Geocaching and the NC700

[SergeantChuck]

Geochaching is fun but after a while as people keep refilling the cache with worse and worse prizes. It can start out cool like a flint striker or flashlight but then it gets progressively cheaper like a used AA battery or pocket lint.

LOL!!! Most of the cache today are micros. Seems to be a shift to making them impossible to find as apposed to swapping small tokens. I would say 90% of what I find today are so small you only have a paper log to record your visit. You are correct about some of the bigger containers. If the owner does not maintain them well they can go to crap.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I Geocache year round. I don't really care what the weather is like. Pretty much the same philosophy I use for riding. I figured I would continue to post my cool finds. I won't bore everyone with the standard caches.

This cache is kinda on the way home. Not really but I could take a slight detour to get to it and I'm always up for a different route home. The cache was hidden on a dead end. No houses around, no passing vehicles, just me out in the middle of the woods. The difficulty level of this cache was pretty high so I knew I was in for a challenge. When I pulled up to the dead end there was a bunch of stumps all over. Beyond that was nothing but woods. I used my phone to get within 3 meters of the cache and began my search. This is what I found.

The cache was made from a tree limb. He cut it in half, hollowed it out, and inserted a log. Pretty tricky and hard to find.

 

[L.B.S.]

Holy cow, that's so cool!

 

[SergeantChuck]

Holy cow, that's so cool!

Some people get really creative. And some get downright eveil. This one wans't to bad.

 

[L.B.S.]

Some people get really creative. And some get downright eveil. This one wans't to bad.

Of course I would have to investigate before casting aspersions, but I suspect nowhere near the level of participation or coolness for that kind of thing up here in the boonies...

Maybe I'm wrong and there are tons of that all around me, but I just never knew

 

[12NC700X]

Ok, this is pretty darn cool.

 

[Fuzzy]

Sarge, do you place tags too or just look for those placed by othere?

 

[SergeantChuck]

Ok, this is pretty darn cool.

It is an excuse for me to ride my bike other than just to work and back. Plus I like the hunt. If you wanted any details I could provide them.

 

[SergeantChuck]

Sarge, do you place tags too or just look for those placed by othere?

I have placed a few but I tend to do what we call "Interactive Caches". Caches where you have to manipulate things to get to the log. For example. I've hidden an ammo can out on the woods. The ammo can has a wine bottle, a scarf, and a locked up box. Inside the wine bottle is a cork with a key stuck in the cork. The object is to get the cork from inside the bottle that contains the key and will unlock the box which has the log. I have a few others that require interaction.

 

[SergeantChuck]

Took my NC on another Geocaching adventure. I had to go back to Illinois for the closing on the sale of my house. Finally. My brother-in-law offered to let me stay the night at his house prior to my ride back the next morning. I noticed there were two geocaches nearby. I decided to check them out before I departed.

I stumbled on a part of history that my brother-in-law was not awaare of. He is a history major and didn't even know he lived right next to a historical site preserved by the Federal Government. I thought that was funny.

I rode back into what looked like your typical picnic area with picnic tables and the campground style grills. I was eventually stopped by a large swinging arm gate and lots of signs stating no vehcile traffic beyond this point. I did not want to take a chance at getting caught with my bike back there so no photos of the bike although she could have easily made it back there. The next photos are of what I found.

If there are any history buffs out there you might find this interesting. I like standing in places like this and my bike brought me here. BTW, the cache was hidden in a crevas between the rock and the slab.

The Chautauqua at Lithia Springs

History

Lithia Springs Chautauqua Conference 2005

 

[SergeantChuck]

Took my NC out geocaching over the holiday weekend. Ran across several cool containers. Figured I'd share. Two caches were hidden in the woods right next to the Cabot, AR sports complex.

This first cache is called I.C Monkey. An interactive cache. You end up shaking it like a money to get it to work.

This cache requires your getting access to the key locked in the portion of the container with the lock. It didn't take long for me to realize I had to get the key to travel through the hollow handle. I had to shake, giggle, spin the container until key was on the other side. I could then remove the plug and the key would fall out. Once I had the key I could unlock the otheside which gave me access to the log.

 

[SergeantChuck]

The second cache I did this weekend was called I.C. Wind Power. Keep in mind you have no idea what your looking for as you venture out into the woods. I found this apparatise attached to a tree. I knew it had to be the cache.

