Into the Burgh

 The moon was sitting high in the predawn sky with the red planet Mars off to its upper left. I had come outside to check on the temperature, to figure out how warmly I should dress for the day’s adventure. As I was gazing into the sky, Frank pulled up and within 10 minutes we were on our way. The sun broke over the horizon as we drove down into the city.

    We were on another hunt for both caches and photos. We had a small list of caches situated around downtown Pittsburgh and we had our cameras with us, as always, in case anything photogenic jumped out at us!

    We parked on the top floor of a parking garage and spent a few minutes “hanging” over the edges taking shots of the traffic and people below. Then we headed towards the hill.

(Frank's shot)

    We headed east, going through Strawberry Way, towards the USX Tower and the sun. Our first stop was in the town’s newest green space, Frank Pace Park. Named after a Hill District community activist, the park spans Interstate 579, a 2.7 mile highway cutting through the city. When it was built, hundreds of homes were destroyed in the process, even more were removed when the Civic Arena was built. This park spans the canyon that the highway created between the city and the Hill District.

    There were two caches located in the park and we quickly nailed them. Easy-peasey! From there we headed over towards Flag Plaza, only to find our way blocked by construction. Our plans weren’t written in stone, so we dropped back down into the city again. Coffee and donuts were callin’.

    We talked with some religious folks standing on the corner looking for converts. We discussed the weather and photography and went on our way, nice people! We met some others later in the day and had the same experience, no hard sell, just a nice conversation. Sitting by a fountain, we ate our sweets and sipped our caffeine and then returned to our hunt.

    We stopped in the Union Trust Building and took a few shots in their lobby. What a spectacular place! From there we worked our way down past the Kaufman’s Clock, (or is it now the Target Clock?) and towards Market Square.

    We did a cache near the skinniest building in the city. Located at the corner of Wood and Forbes, the Hendel Building is only 5’2” wide. The building is considered one of the skinniest buildings in the world! It has housed a lunch counter amongst other things. It currently is under construction since a new owner purchased it.

    We visited Market Square and people watched for a bit, visited a camera store and some alleyways before heading back to the car. (Love those alleys!) We drove around a small detour and snagged the cache at Flag Plaza and then headed home by way of Oakland. Two more caches waited for us in the University section of town.

    We visited the statue of The Pitt Panther outside of the Pitt Student Union and then The Westinghouse Memorial in Frick Park before returning home.

    We found 6 out of the 7 caches we looked for, 85% approximately, not bad! We also got some nice shots in the process. We were both surprised at how few people we saw in the city. We remembered when people crowded the sidewalks, especially at quitting time, lining up 4 or 5 deep waiting for their buses. The times have definitely changed! It is still a beautiful city; it is a shame that more people don’t visit it or work in it anymore…

Searchin’ for Sasquatch

The sun was trying its’ hardest to break through the clouds as Frank and I hit the road. Only two stars had been visible through the clouds as I gotten into my car, sadly the cover increased as the morning progressed. The sun made a brief appearance just after sunrise but for the rest of our trip, we only saw occasional evidence of it, a sunlit hilltop or the tips of the trees lit up. The morning was grey.

    The trip was to find some geocaches, some photos and who knows whatever else might cross our path. We were up for anything. We headed north on rt.28 and started out in the town of Slate Lick. This village got its name supposedly because deer used come to lick salt off of the rocks in the area. Founded in the late 1700’s, the first church in Armstrong County was started here.

    From there we went cross country, leaving the highway behind and using only the small two lane country roads. Occasionally these roads became gravel. We didn’t see many cars passing us.

    There were cattle in the fields and deer crossing the roads. We saw a Ringed Neck Pheasant at one of the caches! We passed more than a few abandoned houses, barns and farms during the drive.

    Just after leaving a cache situated alongside Buffalo Creek, we came across this pile of stones. I’m guessing it might have been a fireplace and chimney to an old house, but the underbrush was too thick to get close to them. There seemed to be a pile of rubble below all the jagger bushes. We didn't go in, we were content to look at them from the outside of the patch.

