bytemobile's Geoblog

Aug 31, 2005

Folie � DeuX

By: WeBeDnD Difficulty: 4.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I had a little trouble at every stage -- figuring out the theme, deriving the coordinates, then when it came to finding the cache, I had two sets of coordinates and tried out the wrong one first. Fortunately, they weren't far apart. I thought the cache location was quite interesting. I spent a little time there, taking it all in before heading back to work. Thanks!

Agnew Park

By: nielsenc Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I was in the area to do locate a puzzle cache, and decided to do one more before heading back to work. I got off to a bad start and it ended up taking a bit of time to find it, but all's well that ends well. Thanks!

Aug 27, 2005

Ferrosaurus

By: digitalfish Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

We were headed for some wine tasting at Obester Winery, but decided to make a quick stop at Spanish Town Shops. I turned the GPSr on as I got out of our vehicle, but remembered the hint and found the cache before the GPSr knew where it was. Mrs. Bytemobile said, "You have been doing this too long.", but I don't take credit for being much of a searcher. Thanks!

Aug 26, 2005

Where's Muriel?

By: santacruztacean Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Other

I didn't spot Muriel on the first pass, but found her after reapproaching for a second look. I also spotted a friend's grandparents very close by.

Aug 21, 2005

Twinkletoes, Revised

By: The Groin (maintained by dBASED) Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

By the way, I ran across what looked to be an older cache while searching for this one. It was probably a few hundred yards upstream, on a rock shelf not far from the river. It was the bottom half of a Rubbermaid container, with a few trinkets, some stickers, and an Altoids can containing a pair of earplugs. Everything was very weather-worn.

The Broken Ship

By: mayela mingi Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Micro

We were camped at Seacliff, and I went for a Santa Cruz caching tour on Friday afternoon, and a hike through Henry Cowell Redwoods on Saturday. I saved this cache for last, but had to e-mail the owner for help when I couldn't find it. My coordinates were good, but I just didn't have the right perspective to see the cache. And the cache is very visible when viewed from the right angle. Thanks!

Aug 20, 2005

State Park Treasure

By: Chickasaw of ynots4 Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Large

I think this cache deserves its difficulty stars. Yes, I read all the hints, and read them several times. The first was of some help because it told me I was in the right area, but it made me worry that the cache was gone because it was not in the immediate area. I wasn't able to make any use of the second hint. I thought the third hint was anti-helpful because it had me looking up in the trees, and looking for ropes. I left turtle #56.

Uncle Greasy

By: Kealia Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

My great uncle Alec was a real character. I remember him with a cigar in his mouth and a smile on his face. He was a farmer and I spent one summer loading and unloading crates of cabbage for him as we made the rounds to the local grocery stores. I left turtle #57. Thanks!

Big 'Ole Steps

By: Kealia Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I have a Garmin 60cs, and didn't have the trouble that WOW and Nazgul reported. Maybe my satellites were aligned today. I left turtle #55. Thanks!

Black Box

By: The Zenone Family Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

Yes, Pastor Griz, and sometimes it is better to trust the GPS, and not worry that the coordinates are wrong and try to find it with the clues. There are a couple trail intersections up here, and I assumed my coordinates were off, and I started using the clues. I finally followed the GPSr and found the cache. We were camped at the beach this weekend, and I remembered to bring my folder of solved puzzles. I was able to combine this cache with a few others to make a nice loop hike.

I left turtle #58. Thanks!

Winter Woods Stamp

By: Chickasaw and BuzzDude Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

I did the poem in the logbook option. It reflects my mood at the time, which was not great. I had wet feet from a river crossing, and a growling stomach. I started off on the the wrong little trail on the wrong side of the road, but eventually figured it all out. Thanks!

Twinkletoes, Revised

By: The Groin (maintained by dBASED) Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

I made this one at least twice as tough as it should have been. My GPSr sent me half way up a very steep hillside, then I came back down to the river, and finally found it by looking for a good swimming hole. My GPSr read about 350 feet off at the cache site. Here are my coordinates for the landmark mentioned in the hint: N 37 00.966 W 122 03.067. I left turtle #59. Thanks!

Aug 19, 2005

Seek the Light

By: mamoran Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I really appreciated the hint, after climbing all over the rocks for the cache across the way. I left Bytemobile turtle #54.

Cache is Clay

By: The Saints Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I was back in this area looking for a cache once before. This time I had to wander around a bit, but finally got the right angle and spotted it. Thanks!

