APRIL 30, 2013 – Mojave: John Wayne & TV series’

After so many recent trips to Barstow I decided to go to Mojave, at the other end of the desert. On the way I stopped at the scenic Lake Palmdale viewpoint. It was still under 80 degrees then.

38 miles later I arrived and it was noticeably hotter.

I drove my 22mpg Element because I thought that there’d be the usual dirt track for desert caching. It was a surprise to find a nice paved road at the beginning of the 45 cache John Wayne Series, JW1 John Wayne (GC3DZKE). I should’ve trusted what I thought I’d seen on google maps, driven my 48mpg Prius and saved $20. in gas. Oh well…

The caches were mostly 35mm film containers in ½ buried PVC tubes 0.25 miles apart, 5’ to 50’ off road. I’m used to stopping every 0.10 miles. The different spacing threw off my practiced rhythm. And because the road is 50’ from the freeway, I half expected some passing sheriff to take an interest and come out to investigate. But none did. I didn’t see another person during my entire stay on the series roads, even though another cacher logged some of the same caches that day.

Approaching the end of the road I wondered if I’d need to turn around, go back to the beginning and cross the freeway to reach caches #21-#45. Nope! There was an underpass.

The other side was almost a mirror image with another nice, paved and completely vacant road. The caches were the same too. After finding #45 I drove a few minutes and passed through town. I was just in time to be delayed 7 minutes by an incredibly long, slow moving train.

The 25 cache TV Series was on yet another paved frontage road. Here the caches were spaced 0.15 miles apart. But they were mostly 100’ off road. Many of them were prescription bottles attached by wire to their PVC holders. These were ‘a pain’ to log. It wasn’t easy to bend down and stay bent down while trying to open the locked caps with 1 hand. And then everything had to be put down to stamp the logs and return the containers.

In the end I found 66 caches (40 + 25 series caches & 1 odd ball) in 3 hours & 15 minutes. Thanks Tehachapi Fords for hiding all of them (minus the odd one).

APRIL 10, 2013 – Chatsworth Nature Preserve / Sage Ranch Park

The Chatsworth Nature Preserve was opened to the public for 1 day, last Saturday. I alerted my SFV geofriends and several showed up. We parked alongside the fence on Valley Circle Boulevard and walked through the open gate.

Around the first turn there was a row of tented booths belonging to the DWP and various nature oriented agencies and groups. One had live birds on display and another had reptiles.

As interesting and worthy as the exhibits were, I was eager to explore the preserve. From last year’s reports, I expected that walk throughs would only be allowed with a docent escort. I waited for a half hour with EcuaDeb, Capdude and Capsbug but no docents appeared. Many other attendees started walking so we followed and arrived at the lake 3 minutes later.

An old dam with a trail on top bordered the lake’s southern edge. Looking South across the non-lake part of the preserve, we saw DeVry University.

Years ago, while caching in the DeVry parking lot, I looked into the preserve and saw deer nonchalantly walking 20’ inside the fence. On Saturday’s trip we saw a running coyote. It’s a nature preserve after all so there’s lots of cover where wildlife can hide.

The eastern edge of the preserve is bordered by a huge hilltop estate.

Turning North, the path continued through some strangely shaped oak trees. The main branches all pointed down. We wondered if they were a different species from the ones we’re used to seeing.

Near the end of the loop there was a strange, out of place, outhouse. It was locked.

We finished the loop as some kind of Chumash ceremony was taking place at the tents. While I appreciated the opportunity to walk through the preserve I wanted to look for caches.

EcuaDeb and I drove our cars to the nearby (and little known) Sage Ranch Park. Note, that first parking lot is free, but that the 2nd lot at the trail head below is $5.00. We quickly found the parking lot cache Sage Ranch Sunset (GC1E5TD). I’d forgotten my hiking stick so I was glad to find a 6’ long broken PVC pipe next to the cache.

The foxtails weren’t dried out enough yet to detach (and attach to us) in large numbers.

A cool breeze kept us comfortable on the “top” of our counter clockwise loop. The air was exceptionally clear. We had great views of Simi Valley.

I’d previously (2005 / 2008) found 5 of the caches, including the one at “Turtle Rock.”

I’d also found Sage Ranch Park (GC2CC) atop this uplift area. But it was fun to revisit again.

We spent a long time searching for this one – which will remain unnamed here. In the end the coordinates were right on. But Deb & I agreed that the cache (a small green camo’d tube in a bush) and placement (straight up the side of the trail) were unnecessarily difficult. It’s not as though any muggle (we didn’t see ANYONE on the trail) is going to accidentally find it.

It took us just over 2 hours to complete the 3 mile loop. Deb had 12 finds and I had 8.

Yesterday I learned that the nature preserve docents eventually showed up and that people were then required to sign-in and only allowed to hike in escorted groups.

APRIL 2, 2013 – States & Capitals (Barstow)

The next morning I checked out of the motel and retraced the previous day’s route. But instead of turning for the Peace Sign I drove straight through to Hwy 395 and crossed from the Planes Trains Automobiles into the Dream Series (which I’d previously found) and straight through to the States & Capitals. The road to the first few States & Capitals was very rocky.

