4.5lb Walleye GCDFB

[+lassila]

I don't know where you guys are getting that from. The in the OP, he states he is going from Limestone Rapids to Fort Albany ... I don't think there's any way they're paddling back against the current.

You're right! That has been the plan all along.

 

I guess in all the excitement I must have missed that. By "that", of course, I mean the second sentence in the opening post. Gotta learn to pay attention.

Looks like 77 miles to the cache location. Plus another 52 more miles from the cache to Fort Albany.

[+wmpastor]

As a few folks know, I've had GCDFB on the drawing board a few times.

 

The logistics had been worked out, but there were two (or three) unknowns that simply outweighed the cost for a group of us to head out there.

 

When I called a few float-plane companies and told them the final destination... I either received an "Ooh. That place has been flooded" or an "Oh. That's an area likely damaged in the forest fire".

Great! Decimation at GZ and I'm looking for a square yellow Tupperware container... that's either floated away or melted into goo.

 

Flying out to the site and landing on the river is simple enough... but getting from the plane, to the shore (without swimming).... was another unknown.

There's that additional detail of paying for the plane to sit and wait while the cache hunt ensures, before it makes the return trip, also.

 

Over the past few years, I've been in contact with the CO.

He has been incredibly helpful; it's one of the reasons I don't consider this cache a "wild goose chase". The CO is responsive.

 

Nowadays, caches in these remote regions are very unlikely to be published -- COs can't really provide a maintenance plan.

GCDFB was placed long before the Listing Guidelines are what they are today.

 

Finding this cache may sound the death knoll for it.

If a DNF is logged, it's very unlikely anyone else will go.

If the logbook is signed, it's no longer the oldest unfound active cache.... it's very unlikely anyone else will go.

 

Canoes *do* seem like the way to go; if you've got the time, it gives you control.

I'm sure it will be a great adventure, regardless of whether there is a smiley at the end!

Caches are there to be found; I wish you the best of luck Stormgren-X!

What's the worry? If no one can find a remote cache, no one can post a "needs maintenance" log!

[+wimseyguy]

I'll bet the night sky looks amazing up there!

 

I'll bet it does. At several times on our ET Highway expedition we shut off the van and stood in the road for a few minutes gazing upwards. I've lived on the east coast my whole life, and had never been in an area that had so little light pollution. Here's a map for comparison. Both central NV and northeastern Ontario are in the darkest shading.

[+SwineFlew]

I'll bet the night sky looks amazing up there!

 

I'll bet it does. At several times on our ET Highway expedition we shut off the van and stood in the road for a few minutes gazing upwards. I've lived on the east coast my whole life, and had never been in an area that had so little light pollution. Here's a map for comparison. Both central NV and northeastern Ontario are in the darkest shading.

Some part of Oregon is the same way and I really enjoy out camping. It doesnt feel that dark since the stars seem so bright.

[7rxc]

I'll bet the night sky looks amazing up there!

 

I'll bet it does. At several times on our ET Highway expedition we shut off the van and stood in the road for a few minutes gazing upwards. I've lived on the east coast my whole life, and had never been in an area that had so little light pollution. Here's a map for comparison. Both central NV and northeastern Ontario are in the darkest shading.

Nice star watching for sure... however there are those annoying times when one is faced with Northern Lights that completely obscure the stars (mostly)... Nothing to do but lay back and suffer the lack of stars in silence while the lights dance about the sky... I just HATE that!

 

Doug 7rxc

[Mr.Yuck]

I don't know where you guys are getting that from. The in the OP, he states he is going from Limestone Rapids to Fort Albany ... I don't think there's any way they're paddling back against the current.

You're right! That has been the plan all along.

 

I guess in all the excitement I must have missed that. By "that", of course, I mean the second sentence in the opening post. Gotta learn to pay attention.

 

Re-reading that, it sounds a little snarky. Not meant to be! Perhaps a few smilies would have helped.

 

As far as some of the other posts regarding the night sky. I've only seen the Aurora Borealis twice in my whole life at N 43, and once while visiting Wisconsin marginally further North, at N 44. So I'd love to be at N 50 and N 51 camping out in a tent sometime. However, the current forecast doesn't seem particularly active, they may not be seeing them. So maybe they are getting the amazing starlit sky. current auroraul forecast

[+NYPaddleCacher]

With an early start today, it looks like if they keep they're breaks short they might even reach GZ today.

