NBJPoppa

Ah, I see I forgot to include a minor detail -- like, what did I hit! I'm sure you've all seen the kind of thing that I hit. When "they" build a road, but they don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry to use it, they install thee removable posts that are usually padlocked to the ground. The "authorized" persons have a key to the lock, and can remove the posts to gain access to the road. I've seen large wooden posts, maybe 10x10, along the Burke Gillman trail. (At least, that's what I remember.) Anyway these posts were much smaller. I think that they were round pipes, maybe 3 inches in diameter. I didn't go and look at them very carefully, you understand. Pepper, as for your GPSr, well, that's another thing for which I am thankful. So far the only damage that I've found has been to my own person and personal property. I had left your GPSr at home. I figured I knew where the cache was, and so didn't use it. I remember thinking, as I was getting out of the car, that maybe I should have brought it along, but then also remembered that I would have had to dig up the coordinates as well. It is just before 7 AM as I write this note. I woke up sans alarm, and I ache all over! The Tylenol has worn off, but it's time to take more as well as the antibiotic. The shoulder really hurts, as does my neck. I suppose it's whiplash. Another friend sent me a "hey, what's up?" query yesterday, but I wasn't at the computer then. So when I woke up I saw that he was logged on so started to chat with him. His commented that the "skin and bone" text was gross. Sorry, perhaps that was a bit unclear. What I meant was this: if you feel your shin (those of you who do NOT have a broken leg, that is ) you feel your leg bone. I never really noticed the muscle in the front of my leg before. I've just noticed the bone as it is so prominent. In fact as I was writing this I felt down my left shin and was quite surprised to feel some muscle to the side of the bone. I think normally when I've done this I have run my hand down the bone so I never noticed the muscle. Odd. Anyway, time to see if I can rest a bit more. Thanks, people.