Pretty simple one. Kinda of. You have to take the caps off both ends and blow on the small tube about as hard as you can. This will cause a nicely form fitting container to shoot out the other end. The container has the log you need to sign. Some people may be bothered by this one since people may or may not put there mouths on it. I simply created a ring with my thumb and index finger and put my mouth against that instead.

 

[SergeantChuck]

The last one I'll post today was called I. C. Shortwave. First off, you need to be setting at the coordinates given on the geocache website. From that location you need to tune to 96.1 on your FM radio. I did this in my jeep a few days prior. This gave me the coordinates to the second stage of the cache. I had to go offroad a little bit and the ground was wet but the NC handled it well.

At stage one I found a bird house. It had a false bottom that was held shut with magnets. When I opened the door I found a door bell ringer. I pushed the button and nothing. I continued to push the button and looked in all cardinal directions. Still nothing. I pushed the button and looked up. Nothing. I had noticed the ringer was mounted with velcro. These are meant to be mounted with screws and could have easily been do that way yet the owner mounted it with velcro. I removed the ringer and moved 15' in each cardinal direction and pushed the button. Finally I head it. Ding Dong. Moved a little closer and found a second bird house which held the container with log.

 

[johnakay]

The last one I'll post today was called I. C. Shortwave. First off, you need to be setting at the coordinates given on the geocache website. From that location you need to tune to 96.1 on your FM radio. I did this in my jeep a few days prior. This gave me the coordinates to the second stage of the cache. I had to go offroad a little bit and the ground was wet but the NC handled it well.

At stage one I found a bird house. It had a false bottom that was held shut with magnets. When I opened the door I found a door bell ringer. I pushed the button and nothing. I continued to push the button and looked in all cardinal directions. Still nothing. I pushed the button and looked up. Nothing. I had noticed the ringer was mounted with velcro. These are meant to be mounted with screws and could have easily been do that way yet the owner mounted it with velcro. I removed the ringer and moved 15' in each cardinal direction and pushed the button. Finally I head it. Ding Dong. Moved a little closer and found a second bird house which held the container with log.

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[L.B.S.]

You have to take the caps off both ends and blow on the small tube about as hard as you can. This will cause a nicely form fitting container to shoot out the other end.

How on earth do you figure this out, lol? Does it just "seem like the reasonable answer" to solve the puzzle when you are there looking at it? I'm surprised the top doesn't fill up with rainwater and make things a bit tough!

This is so cool!

 

[L.B.S.]

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I think he fixed it, if it needed fixing? It works for me, can you see the pics now?

 

[SergeantChuck]

How on earth do you figure this out, lol? Does it just "seem like the reasonable answer" to solve the puzzle when you are there looking at it? I'm surprised the top doesn't fill up with rainwater and make things a bit tough!

This is so cool!

It has fairly tight fitting caps to keep at the bugs and water out. The cache name was Wind Power. When I first arrived at the coordinates I saw a large tree snapped at the base and assumed the cache would be there. Spent a lot of time looking and then spotted the apparatus. Based off the name of the cache I guessed I would have to blow on the small end since it was the only one I could reach with my mouth. Also, when you log the cache you make comments. Sometimes people’s comments are spoilers. A few people mentioned being out of breath after completing this. Little hints clue you in sometimes.

 

[johnakay]

I think he fixed it, if it needed fixing? It works for me, can you see the pics now?

I can now thanks

 

[mathdl]

After a couple I.C.'s I think I'll be ready for a few P&G's/TFTC

 

[SergeantChuck]

I did this one on the way home yesterday. I have been here several times but never had time for the cache. It is quite a ways back in the woods at a Histroical Site called Reed's Bridge.

The Bayou Meto (Reed’s Bridge) Battlefield is on the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A with national significance by virtue of its status as the most intact of the three battlefields associated with the nationally significant Little Rock Campaign, and the battlefield that thus best represents that campaign. It is also noteworthy as the battle that blunted the Union drive to capture the Arkansas capital and for its role as a catalyst leading to a duel a week later between two Confederate generals.

You can read more if your interested at the two sites listed below.

Pulaski County, Arkansas

Reed's Bridge - Battle of Reed's Bridge - Aug 27,1863

The cache was a unique container which is why I'm posting it.