Cacher seeking advice on cache selection

[+geo-jedi]

Hello Geocachers in the great states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa,

 

Team Geo-Jedi is on a quest to find at least one cache in all 50 states. We are now lacking only 6 states. We may soon have the opportunity to be in your area for a 24 hour stretch. Does anyone have any recommendations on interesting caches (and a route) to find caches in all three states?

 

Our latest idea was to fly into the regional airport in La Crosse. Wisconsin and start around there. We are hoping for memorable [but not impossible] caches, if possible.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Team Geo-Jedi

[+welch]

I've never done them, but I hear the Great River Road caches are nice.

"The GRR passage is a series of caches placed along the scenic Great River Road from Dubuque to McGregor, Iowa. They have been named as “GRRP1…”, “GRRP2…”, etc. (to view all of them, click here or search by keyword “GRRP” on the www.geocaching.com/seek/ webpage). Each of the GRR caches (except for the “GRRPbonus” cache) can be logged as a separate find and may be found in any order."

Here's the map they meantion.

 

The downside is that the series (of 7?) runs from Dubuque (WI, IL, IA borders) north only as far as McGregor/Marquette. Marquette is right across the river from Prairie du Chen so bagging a cache in Wisconsin shouldn't be too bad, but the Minnesota border is still another 45/50miles north of there.

[+WindChill]

I have also heard that the Great River Road series is very nice.

 

As always, recommendations depend on what type of cache you like. If you want something with some really nice scenery, I highly recommend the "Boots" caches in Yellow River State Forest (near Marquette/Prairie du Chien):

 

These boots are made for walking

ARE YOUR BOOTS ABLE TO STILL WALK?????

 

They are a fairly short walk along a little-used service road...for most of the way. The terrain is a bit challenging but I dont think they deserve their 4.5 star terrain rating. Probably more like an Iowa 3.0-3.5 (or a Colorado 2.0-2.5)

 

Horse-lovers Geocache #1

 

Is a nice cache near the old fire tower and not too far from a great scenic overlook.

There are other caches in IA and across the river in WI, but I have not done them.

[+geo-jedi]

Thanks for the advice on those Iowa caches - the Great River sequence sounds nice as do the "Boots" caches.

 

Yes - scenic is what I am seeking. A nice hike is okay too. If I find a few easy ones near La Crosse to get both Wisconsin and Minnesota driving an hour to do some hiking in Iowa would be a nice mix.

 

When is hunting season? How bad are the ticks?

 

Thanks again,

 

Team Geo-Jedi

[+WindChill]

Here are the dates for the various hunting seasons and here is a map/brochure for Yellow River State Forest.

 

You know, now that you mention it I dont think I have had a tick all year.

[+Former Hawkeye]

You know, now that you mention it I dont think I have had a tick all year.

 

ticks are gone in Minnesota-I know did I just did a cache in tall native grass area that was loaded with ticks this summer according to other cachers.

Wear your orange vest while geocaching this fall!

[+Tall Rice]

You're coming into a great time of year to cache in Iowa...the bugs (until it hit 90 yesterday) were on the decline and the leaves (around here) are turning nicely.

[+geo-jedi]

Thanks for the replies - Here's how it turned out...

 

On Saturday, October 28, Team Geo-Jedi did a three state swing through wonderful Wisconsin, magnificent Minnesota, and incredible Iowa. It was a beautiful fall day with sunny skies. It was cloudier and windier in the late afternoon in Iowa. Even better than the weather was the caching - 6 for 6 starting in LaCrosse, WI, then west to Minnesota, before heading south to Iowa.

 

Wisconsin

GCQDVF - Pettibone Gazebo

GCNDEW - Welcome to Wisconsin

Minnesota

GCNDF4 - Welcome to Minnesota

GCH823 - Dresbach Wagon Trail

Iowa

GCQENX - Malanaphy Cache

GCX2BY - Phelps Park

 

QDVF was special and not just because it was the first cache of the day. When selecting caches, we tried to find ones that would be memorable. So many cachers said this was a tricky hide, that we felt compelled to challenge ourselves. There was a little bit of rust in the old geocaching force but as soon as the question was put "Where would we hide it?" the answer became obvious and the teasure was found. We left nothing but did take a coin that we'll leave elsewhere.

 

GCNDEW was second on the list. We were afraid we'd have to backtrack along 90 to get to it but our trusty Garmin 60CS took us thru residential streets to the backside of the truckstop that ended up at the rest stop - that was nice. While signing the log, we were surprised by one of the loudest motorboat zooming up the Mississippi - were they fishing?

 

GCNDF4 was just up the road from GCNDEW and was a nice easy find. There was a good view of the locks with about ten small boats sitting in the water - were they fishing?

 

GCH823 gave us a chance to stretch our legs a bit along a trail that we had all to ourselves. A geotrail has developed near the cache making this one a cinch to find.

 

GCQENX was a challenge, especially since we were caching paperless having forgotten our notes. We switched systems and had loaded the info into an iPod instead of a Palm PDA. We didn't know that there were no logs loaded. As they say, those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.

 

The first part of our challenge was finding the trailhead. It took almost an hour of driving on a variety of roads of uncertain surface before we saw the weather beaten sign. The hike was fun with a few fallen trees to overcome. It was a magnificent climb to the top and we were willing to believe that the higher flow might be considered a falls in Iowa. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the cache. Then we made a phone call to a fellow cacher (thank goodness for cell phones) who had access to the web and read us the notes and the all important coordinates: N43-21.343 and W091-50.087. We came down found the real falls and then an important flash of white that took us the the cache. The log seems to have mostly dried out. We closed the cover as best as we could but a new container will probably be needed by next season. Thanks for bringing us to a wonderful spot and giving us memories for our first Iowa cache.

 

GCX2BY was a fun walk in an area that got busier as the afternoon went on. Once again, the lack of access to logs caused problems. We started on the paved low road and had our GPS tell us we were near. With the bluffs, we were willing to be forgiving with coordinates that were off but still didn't find anything. Back and forth we walked, pretty much alone. We went down the gully and the GPS said we were getting warmer - then we saw the bridge. We walked out thinking that the path might loop around. After getting to a second parking area, some locals said that there the path was just what we walked and no more. We walked back towards the car almost ready to admit defeat and then we saw the start of a trail up. There were 3 groups of people on the higher trail and a very big yellow lab who seemed to be on his own. Anyway once on the right trail, the cache was eventually found and the log signed. A nice cache to end the day.

 

Thanks for the adventure,

 

Team Geo-Jedi