Bird's Eye View

By: Team Wolfie Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

This was a nice easy find after climbing all over the rocks for the last one. It was a great day to be along the coast, and lots of other folks thought so too. I left Bytemobile turtle #53.

Time 4 U 2 Find It

By: mamoran Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I was out for a couple hours of caching after setting up camp at Seacliff State Beach. I had some trouble with this one, and was climbing all over the rocks. I wouldn't take the hint too literally. I just turned over rocks until I found it. I left Bytemobile turtle #52.

Ship Ahoy!

By: Xena Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

We were camping at Seacliff State Beach, and I was out doing a little caching this afternoon. I have been to the harbor area once before, but never had a tour quite this complete. I wish I had brought my bike along. I think I spent more time finding the washer than I did the final cache. Thanks!

Sunny Cache

By: CrisandBee Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

We set up camp at Seacliff State Beach, and I headed out for a couple hours of geocaching. This was my first stop, and I got lucky with a nearby parking spot. Thanks!

Aug 17, 2005

A Kodak Moment

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

This was my last evening before heading back to California, so I wanted to hit a few caches. This was my first stop. I was thankful for the hint since there were lots of places to search.

Show Me A Sign

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I was here on a Saturday in January, but the guardian of the cache was parked in his truck directly across from the cache, so I just kept rolling. It was a quick find this evening. Good thing I got rid of my travel bugs last night. I have seen nothing but micros tonight. Thanks!

American Male

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

This was a very busy area this evening. I had a look at the memorials, then settled on a nearby bench while my GPSr settled. I read the hint, then made for the cache. There was a family camped on the next bench over, but I doubt if they saw what I was up to. Thanks!

Gull Island View

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Micro

I stopped by here in January and couldn't find it. After finding a few of this type tonight, I guess I'm better at it. This is certainly a different place in the summertime. The nearby restaurant was packed, and the parking lot was full. I was the only car here in January. Thanks!

Welcome To Point Pleasant Beach

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I pretty much knew what to look for, but it still took a while since there are lots of potential hiding places. The traffic was a bit heavy here tonight. Thanks!

Lake Of The Lillies

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

There was no one around this evening, so I just nosed around till I spotted it. Thanks!

Lost But Not Forgotten

By: DiscGolfer Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

I stopped here just after the sun went down and it was starting to get dark. A couple fishermen were camped near the cache, and an ice chest with a couple fish was directly in front of it (didn't know that for sure at the time). I decided to have dinner at the Shrimp Box, and came back with a flashlight after dinner. There were kids running around and at least one fisherman left, but the area in front of the cache was clear and I found it quickly. That's it for this trip -- back to California in the morning. Thanks!

Aug 16, 2005

Luker Warm

By: Wanderings Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Staying in Toms River for a couple nights on business, I wanted to find a spot to drop some travel bugs from California. After working a long day it's tough to find an ammo can in the woods, and a micro wouldn't do, but this cache fit the bill. Thanks!

Aug 13, 2005

Take me out to the...

By: cyan_blue Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

Last week I had a look at a couple puzzles in Pacifica since were going to be camped at Half Moon Bay. This one was fairly straightforward and so was the find. Thanks!

Li'l Stickers

By: cyan_blue, cortneyofeden and emmett_the_sane Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Small

I normally take forever to find this type of cache -- I prefer them to be large and painted bright colors SMILIE. I followed a little cacher trail, and it led to the right spot. Thanks!

Kathy's Cause

By: TBD & D Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I looked for stage one for a couple minutes, then decided to brute-force stage two, and found it without too much trouble. I used the corrected coordinates for the last stage, but initially zeroed in on the wrong tree. The cache is a little exposed and I tried to cover it a little better. Thanks!

Top Bead

By: TBD & D Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Micro

We were camped at Half Moon Bay for the weekend, and decided to make a caching run to Pacifica to while away a couple hours. Thanks!

Bead Jewelry Above the Valley

By: cyan_blue Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

I took the cyan_blue tour of Pacifica today. It was a bit overcast and cool, but I guess that's normal. Thanks!

Skyline Overlook

By: cyan_blue Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

This was my fourth cyan_blue cache on a little run through Pacifica. I was hoping the cache would be by a readily distinguishable landmark, but you just have to poke around till you find it. Thanks!

Play Ball!