    We encountered more abandoned houses when we reached Yellow Dog. The Geocaching web page about the cache we were looking for, says that the village was built between the late 1910's and early 1920’s. It was built by Pittsburgh Limestone Mining Company for its workers, they could live there as long as they didn’t unionize. The last residents left in 2011, leaving it a ghost town. The town has been vandalized over the years and someone has bought it in hopes of restoring it and using it as a learning area. It has been a while since it was purchased. (2014) Now people can visit it for a fee. We snapped a few shots from the outskirts and then continued on.

    We visited the ghost town of West Winfield. All that remains are a few cement stairs that once sat alongside the road. The houses on this 1941 map are gone, all that remains is the stack of the old iron furnace.

    We walked through what used to be a rail yard to visit the remains of the furnace. It was built in 1847 and worked until 1864, a mere 17 years. It produced about 40 tons of iron a week during that period. The iron was carried by wagon to Freeport where it was put on boats for the trip to Pittsburgh.

    A town grew up around the furnace and then disappeared; a railroad was built beside it which also disappeared. All that is left in West Winfield is a cement company and this old stack of rocks. It is kind of sad!

    From there we did one more cache before heading back towards home. The sun was still trying to break through the clouds, maybe later in the day… We found all of the caches we had searched for, all eight of them. Frank found one more making his total nine. We also got some nice pictures while we were out.

    At one of the caches, we run across Sasquatch and made friends with him. (Not to be confused with a Yeti which resides in Asia) It turned out he was rather friendly, at least to us. So now we know, he does roam the hills of Pennsylvania! So beware, especially since we are only a month away from Halloween!

P.S. thanks to Frank for the shot of the furnace!

A Little Bit of History

 Doris Day…Can you believe it? It was Doris Day! She was looking out the window of the hotel along with a bunch of other patrons. They were watching a movie that was being filmed outside. I was there, beside the camera. Turning to look at the actors, I noticed that she was now standing beside me. There was no mistake, it was her!

    Together we went over to a red Karmann-Ghia convertible, with the top down of course, and drove away. It was right about then that I woke up. Just a few minutes before midnight, it was still Monday. I wanted to go back to that dream but it wasn’t to be. I tossed and turned.

    Finally the alarm went off, a soft gentle blues tune playing. I opened my eyes and discovered that I was holding a cup of coffee in my hand. I must’ve fallen asleep with it.  Feeling around, I realized nothing had spilt. There was still coffee in it, I could smell it. Probably pretty cold by now I thought.

    I swung my legs out of bed, without spilling anything and instinctively took a sip. It was hot and it tasted wonderful! Wow! I looked at the alarm and wondered why it was playing music, for that matter, the blues. Why hadn’t my phone alarm gone off? They were both set for the same time! It suddenly dawned on me and I exclaimed “Because, I’m dreaming!” and then started to laugh. That was when I woke up the second time, laughing no less!

    It was 4:00, the alarm was set for 4:30. No sense going back to bed. I’ll get up and jump into the shower and start the day. I was going to leave for Frank’s house at 5:30. I’d have time for breakfast and some coffee. We had some caches to find!

    Looking outside, I saw stars! Making the shower extremely quick, I grabbed my gear and drove to the near-by hilltop. The Moon was fairly high in the sky and off to the left was Mars and Jupiter. 

    Combined with the thin clouds and the brightness of the Moon, a group shot wasn’t possible. I took a few pictures and returned back home for a quick breakfast and made some coffee to sip on the way. I still made it to Frank’s house 10 minutes earlier than planned.

    We had 8 caches to find, 5 were in the Blairsville area. The first one, hidden in a tree alongside the road went well. It took us a few minutes, but we found it. The next one didn’t go quite as we had planned.

    Hidden near Dean’s Diner, it is a cache that I have looked for numerous times. We searched high and low without any luck. Some caches just aren’t meant to be found, this one is one of them! We went inside and got some coffee and something to eat and then looked some more. Nope, it wasn’t there.

    We did a few in the town but by far, the best one was across the river in what used to be Cokeville.

    A small town used to sit here but now it is mostly weeds. A long time ago, there were coke ovens on the hill here. (I don’t believe they are still there, that will be another adventure!) The houses and businesses were removed when the Canamaugh Dam was built.

     A set of cement stairs leads up to a flat spot where a house used to sit. You can see where a driveway used to be between them and the tree. Small trees grow where the houses used to sit. By looking carefully, we could see other remnants that were left behind, most of them, nearly hidden from view.

