Caching Three Stars – November

The month of November has proved to be quite a challenge, both in actually finding caches and in writing this month’s Caching Three Stars. With all of the bad weather, short hours of daylight, and the everyday commitments of this peculiar thing called life, we were not able to find one cache. That’s right! Another milestone achieved, or not. Since we have seriously started caching, there has never been a goose egg in our monthly tallies. So here is my dilemma. How do I write the Three Stars of November when there are none? While contemplating what I was going to do, I started reminiscing about our most memorable caches – the ones with the most story behind them. Then it hit me. Why not write on my three most memorable caches. So here we go. I will endeavour to tell you the interesting stories behind our three most memorable caches.

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Jessica’s First Cache

I have seen these guys twice since I started caching! (click to enlarge)

We have been caching for almost two years and Jessica’s First Cache (GC330DB) is the winner of our first star for our most memorable cache finds. The cache was placed by Fast Finders and is located near a high school. Can you already see where this may be going? Normally, Geocaching.com doesn’t allow caches to be placed near schools unless you have special permission. The cache owners were students and were allowed to place it there. Well, the cache was released after midnight and, with us loving late night caching, we set out to find it. When we arrived near the school, I parked up on the road as to not create suspicion. My wife and I walked down an embankment and proceeded to ground zero. While we were standing in the parking lot, I looked up at the car and seen a police woman looking in the car with a flashlight. We just stood there waiting for her to notice us. She must not have seen us as she got in her car and drove away. We took off in the woods to find the cache. While we were searching, I heard the sound of brakes whistling followed by a car door closing. We stood and waited. After hearing another door closing followed by a car leaving, I decided to check it out. As I looked out from the trees, I seen the police car driving away again. I told my wife that if she came back, we would have to talk to her. Sure enough, the cop came back so we walked out to explain to her what we were doing. I told her we were geocaching and showed her our GPS device. She didn’t know what geocaching was and didn’t seem interested in knowing. She thought we were drinking in the woods. At 41 years of age, I assured her we could do that at home. At that moment, another police car showed up and a male cop got out and knew about caching. After that the K9 dog unit showed up followed by a fourth police car. I remember thinking that it was a bit overkill for two forty-something geocachers. The male cop told the female cop to let us get the cache and we would leave. The police woman would have none of that. She insisted that we leave. We told her it wasn’t a problem and apologized for our actions. The next morning, I came back, on my way to work, and still managed to get an FTF. To this day, this has been our most memorable geocaching experience.

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Thinking Outside The Box – It’s Your Lucky Day

Imagine trying to find a nano here. (click to enlarge)

In the summer of 2011, we travelled down the Burin Peninsula to attend a caching event that was being held by shantrent and shermandkim. There was an overabundance of caches placed for this event. Some were easy and a few were very difficult. Placed by shantrent, Thinking Outside The Box – It’s Your Lucky Day (GC30E8G) happened to be a very tough hide. It was a nano cache that was placed somewhere on the beach. I will not divulge the cache container. All I can say is that it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Upon arriving near ground zero, we started searching for the container. We knew it was hard but were excited. Our son, tiny seeker, got bored and started picking up pieces of wood and throwing them. There was one lone rock in the area and he picked it up and threw it. We told him to get back to searching again. After a fair bit of searching, we gave up and moved on to other caches. After finding a few more, we ran into the cache owners and told them we couldn’t find the nano on the beach. They decided to come over and see if it was still there. They couldn’t find it, their own cache. Been there, done that many times. The cache owners were puzzled. They said that they laid a rock next to the cache. I spoke up and said “Do you mean this rock that my son picked up and threw away?” We all had a great laugh as the rock was now one hundred meters away from ground zero with no idea where it used to be. We helped them look for it for awhile before moving on. We found out that they found it shortly after we left. We had a great time at the event and fondly remember the laughs we had at this cache site.