By: SUPERflamingo Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

This turned out to be a quick stop. I parked quite close to the cache. I glanced at the cache description and hoped I was looking for a very large and brightly colored Flamingo. That wasn't the case, but I found the cache fairly quickly anyway. Thanks!

Aug 12, 2005

High and Dry

By: Woof! Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

Ah, my favorite cache color. It took a couple minutes to find the right approach, but I found it and made it to the cache. Thanks!

Gazos Creek

By: rightseatsis Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

I just finished a long hike at Butano, and saw that this cache was just around the corner. I almost turned around when I hit all the new asphalt patches on the road, but I guess the stuff will wash off with a little solvent. Thanks!

Candelabra

By: PurplePeople Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

The trail was a bit weedy early on, but turned out to be fairly nice most of the way. I had a look at the candelabra, found the cache, and headed back to my loop around the park. Thanks!

Escape

By: Woof! Difficulty: 4.0 Terrain: 4.0 Container: Small

I found a somewhat reasonable way down to the creek. I think that claiming that there is a trail along the upper reaches of the creek is glorifying it beyond what it deserves. I had sporadic GPSr reception, passed the cache area, then turned around and headed back up to find it. I think it would have been pretty much impossible for me without the brightly colored marker. Thanks!

Buckle up!

By: Gil-galad Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 2.5 Container: Regular

This is a very strange area, with the old concrete foundations, the fancy steel fence, railroad track, and a little log cabin being built on the slope above. The guy was out hammering on the cabin today, so I was a little self conscious wandering around looking for the cache. I wandered quite a bit before finding the cache since the GPSr reception is a bit iffy here. Thanks for the ride. Now I have to wash my vehicle.

Oat Bun

By: Mengarelliott Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

This cache is in quite good shape for having been here for four years. I guess it must have been replaced at some point. This was on the early portion of a long loop around the park today. Thanks!

Butano Creek

By: Butano and WT Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 3.0 Container: Regular

This was the last cache for me in a big loop around the park. I went down to the creek too soon, read the cache description and hints, and got back on the trail and found the bridge, then the cache. Thanks!

Take a Bite

By: Woof! Difficulty: 3.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

This was my first find of the day. My GPSr wasn't especially close, but the cache stood out well enough that it wasn't much trouble to find. I think we should have a standard cache color -- my choice would be orange SMILIE.

Piece of Cake

By: Woof! Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

My GPSr wasn't spot-on, so I investigated a couple other possibilities before finding the cache, so it was not quite a piece of cake. Thanks!

Mystery Trail

By: Woof! Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

While I was signing the cache log, John rolled up on his motorcycle. He asked if I needed any help, and we chatted a bit. He lives close by and he evidently doesn't get hassled for riding here. He said that next weekend, a bunch of horses will be charging up the "Mystery Trail" on an annual 100 mile race.

Olmost Heaven

By: Woof! Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

This is a nice spot, but the bench was in full sun and it was beginning to warm up, so I just took a short break, signed the log, and trudged on. Thanks!

A.L.F.

By: Woof! Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Regular

I doubt if many planes land here anymore, with an antenna on the runway, and lots of deep water-worn grooves. It is an interesting spot to visit, though. Thanks!

Quite Appeeling

By: Woof! Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

I thought this might be difficult from reading the past logs, so I had a look at my watch as I arrived. I tried the cache coordinates, then tried the other two posted coordinates. A ranger drove up and I chatted with him a little bit. He asked if I had seen any Piliated Woodpeckers. When I said I didn't think I could identify one, he said they sound like this "kuk kuk keekeekeekeekeekeekuk kuk". I guess he was out looking for them.

I finally wandered a bit further afiel d and found the cache. I thought I would post my own version of the coordinates, but after watching the numbers settle down, they suddenly jumped, so I knew my coordinates wouldn't be any better than those that have alrea dy been posted. I ended up spending about 30 minutes here, but it gave my t-shirt some time to dry after being soaked with sweat.

Unknown Alien Cache

By: ProTechCC Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 4.0 Container: Regular

I thought I heard the mothership landing as I approached the cache, but it turned out to be a Terra-based airliner. I couldn't resist the Kealia and Hula Bum "G" signature item. I left a Marky & Joanie smashed penny.

Going Gazos

By: Woof! Difficulty: 3.0 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Small

I didn't see any bees here. In fact, I didn't remember the previous logs, and wasn't even on the lookout. I dug into my pack for a Bytemobile turtle, and was disgusted to find that I had left them in the car. It was still early in the day, so I decided to head on out to Candelabra.