 

I hope that they post a "custom" SPOT log indicating whether or not they found the cache.

[4wheelin_fool]

Well, the CO has no other hides or any finds recorded. Lets hope he posted the correct coordinates. If not, they can always bushwack to the nearest cache 47 miles away.

Edited June 6, 2013 by 4wheelin_fool

[+wmpastor]

Well, the CO has no other hides or any finds recorded. Lets hope he posted the correct coordinates. If not, they can always bushwack to the nearest cache 47 miles away.

I guess you could call that cache-placer a "one-hit wonder"....

[+wmpastor]

With an early start today, it looks like if they keep they're breaks short they might even reach GZ today.

 

I hope that they post a "custom" SPOT log indicating whether or not they found the cache.

Right, a "placeholder" log would be good, just in case second-to-find actually posts a log first!

[7rxc]

Anyone else notice the data drop out near Hat Island... one beacon was missing just before .06 am.. for me that was 8:06. That would be 10 for them. At first I thought they had changed interval, but another popped up on the 10 minute after. That is the only one I've seen, other than where they hide when stopped or shut off at camp.

 

Edit: missing beacon would have been 7:56 here 9:56 there. Just downstream of Hat Island

 

It may show up in a while since beacons of that type sometimes get repeated later on (packet retransmission) depending on the system. I'm not sure how spot does it, but their page mentions retransmitting things for important messages like emergencies. It is how it works for Ham packet radio and APRS (a variant). There is a decay rate that is in force until a packet arrives (received by addressee).

 

I admit to holding my breath a bit when I saw it... SPOTs have to see the sky to work, and dropouts can happen several ways. Anyway it reappeared at the next interval.

GE path measurement on river shows about 65 miles... that would be one heck of a day travelling, more likely one more Camp in store.

 

Doug 7rxc

Edited June 6, 2013 by 7rxc

[+NYPaddleCacher]

GE path measurement on river shows about 65 miles... that would be one heck of a day travelling, more likely one more Camp in store.

 

Doug 7rxc

 

65 miles may seem like a lot, but with a good current it's probably doable. A few friends of mine did a kayak trip a few years ago on our local lake that covered 42 miles in a day and the first 10 miles ago were against a stiff headwind.

 

If I've got the right waypoints, using a great circle calculator, they've travel almost 11 miles since they started around 8:00AM this morning (it's almost 10:55AM here). If they don't reach GZ tonight, they'll be pretty close and should get there early tomorrow morning.

 

 

[jershipman]

I'll bet the night sky looks amazing up there!

 

I'll bet it does. At several times on our ET Highway expedition we shut off the van and stood in the road for a few minutes gazing upwards. I've lived on the east coast my whole life, and had never been in an area that had so little light pollution. Here's a map for comparison. Both central NV and northeastern Ontario are in the darkest shading.

 

Thanks for the link to the dark sky map! I live on the east coast at N40 in a solidly red area. I spend time in VT and enjoy the dark skies up there (especially in winter) but even that doesn't compare to way up there on the Albany river based on that map.

 

Cool to see them on the move again this morning. Looks like another mild sunny day for them today. Hoping for a successful day of paddling for them.

[+redwoodkestrel]

I've been thoroughly enjoying watching the progress over the past few days. Looks like they're making good headway today - I agree that they'll likely be at GZ this evening or early tomorrow... and yes, I hope they do send a message through the SPOT on whether or not they found it! Not sure I could take having to wait until they finally get to a computer or into cell service!

[+lamoracke]

well, you know how there is a controversy with folks who do not log their FTFs right away!

[mac367]

This is so cool. This thread is much better than the weekly argument over reducing the cache saturation guidelines!! These guys are caching Rock Stars, either way, Found it or not, in my opinion.

[7rxc]

 

65 miles may seem like a lot, but with a good current it's probably doable. A few friends of mine did a kayak trip a few years ago on our local lake that covered 42 miles in a day and the first 10 miles ago were against a stiff headwind.

