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.

Anemone Oregana, Oregon Anemone

Day 222: Earlier this month (May 7), I posted photos of Anemone lyallii, a less-common cousin of uncommon Anemone oregana. Today, while out with my geocaching partner on a muddy expedition covering logging roads and ATV trails, I discovered the latter species. "Wait! Wait! Back up! I see a plant I haven't seen before!" In point of fact, we'd passed the turnoff to the cache, so backing up was on the agenda anyway. Dan obligingly stopped when I yelled, "Anemone oregana! I'm sure of it!" and we both hopped out of the truck to be met with a strong breeze and light rain.

Dan offered a boot for a makeshift tripod as I got down on my knees in the ditch, several small alders threatening to take off my glasses or my ears, and then he held a pair of backpacker's sleeping pads to block the wind so I could get good documentation of this uncommon species. Even though I hadn't been geocaching in some time and was pleased to have found several over this excursion, finding a "life list" plant was definitely the high point of the day.

Oregana can be told from lyallii by its numerous stamens (35 or more) and larger size. These were at least twice the size of the lyallii I recorded at Longmire. The leaflets are somewhat more slender and pointy, and do not resemble columbine as much as those of lyallii.

Paddle Caching

Day 252: Although I've pretty much abandoned geocaching, occasionally one will crop up which I can't resist. Mostly, these exceptions take the form of "paddle caches," i.e., ones you have to access by boat. A new one showed up in the area yesterday, and for a variety of reasons, I didn't sprint out the door in pursuit of "first to find" honours. For one thing, it was windy. For another, it was a warm and sunny Sunday, the kind which brings out power-boaters and jerks on jet-skis. The last time I was out on Alder, a teenager on a jet-ski thought it would be funny to try to swamp my 'yak, cutting a powerful wake 15' from my little craft. If I'd had a phone with me, I would have called the sheriff. Apparently, this young man needed to be made aware that there are laws against trying to drown people. Thus Sunday was out, given the likelihood of other boaters, but in any event, not too many geocachers are equipped for marine caching, so I figured the "first to find" would still be attainable if I waited a day.

In the meantime, I tried to solicit backup, suggesting to Kevin (my friend and supervisor) that he could rent a 'yak for the day and join me. Sadly, he declined. However, after some major arm-twisting, I did convince my caching partner Dan to drive up from Olympia. We set out together about noon, island-bound on choppy water, paddling strongly into the wind. The waves subsided to a tolerable level once we reached the protected back side of the island, and there we hugged the shore, looking for a place to put in. The lake is a reservoir, and the island was once a mountain. Its sides are steep, and do not give easy access. That said, when we finally did locate a landing, we were a mere 387 feet laterally from the cache. Note that I said "laterally." We also had a vertical gain of 150 feet with which to contend, a path obstructed with prickly Oregon Grape and massed Sword Ferns. It wasn't the most challenging brush-crash the two of us have ever done, not by a long shot, but it certainly wasn't a "park-and-grab," either. Needless to say, we found the cache, an excellent hide by someone new to the sport. That in itself was remarkable, since new hiders lack the experience to know what differentiates a good cache from a bad one.

With the mission thus accomplished, we finished out the day by completing a full circuit of the island. It had definitely paid off to wait a day. There were only three power-boats on the water, and everyone played nicely together.

Caching Partners

Day 314: After helping me by transporting a couch, a dresser and five wooden chairs from my fishing buddy's daughter's home to mine, my caching partner Dan and I took off for the woods, GPS receivers in hand. After a delightful foray into the subalpine reaches for a hide which had only one prior finder in two years, we descended to the hidden waterfall I visited just a few weeks ago. I felt Dan needed to experience some of the frustration I felt as I poked and probed until I finally located a small tube with a paper log sheet inside, waiting for my signature. Not wishing to be unduly cruel, I gave him a little information to tighten his seach: "You're within ten feet of the cache. It's not at ground level and it's below head-height," and then stepped back to watch him repeatedly put his hand in the hole where the prize lay hidden without discovering it. "You were warm a minute ago. Now you're cold. Nope, getting colder." Again, his hand went in the hole. Finally, I began to wonder if I had misremembered. While he was searching elsewhere, I put my hand inside and poked around in the dirt and mud. Yep, it was there. I gave him a little more encouragement and at last, his fingers felt the smooth sides of the container in the goo. Luckily, the waterfall was nearby for a quick rinse.

After making this find, we went on to Packwood where a purportedly simple cache eluded us. With two pairs of eyes searching, a 1.5 star micro failed to come to light in 20 minutes of intense survey over seemingly bare ground. Win some, lose some...and in caching, sometimes the most difficult hides fall more easily than those rated at "beginner" level. Three for me today, and eight or nine for Dan, who was covering new ground.

A Jaunt With A Friend

Day 341: For the most part, active sports are something I do solo: backpacking, bicycling and now kayaking. Today was an exception. My geocaching partner Dan had yet to pick up the cache on the island in Lake Kapowsin and I was ready for another paddle. I suggested that we do a grand tour of the lake together, and he agreed. We met at the boat ramp at ten and immediately set off to explore the south end of the lake which I had yet to see. I was expecting it to be full of stumps and indeed there were plenty, although not nearly as many as I'd guessed. Water level was up about half a foot following the week's heavy rain which gave us some additional clearance. Even so, I managed to tag one but at least this time, I didn't get stuck.

Partway back, we cruised into a small cove to check out an odd structure which at first I thought was made of concrete. As we came closer, it was revealed as a bad camo paint job on a plywood box about eight feet tall, eight feet wide across the front and four feet deep. There was a strange figure of some sort perched on one upper corner which at first we took for a plastic owl, and we assumed that the "clubhouse" was a duck blind of some sort until discovering that it had no peepholes in it or slots for rifle barrels. Weirder yet, the "owl" turned out to be the head of a female mannequin staring out across the water, hair and complexion obviously much the worse for weather. There appeared to be a rough trail leading down the steep embankment to it, but no evidence of recent use. Nevertheless, the overall effect was creepy and unsettling even to me, and I'm normally unmoved by such things. The Lady of the Lake's eyes followed us as we paddled somewhat hastily away.

Next, we put in on the island so Dan could find the cache, explored a bit, and then sat on the "inside" shore to have our lunch. Primary goals accomplished, we finished up the day by navigating the stump minefield to the north end of the lake and then back to the boat ramp. We were out four hours and covered 5.25 miles.

Stick Pickers!

Day 256 (Part A): Storm debris has been accumulating in the Longmire campground for many years, and the customary means of disposal (dispersal) had proven to be less than effective. A ring of downed limbs and branches was building up behind the campsites faster than Nature could accommodate. Last year, two teams worked to bring the debris forward where it was hoped crews could be brought in to load it into drop boxes for removal, or alternately, that it could be chipped and distributed into the campground environment.

For the last two weekends, Mount Rainier volunteers have been hard at work clearing away the piles created by last year's work parties. On June 8, geocachers participated in their annual "CITO" event at the campground, and today (June 15), another team of nine individual volunteers gathered near the platform tents at 9:30 for a second assault. Four hours later, two 15-yard drop boxes had been filled to capacity, accounting for approximately 75% of the debris.

My personal gratitude as well as the Park's goes out to all the hard-working folks who have pitched in (literally!) on this project. Longmire Campground is now a much more pleasant environment, thanks to you!