Geocaching 2/28/2010

After yesterday's troubles with Delorme/geocaching.com/PN40 etc.  I went out today to do some caching as BB had to work on the conversion at the hospital.

Reservoir Runner - Starting Point - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Took Obama buck and "I Want To Travel" geocoin.  Left Cache Agent 2008 Geocoin / Golden Gilda geocoin.  I've tried to find this cache several times without luck.  Today with the snow gone it was an easy find.  It's definitely NOT snow friendly.

Over there somewhere.

Took Geocoin and Obama buck.

Left Geocoin.

 
Reservoir Runner II - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is another of the Reservoir Runner's I've tried several times but had been unable to find.  Today without snow it was a fairly quick find.  While the hide is reasonably snow friendly, snow does make it much harder.
           

So many places to hide

Found it

RESERVOIR RUNNER IV, Turnaround Point - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is yet another of the Reservoir Runner caches I've had difficulty finding.  With the new cache in place and the snow gone this was a fairly quick find.  The new GZ is not snow friendly.

New location

Found it

Reservoir Runner III - DNF.  I decided to try this simple multi since things were going well.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find stage one.  There was evidence of considerable recent clearing and it may be that the the cache is no more.

Not Another Business Park Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is a simple park and grab that is reasonably snow friendly.  Absent snow it was a quick find.

From 2010-02-28 Geocaching

Wilson Mill Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is just across RT 3 from Not Another Business Park Cache.  So it was simple to drive across and visit this very interesting old mill site.  The cache is fairly snow friendly and a quick find.  GZ may be a bit off but the hide is fairly obvious.

Mill race

GZ over there somewhere

Bacon, Fitch, Ashby, Clark Mill Site - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Needs maintenance.  This was near Wilson Mill Cache so I drove over.  There is a little road side parking now that the snow is gone.  The cache is almost a park and grab but not snow friendly.  The hide is interesting but with the recent wet was VERY difficult to remove.  Additionally it was rather wet.  It needs some maintenance.  The cache is not snow friendly.

Needs maintenance.

DLY #14 - On a wall - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This cache has been a real challenge for me with several visits and no find.  Parking at N42° 30.5370' W71° 16.5212' provides quick access to the trail since the fence is down there and it is only a short 1000' to GZ.  Today with the snow gone and armed with a hint from chasandmeg I finally found it.  Even so, I searched for over 30 minutes before finding it about 20' east of the posted coordinates.

Clever container.

DLY #11 - Land Locked - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Since I was caching in the area I decided to stop here.  One of the things I most enjoy about geocaching is that it takes me to places I'd otherwise not visit.  This is one such small park.  I spent some time searching for this with considerable trees and limbs down from the recent winds and snows.  After looking more closely at things I found the cache at GZ in it's very clever container.  The cache is reasonably snow friendly.

Another novel container.

DLY #12 - On a plane - DNF.  This is just a bit further along the trail from DLY #11 - Land Locked.  It was an enjoyable walk but, alas, I was unable to find the cache.  It may have been muggled again.

DLY #19 - Itsy Bitsy - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Since I was nearby I decided to try this notwithstanding the cache description warning about wet.  It was indeed wet after the recent rains.  Moreover with the recent warm weather the ground was VERY wet with many flooded areas.  I was able to bushwack in with considerable difficulty and got to GZ without getting wet.  The cache was an easy find and the container wonderfully clever.  Notwithstanding the difficult bushwack, the actual cache location is reasonably snow friendly.  Indeed, frozen ground might make it much easier to access.

Can you say bushwack through flooded marsh?

Best container I've seen

Load the Boat - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Since I was caching in the area I decided to stop here.  The cache was easily found but VERY difficult to remove from its hiding place.  There was a bit of water in the container as well.  The cache hide needs to be enlarged somewhat.

Lots of flooding

Found it

It was nice to cache in the warmer weather.  Score for the day is 10 finds and 2 DNFs.  Yea!

As usual here are the photos.

John and Marie over for dinner

BB and I had John and Marie over for dinner.   

As always it was nice to have them over for the evening.  I made a nice Argentine beef dish, YUM!  We watched a bit of the Olympics. 

Marie, has been trying to get BB more interested in navigation and gave her a compass.  I'm fairly sure that that's more or less a case of bringing coals to Newcastle.

Geocaching frustrations

Sometimes geocaching can be VERY frustrating.  Today was one such day. 

BB had some errands to run today so I decided to do a couple of caches while she was out.  Simple, right?  Wrong!  I use a Delorme PN40 and use Delorme's Cache Register to load pocket query results on to the PN40.  Now, on a positive note, I'm generally satisfied with the PN40 even though it eats batteries (buy rechargeable) and the software is flackey.  Not to worry, I've been using it for a while and things seem to work OK.  So, anyway, I use Cache Register to update my not found caches.  But wait, what's this.  When I'm done updating the PN40 with Cache Register I have 0 unfound caches and the PN40 can only accept another 250 caches!  This makes no sense at all.

A bit of investigation shows that while I don't have any caches, I have 500 + waymarks with GCxxxx names!  Bogus!!  What's going on? 