 

If I've got the right waypoints, using a great circle calculator, they've travel almost 11 miles since they started around 8:00AM this morning (it's almost 10:55AM here). If they don't reach GZ tonight, they'll be pretty close and should get there early tomorrow morning.

 

They seem to be ashore right now (lunch, rest or tourist stop/ ALL?). I make it about 21 plus miles since this morning start. IF they do about 30 this afternoon before camp they could be there this time tomorrow give or take.

IF the current was stronger, they would be already going a bit further between beacons. I think they will stop for one more, but it might be a bit further than 30 if they can. Haven't checked the weather lately either.

Still they only lost one full day and part of day 2 after the wx picked up and they stopped and hunkered down.

They probably have time to spare if they planned well. I don't have a clue about their itinerary, but spare and rest days are usually part of it. Just in case. They will still have to thread the delta as well later on.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+wmpastor]

 

65 miles may seem like a lot, but with a good current it's probably doable. A few friends of mine did a kayak trip a few years ago on our local lake that covered 42 miles in a day and the first 10 miles ago were against a stiff headwind.

 

If I've got the right waypoints, using a great circle calculator, they've travel almost 11 miles since they started around 8:00AM this morning (it's almost 10:55AM here). If they don't reach GZ tonight, they'll be pretty close and should get there early tomorrow morning.

 

They seem to be ashore right now (lunch, rest or tourist stop/ ALL?). I make it about 21 plus miles since this morning start. IF they do about 30 this afternoon before camp they could be there this time tomorrow give or take.

IF the current was stronger, they would be already going a bit further between beacons. I think they will stop for one more, but it might be a bit further than 30 if they can. Haven't checked the weather lately either.

Still they only lost one full day and part of day 2 after the wx picked up and they stopped and hunkered down.

They probably have time to spare if they planned well. I don't have a clue about their itinerary, but spare and rest days are usually part of it. Just in case. They will still have to thread the delta as well later on.

 

Doug 7rxc

 

The weather's been excellent in the Eastern US the last two days. Hope it holds out for them. A few hundred miles south they're calling for rain late tonight and into tomorrow.

 

By the way, when I look at the map showing their progress (and recent lunch-time stop), I'm not sure where GZ is. Is it on that map? An early post showed a different map along with the cache location.

[Mr.Yuck]

 

65 miles may seem like a lot, but with a good current it's probably doable. A few friends of mine did a kayak trip a few years ago on our local lake that covered 42 miles in a day and the first 10 miles ago were against a stiff headwind.

 

If I've got the right waypoints, using a great circle calculator, they've travel almost 11 miles since they started around 8:00AM this morning (it's almost 10:55AM here). If they don't reach GZ tonight, they'll be pretty close and should get there early tomorrow morning.

 

They seem to be ashore right now (lunch, rest or tourist stop/ ALL?). I make it about 21 plus miles since this morning start. IF they do about 30 this afternoon before camp they could be there this time tomorrow give or take.

IF the current was stronger, they would be already going a bit further between beacons. I think they will stop for one more, but it might be a bit further than 30 if they can. Haven't checked the weather lately either.

Still they only lost one full day and part of day 2 after the wx picked up and they stopped and hunkered down.

They probably have time to spare if they planned well. I don't have a clue about their itinerary, but spare and rest days are usually part of it. Just in case. They will still have to thread the delta as well later on.

 

Doug 7rxc

 

The weather's been excellent in the Eastern US the last two days. Hope it holds out for them. A few hundred miles south they're calling for rain late tonight and into tomorrow.

 

By the way, when I look at the map showing their progress (and recent lunch-time stop), I'm not sure where GZ is. Is it on that map? An early post showed a different map along with the cache location.

 

Just past the east end of Fishing Creek Island, on South shore of the River, basically. According to the 2008 blog post from a guy who made a 1983 trip on the same route, they stopped for lunch 1/2 hour shy at most of the abandoned settlement of Ghost River, which has a cemetery. That would be a must stop for me, they must not have seen that blog post. That is on the South Shore of the River near the next Island they will hit as I type this, Cheepay Island. Where the confluence with another river coming up from the South is.