Wow! What a day! What a day! Whew! I want to preface this note by saying that last July I went on a hike with a number of local legends, including Moun10Bike, Right Wing Wacko, TotemLake, Loo of LooandRoo, MarcusArelius, Runhills (who hiked with the rest of us), Seth!, Adrian, and others. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone important, like Jeremy and Nate the Great.) During that hike Moun10Bike left two of his coins, but of course we weren't allowed to take them. As this was my first hike in years I was quite slow, and I had to recuperate for a day or so. However, the day after our hike two other infamous local cachers did the same hike and picked up the coins that Moun10Bike had left. One coin, however, was left logged as being in one of the caches. Having read how frenzied the rush can be to retrieve one of these items, I got up early the next morning and drove the 90 or so miles up to find the coin. It wasn't there. I later learned that it actually never had been left there; it was only "logged" there to add some miles to the coin. Well, *I* understand that. A bit frustrating, though. So last night before I went to sleep I saw that globalgirl had placed a Moun10Bike Coin into the TIDE POOL cache. Unfortunately, I did not have time to rush down to the cache before the park would close, so I made plans to get there first thing in the morning after the park opened. So, I woke up at 3:30 AM and checked the cache web page. Yep, the coin was still listed as being in the cache. All right! I got dressed as quickly as I could and headed down to the park. Naturally the traffic was light, and so I got there just after the park opened. I noticed two other cars in the parking lot, and so I wondered if someone else was already headed to the cache. No problem. I brought my bike! I got the bike out of the car, strapped on my fanny pack (with Travel Bugs to trade for the coin) and headed towards the cache. Now, being that it was just after 4 AM it was *rather* dark, but I thought I could see OK. I decided to not ride down on the sidewalk lest I run into someone on foot, so I was on the "road". Note: at the top of the hill the "posts" that prevent cars from driving down the road were NOT installed. So maybe a maintenance person is working. Big deal. I was approaching the end of the hill when suddenly ** WHAM!! ** I smashed into something and went flying over the bicycle and landed on the pavement! The bicycle landed ahead of me. I lay on the ground moaning, but not cursing, wondering if I had managed to break my leg. After about a minute I had recovered enough that I could check my leg. I reached down to feel it, and my hadn came away wet, but I didn't feel any bone poking out of place. I slowly got back to my feet, with a painful leg, and went over to check the bike. In the dim light it *looked* OK, but when I tried to ride it wouldn't work. I walked over to a pool of light where I could see that the chain was jammed between the wheel. After a bit of tugging I managed to get it free and put back into place. Amazingly I could still ride it! The foot pads were bent out of place, and the rear wheel isn't straight, but it was easier on my leg than walking. Now, what kind of a dedicated cacher would I be if I let a little fall deter me from going after the coveted Moun10Bike coin? Hmm? Of course I went on the the cache! (dramatic pause) but... but... it wasn't there, and no notes about it either. I checked twice, then put the cache back together, and rode back to my car. The leg was aching a bit, but I was able to drive home. I got there a bit after 5 AM. I put the bike away. I re-installed the seat that I had removed from the car, and went into the house. Shortly after that I went into the bathroom to check on the cut. I discovered a large hole in my pants, and when I removed them I was quite shocked to find that I had a hole in my leg roughly the size of the last joint of my index finger! I didn't think that the flesh on the front of the lower leg was that deep. I only recall feeling bone right beneath the skin. Clearly, however, this was not something I should try to fix on my own. I woke up my father and asked him to take a look at it. (He is a physician, but he usually works with old people. when I was in Jr. High school he worked in the Emergency Room.) At first he thought that this was a simple gouge, but then as we cleaned it up a bit he saw how deep it was and thought that I needed to go get some stitches. He decided to drive me to the ER. Before we left, though, he asked if I had medical insurance. Well, no. Not since my previous job dried up. A visit to the ER would run me roughly $1000.00! Wow! He offered to sew me up himself. The major difference between what he would do and what the ER would do is that at the ER they would "trim" the opening to make a nice straight line for a scar. He hadn't done that for a while, and so let me decided if I cared if my (future) scar looked really neat. I didn't. As he prepared to work on the leg he told me that "this was going to hurt". He was about to inject some local anesthetic into the leg. Curiously I didn't feel it until he was about 300 degrees around the opening, and even that didn't hurt much. Cleaning the wound, now *that* hurt! The hole is so deep that it is below where the anesthetic was! That hot water hurt! Once that was done it was time for the stitches. My skin on the front of my leg it very tough, and it was difficult to pierce it with the needle. I now have 6 stiches in my leg, and an indentation where there is no flesh beneath the skin. After a brief rest we went home. I began to notice how sore my left shoulder was feeling, and I was beginning to feel really tired, and so I decided to take a nap. Before I could, though, I had to clear the bed. That was when I rememebred the fanny pack. Oh no! I was carrying several Travel Bugs in there! I was worried that my accident would have destroyed them. To my relief, none of the Travel Bugs showed any sign of damage! That was not the case, however, for the rest of the items therein. My Olympus Digital Camera is totally smashed to pieces. My old Boy Scouts of America compass is broken. A few other minor odds-and-ends were also bumped a bit, but none of it was as important/valuable as those two things. Hmph. Camera roughly $350. Compass roughly $20. Bike roughly $400. Undamaged TBs: priceless! Time to rest. The pain in the shoulder made getting comfortable on the bed really difficult, but I finally managed to get some sleep. After a couple of hours a phone call woke me, and after that it was time to go to work. (I had called and left a message earlier.) I was surprised at how little the leg was bothering me, and how much the shoulder was! My back started to ache, too. Over the course of the day I noticed my sides beginning to ache, too. I'm sure the hard landing didn't help. A bit after 2 PM I noticed that the coin has disappeared from the cache. I found that the another infamous local cacher (nolenator) had retrived it. Curious as to when he had picked it up I sent him a note. (I didn't tell him then about my accident.) Apparently this was another case of the coin not being left in the physical cache, but merely logically left there. I think nolenator thought I was accusing him of being unfair, but that was not the case at all. I was merely curious as to whether or not I had once again chased a phantom Moun10Bike coin. It seems I had. I got back to work. All day long I had been thinking that I should call the Seattle Parks and Recreation department, and I finally remembered to do so just before 5 PM. I wanted to file a suggestion that they install a light in the park that would illuminate the area where I crashed so that no one else would suffer from a similar (or worse) accident than I had. The fellow on the line was amazed at how well I was taking this. He expected that someone in my condition would be screaming bloody murder. I suppose I am a bit surprised, too. However last night a dear friend sent me some e-mail which was about thankfulness. While I was out in the park this morning, struggling to stand, I remembered that e-mail. I realized then that I was quite blessed. I did NOT break my leg. I did NOT have a skull fracture. I did NOT break my back. I was NOT in unbearable pain I had NOT died. (At least, I don't think I did.) What do I have to complain about? Will I chase after another phantom coin? Probably. Will I ever catch an elusive Moun10Bike coin? Probably not. It's not about the numbers, though, is it?