Then it became sandy. The caches seemed to be next to sections with especially deep sand. A few times I drove half way to the next cache to avoid stopping and possibly getting stuck.

It was at this point that I got smart. Until then the wind was blowing from behind and at every stop the dust from my driving caught up and got me in the face just as I stepped out. And the caches were all on my passenger side. So I decided to drive to the end of the series and work my way back, resolving both issues. On the way I stopped at a non-series cache The Balloon’s Demise (GC2HQJ1). GZ looked like Iraq.

I was glad that the cache wasn’t in the building.

The series containers are 1-1/2” square painted plastic tubs. They’ve only been out there about 3 months but about 20% are already replaced by film containers and similar micros. A lot of the remaining ones are cracked. They won’t make it through summer. If you do the series please bring some replacements.

There’s a cache and a lot of dried cow pies under this yucca.

The road on the small loop (see map) was especially flat and wide. Even a Prius would be OK here.

Just before reaching the ruins again I saw cachers approaching, the only people I saw during the entire run. I think that’s woodscout running back to H20_Klan’s FJ Cruiser. I’ve seen that vehicle parked in the desert before. We exchanged a 10 second no name greeting as we passed.

In just under 4 hours I found 117 caches with no DNFs for a total of 179 finds in my 1+1/2 day expedition.

And there are STILL hundreds of caches in the area left to find.

MARCH 29, 2013 – Back to Barstow

I took advantage of cool clear weather and a rare free 2 day weekend to go back to Barstow. After an early morning start from the motel I drove through downtown. Beware! In the 4 miles to Hwy 58 there are 5 different speed limits, 25, 30, 35, 40 & 55 mph.

After leaving the hwy I was soon on my favorite “Open Route,” # 4800.

A few miles later, on a random side look I saw this rock arrangement. There’s a Planes Trains & Automobile cache behind the bush. It must’ve been someone’s 800th find.

I didn’t plan on caching the Peace Sign series on this trip. But I couldn’t resist making a turn onto Road to Peace (GC45C5D) and ended up finding 19 peace sign caches along the western edge of the geoart. (see map at bottom) Instead of the 35mm film containers of the neighboring Planes Trains & Automobiles, the containers were soda bottle blanks. They look exactly like test tubes with a screw on cap. The caps were painted brown or green making these caches very hard to spot. And they were all in thorny bushes. Hand scratches are annoying but an eye poke will ruin your caching day. I recommend eye protection. My sunglasses saved me a few times.

When the road turned away from the “hand” I decided to go for my original target, the inside/back of the RV series. I hiked all 24 remaining caches there. Most of them were film containers but one was an Albackore-designed mini decon. Like the other ones I found over the last year, it was holding up exceptionally well.

I hiked past a huge burrow. Whoever lives in there might’ve been big enough to be dangerous. So I moved fast to the next cache.

The BIGGEST container of the day was a case for an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) round. It was surprisingly roomy inside and held a lot of swag.

And as in previous desert caching posts, I’m going to complain about cachers who drive “cross country” to caches that are meant to be hiked.

I would’ve missed this yucca pod if I’d driven.

After the RVs, I crossed Hwy 395 and found 12 “Wandering Heroes” caches and added to the series with new caches for Retrofit (GC488C6), Foocachers (GC488CJ) and bleed_blue_LA (GC488D2). I finished the day with 62 finds and an early season tan, then went back to the motel.

MARCH 13, 2013 – Sissopolis’ Snow Day

To celebrate sissopolis’ birthday, Foocachers (Sr) planned a “forest hike,” something that siss always likes. He reassuringly said to those worried about the weather, “there might be a LITTLE white on the ground.” As we wound or way up Route 2 and approached Mt. Waterman it was obvious that Foo was wrong!
I waited with deeznutz®, BWidget & Albackore at N 34° 21.087, W 117° 56.055, elevation 6,995’ as our car shuttle was set up. It was 34°F and windy.

The very beginning of the hike was mostly flat, a good thing because at age 52 it was my first time in snow. Everyone else had prior experience from ski trips and or living in snow country. I never slipped or fell but I expended more energy than the others by walking inefficiently.

The temperature warmed up into the 50’s. Gloves came off and made pushing GPS buttons and picture taking easier.
A few of the caches required stomping off trail. But the snow was always under a foot deep.

EcuaDeb & siss recently read a female hiker’s travelogue about the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). So they were excited to see a PCT sign.

Searching for caches in the snow was a completely new experience. I think that only scuba caches are harder.

The downhill half of the hike ended with a stream crossing. No one fell (or was pushed) in.

Surprisingly no snowball fights broke out. Only a few were thrown. I threw my first one ever and even hit the target tree trunk!

We stopped for lunch at a trail junction and then hiked uphill to the 2nd car. (Albackore, Foocachers Sr / Jr)

A few sections of the uphill were narrow single tracks.

The scenery was especially good.