Blairsville and the bridge in 1908

    Bits of a roadway lead to the foundation of the old bridge. Who knows what else lies underneath the weeds? The Pennsylvania Canal crossed through this section of land, there might be evidence of it somewhere!

After the St. Patrick’s Day Flood in 1936, a new bridge was built. A lot of the houses in the town were destroyed by the high waters.

    It took some scrambling around with a little hill climbing through brambles and jagger bushes, before Frank found the cache. It was hidden in the notch of a tree.  We had found this cache in 2011, it isn't in the same place now. It was the toughest cache of the day but it was also the most satisfying one!

    We did a couple more in the area and then turned back towards home. Out of 9 caches, we found 7. Not bad for a quick morning hunt.

    Back on rt.22, we were surprised to see that it was only a little past 10. We usually end up returning in the early afternoon. We were home in time for lunch and afternoon chores. It was a great morning; I always enjoy looking for caches with Frank but finding a little bit of history made it even better! 

    As for the caches we missed…Que sera, sera!

The TWOs

     This is it, the morning of the 22^nd. A Tuesday morning, a bit early, just a little over TWO hours into the day. It isn’t the time which is important so much as it is, the numbers.

    I have a weird obsession of seeing certain numbers come together.  Watching the odometer turn over to 100,000 miles, or on π Day, May 14^th, 2015, watching the clock turn to 9:26:53am.  (π= 3.141592653 or May 14^th, 2015@9:26:53)

I even baked a pie for the occasion

    Yes, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Right now I am waiting for the clock to hit, 2:22:22AM, on TWOsday, February 22^nd, 2022. That’s a whole bunch of twos in there! How could anyone NOT get excited about that? I imagine there are alarm clocks going off all over the eastern part of the country right now! Today is a great day to celebrate the number TWO!

    The number TWO is a very important number, it governs most of our lives. We have TWO eyes to see, TWO ears to listen, TWO arms to hold and hug and TWO legs to move us around. The majority of us end up with another, the forces of love drawing us together into a pair, TWO people.

    Later in the day, Frank and I are heading towards Altoona to do some geocaches and maybe, see a train or TWO. Geocaching.com has a souvenir they are awarding any cacher who finds TWO caches today. We are planning on adding that souvenir to our banks.

    The time has come…gotta take a picture!

2:22:22am on 2/22/2022

    A few hours later, I arrived at Frank’s house, a little before 5. We wanted to be in the Altoona area by seven, just in case there might be a sunrise.  Frank got us there right at our scheduled time. There wasn’t much of a sunrise though, it was more of a brightening of the sky.

Sunrise?

    We didn’t complain; it wasn’t raining! (Yet) Our first cache was near a railroad crossing.  Sadly, no trains passed by while we were there. Our second find was hidden close to where a sanitarium used to be located. The high altitude and fresh air was thought to be helpful for the patients.  It was later turned into a prison and is now owned by a hydroponic company.

    Hmmm, this could be a future exploration site!

Frank at the Sanitarium Cache

    TWO caches later we came to one hidden near a line of coke ovens. The trip down to them was very treacherous because even though the temperatures were in the 40’s, the dirt road that led to them was covered with a thick coating of ice! Walking was treacherous, thank heavens for hiking staffs! Snow along the edges provided some traction but with each step, you would sink in an inch, making simple walking a step, lift, step type of procedure. It got a bit tiring. The cache was only a ¼ mile away from where the truck was parked but it took much longer to get there. Follow the road or climb/fall down cliffs…

    I believe it was Archimedes that said that the shortest distance between TWO points is a straight line, he obviously never went geocaching!

Me at the coke oven, #2000!

    This was my TWO thousandth find!  I had found my 1000^th cache about 5 miles away from this one. (Altoona has some good caches.) The find was worth the slippery hike down to it, the difficulties are part of what make it fun!

    To read about my 1000^th cache, click here: ​​Books, Adventure and Life: Grail of the Alleghenies Legend, My 1000th Cache! (booksadventuresandlife.blogspot.com)

    The coke ovens are part of a community that once was here called Bennington. There is a near-by cemetery with the foundation of the church beside it and a few other remnants hidden in the woods.  The town was built when the RR tunnels in Gallitzen were dug. Originally a shanty town to house the Irish and other immigrant laborers who hand-dug the tunnels, it could only be reached by train. Coal miners also occupied the houses of the village. It was abandoned in the late 40's.