Uh, um, yes, I do have a van, but, uh... um, perhaps it would need a new coat of paint immediately after visiting the cache -- as a safety precaution, of course.

I *love* the portable computer! That's great! The idea of using them for chains is good, too. I wonder if I could roll up my cable-chains into one. They don't collapse as well as the old chain-link chanis.

So, my curiousity has been piqued a bit by something I saw yesterday. Before I go into the details of what I saw a little background. One assumes that an ammo can was built to hold, and once did, ammunition. When I first found some to buy it was at Ed's Surplus in Lynnwood, Washington, which is just North of Seattle. At the time the clerk told me that people who build houses for a living would often come by and buy all of their ammo cans. I asked why? The answer was that they liked to use them for holding nails, screws, etc.. They don't leak, so the nails don't rust, and the nails can't poke through the sides. That sounded reasonable to me. We also like them because they are waterproof. And I'm sure that they work better than old coffee cans for holding nails! Well yesterday I was up in Everett heading to a soccer match in North Mill Creek. We had a some time before the game started, so I headed over to the Travel Bug Rest Stop cache. While heading North on 4th I spotted a newish-looking white full-sized van with a 50mm ammo can attached to the far right side of the rear bumber! (Like a bumber extension.) Curiously, the ammo can was a bit smashed up. I can only guess that the driver has a penchant for hitting the right rear of the van while backing, and it may be cheaper to replace the ammo can than the bumper! Anyone else seen a different use for an ammo can?

Wow! A Lexus! I didn't realize I was driving that. I thought it was a Dodge Van! Sorry, not me. By the way, regarding ralann's comment:

Well, I noticed it last night. Haven't worked out travel plans yet, and don't know if this is one I could/should tackle on my own. So don't blame Bull Moose. However, my legs are just a wee bit sore from the "hike" I did on Saturday -- more so than on the Valhalla hike. I can only expect that this is because on the Valhalla hike we rested more frequently, whereas for Saturday's hike we only stopped at pre-defined waypoints.

Relatively new geocacher >---^---: ) (The Shark) reached (and passed) his 50th cache find today! (I had to edit the name, because the system keeps translating it to a smiley!)

Re: Moun10Bike's coin standing out: That it does. Navdog, thanks for the information. I am curious about many things.

Yeah, I edited the post a bit -- to correct a typographical error. I've tried to do the quote thing before, and it didn't work. The above-mentioned post was my first attempt where it put the quote into the little box. Bull Moose was correct, I was referring to Pepper's coins. As if the mint could mix up fronts and backs. I was actually wondering what kinds of problems the might have had with the die. More out of curiousity than anything else. Sorry if I have offended anyone. Edit: Having just now read Page 3 of the Port Townsend Implosion, I see that I am not the only person to have some difficulty figuring out how to handle quotes.

What, did they some sort of bell-shaped vegetable show up on the back side?

Many thanks to zoltig, who not only suggested a cache, but he also helped get me to it! We traded Travel Bugs, too.

Thanks for the reply, zoltig! As it happens that is one of the caches that is on my "potential" list. Potential only because I don't know how much free time I'll have. I arrive Tuesday and leave Wednesday! So here's a question: how close is "close"? We have some near the SeaTac Airport (Seattle-Tacoma) that are within walking distance.

Oh, man. This is *too* funny. I expect to be in the Denver area sometime that week as well, but it looks like I might be down there on the 21st and 22nd. I plan to bring a bunch of Travel Bugs with me. Hopefully I can exchange several at a TB Hotel/Motel/Resort/Spa. Suggestions would be appreciated, as I've only been in that area once before, and then I simply drove to Colorado Springs.

Ummm, for which Sunday is this event planned? This isn't exactly crystal clear in either your forum note or on the Event cache page. I suspect, but this is only a suspicion, that you mean this upcoming Sunday, September 5, 2004. Confirmation please?

Kitty Hawk, My suggestion (after looking at this briefly) is to try to log your find of the Jeep again. The logging problem *may* have been due to server slowness. I think that's why it shows up as a partial find for you. I would go back to the Compton's School Cache, click on the Jeep name, and try to log a find of it again. You should be able to select the choice "Retrieved it fron the Compton School Cache" option. If this doesn't work, it would probably be helpful is you noted the exact error you get. Good luck, Mr. Phelps.

Re the Jeep TB: Awwww. Do you know who got it?