I redefine the pocket query and try again.  Same result!  Now, previously I had issues with the PN40 that required booting into maintenance mode and doing some things.  I scratched around on the Delorme site (it's Saturday so there is NO human support) and find a document that suggest booting into maintenance mode and reformating.  I do so.  Try again to load caches.  No JOY!

OK, so I read some more and am told to reformat and reload the firmware.  Now I'm not happy about this but there really isn't much of an option.  So away I go.  Close to 1 hr later I try again to load caches with CR.  NO JOY!

There's a small chance that I made a mistake in reloading the firmware.  So I do it again being very careful and use CR to load caches.  ANOTHER wasted hour of my life!

Go online to Delorme and check forums.  Find thread from Friday with problem described.  No idea why Delorme doesn't post known problems prominently on their support or home page, but they don't!  A bit more scratching on the Delorme forum site finds a user provided work around.  OK, I'll try that.

Try the work around.  It involves editing the GPX file and then using CR to load results on PN40.  It works, sort of!  I've now got caches but they are known by their GCxxxx code, not their name!  Sigh, never mind, it's a step forward.

Turns out that geocaching.com changed something and didn't coordinate with Delorme.  This has apparently happened once before.  I'm not sure who to be most frustrated with Delorme since CR when confronted with something new didn't error but just went off and did something stupid or geocaching.com who changed something without coordinating with Delorme recreating a problem that they had previously caused! 

Now, I've been in the software business 40+ years.  I know from painful experience how hard it is to do good software so this kind of stuff doesn't happen.  But really, it's just the difference between armatures and professionals.  From where I'm sitting it looks to me like both Delorme and geocaching.com need some software professionals.

Just a POV.

Geochching Westborough on a Snow/Rain/Sleet Day

The weather the last couple of days has not been conducive to geocaching.  After last night's drenching rain and wind, today seemed somewhat reasonable, so I decided to visit a couple of caches in Westborough.

Cowzzzz - Found it. SL/TFTC.  I decided to start just off of RT 9 at 495 in the Walkup and Robinson Memorial Reservation.  This was a lovely park that I didn't know existed.  The walk in to Cowzzzz was brief over well trod trails that were still a bit icy in spots.  I found the cache reasonably quickly notwithstanding the hint which is no longer entirely relevant.  There was a geocoin (Tommy Trogen Helen of Troy) in the cache in several parts.  I've tried to log the coin but can not seem to find a reference.  I've sent an email to the owner asking for help.  Not snow friendly.

Looking toward GZ.

The Walkup Trader - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Went along to 'Walkup' and ended up bushwacking through open forest.  Very nice walk.  Came toward GZ from the S and saw well and cow tunnel on my approach.  Interesting.  Found GZ easily and discovered cache.  There were only a couple of TBs in it so I left them given the leave 4 TB cache advice.  Not snow friendly.

Well and stone work


'Cow' tunnel


Looking toward GZ

DALE #7 (WESTBOROUGH) - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  I've visited a number of these and while I was in the area stopped by this one.  It was interesting and I was able to quickly find it.  Not snow friendly.

Looking toward GZ

Red Mailbox - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This was nearby 'Dale 7' so I stopped by.  I parked about a block away on a side street and walked to GZ.  While there rab-bit421's mom came out to get the mail.  We chatted briefly and I found the cache with just a bit of guidance.  Not snow friendly.

Looking toward GZ

Lee's Rock - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Nice walk through open fields.  Found the cache quickly.  I attempted to continue along the trail to other caches but the trail was under over a foot of water in several places along the lake.  It was not possible to bushwack around the flooded areas so I drove over to parking on the west.  Not snow friendly.

Looking toward GZ


Oaks Along the Assabet - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I'm surprised these caches are not more frequently visited.  There is good parking and it's an easy walk along easy trail with many good views of the lake.  Not snow friendly.

Cache down there somewhere.

Charmed By-The-Pond - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Just a bit further along the trail from 'Oaks' and a very nice hike.  There is some sign of recent damage in the area but the cache is in good shape.  Not snow friendly.

Nice view along the way.

Bridge to Nowhere - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I drove to the other side of the lake and quickly parked and found this cache.  It was almost underwater after last night's heavy rains.  It might be prudent to move to a higher location away from the lake.

Water surrounds GZ.

Here are today's photos.  Click to see full size.

Acer Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I'd tried to find this some time back but did not succeed.  I decided to try again today now that I have considerable additional experience finding caches.  Just a bit of searching and I found it about 20' from GZ.  Very snow friendly cache with plowed parking nearby.  Cache camo needs some attention but it's otherwise in good shape.

Cache needs some attention.  From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Stirrup Brook Trail - Micro - Found it.  SL/TFTC.    I parked on Bartlett St at N42 19.222 W71 36.599.  This is rather better IMHO than the trail parking coordinates.  I bushwacked in to the 'Micro' but the trail would have been much more convenient and quicker.  Here's what GZ looks like.  The cache is fairly snow friendly.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Micro is down there fairly easy find.

