On Nessie's Island

Day 326: Locals will tell you stories about the monster in these waters; "Nessie," they call her, after that more famous monster of Scotland's Loch Ness. Like the Scottish Nessie, no one has any viable proof of her existence, and thus the unbelievers scoff and scorn reports. But I know Nessie is real. A little over five years ago, she nearly gobbled two good friends who had gone to look for a geocache bedded on her spine.

It was March, and even in summer, these deep waters are cold. In March, the winds blow and the whitecaps rise, and the water temperature plummets to just a few degrees above freezing. Jeff and Dan had found the cache and were on their way back, dressed in heavy coats and foul-weather gear, when Nessie rose. She capsized their canoe and plunged them into the frigid waves. They had time to struggle out of some of their gear before the bite of hypothermia set in, blunting their senses, and it was only by great good fortune that a homeowner on the shoreline saw them go over. That samaritan put in a call to 911, and again by a stroke of luck, the firehouse was nearby.

When the two men were pulled from the water, Dan (more heavily fleshed) was coherent. Jeff did not respond. Both were hustled to the hospital. Several hours later, I got a call. Dan was going to be okay, but Jeff was not out of danger.

The following afternoon, Jeff was also released. Neither man remembers much about their experience, and their geocaching logs say simply, "Piece of cake." There are some things you just can't talk about, and an encounter with Nessie ranks high on the list.

Nessie was snoozing when I put into port on her shoulder today. She did not stir when I retrieved the geocache from its position between her vertebrae. But I did not take a single step without having Dan and Jeff at the forefront of my mind.

All In A Day's Caching

Day 297: When I found myself with more time on my hands than expected today, I started the process of sorting out options to fill it. Topping the list was a new and very innovative cache I'd heard about through a friend's Facebook post, but it was a rather long drive to make for just one find. Second on the list was a paddle cache which published several days ago, but due to weather, had not yet been found. It was even farther from home, and northwest of the other one by about an hour. I did the only reasonable thing: decided I didn't care what time I got home, and went after both of them.

The closer I got to Olympia, the stronger the wind became. When I arrived at the target lake, I asked myself quite seriously, "Do I really want to do this?" Halfway across and where it was already too late, I said, "Y'know, maybe this wasn't the best idea." Struggling for every inch, I made it to the far shore where I expected the wave action might be less. Instead, I found the water lapping at docks and splashing high onto the shore. I'd already made it that far, though, and the kayak was proving its stability magnificently, so I kept at it and a mile or so further on, I had the cache in hand. The trip back was even rougher, with whitecaps breaking over the bow as I plowed into them. It was like riding a roller-coaster, and any pause in paddling, however brief, let the wind turn the 'yak. I was very glad when I finally made port!

The second cache lived up to my expectations and then some. Yes, the external cache container is a whole, entire Porta-Potty! There are multiple steps each finder must follow in order to gain access to the official log book, and I won't give away any secrets here. Suffice to say that there are more electronic gizmos in this Johnny than most people have in their entertainment centers! The cache developer had arranged for permission to place his creation at a hardware/garden center, so after thanking the property owners for allowing it, I purchased two landscaping plants for my yard.

In all, I put close to 150 miles on the car in pursuit of these two caches, but I'd rather do that and get this type of quality than rack up a series of 25 micros placed every 528' in guardrails and at the bases of signs. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what geocaching SHOULD be!