Edited June 6, 2013 by Mr.Yuck

[+the3gmen]

Just past the east end of Fishing Creek Island, on South shore of the River, basically. According to the 2008 blog post from a guy who made a 1983 trip on the same route, they stopped for lunch 1/2 hour shy at most of the abandoned settlement of Ghost River, which has a cemetery. That would be a must stop for me, they must not have seen that blog post. That is on the South Shore of the River near the next Island they will hit as I type this, Cheepay Island. Where the confluence with another river coming up from the South is.

 

It looks like they are stopping at Ghost River.

 

I hope that they are taking plenty of pictures to share with us.

[jershipman]

Yes - looks like they did indeed stop at that spot!

[+wmpastor]

They must have had protein bars on their lunch stop - they covered a lot of distance in the early afternoon!

[+HomeStyle]

This is so cool. .....These guys are caching Rock Stars, either way, Found it or not, in my opinion.

 

Totally agree!!!!

[+SwineFlew]

They are all over Ghost River!

[+SwineFlew]

They should be at the location of the grave yard.

 

This coordinates is for Ghost River... 51° 28’37.76” N, 83° 24’ 18.03” W

 

Hope they place a cache there, but will need to be well hidden because I think people do visit that area.

Edited June 6, 2013 by SwineFlew

[Mr.Yuck]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

[jholly]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

Or being chased by a bear

[+sdkonkle]

After 2 hours and 45 minutes they are finally back on the river. Some major scouting on that stop.

 

Google Map Link

[+SwineFlew]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

Or being chased by a bear

I feel evil for laughing.

[+mertat]

After 2 hours and 45 minutes they are finally back on the river. Some major scouting on that stop.

 

Google Map Link

Thanks for creating and maintaining this map - it makes for a very cool visual account of their journey.

[+cache_test_dummies]

I don't know where you guys are getting that from. The in the OP, he states he is going from Limestone Rapids to Fort Albany ... I don't think there's any way they're paddling back against the current.

You're right! That has been the plan all along.

 

I guess in all the excitement I must have missed that. By "that", of course, I mean the second sentence in the opening post. Gotta learn to pay attention.

 

Re-reading that, it sounds a little snarky. Not meant to be!

Your post didn't sound snarky to me. I was actually glad that you pointed out something that I had missed.

[+wmpastor]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

Or being chased by a bear

I feel evil for laughing.

If a bear is chasing them for 2 hours, they need to read the forum, "Packing Heat on the Trail"!

 

One shot in the air ought to scare that beast away!

[Mr.Yuck]

I don't know where you guys are getting that from. The in the OP, he states he is going from Limestone Rapids to Fort Albany ... I don't think there's any way they're paddling back against the current.

You're right! That has been the plan all along.

 

I guess in all the excitement I must have missed that. By "that", of course, I mean the second sentence in the opening post. Gotta learn to pay attention.

 

Re-reading that, it sounds a little snarky. Not meant to be!

Your post didn't sound snarky to me. I was actually glad that you pointed out something that I had missed.

 

Well, if not that, I'm an idiot for speculating they might not have known about, or might not stop at Ghost River. I'm getting into this too much. I will stop armchair quarterbacking. Looks like they might be staying on an Island tonite? Why would they do that, I wouldn't do that. Just kidding.

[+badger10]

I wish they had a dash camera like the cops do. Can you imagine the scenery along that route? That's what I call a wilderness adventure. I can't wait to hear/see the stories/video/pics from this trip. Good luck guys and I hope you have good weather the rest of the way!

[+SwineFlew]

I wish they had a dash camera like the cops do. Can you imagine the scenery along that route? That's what I call a wilderness adventure. I can't wait to hear/see the stories/video/pics from this trip. Good luck guys and I hope you have good weather the rest of the way!

Like those Russians!

 

Dash Camera = Russians

 

Google is your friend if you wanna know more.

[+Dr. House]

Wow, I found an absolutely awesome blog post from a guy who made the same trip. Looks like he might have even had the same starting point on the Kabinakagami River! The trip happened 30 years ago in 1983 though! However, the blog post itself was written in 2008. Blog post

 

Awesome find on that blog post!

[7rxc]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

Or being chased by a bear

I feel evil for laughing.