Stirrup Brook Trail - Regular  Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Took "Camo Dan'o".  Left "Fujifilm".  This is just a bit further along the trail and a nice walk along the brook through some mature forest.  GZ was spot on the cache in good order.  It's a fairly snow friendly hide.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Cache in good order.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Took TB.  Left TB


Stirrup Brook Trail - Small - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is just a bit further along the trail from Stirrup Brook Trail - Regular.  Along the way I made the mistake of going off trail and ended up having to bushwack through some very soft ground and detour around a stream.  Much better to stay on the trail.  Along the way I bumped in to a dozen or so wild turkeys.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Turkeys through the brush.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Lots of turkey tracks in the snow.

Just as I got to GZ another cacher came by, Peter of Devil Duckies.  We found the cache quickly and chatted for a bit.  He was hiking the other way on the trail so he and I hiked back.  Along the way he stopped at SBT - Regular and SBT - Micro.  He was on his lunch hour and I gave him a lift back to his car at the other end of the trail.


NNNNN - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I've visited this a couple of times and DNF'd.  Since I was near by I stopped again and found the button micro without any trouble at all.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

Xrossed's Xcave  - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Took Golden Gilda geocoin.  I parked at the entry to the dump.  Not good.  There's better road side parking on Jacobs Rd.  I also made the mistake of bushwacking in through the dump.  Not good either.  Much better to go to the trailhead.  In any case I quickly found the cave.  Very interesting.  There was also a nearby pole structure.  The cache coordinates seem rather off.  I found it at N42° 21.4264' W71° 36.1419'.  Not snow friendly.  Hiked out on the trail.  Much nicer!

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

The cave!

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

The cache.

South Bolton Station - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I'd solved this puzzle a while ago and decided to visit today.  The motel has sensible parking near the rail line.  Just a short walk in and I spotted the cache.  That said, a better thing to have said would be $@@#*(($)&!#^!^%#.  Not snow friendly.

From 2010-02-23 Geocaching

DALE #8 (HUDSON) - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  On the way home I stopped for this cache.  I was able to park on the street but there is better parking behind the fire station.  As always the memorial is thought provoking.  I quickly found the cache (not snow friendly).

As always I took photos here (no spoilers).

Geocaching 2/21/2010

Nice bright day with mild temperatures perfect for geocaching.  BB is still involved in the hospitals conversion so I went out to try several caches I've been meaning to do for some while.

HD Handyman's Hope Chest - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I've visited this cache several times but there were always many muggles about.  Today it was relatively quite when I arrived about 9:30.  It was a quick find but not snow friendly.  The cache is in good order so I signed the log and continued along to Reservoir Runner - Scenic View.

Reservoir Runner - Scenic View - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I'd DNFd this cache a while back and today seemed like a good day to revisit after finding HD Handyman's Hope Chest.  It was a quick walk in, about 0.25 mile each way.  Along the way I saw three large deer and considerable scat.  There was also some sign of smaller deer.  Easily found the cache today although it is not snow friendly.  The lock-n-lock container suffered some damage with one of the locking structures broken.  It may not seal properly so replacement might be in order.  Otherwise the cache is in good order so I signed the log and proceeded to Katahdin's Cache.

Katahdin's Cache - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  After finding Reservoir Runner - Scenic View I went along to try this cache.  It had been on my list for some while and today seemed like a nice day for a walk through conservation land.  This small area has a beautiful stand of birch and some mature pine.  Really very lovely.  It was a short walk, about 0.25 miles each way over easy open trails.  It took a few minutes to find the cache with GZ bouncing this way then that.  The cache is generally in good order although one of the lid locks is broken.  I signed the log and then drove over to cachebuntu.

cachebuntu - SL/TFTC.  After finding Katahdin's Cache I drove over to the trail to this cache.  I've been interested in trying it for some time but some GPS issues interfered.  Today all was well and after finding parking at N42° 28.1699' W71° 15.7677' it was a quick walk in (only about 1000') and the cache was easily found.  I took a whistle and left a key chain.

LY Daily Fix #2 - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Some days ago I'd visited this cache but could never get a muggle free moment.  Today was much better and I was able to park next to GZ and quickly grab the cache.  Nice park and grab, but only when there are no muggles about.  I took the cache container and signed the log in my car before quickly placing it back.

LY Second Addiction - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is another cache I'd tried a while back but couldn't find a muggle free moment.  Today was much easier and I was able to retrieve it, sign the log, and return it with minimal bother.

DY Daily Fix #2 - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Yet another cache I couldn't try because of muggles.  Today was much easier.  It took a bit to find it and there was considerable trouble removing it from the hide.  I finally managed and signed the log.

One Minute, Man! - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is yet another of those park and grabs I'd wanted to try but couldn't find a muggle free moment to attempt.  As I approached today another cacher from NY and his two young daughters were just signing the log.  The girls were very clear that the youngest had found three caches and the older girl four.  We chatted a few minutes and they went along to find another cache.