Well, I don't know about that. You could be in for a lot of trouble. Tch tch tch. (shakes head) I suppose, though, that you could always go out and vandalize a cache log book to remove the proof of your visit, and then delete the on-line log to make it look better. Who would know? Say, didn't we just hash a similar topic out a few days ago regarding logging of "event caches" as finds? Maybe you could simply convert and event "find" into a note. Yeah, that would be easier. For the humor impaired, the above comments do not reflect the opinions of the author, let alone anyone I know within Groundspeak or, for that matter, anywhere else!

What, you think these places make people cross?

Ooo! Ooo! Mr. Kotter! Mr. Kotter!

Oh my. I had to laugh when I read this most recent note. I expect that most geocachers are one-time visitors to a cache. Me? I revisit caches quite frequently because my goals are different. You might be surprised at how far a cache can migrate! Sometimes a second (or third...) visit to a cache can take longer than the first find because the cache has moved so dramatically -- and I don't mean that the cache owner changed the location. Bull Moose responded to my earlier note with his experiences. As I say I've only "found" 4 event caches. Heading down to someplace that is unfamiliar can be daunting for some. (Not so much for me.) But finding the recent Win a Moun10Bike Coin! event was harder than I expected. First off finding my way to the site. My maps weren't that good. Second, and this was the kicker, is that there were several large groups of people milling about. Comparing this to the "parallele sticks rule" I just haven't run across a cache hide where there were several piles of parallel sticks near the cache. Another example was on an early cache hunt last Autumn. (I'm trying to not reveal which cache it was.) My kids and I searched and searched and couldn't find any sign of the cache. I went back by myself later after finally finding my first cache and found it. This was a 1/1 cache, and it was so well hidden that I was amazed that anyone found it. I recall reading someone's log (Wienerdog's?) that said something about a difficult search, but that the Mrs. crawled around on hands and knees when she happened upon the cache. The last time I visited that cache I found it in plain sight. Oh well.

In response to Bull Moose's comment about it not being hard to find a group of people milling about... Well, that's often true of caches as well. Some are *quite* easy to find. Should one discount those as well? Ah ha! That's only a 1-star difficulty rating. It doesn't count! In my mind the issue of the Event caches is almost moot. I understand that you probably didn't hike through the woods to find it, so it's like a cache-n-dash. (Or whatever it's called -- drive-by caching?) On the other hand, would you ever go hunt for a 1/1 cache in that area if there wasn't an event there? So what *is* the challenge of some of these caches? Often it seems to be a matter of finding the place to begin with. I see that I have logged 4 event caches. Come Rain, Come Shine...; the WSGA Holiday Get-together; most recently the Win a Moun10Bike Coin! event; and, oh yes, the Snolympia Cache Machine. Personally I was bothered by the idea of a cache machine. The way it was explained to me you had 50-100 people all in one place at one time looking for a cache, and when it was found everyone signed the log and off they all went to find the next cache. Well, to me that didn't seem "kosher". Did *I* find the cache? This was brought home to me by two of my "finds": Noogie and Issacrazy. I "found" these two caches with a group of other geocachers after attending a WSGA meeting. I signed the first one (Noogie) because I figured now that I knew where it was I would never get back to "hunt" for it. Looking back, no I wish I hadn't logged the find in the first place. But, let's extend the discussion. What about CITO caches. What about Virtual caches, or Locationless caches? Are these "cheats"? I think it's all in the mind of the cacher. What is *your* goal in geocaching? I find that I enjoy the events because I get to meet other cachers. Sure, we're a quirky bunch, but by and large most of the cachers I've met are really quite nice people!

That's fine, Nolenator. Just brain storming.

I just thought of some potentially "deserving" people. There is a small group of people who (normally) call the State of Washington "home" that have each found in excess of 1000 caches. In a post in the Northwest Milestone Page thread LucyandRickie had listed 9 such users. Well, that's too many, and there could be some duplication that way. However, there are fewer to have reached the 1500 mark, or 1750, or 2000. I think of Wienerdog, evergreenhiker!, LucyandRickie, Team SuperGenius, Hazard... (The post there was dated June 12, 2004.) Anyway, just an idea, but perhaps I am the only one considering such a thing.

Well, MA, I just don't think that idea will work. Why? Just consider how many folks are already waiting with bated breath to order these beauties! It's *far* more than 9, I'm sure. As for helping to defray the cost of these first nine coins (or *possibly* 10, if we want to be computer geeks and start with zero) I owuld be willing to help with one or two if we pick some deserving souls. Offhand I can think of four people who might qualify: Navdog, Pepper, Moun10Bike, and Jeremy.