Geocache on Johnston Atol FOUND

[Tard]

A friend's daughter is working for the US government on the Johnston Atol and has FOUND a geocache there.

Apparently placed by Spam-Lover in 2008, it has never been found before.

Before she left I asked her to sign up for geocaching and place one there, since it's uninhabited and would probably be the first.

 

So, if you know Spam-Lover please let them know the cache was found.

Unfortunately the island is quarantined under government control so the cache has been confiscated.

 

Here is her exact description:

 

There was several government-issued pens and pencils (Skillcraft brand), a plastic buddha in the shape of a pig, a pair of wire cutters, a pair of wind glasses, a shiny brass whistle, a non-electric lighter of some sort, used sunscreen in the shape of a deodorant, a Honolulu bus ticket dated for April 20, 2008, and a diving/utility knife. And, of course, a little booklet stating who had started the cache and when.

 

The geo-cache had been left by "Spam-Lover" in 2008 and we were the first to find it. Unfortunately, for those of you interested in geo-cacheing, we have to dismantle the cache and contact Spam-Lover so that he might not advertise for this geo-cache site--sorry Steve (note, I am Steve). The island is technically military property and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has protected a large portion of the island and surrounding waters. In addition, the island is quarantined. So, in order to get to the island, without being reported to NOAA or the military or some other branch of government, you'd have to jump through a lot of hoops to get permission first. Also, the reason the island is quarantined is so that we won't have to eradicate any more non-native species and spent your precious tax-dollars. This ant eradication was a more expensive project than you all probably want to know.

 

Anyways, the geo-cache was exciting because we got to break the rules and keep other people's junk without replacing it. I kept the buddha pig and the lighter thingy. Kelsie kept the shiny brass whistle.

[+CacheOCD]

Pics!

[+Da Beast]

i did a search for Spam-Lover and cam up with nothing i did Spam lover and that player has not been active since 2007

[+GeoGeeBee]

The map search doesn't show any geocaches on Johnston Atoll. Maybe Spam Lover placed it but the reviewers turned it down due to the issues mentioned in the OP? Maybe it's listed on another site?

[+mtn-man]

Nothing near there, FYI. Normally we wouldn't say, but with the unusual nature I figured I would just go ahead and post about it. Google satellite looks pretty wild. Linkification.

[Tard]

I have asked for pics & clarification but it'll lag a full day or two probably.

[+addisonbr]

i did a search for Spam-Lover and cam up with nothing i did Spam lover and that player has not been active since 2007

I'm guessing the latter is the right account; the finds are all Hawaiian. (Spam Lover would be an appropriate Hawaiian handle, now that I think about it.)

[+The Blorenges]

An interesting story. I am now better informed, having googled lots of stuff about Johnston Atoll!

 

MrsB

[+BVCY Swim]

I'm retired AF (1970-90) and was stationed at Johnston Atoll (1971-72) when it was active. That's wierd that someone placed a cache there as the island(s) were shut down in '04. Doesn't sound like a legal placement to me .

 

The atoll was a great place to dive and kept me from getting bored. The main island (largest) was only 1.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide made up of mostly dregged-up coral from digging the shipping channel. Some of the best diving in the world.

 

Also inside the atoll were three other small islands (radio transmitter & reciever islands and an island for the Coast Guard). They fed us good, got to swim around sharks (and catch/eat them), and the facilities were great! Would not trade the experience for anything!

 

FYI: It was also used as storage for the US reserves of mustard and nerve gas (which has since been removed and neutralized). We had to carry our gas masks around with us 24 hrs a day.

 

By-the-way, Spam-Lover may be from Hawaii ... I hear that they love Spam in Hawaii! Could it be this guy never activated the cache: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=26...62-1566fd43aac7 ?

Edited September 3, 2010 by BVCY Swim

[+addisonbr]

I hear that they love Spam in Hawaii!

Highest per-capita consumption in the US, by a wide margin. It's on the menus of a lot of national fast food chains there.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/07/us/the-s...via-e-mail.html

[Tard]

They are US government employees doing some kind of environmental analysis and protection for 9 months; the site is closed and quarantined. They report the snorkeling is huge fun and the sharks are still there... but no pictures of the cache yet (!)