    After this find, Frank and I then headed down towards the Horseshoe Curve and found four more caches. We passed on climbing up to the curve because the rain was starting and frankly, we didn’t want to get wet, or fall! (Such wimps!)

The last cache

    The last cache of the day was hidden in some rocks about 20-30 feet above the trail. We had to get around a large, icy culvert to get to the cache. The path had lots of ice on it and care was needed to mak sure we didn’t slip. Once we were at “ground zero” we made a quick find and then returned to the truck where it was nice and dry.  The ride home was uneventful and went quickly.

Almost home

    Fog was rising off the streams as I neared my home.  Like all our trips, we had a good time, I believe that this is caused by the TWO people involved! There was only one train we saw in AlTWOna, but we found all the caches we had searched for! There were no unfortunate slips or falls, we stayed fairly dry and, I made my 2000th find! On top of all that, we both received a souvenir! Not bad for a day of Twos!

    One final shot, taken just a few minutes ago…

22:22:22 on 2/22/2022

On the Road Again

     During the night, my dreams were all about geocaches. Traveling along unknown roads on a big motorcycle. Stopping at a bed and breakfast that was a tailor shop during the day, the dreams had nothing that brought them together except that I was on a trip, to find geocaches. It was almost as if I had this subject on my mind…

    When morning finally arrived, I loaded my car with the usual gear, a camera bag and my GPS. YES, I was going on a search to find geocaches. Frank and I had planned a trip, driving towards the east on rt. 22 going out to Blairsville and then dropping to the south before eventually returned home. We had 22 caches on our list.

    The planet Venus was shining in the east as I got into the car. I located Mars below and to the right with binoculars, but had no luck seeing it by eye, the sky was too bright.  This was a rather late start for one of our trips, we are often on the road an hour or so before sunrise. The sun came over the horizon on the drive to Frank’s house. It would have made a great picture except I was on a narrow road with cars behind me and nowhere to pull over.

    Being the second week of February, the days tend to be rather grey here in the Pittsburgh area. Bucking the average, this morning’s sky was blue and the sun was bright. Things looked promising.

    Our first find was alongside a pull off, hidden near a sign saying “No Hunting”. That was just the opposite of what we had planned. Hunting was exactly what we were going to do today! We got into a rhythm; we’d drive a short distance and then pull over to snag another find. Sometimes we had to circle back on the opposite side of the divided highway to locate one, then turn around again to continue our search. 

The further away from Pittsburgh we went, the nicer the scenery was!

    Coming into the town of New Alexandria, we had a couple caches which involved a bridge which no longer exists. We drove down a rutted and ice covered road, passing some “Road Closed” signs sitting on the berm. It was obvious that the area here had been recently flooded. Thick pieces of ice lay cracked in the swampy area beside the road. Broken ice had been pushed to the sides by plows. The salt had only partially cleared the road.

    Driving under a large concrete arched structure, we came to where the bridge once crossed the Loyalhanna Creek. The cache was easy to find but we stayed for awhile to take pictures. Later research showed that the bridge that once crossed here used to be rt.22 before the road was modernized and widened. 

In the 1830’s the bridge was a covered toll bridge.

Builders working on the RR bridge. The covered bridge can be seen behind it.

    The concrete structure was part of a railroad bridge that the Pennsylvania Railroad crossed. The line is now gone but parts of it remain. There are some foundations in the near-by woods from a station that was located here. (Those will be for another trip!)

    We continued on our journey, eventually coming into Blairsville. Going south on 217, we did a short detour to visit the area around Torrance State Hospital. Ann Marie and I had found a nice, abandoned building here and I wanted to show it to Frank. When we arrived, it was gone, the land leveled with no signs that there had ever been a building here.

    Driving through the town of Derry we found another old building to explore, the Ralph Smith and Sons Building. Crossing a bridge, we saw the building below us. Turning around we navigated the back streets to get to it. It appears to be an old RR building; the structure is similar to many of the buildings often situated near railroads. The doors were locked with NO TRESPASSING signs posted on them. We spent awhile taking pictures, of course, staying outside! It was obvious that no one had been here recently, except kids. Most of the windows were broken and graffiti was sprayed on the insides.