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Protect and Serve

Not an actual photo of the crash. (click to enlarge)

While attending the Coast Guard College in Sydney, NS in January of 2012, I went out in the town to do a bit of night caching. The cache I was looking for was called Protect and Serve (GCWCJY) and was placed at an abandoned police station. The cache was placed by bmn747 and was located in the front parking lot, near an intersection. When I arrived at ground zero, I quickly realized that not only was the cache buried under a bank of snow, its location was probably frozen shut. Without being seen by the traffic driving by, I proceeded to dig the cache location out. It didn’t take too long to uncover but my second assumption was right. It was frozen. Without drawing too much attention, I started to kick the cover until it broke free. I retrieved the container and proceeded to sign the log. While taking the log out of the bag, I looked up at the intersection just in time to witness a car T-boning a pickup truck. The police showed up mere minutes later. I quickly signed the log and put the cache back. I, then, stood around for awhile. As the police was questioning the drivers, I heard the truck driver blame it on the woman in the car. The truth was, the truck driver turned left and cut off the car coming towards it. The woman in the car tried to stop but couldn’t. It was then that I stepped forward and gave the woman my contact information. I also explained it to the policeman. That was the funny part of it. After I told him why I was there, he was trying to comprehend why I would sit there digging in the snow just to sign a log. I told him he wouldn’t understand unless he was a geocacher. This was my first time seeing a car accident firsthand and up close. Truly memorable!

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What about you? Do you have a great story behind one of you finds, or hides? If so, please tell us. We would love to hear about it! Use the comment space below.

Until my next post, I hope that the short days, heaps of snow, and life doesn’t prevent you from getting some caching done. Happy Caching!

Frank (Jewel)

Caching Towards Doomsday!

Here we go again! The end of another year is almost upon us and we have, yet, another prediction of the end of the world. This isn’t the first time we have had such predictions and I am sure it won’t be the last (unless they finally get it right, which I doubt). Personally, I don’t believe in such nonsense but many people do. I am sure that some of those who believe in such propaganda will also count themselves as geocachers. So, what will that mean for them. It will be interesting to see exactly how many geocaches are found on the impending date of December 21, 2012.

The most famous “end-of-days” prophet – Nostradamus. (click to enlarge)

There have been many predictions over the years, too many to count or delve into. For years we have had all of the predictions from Nostradamus, perhaps the most famous “end of times” prophet. So far, none of his detrimental predictions have materialized. More recently, we had the Christian pastor, Harold Camping, claim that, from the Bible, he deduced a mathematical formula that predicted the end of the world on May 21, 2011. Camping uses a mathematical formula linked to prophecies in the Bible. He once predicted Sept. 6, 1994 as Judgment Day, but that math didn’t quite work out. Neither did his new prediction. Frankly, being a Christian myself, I was somewhat puzzled by a self-professed Christian making such a claim about Judgment Day. Christians rely on their Bible. Well, the Bible tells us that no one will know or predict when that day is upon us. How could he, then, figure it out?

The Mayan Calendar. (click to enlarge)

The latest prediction of December 21, 2012 comes from many sources. The most important source is the Mayan calendars. Plural, you say? That’s right! The Mayans, an advanced civilization that flourished from 200AD to 900AD, inhabited a region encompassing southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize & western Honduras. For some reason, by 1200AD, their civilization had collapsed. Nobody really knows why it happened. The latest explanation suggested that climate change in their area caused severe drought. They failed to adapt and were plunged into anarchy where they killed each other over resources. Anyway, they actually used three separate calendars to mark their dates. The first two calendars, called Haab and Tzolkin run for 365 and 260 days respectively. Then they restart. Every 52 years, the two calendars coincide. The third calendar is known as the Long Count. It denotes distinct Ages and runs for 5126 years before a new Age begins. Well, on December 21, 2012, the Long Count ends and a new Age begins. This is where we get the notion that the world will end. Truth be told, the Mayans never actually predicted the end of the world but the end of the world as we know it, meaning some major change will occur. While they may be right about the calendar math, I firmly believe that a new Age can occur without the destruction of the previous age, which is opposite to what the Mayans believed. Also, who is to say that a fundamental change has to happen abruptly. This new Age might bring about fundamental change but it may do it over a period of many years.