RBT1 - Branch Trail - SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This was my eighth find for the day.  I parked at N42° 29.0937' W71° 16.6558'.  It was a quick walk in, only about 1200'.  It took me a bit to get a stable GZ.  The hide was clever, somewhat similar to one I'd seen in Maine but with the container attached by screws instead of velcro.  I signed the log and put everything back as I'd found it.

It was a good day to be out with eight finds and almost four miles of walking.

As usual I took photos (no spoilers).  You can find them here.

Geocaching with BugTracer

I got an email from BugTracer offering to walk out with me to find Gallons of Cool Drink.  We met at the trailhead and walked in with his lab.  With the help of a hint I found the cache fairly quickly.  Clever hide.  I really must remember to really look around for things that are out of place, really out of place.  BugTracer put a couple of new found buttons in and I signed the log.

Here's a photo looking toward GZ, sort of.  The hide is rather clever although I've seen one similar.

From 2010-02-20 Geocaching

Here's the route we took.  It's about 2.8 miles round trip but a lovely walk over easy well trod trails with no real bushwacking required.  One needs to be careful of ticks and poison ivy though.

From 2010-02-20 Geocaching

Thanks to BugTracer for the puzzle clue and find help.

Geocaching - Some DNFs on a sunny day

It's been a couple of days since I was out caching.  Today's bright sun and mild weather seem perfect for finding a few geocaches. 

I started with The Great Wall of Kay? which I DNFed a while back but was recently found.  Easy find today in a place I'd checked twice previously!  Today it was there.  While there is good plowed parking here the cache is definitely NOT snow friendly.  I had a bit of trouble getting the lid off but finally managed.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.

Flushed with success I drove to the nearby Wayland's Alpine Field which I have visited a couple of times without success.  Still none today.  Given the number of other DNFs I suspect it's muggled.  I'll post a note to the owner and see what happens.

The Leprechaun Coin Cache is just a short drive from 'Alpine' so I quickly went over.  Today the river was down a couple of feet and the cache was accessible.  Yea! I struggled a bit getting the cache lid off.  Signing the log was also a challenge with the wind whipping by.  I finally got it signed and got it back into the container.  Snow is not an issue for this cache but water level is.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.

BB and I had tried Curling Cache a while back.  It's been recently found so since I was nearby I decided to visit again.  With most of the snow gone it was an easy find.  The cache was a bit damp and smelled slightly moldy however the log was dry.  SL/TNLN/TFTC. 

I wanted a bit of a walk and Snake Brook Cache was just down the road.  There is good plowed parking.  The trails are well trod but with the recent snow were a bit icy today.  Just a short lovely walk (about 0.3 miles) to the cache.  It was easily found today aided by twilighter tracks.  SL.  Took Crawford geocoin.  Left Winter Olympic Coin.  TFTC.

It was getting to be lunch time so I headed home and along the way stopped at Wayland11.0-You suggest I do WHAT optional task?!?.  Like BigDaddy23 I'd hoped for a different optional task.  Since it seems unlikely I decided to put my esteem at risk and log the cache.  In hopes of recovering some esteem I did attempt a party for my wife's aging pugs.  As you can tell from the photo, while pugs may be very affectionate animals they are NOT party animals.  That said, I'm fairly sure they are having a good time though as sleeping seems to be their most favorite and frequent activity.  Note, as well, that these dogs are utterly uninterested in cake.  I'll leave it to the cache owner to decide if this lame effort warrants a different optional task like, say, make some 'insect rocks' for the Wayland library similar to thost at the Goodnow Library.

Drove along home and enjoyed sausages for lunch.


As usual here are today's photos.  No spoilers.

Geocaching - Muggles, Muggles, Muggles, Snow, Snow, Snow

Well, we had snow last night but even so I decided to run some errands and do a bit of caching today.  After looking at geochaching.com I decided to go for some park and grabs over in Bedford after I stopped by the Sudbury Library.

First stop should have been easy. But after waiting for 30 minutes for a reasonably muggle free moment I gave up and went to my second attempt.

This one should have been easy as it was at the edge of a large parking lot with no real reason for people to be near GZ.  While I don't know why there was a truck and five, count them five, occupied cars parked around GZ.  I waited about 20 minutes then gave up and went to number three.

Now this really should have been easy as it was on the side of a strip mall.  Wouldn't you know, there was someone sitting in a car directly in front of GZ drinking coffee and reading a paper.  Now this is getting to be ridiculous and more than a bit disheartening.

Number four was just a few blocks further along in a small town park with no parking.  This should be easy ... NOT.  I walked over and found muggles walking back from shopping and, unbelievably, several people sitting on a bench!  Walked back to the car where Mr. Coffee is still happily sipping and reading.

So, OK, never mind the 8" or 9" of new wet snow, I'll just go to somewhere where I have to walk in.  My feet will get wet but at least there won't be any muggles.  There's a fifth cache nearby on an old rail bed so off I went.  Problem one, the business lot that provided parking and trail access plowed the trail in!  Never mind, I'm ready to get wet and cold so I just waded through snow/slush and got to the trail.  A bit of walking got me to GZ behind another business where the firm, an electrical contractor of some sort, was busy loading supplies into their trucks.  It seems today I can't buy a break.  So I walked back out knowing that there was another cache on this same abandoned rail line just a bit away.  Along the way I pass a nice UNPLOWED parking area that would also provide access to the cache behind the electrical contractor.  Not really a problem, I suppose, since GZ is muggled anyway.  Still, it seems typical of the day.