[+Charlie Fingers]

Looking around via Google (thanks mntn-man) it looks like the whole place has been leveled with no buildings left. Just lots of slabs and an immaculate runway. Must have been an ammo can or better to survive the storms that come through there.

[+DavidMac]

Looking around via Google (thanks mntn-man) it looks like the whole place has been leveled with no buildings left. Just lots of slabs and an immaculate runway. Must have been an ammo can or better to survive the storms that come through there.

 

Now that's kinda spooky... look at the zoomed out satellite view, and it looks like a military installation on a sandy island. Zoom in and you notice that the runways are closed and the buildings are all gone except for what looks like one still standing at the eastern end of the runway.

[+JL_HSTRE]

the reason the island is quarantined is so that we won't have to eradicate any more non-native species and spent your precious tax-dollars.

 

Would not have guessed that. I would've thought it had to do with the chemical weapons storage/disposal or with the nuclear tests.

[+cache_test_dummies]

Now that's kinda spooky... look at the zoomed out satellite view, and it looks like a military installation on a sandy island. Zoom in and you notice that the runways are closed and the buildings are all gone except for what looks like one still standing at the eastern end of the runway.

That is kinda spooky.

 

But the weirder thing is what you can see if you zoom in on the southwest corner of the island:

 

 

And then if you zoom way, way in on that spot ...

 

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[Mr.Yuck]

the reason the island is quarantined is so that we won't have to eradicate any more non-native species and spent your precious tax-dollars.

 

Would not have guessed that. I would've thought it had to do with the chemical weapons storage/disposal or with the nuclear tests.

 

I would think so too!! Now I can't remember if I deleted my window without posting, or our crack moderating team removed my post, but there was never a Terracache on the Island, nor is there any member "Spam Lover". And the Moderator seems to be saying there was never a unpublished Geocaching.com cache on the Island. I could be wrong about that 2nd one though.

[+JesandTodd]

I hear that they love Spam in Hawaii!

Highest per-capita consumption in the US, by a wide margin. It's on the menus of a lot of national fast food chains there.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/07/us/the-s...via-e-mail.html

 

It's one the menu of a lot of fine restaurants, too. Not just fast food

[uperdooper]

Now that's kinda spooky... look at the zoomed out satellite view, and it looks like a military installation on a sandy island. Zoom in and you notice that the runways are closed and the buildings are all gone except for what looks like one still standing at the eastern end of the runway.

That is kinda spooky.

 

But the weirder thing is what you can see if you zoom in on the southwest corner of the island:

 

 

And then if you zoom way, way in on that spot ...

 

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[+TheAlabamaRambler]

the reason the island is quarantined is so that we won't have to eradicate any more non-native species and spent your precious tax-dollars.

 

Would not have guessed that. I would've thought it had to do with the chemical weapons storage/disposal or with the nuclear tests.

It probably has more to do with this: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=12515

 

Several significant contaminant issues exist: closure of the chemical weapons disposal plant; dioxin (Agent Orange), which contaminates at least four acres of land and has migrated to the marine environment; plutonium from two abortive missile launches during high-altitude nuclear and missile testing in the 1950s and 1960s; and a subsurface plume of PCB-contaminated petroleum product.

[Tard]

It probably has more to do with this: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=12515

 

Yes, that's it.

Still no pics from my friend out there on the Atol.

[Luckless]

I was just thinking about caches left in place and never retrieved once archived. Seems like at some point in the far future finding one would be like finding a little time capsule.

[+malo mystery]

LINK to some photos of how the island looked and how it was torn down.

[+GrateBear]

LINK to some photos of how the island looked and how it was torn down.

 

Thanks--very interesting pix.

[Tard]

Sorry, apparently we aren't getting more details on this found cache, they don't want to publish info on it.

Personally I would have signed the logbook and left it alone but they are idealistic... and young. Alas.

[Andronicus]

Well, since mtn-man has stated that there is nothing near there, it must have been listed on a diferent geocaching listing site.