No matter what you believe about this subject, we have to respect each other’s beliefs on it. While I find it to be foolishness, I respect the fact that many others take this very seriously. So, I would stress that this post and my feelings on the subject is, in no way, meant to belittle anyone who does believe in these sort of things. With that said, what are your plans as this deadline approaches? Will you be caching on December 21 or will you err on the side of caution and spend it with family? For me, I have to work so I may not get any caching done. I will try to get one cache on that date, however.

Caching on 12-12-12 will earn you this souvenir. (click to enlarge)

How about December 12, 2012? Are you planning any caching then? You should be? Some people have mistakenly confused 12/12/12 as being doomsday. Not so. The significance of dates such as 12/12/12 is the fact that it will be 89 years until one occurs again. January 1, 2101 (1/1/1) will be the next occurance. Why cache on that day? The answer is simple. Geocaching.com has created a special souvenir for that date. If you log any cache or attend an event on that date, you will receive a special online souvenir. For more information on it, please visit Latitude 47.

One of these trackables will be given away at our event. (click to enlarge)

To make it easier to get this souvenir and to celebrate this date with friends, we are hosting an event on this day called Twelve Cubed (12|12|12) (GC41PAX). The event has been submitted for review but hasn’t been published yet. Keep your eyes peeled for it. Obviously, you already know the date. The event will be held at Don Cherry’s on Freshwater Road in St. John’s. Instead of using the special occasion room, which has separate booths, we have asked for one large table made. This allows for better fellowship. We are even giving one lucky cacher a special unactivated 12-12-12 trackable. We hope you can make it. When it is released, please RSVP as soon as you can. We have it booked for 30 people but may be able to extend that number. If you are in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay area, please check out their event, 12-12-12 (GC3XYA5).

If you have any comments about this post or any of our posts, please leave us one using the form below. As always, we welcome your valuable input. Until my next post, Happy Caching!!!

Frank (Jewel)

Caching in Cape Breton – Point Edward

They shall not be forgotten. Thank you!

Before I start this post, I would like to wish everyone a great Remembrance Day! Don’t forget to buy a poppy and support our Royal Canadian Legion. Also, if you have the time, why not visit a senior’s home and allow a war vet to tell you their stories. I haven’t done it in years but I remember loving for them to tell me their war stories. It put a smile on both our faces. You can also buy a war vet a coffee or simply walk up to them and say thanks! You may not approve of war but these guys risked their lives fighting for your freedom. Many sacrificed their lives for that same cause. Let’s make sure they will not be forgotten. Now, let’s begin this week’s post.

For the past six years, I have worked for the Canadian Coast Guard. My job entails installing new electronics technology on our fleet of ships to ensure that they have the right tools to effectively perform their duties. To be able to do my job, I am required to attend periodic training at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, NS. Now, the training at the College is great but, after hours, there isn’t much to do in Sydney, especially for someone like me who isn’t really into the party scene. So, for the first four years of my career, I have been pretty much bored while at the College. About two years ago, I started Geocaching and now, I have something to do in the after-hours while in Sydney. This is the first of a three-part series that will highlight two areas of Sydney that I had the opportunity to geocache in as well as a drive I took to geocache at a very famous fortress. Even though, this post isn’t about Newfoundland caches, it is about caches close to North Sydney, a spot many Newfoundlanders arrive at every summer.

You can see North Sydney and the Newfoundland ferries from here. (click to enlarge)

The first blogpost in this series is on an historic area that is located a few kilometers from the Canadian Coast Guard College. On a Sunday, I left the College and walked 3.5 km to Hospital Road in Edwardsville, home of Point Edward and the very old Point Edward Battery. Part of the way down the road, my journey started as I ventured off the road and headed down a trail towards the beach. The first three caches are simply placed along the trail and have no real historical significance. They are:

• Falling For You (GC26NJ6) by fascache.
• Point Edward 1 of 2 (half way) (GC277ZR) by Papillon-1.
• Funtime – Part II (GC27Q77) by fascache.