Drove to my 6th cache.  The parking area was at the end of a street and plowed in behind a 15' snow bank!  My feet are already wet and cold and it's about 0.25 miles to the cache.  This is just not my day.  Time to go home, have a cup of coffee and live to cache another day.

Score for the day: 0 for 6, cold/wet feet, and two plus hours of driving. Repeat to self - I enjoy geocaching, I enjoy geocaching, I enjoy geocaching, ... .

Geocaching with BB - Back To Basics -- Get Mello

BB and I went out today to do some errands and go for a walk to find Back To Basics -- Get Mello.

The cache is located on Marlborough's Cider Knoll / Mello Family Meadow conservation land.  I'd tried this on some while back but there was a lot of snow on the ground and I didn't have skis.  Today there was much less so we decided to explore this lovely area.  There's good plowed parking at N42° 22.126, W71° 31.012 per the cache description.  There is probably much faster access from the other marked Stow Rd trailhead with parking along the road or perhaps on Dean Rd at Stow Rd.  Since we were interested in the walk we parked in the lot and hiked in.  

There is some nice birch forest along the well mark and traveled trails.  Along the way at N42° 22.3632' W71° 30.7966' there is an interesting overlook and the remains of something but I've no idea what.

We got to GZ easily just past a disused apple orchard.  We had some trouble finding the cache as it was well hidden by the last visitor.  Just as we were about to give up I moved a rock and bingo, there it was.

SL/TNLN/TFTC.

From the parking lot this is about a 1.5 mile walk.  The cache is definitely NOT snow friendly.

As usual, here are the photos (no spoilers).

Geocaching on Valentines Day

Took some time today to do a bit of caching.  Here's the adventure:

DALE #12 (STOW) - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Took "Country Club Hills, United States of America" Unite for Diabetes Travel Bug.  Park and grab.  Like the other "Dale" caches this is at a veterans memorial.  Always moving.

I finally hid a lame roadside micro - DNF.  I've been meaning to stop for this one for some time and finally got around to it today.  DNF.  I suspect this is muggled again.  There was a stunning amount of trash at GZ.  I filled a bag but there is lots more.

Which Way Do We Go? - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Gates Pond is another walk I've been looking forward to.  Today was a good day for it.  Good plowed parking.  The trails were reasonably clear today and I quickly walked in to 'Which Way'.  The trail is really lovely and the pond views very nice.  There were many people out walking, most with dogs.  Got to GZ quickly and found cache.  It's in good order.  It's an easy hide but not particularly snow friendly.  No snow today though so an easy find.

Jodi's Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Continued hiking clockwise around pond.  Grossed the dam.  On a bright sunny day the snow cover on the pond was very striking from the dam.  Continued on to 'Jodi's'.  It seems to be about half way around.  Easy find but I suspect the coordinates are a bit off as I found it about 30' away at N42 22.5022 W071 36.7093.  Good hide but not snow friendly.

Good day to be out with 3 finds and 1 DNF.  Walked almost 4 miles most of it around Gates Pond.

Here are the photos.  Click through to see full size.

Geocaching near home

Today's geoadventure was a bit of a mixed bag with a couple of park and grabs, a bit of hiking, and a puzzle cache.  Here's the story.

Childhood Park - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I'd tried this cache during winter but did not attempt because the parking lot isn't plowed.  After the recent warm weather and rain the parking lot is clear so I started today's adventure there.  It was only a short walk in to GZ.  Today it was in the pool of water.  I resorted to the clue and quickly found the cache.  Everything is in good order.  The cache would NOT be snow friendly.  There's a good deal of poison ivy around so some care is appropriate.

TE #4 - Stone Challenge - Needs Maintenance.  GZ was behind an ice wall from plowing the parking lot.  I climbed over to access the stone wall.  DNF.  Mine is the most recent of several.  Perhaps the owner should check it?

IN THE "HAM" - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is an interesting park and grab.  I checked the usual under the light pole skirt.  Not there.  A bit of searching though found it though it was a bit of a reach to actually get hold of it.  It's not snow friendly.

Netty's Nest - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I parked per the description and crossed the brook/chasm on the bridge.  I missed the trail at N42 17.4739 W071 29.5796, part of the Bay State Trail and continued on the road.  I suspect this may have been constructed since the description was written.  Having followed the wrong rode I ended up bushwacking to GZ.  The cache is in good shape although much of the hide material had fallen away over the winter.  Given the hint and cache location this one is plausibly findable in snow cover.  I bushwacked out and eventually encountered the trail just as I was approaching the road.  It goes through a rather interesting stand of birch and I'd imagine in the fall it is lovely.  There are also a few glacial erratics and many large boulders from erosion of the nearby rock outcrops.  All in all an interesting walk.  I hope the cache location will not be compromised by the ongoing construction.

