I easily favorited this cache as many cachers have done so too. By far, the New Madrid cache was the best of the series.
Listed below are the "What's Shaking?" caches:
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