Upon arriving at the beach and the fourth cache, I noticed that I could see two of the Newfoundland – Nova Scotia ferries across the water in North Sydney

Heading down towards the point. (click to enlarge)

The fourth cache, Point Edward 2 of 2 (end of trail) (GC27802) placed by Papillon-1 is located along the beach and looks out Sydney Harbour. It was easy to see why a battery, placed here, was important to protecting the harbour. Instead of backtracking out the trail and finding the trail to the other six caches, I decided to take a stroll down the beach.

Having a wonderful walk down the beach. (click to enlarge)

I must say, there is nothing more relaxing than a quiet stroll along the beach. This beach is a rocky beach and, from the looks of all the erosion, it might only be passable in spots during low tide.

There is a lot of beach erosion here. (click to enlarge)

There was also a bit of garbage littering the beach. Perhaps a CITO caching day is needed for this area. There is also a lot of trees along the bank that are leaning over very precariously, so keep your eyes peeled in case one decides to fall. Injuries always ruin the experience.

This bunker was initially built during the late 1700s. This one is not safe to be around. (click to enlarge)

As you continue down the beach, you will see a strange-looking structure. This is one of the two battery positions belonging to the Point Edward battery. The Point Edward Battery was initially constructed in 1793 after war broke out between England and France. It was used in conjunction with other batteries located around Sydney Harbour to protect the harbour from a French attack. Over the years, it would fall into disarray, be built back up for each of the World Wars, and then fall back into its current state of disarray once again. The floor of this one is crumbled and is not safe to be in. Luckily, the cache, What Is This Doing Here? (GC1C83Q) by fascache is located behind it and not in it. Once you get this cache, you must now find the trail that leads to it and use it instead of the beach.

This is the second bunker which is at the point. It is in much better shape. (click to enlarge)

Walking down the trail a few hundred meters, you come to a second battery position. This time, the structure is in much better shape. The floor, however, is showing signs of cracking and a couple of pieces have fallen out. If you want to enter, tread carefully and don’t fall through the hole. The cache that is located here is called Ethel goes to WAR (GCPDHW) and was placed by MineRP. The cache is located behind the structure, in the woods. There is evidence in the woods that some sort of house was here, probably some living quarters for the men who manned the gun battery.

This used to be a barracks. All is left is the foundation. (click to enlarge)

As you head back out this new trail, you will pass some sort of concrete pillar, marking the start of the battery. Continuing on, you come to a fork in the road. If you take a right, you will head down another trail towards the beach again. As you approach Habitant (GC1C8J3) by fascache, you will notice a foundation. That is all that is left of the military barracks that used to be located here. There are also some rusty items amongst the trees that were probably left over from one of the times this battery was manned. The cache is well-hidden so keep your eyes sharp.

As was with the first three caches on this trail system, the last three caches have no historical significance. That doesn’t mean that they are not worth finding. Two of the three are well hidden and took me a bit of time to find. The last cache in the area actually took me 30 minutes to find, but that was only because I didn’t follow my gut. The last three caches are:

• A Rotten Hide (GC1XQB6) by fascache.
• Path to Habitant (GC1XQB5) by fascache.
• What’s UP (GC1XQBB) by fascache.

Altogether, I walked about 12km to get these caches, including the walk to abnd from the College. It took me about 4.5 hours to complete. Being a big war buff, I thoroughly enjoyed these caches. It would have been better if the cache owners had put more of the history in their cache descriptions. I did, however, have fun looking everything up on the Internet afterwards.

How about you? Do you like finding caches that have an historical significance? Are you a military buff? If so, please let us know! We would loved to read your comments! Once again, have a great Remembrance Day! They will never be forgotton.

Caching Three Stars – October

Since I spent almost all of the month of October in Sydney, NS attending training at the Coast Guard College, the Three Stars for October all come from the Sydney area. If you ever take the ferry across to North Sydney, be sure to take a moment to check these out. These caches, as well as other, will also be featured in a couple of future blogposts.

