Toto - I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! Or Illinois, for that matter. This geocache hunt had a terrain rating of 4.5 out of 5. It was certainly well rated. We went up and down major hills changing hundreds of feet vertically while hiking around 7000 feet in elevation!
This was our first geocaching outing without our mascot, Mac the Geocaching Wonderdog, who we left in Illinois while we enjoyed camping in Custer State Park, in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota for a week. This was clearly a bad omen (geocaching without Mac, not camping in the Black Hills...) and should have been recognized as such from the start.
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Just getting near the cache location was fun. The access roads are dirt and gravel roads - don't try this one in December! Our approach took us to the fire tower where, before we began the hunt, we stopped in to visit with the local ranger on duty. He described to us his on duty schedule, eating and sleeping all alone atop the tower, scanning the horizon every 15 minutes for smoke or other signs of forest fires. Tough job, to say the least. |
Dina, the kids and I were accompanied by our friends and camping companions, Andy, Karen, Ben & Katie Jacobs. They hadn't been geocaching before and were excited at the concept. I was particularly stoked about this one since the cache owner described hiding Garmin CDs in the cache container and I wanted to get one.
I seriously underestimated this undertaking. Part of the reason for that, however, was a blurb in the cache description claiming that "you can almost drive right to it". We had purchased a National Forest map for the trail details. The EMap showed the cache at about 1.5 miles away, but of course, this is as the crow flies. We started around 3pm. The trail that we followed winded circuitously through the hills and, as I mentioned, went seriously up and down. It was a beautiful hike but exhausting, not just for the kids (boys 10, girls 8) but for the parents as well. Getting to the cache location during the first half of the hike was spent arguing, complaining, cajoling, laughing, singing, whining and going through a wide variety of other emotions and time passing games and activities.
As time passed and it seemed, to the moms, that we weren't making the progress needed to finish in a reasonable time, we stopped to have a conference at a fork in the path. After considering whether or not to split up, with some heading back while others continued on, we all agreed to continue, but set 5:30pm as a time limit to reach the cache location. If we didn't get there by then, we'd reluctantly abort.
We did reach the coordinates logged on geocaching.com for this cache before our self imposed deadline. We were clearly in an area one would describe as a scenic overlook, but where the EMap indicated the cache to be didn't quite fit with the clues on the cahe page. The cache is called CliffCache and the owner suggested bring 100' of rope for the final approach to the cache container. Where we ended up, the terrain, while steep, didn't seem to require the rope. We hunted around for 15 minutes or so, but found no sign of the cache container. I am convinced we were in the wrong place, but every other time I have gone geocaching, the EMap has brought me within 10 feet of the container's location. Given how hard it was to get to the location, it was very disappointing for everyone not to find it at the end. Zach, who was in a bit of a foul mood on the way to the cache, nevertheless displayed a very positive attitide in reminding all of us that the fun is in getting there and even though we didn't find it, it was a great hike. Well - a great first half of the hike, anyway, because we had a long way to go back! Dina, Ben & Karen led the way back at a pretty good clip. Zach, Samantha & Katie were tired, hungry and thirsty, so Andy and I stayed with them.
We had plenty of water and snacks. We gave the girls piggy back rides for a bit, but I was having enough trouble with the hills myself, that I couldn't keep it up. Andy was like a workhorse, though, leading us in songs and games without missing a beat while the kids and I huffed and puffed our way back up (and I mean UP) to the cars. I think we got back to the cars about 6:45pm
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In my efforts to stop getting yelled at by the wives, I realized I forgot to take pictures during the cache hunt! Oh well - here are a few nice shots of the Needles and Sylvan Lake that we also visited while at Custer. Beautiful area, great hiking. Highly recommended for outdoor enthusiasts! |
Overall, a great time, a lot of work, but disappointing not to have reached our goal. I'd love someone else to find it just to confirm that it is still available. Guess I'll have to go out and buy a Roads & Recreation CD now...