Near the end we walked through an empty campground.

As usual on uphill hikes I was the last to finish. Deb was waiting with her famous brownies.
Thanks Foo for picking the location and Deb for driving. And happy early birthday, siss!!

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 – Gopher Caching, part 2, Los Angeles

EcuaDeb found our last cache in Hollywood, on an art deco lamp post. There was no log so we put a new one inside.

By this time it was afternoon and everyone wanted to eat. We skipped our planned stop at the Pershing Square Station and continued to the Civic Center Station. This was nearby.

We also found Court of Flags – Civic Mall (GC1JVKM) a few steps away. We backtracked to 2nd Street and walked to Little Tokyo. Those who needed it logged virtual cache Challenger Shuttle Memorial (GCBFEC).

We walked another block to Japanese Village Plaza and had lunch at the first place that had colorful menus in their window. Unfortunately for me it was the worst Japanese food that I’ve had in a restaurant. The rice was hard from insufficient water while boiling and the chicken was over cooked. I didn’t hear anyone raving about their food. D checked Yelp and found 2-1/2 stars, in an area full of 3.5, 4, and 4.5 star restaurants. Oh well, we’ll know for next time.

Another block East and we were in the Arts District. We were immediately drawn to the murals. They change all the time. Most had been painted since my last cache maintenance trip to the area. D had his picture taken in front of a big one for his Facebook page.

This unrefined mural (or was it advanced tagging?) had a message that amused and made me wonder. Sissopolis also seemed especially intrigued by it.

Beer drinkers among us couldn’t resist stopping at Angel City Brewery. I’m often nearby but it’s a place that I would never have visited on my own. While some imbibed I looked closely at the impressive industrial décor.

This was on the wall. Whatever it is, it seemed to be functioning.

The last find in the area was my City in Transition #3 (GC1CD17). Yes, it’s another dodo cache.

On weekdays 1st Street is packed. On Sunday, it was near-deserted, shabby and post-apocalyptic looking, like a scene from The Omega Man.

A 2 minute ride on the Gold Line from across the street brought us to Union Station. The cache in the station’s garden was found quickly.

We got back on the Red Line and made a short stop at Pershing Square Station that we’d skipped before lunch. We replaced and logged a missing cache within sight of the Ambassador Hotel and found another hidden by our SFV geofriend CacheKidz!.

We boarded the Red Line for the final time and the trip back to North Hollywood.

Doing our morning trip in reverse we got onto the jam packed Orange Line bus. We had the misfortune to be next to the chatty driver who explained in great detail about job openings at the MTA. She didn’t talk to anyone in particular. Just when eye rolling and smirking were becoming tiring, she switched subjects and asked if anyone knew about whale watching. She repeated her question to each group of boarding passengers. As far as I know, not one person responded. So ended our 9 hour gopher caching trip. Thanks to capdude for coining the term.

FEBRUARY 12, 2013 – Gopher Caching, part 1, Hollywood

Busy schedules and uncertain weather stopped a planned weekend of group caching at the Route 66 Shield geoart. Instead, Plan B, a 1 day ‘gopher caching’ trip on the subway was implemented. Seven of us (sissopolis, EcuaDeb, BWidget + Dixie, capdude + capsbug & me) met at the MTA Orange Line Park & Ride lot at Victory & Winnetka. Prepared with ticket machine instructions from Don_J (who couldn’t join us) we had no problems buying TAP cards and day passes. The ½ hour express bus ride to the Red Line subway station on Lankershim in North Hollywood was uneventful. With a surprisingly big crowd for 8:30 am Sunday, we crossed the street to the subway entrance,

and met deeznutz® who’d arrived from the opposite direction. We descended into the subway and onto the Red Line.

Nine minutes later we reached the Hollywood and Highland station and emerged like gophers onto the street.

Capsbug looked inside the famous diner on our 1 block walk to a virtual cache at the big sign.

A DWP power distribution station, built in 1933, was only 200’ away. There was a micro cache, Station 10 (GC3C1N2) directly in front of it.

We walked back toward the station and the TCL Chinese Theater (new name as of Jan 2013) where there was a physical cache and a puzzle cache.

Drizzle didn’t bother us. We blended in well with all the muggles who walked around with cameras and smartphones, searching the concrete for their favorite stars’ signatures, hand & foot impressions. Thanks sissopolis for distributing the puzzle questions, compiling the answers and calculating the final coordinates.

Back underground and then out again at the Vermont & Sunset Station, we walked North on Vermont. We gawked at oddities in store windows and street art. There were dozens of keys and locks embedded in the sidewalk in front of a former locksmith shop.

At Lock Ness Fenster (GC2DNDN) we searched for 20 minutes.

I think we touched every single lock, and STILL DNF’d!

Across the street we hiked up the steps of Olive Hill to the top of Barnsdall Art Park. The view North was especially scenic.

Here’s what we saw.

Where are (“D”) deeznutz® and Dixle? D is in several pictures in Part 2. Somehow Dixie managed to avoid my camera entirely.

…to be continued in part 2…