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Ethel Goes To War

These bunkers are starting to be eaten away by wave erosion. (click to enlarge)

Since I love anything to do with the history of our Great wars, Ethel Goes To War (GCPDHW) is the winner of our first star for October. The cache was placed by MineRP and is located on a trail system in Edwardsville, a small suburb of Sydney. The earthen bunker was part of Fort Edward and was initially constructed in 1793 and used up until 1854. The entire fort was a four-bastioned earthwork fort, located southeast of the tip of the point. It was originally known as Point Edward Battery until it was rebuilt in 1813. The system of trails here contain other bunkers and barrack foundations. I will be featuring these caches in an upcoming blogpost. The bunkers are starting to give way because of wave erosion and are not safe to be climbing in. Therefore, I had to admire them from afar.

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St. Theresa

The statue is actually the tree. Notice the trunk at the bottom. (click to enlarge)

There is nothing overly special about the cache that is my second star for October. It is a simple micro containing a log and is located at a church. It has a higher degree of difficulty due to its high muggle area. It is where this cache is placed that makes this cache special and deserving of the second star. The cache is another one placed by MineRP and is called St. Theresa (GC3CCKA). The cache is located at St. Theresa’s Church and is placed near a special statue of St. Theresa. The statue is a wooden statue that is carved out of a tree. You might be saying that all wooden statues are carved from trees. True. This tree (statue), however, is still rooted in the ground. The statue was literally carved out of a living tree. I don’t know about you, but I found that pretty cool. If you are in Sydney, it is worth checking out.

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Sydney Boardwalk

Walking the Sydney Boardwalk at night. Beautiful! (click to enlarge)

There is no more beautiful a place to visit in Sydney, than strolling down the Sydney Boardwalk. Located on the southern shore of Sydney harbour, the boardwalk goes past many hotels and public buildings and leads down close to the Sydney Pier, where cruise ships often visit and you can get your picture taken next to a giant fiddle. There are many small boats and beautiful yachts tied up here as well. I have walked this boardwalk several times, but this time was extra special as I got to walk it at night. Again, this wasn’t planned. My purpose in coming here was to be a kind geocacher and pay it forward by replacing the container that had gone missing from Sydney Boardwalk (GCTQ9Y), a cache placed by The Dream Seekers. It was my last stop for the day and darkness had fallen upon me. This turned out to be a real treat. I must have stopped for about 30 minutes and sat on a bench listening to the water lapping against the pier. It was really peaceful and well deserving of our third star. This area will also be featured in an upcoming blogpost.

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Point Edward Cave

I was so looking forward to a bit of cave exploration. (click to enlarge)

I just had to give an honourable mention to Point Edward Cave (GC3RCNA), a cache placed by Pushkin. It gave me both the most anticipation and the most disappointment I have ever had while geocaching. When you read the cache description, you find out that there is a cave here that you can explore. Since it was a few hundred meters away from the Coast Guard College, I got prepared and headed out to it with great anticipation and excitement. I hadn’t explored a cave since my childhood. When I arrived at what I thought was ground zero, I had to check my GPSr. The dense tree cover was playing havoc with my unit so I broadened my search and came up with nothing. I went back to the original ground zero and quickly realized I was at the right spot. There had been a mudslide in the last year and the entrance to the cave was buried in sticks and mud. I found an opening but it was only large enough to fit a rat. That was a real bummer! It was a good thing that the cache was placed outside the cave as I was able to at least log a find on this cache and drop a trackable. For causing me great excitement, I think it deserves an honourable mention.

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Rest In Peace

A graveyard at night is creepy but cool! (click to enlarge)

When I first set out to finish getting some caches in downtown Sydney, it wasn’t my intention to retrieve one from a graveyard at night. It just happened that way. When I arrived at Rest In Peace (GC3NB1D), a cache placed by conohan007, I quickly realized where it was. Since graveyards don’t scare me, I headed in to retrieve the cache. It was hidden under rocks near what looked like a tomb. As I started to sign the log, I heard the sound of many car doors opening and closing. When I looked, many old couples were showing up to the church for evening Bible Study. To avoid detection, I had to hide behind a headstone for 10 minutes. Once the coast was clear, I put the log back and re-hid the cache. As I was leaving, I ran into a security guard for the apartment building across the street. He looked really puzzled at why I was coming out of a cemetery at night but didn’t seem to care. This cache was really fun and deserves an honourable mention. If you can, I suggest you do this one at night.

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