What's your best Geocachinig story?

[firefighterjake]

Although come to think of it there was that cache in Burnham that was almost as good as the Harris Mountain Hide-away Cache . . . that one is worth re-telling as well.

[Ekidokai]

I don't remember the date on this one exactly.

It all started on this website when I saw a post about someone at college in Portland wanting to talk to some one about geocaching. She was doing a documentary. Being from Bangor and figuring every one down in that are would respond I just let it go and watched to see what would happen.

After getting no response I contacted her. We emailed back and forth, did on the phone and in person interviews. She attended an event in Eustis and then she brought a photographer up to Bangor from Portland and wanted to go out geocaching.

We headed out and did a few interesting different size and types of caches. She mentioned wanting to interview Brdad. I slammed on the brakes and almost put us all through the windshield. "That name is not spoke here"! The silence was deafening. The looks on those two where priceless. I could see them thinking to themselves, "Here we are, out of cell phone service, way out in the woods, not sure where we are and no one else knows where we are, with a large crazy man."

I smiled, spun the Okeydokey Mobile around, and to his home we went.

After the interview with Missteelee and him, off we started again. At the end of the driveway my phone rang. It was Tuna from the infamous BenandTina gang. She had explained that they had done some per planning taking two cars to do a series of caches called The Great Bangor City Forest Adventure GC1TEXT. About a 5 mile trek all together. The bad part is after leaving one car at Whoa Nelly! GC1TERC, the beginning of their trek and another on at what they thought was the end near Hog Town GC1TET3, they hadn't read the logs on this adventure and there is a beaver dam and swamp blocking their way to where they had left the 2nd car, about .15 miles from Hog town. She asked if there was anyway around. Luckily for them I had thoroughly scouted the area and there is no way around. It was a 5 mile trek either way to get to their cars. I directed them to a pick up point and told them I would bring them to one of their cars. To make things worse, their little dog, that had previously tried to eat me, had gotten into a fight with a porcupine and needed medical attention.


So, I told the two reporters that there would be a slight detour, and off we went. Poor things had white knuckles most of the day. Met up with the gang in the Bangor City Forest and along the way they had picked up Cano. We talked for a minute and we dropped off Tina at a car. Everything turned out fine on that one.

They asked if this was a typical day of geocaching? Going to my arch nemesis headquarters, rescuing stranded cachers, traveling through abandoned cemetery's, as someone else put it being on a carnival ride and finding hidden treasure. Nope, was my reply. There were no bears, fires, drownings, fathers dragging injured children out of the woods or scaring the crap out of cops.

The documentary came out pretty good despite of all this.

[cano]

Meat up with the gang in the Bangor City Forest and along the way they had picked up Cano.

I was with them from the very beginning. It was quite memorable day

[LaughingTerry]

LaughingTerry found Swamp Monster (Traditional Cache)

Well, I came back and finally got Willow Brook Wander. Then I pulled up the closest cache I haven't done and it says "Swamp Monster" I check the distance and decide it really isn't far enough to be that bad. LITTLE DID I KNOW!!!!!!!!I headed out following trails until they turn the wrong way and then I started bushwacking. Not too bad.....for a while. Then I spot swamp...I find the best way through and stay on the high spots as I can. I hit a couple places with mud but I have on my gortex waterproof hikers so I am not worried. About .12 from the cache I find a stream too deep to try and cross so I turn and follow it along until I spot a bridge across.<P>
Ummmm, used to be a bridge across. Now it is just two rotted boards across. (Picture to follow) I manage to cross without falling in and off I go again. I get to about 500 feet or so and hit my first mudhole that is over ankle deep. UH OH those hikers are only ankle high and one is now full of swamp water. From here it only gets worse. Whithin 100 feet both hikers are full of water and I manage to go knee deep in mud and almost land on my face as my hiking pole(without the ski pole end) goes in all the way to the handle.<P>
Now the owners ears had to be buzzing as for the next 30 minutes I called him every name in the book and a few that aren't. By the time I got to the cache area I had had both feet in the mud up to my knees, fallen a few times, and both hands are bleeding from the numerous thorny vines. My face was bleeding too but I didn't realze it at the time.<P>
As I look at my GPSr it says 85 feet thataway. Well 10 feet thataway is a stream. Muddy, deep and muddy. I can't find a way across so I stand there making up a few more words to call the owner. As I turn around to make my way out I ralize the GPSr has settled and the cache is no longer on the other side. It is on the side with me. I looked for 20 minutes or so trying to circle the coordinates but find nothing.
I finally pull out the PDA and read the last few logs. Electrical tape??? I saw some of that on a tree...... I go back to the tree and look around it and sure enough I spot the cache. Of cours I have just stepped in a mudhole threatening to take me under. It was over knee deep and I got a hold on a tree to drag myself out or I might still be there.<P>
I opened the cache to find pretty much nothing but a logbook, Sig card, golf ball & tee, TB, and ??? well, not much. Everything in the ziplock was dry despite the 2 inches or so of water in the cache. I left my signature rubber chicken, "Geocacher at Work" dash card and a magnetic "nano" container.
I decided I was so filthy and torn that I just bulled my way back out falling more than once because I didn't have the energy to lift my feet over the logs hiding in the chest deep grass. I was exhausted, torn, filthy, and proud of myself for once again finishing a cahe even though it was pure torture to do. Where do I send the bill for my favorite Grateful Dead "Ship of Fools" shirt? It will never be the same again.

[Waterski]

Well, after reading that one Laughing Terry I had to go check out the cache page. I think think his disclaimer about not being for the faint of heart and causing injury is a pretty good disclaimer and you probably will get no money from Hunter on the shirt bill. ha! Loved your story. Too bad the documentary girl was not along for the trip.

[Ekidokai]

Terry those treks. You seem to find the hardest way. If you save the muddy ones for the cold weather they are a bit easier.

[firefighterjake]

Mental note . . . If Terry ever asks me if I want to go caching with him come up with some plausible excuse to bow out . . . i.e. "Aw gee, Terry, I would love to go caching with you, but I'm getting my hair done that day."

[benandtina]

At the end of the driveway my phone rang. It was Tuna from the infamous BenandTina gang. She had explained that they had done some per planning taking two cars to do a series of caches called The Great Bangor City Forest Adventure GC1TEXT. About a 5 mile trek all together. The bad part is after leaving one car at Whoa Nelly! GC1TERC, the beginning of their trek and another on at what they thought was the end near Hog Town GC1TET3, they hadn't read the logs on this adventure and there is a beaver dam and swamp blocking their way to where they had left the 2nd car, about .15 miles from Hog town. She asked if there was anyway around. Luckily for them I had thoroughly scouted the area and there is no way around. It was a 5 mile trek either way to get to their cars. I directed them to a pick up point and told them I would bring them to one of their cars. To make things worse, their little dog, that had previously tried to eat me, had gotten into a fight with a porcupine and needed medical attention.

Hehe, one of the links I posted was to my writeup about that day Poor Andre and the porcupine. He was very appreciative that you saved him from the quills... but he wants to make sure everyone knows that if he hadn't been on leash he totally would've kicked that porcupine's butt. And, he also apologizes for trying to eat you.

[Ekidokai]

I got over it.