Where Water Comes From

By: Woof! Difficulty: 2.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Micro

I took a quick look where I zeroed out, then read the cache description. I didn't see any trail junction so I walked on about 70 feet and saw the junction with Indian Trail. Now I was confused because the description said Canyon Trail. I headed back to my zero point, looked a little closer and found the cache. The coordates were spot-on for me, which is a good thing for this type of hide. To head for the next cache, it looked like I had the choice between a wide road in the full sun that headed steeply upward and a level path through the woods. This was not a hard choice. I found a nice place to eat my sandwich along Indian
Trail next to the creek.

Aug 10, 2005

Aerial Boundaries - Formerly: Jumping Poles

By: SlumDweller Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I made a lunchtime run for a couple caches. This is a nice park, and was fairly quiet today. Thanks!

COMMANDO BIRD! Woodland Headquarters

By: chick-n-rock Difficulty: 2.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

I headed out for a couple lunchtime caches today. This made a nice stop, and didn't take me too long to spot it. Thanks!

Aug 9, 2005

Columbian Mammoths of the Guadalupe River Basin

By: bullit Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Not chosen

I finally made it out to see the dig today at lunchtime. The fencing was still up and there was a canopy and table with a few flyers about Columbian Mammouths, but the bones are gone. I guess they will scout the area a little more, then close up shop.

Well, well, well. What have we here?

By: O_Chemist (adopted by SGT Stitches) Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 3.5 Container: Micro

This turned out fine for a lunchtime cache. I picked up a well-beaten trail about a quarter mile from the cache, and didn't pick up too many burrs. There was no trouble at all keeping dry today. Thanks!

Aug 7, 2005

A Princess of Marsh

By: VyCache Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 2.0 Container: Regular

Mrs. Bytemobile is an avid watcher of birds, so this made a nice stop. We flushed a mother quail as we were walking along, and had a look at her tiny chicks. We also had our fill of blackberries, which are just coming into season along the trail. Thanks!

Frankley insane dude

By: Frankly Insane Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

We were up from the San Jose area for a wedding, and with a few hours to kill, we took a little caching tour. I left Bytemobile turtle #47. Thanks!

Even Moa Dunes

By: VyCache Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Mrs. Bytemobile and I weren't really dressed for hiking the dunes. We were killing time before a wedding this afternoon. While I wandered around and beat the bushes, Mrs. Bytemobile stayed near the zero point and found the cache. Thanks!

Beach Bum

By: tvcook1 Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Regular

Mrs. Bytemobile and I were here from the San Jose area and killing some time before a wedding this afternoon. This one was easy for us because we parked about 30 feet away. Thanks!

Guilin Mountains

By: haicoole Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

Mrs. Bytemobile and I were in the area to attend a wedding, and decided to do a little geocache touring before the ceremony. This one took us to an interesting spot in Arcata. Thanks!

Aug 6, 2005

Right on Target

By: Joe and Ed Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.5 Container: Small

Mrs. Bytemobile and I were up here for a wedding this weekend, and did a little caching to get acquainted with the area. This is a surprising nice area back here. Thanks!

Woodley Island Stroll

By: Joe and Ed* Difficulty: 1.5 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Small

Mrs. Bytemobile and I were up for a wedding this weekend, and could see the island from our window. This cache was a good excuse to come over and see the marina. I left Bytemobile turtle #46.

A very unique garden

By: Uncle Al Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

Mrs. Bytemobile and I got an early start this morning and rolled into Eureka in the early afternoon. It was too early to check into our B & B, so I suggested that we take a little tour and do some caches. This was the first stop and it took us to the interesting old town area. Thanks!

Birders Casserole

By: ouzels-r-we Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Regular

The black berries are just starting to come on, and we ate our fill on the way to the cache. We weren't really dressed for hiking, but we did just fine except for a little dust on our shoes. Thanks!

Harbor Haven Cache

By: NCFLYERS - The Double J's of Fortuna, CA Difficulty: 1.0 Terrain: 1.0 Container: Virtual

Before we came up here this weekend from the San Jose area for a wedding, I checked out a few caches. This one sounded interesting, so I made sure we got on the road early so we would be up here before 5 pm. We made it in plenty of time, and took a nice caching tour of the area. We were impressed by the whole building and the view. Thanks!

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