Pacific Northwe't Geocaching

Day 227: Since the advent of cell phones with GPS capabilities, I've become less interested in geocaching, due to the fact that the majority of caches placed now simply do not take you to interesting places. "Skirt-lifter micros" abound in urban areas, squeezed into every space available under Geocaching.com's guidelines. I used to be a numbers-junkie, going out with my partner to grab 70-80 caches in a day, but that's lost its appeal. When I do go out now, I prefer to go after "paddle caches" in my kayak or to take on those with more challenging terrain ratings, especially if they are in remote areas and may require a long hike. "Better," I say, "to hike 18 miles for one five-star hide than to log fifty crummy micros."

That said, the Pacific Northwe't offers some serious obstacles even when you're hunting for a full-sized ammo box, as my partner in the sport demonstrates in this photo. I had found this cache early on in my career, but Dan had not been able to claim it before the flood of 2006 cut off access to this area. The bridge across the Nisqually was recently replaced, so he asked if I'd be willing to go with him on a search. Always up for an adventure, I agreed. I couldn't recall the exact location, but knew it wasn't too far off the road. Ah, those magical words: "not too far off the road!" Dan successfully made the find without falling in the creek, breaking a leg in the ditch or getting prickled by devil's-club, happy to check this one off his list.