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Jeeps and other 4x4 caching tools


Andy&Sarah

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How many here make it a point to find the cache that takes some wheeling to get to? There aren't too many caches posted that require some off roading to get to. I'm calling out all my fellow Jeepers to find a far-out location and post a cache! My next one will be of this sort...as soon as I find a worthy spot!

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I drive 4x4s and use them as caching vehicles - I have yet to come across a cache that required 4wd but it comes in handy for the winter excursions. I would definately be up to a hunt that gave me a reason to lock the difs - as long as it was on a legitimate (ie Legal) trail.

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One of my more memorable caching experiences:

 

This summer I drove into an area with my Jeep GC (w/normal truck tires, not a real off-road vehicle, but competent enough). We had lots of rain during the spring and early summer, so the trails were soft in spots, but I was making my way along pretty well straddling the deepest rutts.

 

I came upon a section that looked pretty benign, flat (no rutts) with a bit of standing water, so I headed in at a good steady rate...and subsequently sunk into sticky muck up to my bumpers, just clearing the undercarriage. I was stuck - really stuck. This was at dusk about 2 miles from the main road. Rutt Rohh! <_< Oh the shame of it, I might need to call a tow truck to pull me out!

 

I managed to rock myself back and forth to clear a small rutt behind me. I also dug out some of the muck with my hands to enlarge the rutt, but I was still sitting ~on the undercarriage. I shoved whatever I could find into the rutt - rocks, branches, trees...and attempted to back up onto these. I repeated this process until I reached higher/drier ground. Whew! No tow truck for me!

 

I backed out the entire ~2 mile trail, not wanting to risk getting stuck again. I opened the tailgate to allow better visibility as I had to re-straddle those rutts again on the way out - in reverse - in the dark!

 

Great fun, but I am now much more cautious when heading off road in my Jeep (at least until I get better off road tires on the thing).

 

BTW - I did find the cache in the dark (before backing out) with only the light of my GPS to guide me! Woot!

Edited by markp99
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Come out west. Here in AZ we have lots of caches that require challenging drives down tough 4WD roads (mostly old mining roads). Some are 4WD plus grueling hikes. For instance, last week I hunted Table Mountain. The drive was 90 miles of pavement, 10 miles of decent dirt, then 5 miles of challenging 4WD before the road became impassable. Hike was 14.3 miles roundtrip.

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Who wants to join me for Wild Horse Homelands Confluence (42N 119W) near the Oregon-Nevada border?

I also have to get to Five Bar (SE Oregon) this year. Hopefully before they get snowed in.

I'm buying a 4X4 this week or next. I've been driving my Honda Civic to some places that should have been driven by a 4X4. Please PM me if you can meet me. I don't want to go 4 wheeling that far by myself.

Check my bookmark list for Counting Counties in Oregon (GCR9XY). 3 more counties to go... <_<

Tom Fuller Crescent, Oregon

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Theres a couple in Oz, up Cape York, where, if you dont take the plane or boat, and who would want to, as the overland trek is a 4wders mecca here, you are looking at about 800km (500 miles) of hard 4wding, each way. It would take at least 3 days travelling to do this journey, each way. The islands mentioned in the 2 cache logs, (GC1226, and GCVH4J) are just off the northern tip of Cape York.

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Michigan's Upper Peninsula has several caches that would be better off found with a Jeep. Search for caches around ZIP Code 49849, 100 mile radius. Many of the caches can have unpredictable washouts, deep snow, mud and overflowing rivers and swamps. One time you might make it in a car, the next time you'll barely make it in a Jeep.

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Any GCers in Northern California or Southern Oregon should try this one: GC62E5

 

You can see our photos there. But hey, we did it in a '03 Ford Expedition - 2WD... I'm just good. We never did go back and try again once we got the Jeep, but we got back into the neighborhood and had a blast with two other Jeeps.

 

Now that we're in Maine I hope we find plenty of Jeep trails...

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I think we should add a 4X4 (or Jeep.. ;) ) cache finder to the search page. We just got our first Wrangler and found that there arn't that many 4X4 caches in the Central Texas area, and if there are, and we haven't found them yet, a short cut would definately be a way to find them....

Edited by crakhdcraig
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Come out west. Here in AZ we have lots of caches that require challenging drives down tough 4WD roads (mostly old mining roads). Some are 4WD plus grueling hikes. For instance, last week I hunted Table Mountain. The drive was 90 miles of pavement, 10 miles of decent dirt, then 5 miles of challenging 4WD before the road became impassable. Hike was 14.3 miles roundtrip.

 

Yep, I agree. I don't have a 4x4, just a regular 2WD Dodge quad cab. I'm half tempted to take the front valence off, because it really cuts down on the clearance. I was all ready to trade it in for a minivan (yeah, I can hear the groans) until I started caching; now I'm rethinking things so I can access more of the wonderful caches in the high country of AZ. Doing them by vehicle would be so much nicer, since I usually have the 4 and 5 year old along. Ultra-long hikes aren't really doable with them at this point.

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