  

    The time spent there was worthwhile. We got some nice pictures and some much-needed stretching. It felt good to walk around for a bit! Back on the road again, after a couple more caches, we turned right on rt.30 and headed back in the direction we had come from. 

The intrepid explorers @ their final cache!

    We did one last cache in the parking lot of a Speedway Service Station. It was our 22^nd cache of the day, a record for both of us! To celebrate we stopped inside and got a couple Slim Jims for the ride home.

    We had a great drive; we got lots of pictures and found every one of the caches we planned! This rarely happens. There was one hidden against a telephone pole but luckily, the snow had melted enough that we were able to locate it. If the snow was still there, it would’ve been a DNF. (Did Not Find) The weather was great, our hands were a bit cold at first but as we were heading home, the windows were opened to allow the fresh air into the car.

    Another great adventure, you never know what you might find, so keep on looking!

It’s what keeps us caching!

  

You Never Know What You Might Find!

        Frank and I hit the road again, this time to do some geocaches and to take some pictures. So, basically it was the same as most of our adventures. We left early in the morning, in the darkness, as is usually the case.

        The full moon and Jupiter were slipping over the hill by my house when I first woke up. The pair was just four degrees apart and contrasted nicely with the black silhouetted trees on the hillside. They had disappeared when Frank arrived but we quickly located them as we drove along roads with a better western view. Looking to where we could go to get a nice shot of the pair, we ended up on Bigelow Blvd. with the city peeking through the trees.

        We stopped and took a few pictures as the moon sank down into the clouds. You can see Jupiter, an orange colored dot to the right of the moon. 

As it set, the full moon turned red.

        We continued on to Highland Park where our first two geocaches were.  Saturday was International Geocaching Day, so we had to find at least one during the weekend! We found one of the two. Try as we might, we couldn’t figure out where the second cache was hidden. We will get it some other day!

Frank signing the log.

        There were five more caches on our "to find" list, these were hidden in Alleghany Cemetery in Lawrenceville. All was going fine until we pulled up to the gate. It was closed! The gates didn’t open until after 10. Since it was only around 8 when we arrived, we had some time to kill. Across the street from the entrance is Barb’s Country Kitchen, so we stopped in for some coffee and breakfast. That took up about a half hour…

        Hopping into the car we went searching for some photo opportunities. We recently had talked about visiting the Seldom Seen Greenway Trail, so that was our next stop. This short trail goes through an interestingly designed brick tunnel, built in 1902. Saw Mill Run goes through it also.  On the far side of the short tunnel are two railroad trestles, one of them still in use. 

        Coming into the parking lot we heard bag pipes! Starting into the tunnel, we met Mychael who was walking back and forth under the arches playing a set of pipes. We stopped and talked a bit before we continued on. Scottish music followed us out onto the trail.

        I guess he likes the sounds in the tunnel? Who would’ve guessed we would run across a bag piper in our travels, let alone be serenaded as we hiked along the path.  You never know what you might run into when you go exploring!

        We both got some nice photos while we were there and then we returned to the cemetery.

        The gates were finally open! The Allegheny Cemetery is huge; there are 300 acres and about 15 miles of roads in it. Many famous Pittsburghers, such as mayors, sports celebrities and musicians are buried here. It would be easy to get lost inside it. Looking at all the trees and woodlands in it, it is tough to imagine it is situated inside the city.

        We did 3 of the 5 caches here and nearly did a fourth but because I entered a wrong number, we lost out on that one. It was what is called a multi-cache. This one brought us to a monument on which were 4 poems. Using those we had to solve two simple arithmetic problems and use the answers to find the “final” cache. Transposing the numbers will unfortunately NEVER lead you to a find!

        The day was getting hotter as we searched and after climbing a rather steep hill and taking a couple falls, I was ready to call it quits for the day. We had gotten a few caches and enjoyed the searches for the others, even if we didn’t find them.

        We headed for our homes, satisfied with another fun day of caching and photography. We watched the moon set, got some nice photos, the weather was great and I only got 10-20 mosquito bites. Best of all, we got a small bagpipe concert while we were hiking; once again, you have to keep exploring your surroundings, you never know what you might find!