It is Low, It is Near, It is Orange - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is another of the wonderful Sudbury Valley Trustee conservation lands and like the others I've visited it's just delightful.  Access today was good but I don't think the parking lot is plowed.  It's a reasonably short walk in and the cache was an easy find as some of the cover material was gone.  It is NOT snow friendly.  The owner may want to check the cache placement as it is adjacent to some orange flags that look like one of the abutters was surveying the area.  While it is outside the marked area it's within only 10' or so.

Parmenter Cache - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Took 'Main sign post' TB.  Left 'Chucke' TB.  I hiked in looking for Gallons of Cool Drink and this cache.  It's about 1.5 miles from parking but the walk is over relatively easy terrain.  I was somewhat surprised to see others about this afternoon so I guess this part of the Bay State Circuit is popular.  I got to GZ easily enough despite my GPSr jumping about among the trees and cloudy skys.  It finally settled down and a brief search revealed the cache.

Gallons of Cool Drink - DNF.  With a couple of hints from BugTracer I have a set of coordinates that seem plausible.  The puzzle was a special challenge for me on several grounds.  First, I've a degree in mathematics.  This is definitely NOT an advantage as I was able to resort to all manner of math operations that were NOT right.  Second, I've done some crypto work.  This is even more of a handicap as it encouraged me to try a number of code and cipher schemes when the right approach was much simpler (there is NO relationship between the number of columns and the number of rows and the solution).  Finally, I'm sometimes just dense.  Hats off to those who found it without help.  At any event, even though I'm fairly confident in the coordinates I DNF.  With the trees and cloudy sky my GPSr did not stabilize.  I ended up searching 30' or so on both sides of a T intersection of stone walls (that's not much of a hint as the area is covered in stone walls).  No joy!  I'll try again when the rest of the snow is gone and the sky is clear so the GPSr is more likely to be stable.

That's five finds for the day and two DNFs.  Picked up a TB.  Dropped off a TB.  I ended up walking about 6.5 miles in my adventure.  Hopefully I lost a bit of weight along the way.  My legs are certainly tired enough.

As usual, I took photos.  If you want to see the full size images click through.

Geocaching - 3 states in one day + added NH and ME

Today I decided to do some caching adding NH and ME to my list of states and doing caches in three states in one day.  The plan was to take 495 to 95 and then take 95 up to Kittery Maine.  Along the way I'd stop at a number of caches.
 
Quick Pitstop - Northbound - Found it.   SL/TFTC. This was my first cache of the day.  I DNF this a couple of times but had a fair idea of where it might be.  Today I found very quickly about 12' from GZ.  One state down and two to go.
NOAH"S ARK - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  There were a couple of TB oriented caches along the way just off the highway near Ambsbery.  I parked at a Dunkin's Donut and walked in on the paved bike path.  The cache was a quick find but not snow friendly.  Worse, there was LOTS of serious poison ivy around and in fact the cache was leaning up against a poison ivy vine!  It should be moved so I posted a maintenance note.  No travel bugs though.

Powwow Travel Bug Hotel - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  This is just the other side of the road behind a shoping area.  It's a park and grab with an interesting hide.  Fair winter cache.  The cache had MANY TBs.  I took 3 TBs but there are many left.

Welcome to New Hampshire - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Back on the road (95) and in to NH.  I missed the highway entry and had to turn around and drive back.  Second time I got off in the right place.  NH has the nicest welcome centers I've ever seen and this one is no exception.  The cache is a park and grab.  The cache was wet and container should be replaced.  It's not winter friendly.  I signed the log and added NH to my states.  Two for the day.

Liquor Cache - DNF.  This is just a bit further along 95.  Drove to within 20' of GZ.  Unfortunately, it's in a very frozen snow bank.  Don't you just love NE winters! 

101 Dalmatians #97 (Oscar) - DNF.  On to Maine.  There were a couple of micros near Kittery Trading Post so I went there.  I'd also hoped to get some repair material for my rain pants.  I'd caught them last weekend on some thorns and tore a fair hole.  These are good quality Goretex about 20 years old.  A new similar pair would cost about $300 so repairing them is definitely in the cards.  I parked about 30' from GZ.  Unfortunately there were many muggles about.  I checked the sign and along the rail.  At this point there was a couple looking very curiously at me so I DNFd and moved along.  I'm a bit suspicious that the cache has been muggled.

Farbucks 13 - Mmmmmm!!! - Found it.    SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This is on the other side of Kittery Trading Post.  It's a lovely little walk to pond.  Its well maintained with a pier.  I wonder if Kittery uses the pond as a testing place for their boats?  It's an easy find and winter friendly.  The hide is rather clever.  Third state for the day and now I can add Maine to my list!

Branch Cache #7 - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Nice park and grab.  With my states in hand I decided to do some caching in Maine.  'Branch' is on the way to Fort Foster my destination for a long walk.  The hide is very clever.  I'd heard about these but this is the first I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, the plastic bag holding the log is torn and the log is completely saturated.  I was afraid to even try to unroll it.  I've sent a maintenance note.  The park looked interesting and I was a bit surprised that there weren't other caches there.