Ending A Month of Caches

 

Ending A Month of Caches

January 2021

There was only a dusting of snow on the ground when I woke up. Walking out to the car the coating on the sidewalk was less than a half inch. The car windshield was frozen and I had to use the scraper before I could hit the road. Being a Sunday, there weren’t many cars on the road which was just as well since the snow had started falling again after I left home.

                I wasn’t going far, only a couple miles to a near-by park. It is located in the steep valley a stream had carved over the course of centuries.  Houses sit on the edges of the valley but there are still lots of places in the park which appeared as wilderness. Well, that might be stretching it a bit but there are some spots that appear isolated. The place I was heading to this morning was one of those places.

                It is a branch creek that fed into the main stream. A well worn path follows the main stream through the center of the valley. The path is about a mile long. Right near its center is a high waterfall. A couple small streams cut into the valley feeding the main creek. The one I was heading for was steep and has only one path, a path covered with a slim coating of snow and tilted on an angle that nearly matched the slope of the hill! People don’t use this path very often, in fact I imagine that the main users are the deer.

                I was searching for another geocache. I have been on a personal quest to find at least one cache a day for the month of January. Today was the 31^st; if I find this cache I’ll meet my goal. Why you might ask? Well, let me attempt to explain it to you.

                For close to a year we have been dealing with Coronavirus. This has upset the way the world works. Cities, states and even countries have been shut down. At times people have been told not to leave their houses unless it was absolutely necessary. People have been asked to wear masks and to maintain social distancing. Stores and restaurants have gone out of business because of these requirements. Why am I even telling you this? You’ve lived through it also, you know!

                I would get my daily exercise by walking my dog but sadly I had to have him put down because of degrading health. Afterwards, I tended to stay in the house rather than going out for my daily walks. It’s a known fact that fresh air and exercise is good for you, I needed to get off my butt and start walking again.

                It was the final day of the year and my friend and I went out to take some pictures. It had snowed that morning and the conditions for good photos were everywhere we looked! Snow outlining the branches of the trees, the snow in the fields was unbroken and fresh, blankets of white covering the ground. While we were out, we did a few geocaches.  I enjoyed the searches in the falling snow.

                The next day, the first of the new year, I went out and got a couple of the caches we had missed the previous day. My first day of work was on Monday, the 4^th. Until then, I went out each day for a quick run to get a couple caches. If I had to get gas, I’d see if there were any caches I could get along the way. My weekly trip to the grocery store for supplies gave me another opportunity. OK, I did a couple without any excuses. I was by myself and I didn’t see or talk with anyone while I was doing it. I was being socially responsible!

                It was during the first week of work that I came up with the idea of doing a month of caches. There are millions of them scattered around the world. There were plenty along the route I’d take to go to work.  Before I’d leave I would check the computer and see if there were any I hadn’t found on the way in. I’d make a list of a couple and attempt to find them on my way.

                Getting back to the 31^st, there were three cars in the lot when I pulled in. This isn’t unusual since lots of people visit this park. I slung my camera around my neck, put my gloves on and picked up my GPS and headed into the valley. I brought my hiking staff  also. I wondered if I’d see any others while I was here.

                The hillsides are steep, they aren’t the type of hills you’d roam around on. The deer love them.  Occasional streams filter down from the neighborhoods above. Dramatic cliffs are situated where the water has worn all the dirt away. Rocks and trees litter the ravines that these streams have formed. In the winter with a coating of snow on them and ice hanging off the cliffs, they look even more exciting and picturesque!

                The trail was slippery, footprints and paw prints had compressed the previous snows into an icy coating.  The mornings snow hid the slippery surface, every step had the potential of a fall. Crossing the first of the four bridges, I came to a sheet of ice. A spring situated beside the trail drained across the trail and down to the stream below, leaving a thick sheet of ice about six feet across. No big deal other than another possible slip hazard.

                In my youth I wouldn’t have bothered with this. I’d walk across it never giving it a thought. Now in my mid-60’s, my priorities have changed a bit. I tend to go a bit slower, watch where my feet are going and watch the path ahead a bit more. Being alone makes it even more important. I have my cell phone in case of an emergency, but if it can be avoided, so much the better!

                The trail continued on without any difficulties. There is a steep portion that was packed down but I avoided the ice on it by walking along the edges. There were signs that someone had slipped here earlier in the morning, the snow had been plowed into a pile from their slide.  The trail leveled off at the top and here, looking over to my right, I was able to see the valley I’d be climbing into.

The stream is frozen and the hills are steep

                By mountain climbing standards it was nothing. Anyone could climb to the top of this crease in the hillside. It looks easier than it really is. In my youth we played in this park and we had attempted going up this stream a few times. We had never gotten very far. The brambles and steep sides kept our explorations short. The stream works its way down from rocky cliffs, you can go up so far and after that, a return trip is all that’s possible. I’d be going up one of the hills rather than following the stream.

                I passed the valley and crossed my final bridge. I could see the path I’d be taking outlined by the snow. Snow has that wonderful way of showing us things we don’t normally notice. The paths of old abandoned roads, walls built decades ago and now forgotten and the foundations of houses which no longer exist. I love watching the hillsides as I drive after a snowfall. I never know what I might see! My path showed up as a faint but distinct line climbing the hill in front of me.

                The start was easy, the trail led up the hillside on a slant through a bunch of dead leaves. After about thirty or forty feet the leaves disappeared and the trail turned into frozen dirt. The snow on it gave me a bit of traction, I wasn’t too worried. There were occasional saplings I could grab onto, going up I really didn’t need them. Looking down into the valley below I realized how high I was going. I figured if I slip, there are lots of trees along the way down that will help stop me!

                I came up and rounded the edge of the hillside, below me I could see a waterfall going over the cliffs. Long ice sickles hung from the edges. The hills on the other side were just as steep, A couple small streams worked their way down to the main stream. It looked beautiful covered in snow. The snow was still falling but the exertion of the climb had heated me up so I unzipped my jacket and took off my gloves. The climb became a bit easier as the trail leveled off a bit near the top.

                The stream was off to my right, deep in a trough, hidden from sight. Looking at my GPS I saw that I was within a couple hundred feet of my objective. I find that often it is easier to just look in possible hiding places rather than follow your GPS to ground zero. My GPS is over 15 years old and isn’t that accurate. I find that my “geosence” works just as well if not better! I was hoping that the cache wasn’t hidden down near the stream!

                The area was sloped towards the creek with LOTS of fallen trees. Stumps and trees are often prime candidates for hiding caches.  So I started checking out the possibilities. My fourth guess showed me the money! It was hidden in plain sight behind a large log. I was heading towards its stump but as I approached I saw the camouflaged container. Looking at my GPS, it showed me as being about 20 feet away from the hide.

If you look closely you can see the cache under the log

                I opened the can and took out the log and signed it and then took a “travel bug”, putting it in my pocket to drop off in another cache. Travel bugs have serial numbers on them and by logging them on-line you can find out where they have previously been. They are another part of the game of geocaching! I closed the container securely and re-hid it, a little better than the way I found it and headed back up to the path.

Easy going at the top

                Coming up was much easier than going back down! The first part was uneventful but rounding the edge of the hill, the path dropped rather quickly. The slope of the trail and the snow covering made it very precarious. I used the saplings along the way to hold onto. My hiking staff didn’t help much, it slid on the frozen ground rather than digging in. There were no leaves to walk on here. I could also see the bottom of the valley and the stream, where I would end up if I slipped.  OH YEAH, the psychological aspects of the climb!

Getting steep towards the end!

                I was happy when I finally got back to the main trail. At the bottom of the path I met a woman and her dog. She was sitting on a three legged stool doing meditation. Her dog patiently sat beside her as she exercised. We spoke for a moment or two and then I left her to the quiet, peaceful snowy world of the valley.

                I was stoked! I managed to make it up the hill and back without any major screw-up! I had found the cache I was looking for and I had completed a month of caches! At least one a day! I had actually found 77 during the month. Most had been easy “guardrail caches” but a couple required two visits to find.  A couple were found without using my GPS! My favorites were ones that took me to places I had never been to before and the ones that were harder to find, those were the fun ones!

I had found a couple caches in the remains of old houses.

There was one I had found in another valley, it had only been found three times since it had been hidden in 2017. There had been no finds in two years and another geocacher found it the day before I did! What are the odds?

The game has taken me to some pretty cool spots such as this old abandoned bridge along Montour Creek. We found a couple caches near-by.

                Well, the month is now over and I’m going to put the game on hold for awhile… at least until next weekend! Have a happy February!