Fort McClary Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I've driven by this park several times visiting Fort Foster.  Today I stopped.  It's closed in winter but there is plowed parking and room for several cars to the side of the gate.  It's a short walk in.  This is a neat revolutionary war park and definitely worth a visit and walk about.  It took me a bit to find the cache with the help of the clue.  The apple tree is certainly tempting and has a couple of nice potential hiding places but of course it's not there.  I actually walked OVER the cache before finding it.  Not snow friendly but a really neat place.

Troop 307 Cache - Found it.  SL/TFTC.  Just a bit further along is Fort Foster Park.  It is also closed in winter but there is plenty of parking along the road.  I've visited here a few times and always liked it.  There are 4 caches here that provide a good opportunity to walk around the park.  I followed trails to the bunker.  The cache is on top so I had to climb one of the steel ladders to get to the top.  A bit of a challenge for this old man.  The cache is in good order but not well hidden.  I collected the cover material and replaced it.  Took TB.

Ocean Mist - DNF.  I tried following a sort of trail toward GZ.  Mistake.  Had to back track and connect with the stone walking trail that runs along the shore.  There were many muggles about even on a somewhat windy winter day, walking dogs, running, etc.  I looked per the clue but DNF.

Kitty Cache - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Just a bit further along and off the walk.  The coordinates are spot on and the hide is very neat although not short folk friendly.  Snow shouldn't be an issue.

The Mother Lode - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This was the last cache in the park and on the way back to the car.  The cache is in good order but not winter friendly.  There is an obvious trail back to parking.  It started out OK but soon became very ICY and somewhat dangerous.  It took some time to navigate but I finally arrived back at the car and headed home.

Liquor Cache South - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Park and grab.  Winter friendly.  Since I was driving by I decided to stop here.  One cache in a state is a bit lame, I admit.  The store was doing a land office business.  I drove around back and parked within 20' of GZ.  This one was NOT under ice so I added it to my NH caches.

Welcome To Massachusetts - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Park and grab.  Only another 3 miles along so why not.  Easy find and winter friendly.

I decided to head on home after 12 new finds, 2 new states, and 3 states in one day.  Things went well until I got to Lowell.  Traffic just stopped.  I got off 495 in Chelmsford and drove home on 27 in fading light.

Here are the photos.  As usual click through to see full size images.

Geocaching Assabet Refuge

The Assabet National Wildlife Refuge is now sort of open with a new visitors center (expect to open in March/April).  You can learn more here. 

I've hiked, biked, and cross country skied this area for many years and have always been surprised that there were not geocaches here.  It turns out that the USFWS has a policy that forbids geocaching on the properties it manages.  You can find out somethings about it at geocaching.com here and here.  While the policy seems to be softening, it still seems that placing a cache container on FWS managed lands is a no no!  In my view it's a bit of a shame and hardly universally justified given the permitted uses that include walking, biking, hunting, seasonal placement of hunting tree stands, fishing, and boating.  But it's still forbidden.

Since I'm retired and have some free time, I thought I'd ask to place some caches in cooperation with the Assabet Refuge managers.  So I gave them a call the other day and talked to Susan Russo.  Susan was very helpful and suggested that mystery caches might be possible.  She took my name, number, and email address and said she'd try to find the current policy and email me a copy.  She also asked if I'd like to volunteer at the new visitor's center and agreed to pass my name along to Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.  We'll see what happens.

That got me interested in existing nearby caches of which there seem to be three - Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Firefighter's Exercise Trail, and Babe Ruth's Piano.  I'd previously found 'Firefighters' and today decided to visit 'Assabet' before the heavy snow starts.  I'll admit to using the hints as I've walked most of the Assabet trails.  That almost make this one a park and grab.

While there today I bumped into a couple of Town of Sudbury employees.  It seems that once every five years the town must verify the location of various town markers and today a team was out doing so.  A bit of checking suggest the coordinates are near N42° 24.1452' W71° 28.1497'.  There are also several others.  Hummmmmm, this might be a good geocache adventure.

In any event, I took some photos of today's adventure.  As usual, no spoilers and click to see the full size images.

Geocaching Sudbury John, Marie, and BB

John and Marie joined BB and I for a short local cache today, Lyons-Cutler Reservation.  There was good parking on Cutler Farm Road with trail access about 50 yards off the road.  It's a quick in/out of about 1.35 miles total over mixed marsh and woodland.  Seasonally the area is obviously VERY wet so choose your time carefully.  While not on the trail map, it looks like there are probably trails from Lyons School that join out route.  Today the cache was easily found after negotiating some mixed trail with occasional serious ice.  There was no cover over the cache but it was not easily visible from the trail.  We added a bit but it is still obvious once you are at GZ.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.

As usual here are today's photos (no spoilers).  If you want to see full size click through.

Geocaching Billerica and Chelmsford

Now that my weight is starting to come down, I've decided to walk a bit further each day.  With that in mind I set off for Billericia where there were 8 caches reasonably near one another, and Chelmsford where there was an area with an additional 3.  Temps were in the low to mid 20s and the sky was delightfully clear.  Here's what I attempted today:

Listing	Date	Log Type
DALE #2 (BILLERICA)	2/5/2010	Found it
The Green Way	2/5/2010	Found it
Gas Saver Copycat I	2/5/2010	Found it
Up Hill's Hills	2/5/2010	Found it
The Midway	2/5/2010	Found it
Concord Overlook	2/5/2010	Found it
Domus Rana	2/5/2010	Found it
Root of the Problem	2/5/2010	Found it
DLY #2 - Charlotte	2/6/2010	Didn't find it
Forrest Stump	2/6/2010	Didn't find it
Utility Pole Clue (updated)	2/6/2010	Found it

The day started in Billerica at Vietnam Veterans Park and Ralph Hill Conservation Area.  This is a small park just off Rt 3 at Treble Cove Rd across from a correctional facility.  This area is a flying site for RC models, helicopters, and boats.  On weekends it can be quite a show.  There are also facilities for riding, biking, playgrounds, athletic fields, and what looks like a shooting range.

DALE #2 (BILLERICA) - Found it.  I started just off Treble Cove Rd at the veterans memorial.  There is ample unplowed parking but it could be muddy. This is a particularly nice memorial.  The cache is off from the monuments unlike others in this series I've found.  It would be a difficult find in deep snow.  Like most of the veterans memorials in this series, the site is memorable and I spent a few minutes remembering my own time in the military.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.

Just on the other side of the veterans memorial is an RC Aircraft field.  On weekends there is often quite a show.

I drove down the hill to parking at N42° 33.1363'W71° 17.8910'.  I left the car here for the entire 'loop' through the Ralph Hill Conservation area.  The parking area was large but I do not think it is plowed in the winter.  Today it was easily dealt with despite considerable ice over the gravel surface.

The Green Way  - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Fresh from DALE #2 (BILLERICA),   The first cache on the loop is just a short walk and despite some issues with GZ being unstable, was quickly found.  The cache is on the ground and would be a tough find in deep snow. The area around this cache is rather nice open forest with a bed of pine needles.

Gas Saver Copycat I - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This was a considerable walk from The Green Way over very mixed trails.  Some were entirely snow free while others were iced over from all the foot traffic and required some care.  There were a few muggles about but they were not an issue.  The cache was a relatively easy find with little snow.  Deep snow would be an issue.  The container had water and ice inside and the lip was split.  I drained it but it should probably be replaced. 

Up Hill's Hills - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  This was just a short distance further but I decided, probably incorrectly to bushwack up hill.  Good exercise but tough on this old man's legs.  Got to a trail and found an interesting 'lean to' in the woods.  Continued along the trail a bit and then bushwacked a bit more to GZ.  Found it.  Cache in good order but would be a tough find in deep snow.  OK today.

Concord Overlook - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Bushwacked back to the trail and then followed to very near GZ.  Cache was VERY easy to find with much of the cover now on the ground.  Deeper snow would be a challenge.  I replaced it and returned the cache.

Domus Rana  - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Short walk over rolling terrain.  Easy find but deep snow would be an issue.  Container needs maintenance but contents were in good condition. 

Root of the Problem - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  Another short walk along mixed trails some times snow/ice and sometimes clear.  The terrain around GZ shows a good deal of digging and is difficult to walk.  I bushwacked in.  Cache is a clever hide but I found quickly.  Not snow friendly though.

Having 'cleaned' the traditional caches here I decided to try three I've been curious about in Chelmsford.  I used to live there so this was a return to old haunts.

It's only a short drive to Chelmsford.  Parking is off of Mill Rd at N 42° 34.642 W 071° 19.829.  There's a sign for the soccer field.  Drive past the fields to parking near the Russel Millpond.  The parking area does not seem to be plowed but was usable today, though icy.  There's a trailmap at the trail head that may be available online but I couldn't find it.  Study the map as there are many trails some of which meander hither and yon.

DLY #2 - Charlotte  - DNF.  This was about 0.25 miles in.  I walked on mixed snow/ice/clear trails then bushwacked to GZ encountering a white trail several times.  This seems to be popular with mountain bikes as there were MANY recent tire tracks.  Found GZ OK but DNF.  I found some boulders and trees that seemed promising but no cache.  It may be that the icy snow covered it.  I'll try again when the snow is gone.

Forrest Stump - DNF.  About another 0.3 miles in.  Similar experience bushwacking, white trail, icy snow covering a wall.  I'll revisit without snow.

Utility Pole Clue (updated)  - Found it.  SL/TNLN/TFTC.  I don't normally do multistage caches but this one was simple enough to be worth a show.  Found the GZ pole and got the number.  Did the math and went for it.  Got near and fortunately the cache was VERY visible and not snow covered.  This might be semi snow friendly.

Hiked out on tired legs and called it a day.  Nine finds, 2 DNF, 7 miles walking.  Good day.

Here's today's photo offering.  Some semi spoilers.  As usual click through to see full size.