If a bear is chasing them for 2 hours, they need to read the forum, "Packing Heat on the Trail"!

 

One shot in the air ought to scare that beast away!

Not likely in Canada... only with a Prospectors Carry IF they still issue them... Best you can do is a long gun or more likely a bear banger and BS (the aerosol kind, not government issue stuff). I must admit that when that comment about the chase appeared I remembered the old saw about "I don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than YOU!" That mental image made me laugh aloud... been there, done that, at least in my thoughts.

Not far downstream the bears may start to turn white, not black though. I'm not sure where their territory begins along the James Bay shore, but they do have them at Moosonee in season. Not like Churchill MB though.

 

edit: Seems like the bears which were once infrequent are now rare (white ones) that is. A sign of global warming? Most now chase the ice north as it melts.

Still in their range though. Times change.

 

Looks like the boys are ashore for the night, nothing for 2 hours. About 35 miles roughly to go, they only got 20 and a bit after lunch stop. So likely early tomorrow afternoon if they do like today.

 

Doug 7rxc

Edited June 7, 2013 by 7rxc

[+wmpastor]

They're all over that place for 2 hours! Must be placing a multi.

Or being chased by a bear

I feel evil for laughing.

If a bear is chasing them for 2 hours, they need to read the forum, "Packing Heat on the Trail"!

 

One shot in the air ought to scare that beast away!

Not likely in Canada... only with a Prospectors Carry IF they still issue them... Best you can do is a long gun or more likely a bear banger and BS (the aerosol kind, not government issue stuff). I must admit that when that comment about the chase appeared I remembered the old saw about "I don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than YOU!" That mental image made me laugh aloud... been there, done that, at least in my thoughts.

Not far downstream the bears may start to turn white, not black though. I'm not sure where their territory begins along the James Bay shore, but they do have them at Moosonee in season. Not like Churchill MB though.

 

edit: Seems like the bears which were once infrequent are now rare (white ones) that is. A sign of global warming? Most now chase the ice north as it melts.

Still in their range though. Times change.

 

Looks like the boys are ashore for the night, nothing for 2 hours. About 35 miles roughly to go, they only got 20 and a bit after lunch stop. So likely early tomorrow afternoon if they do like today.

 

Doug 7rxc

Hope you don't mind.......I laughed out loud when I pasted this to the "Out of Context" forum:

 

Best you can do is a long gun or more likely a bear banger and BS (the aerosol kind, not government issue stuff).

[jershipman]

There's the morning check in. Looks like they'll be on the move soon - only 30 some miles to go!

[+thebruce0]

I wonder if this'll become like Lingham Lake - Bushwacker 2.0.

Placing caches along the route could encourage more adventurous cachers to take up the challenge of the trip.

...just please no powertrail to GZ!

 

Bushwacker used to be a lone cache in the middle of nowhere. Now you can follow the Lingham Lake cache series to gz, and beyond. Walleye's definitely no Bushwacker though, but on a larger scale. Even though it may no longer be the 'oldest unfound cache', I strongly hope it's not archived but remains upkept. It would be a worthy adventure cache to replace that which Bushwacker once was.

[7rxc]

 

Hope you don't mind.......I laughed out loud when I pasted this to the "Out of Context" forum:

 

Best you can do is a long gun or more likely a bear banger and BS (the aerosol kind, not government issue stuff).

 

No problem, it was intended as a bit of levity, although I liked the 'faster' bit more... ha.

 

Don't want to sound anti government though. Fact is that there is (as everyone probably knows) a lot of 'stuff' that comes from our governments is less than brilliant thinking. But then you can't please everyone.

Take a look at this mornings news from the US re information mining... however only the guilty (or apparently so) should have to worry, but the 'rights' part is a bit frightening I guess.

 

Still, like I said BEAR Spray and a pen type flare/banger launcher is a lot lighter and more compact than a long gun. Of course you can get bangers and flares that work with a shotgun if you have a need for that sort of thing as a survival tool. Most of the time critters are just annoying anyway, I've had much more trouble with squirrels and chipmunks when canoeing than larger scavengers by far. Nothing seems to discourage them.

 

Anyway, they are out on the river and making good headway, won't be long now. I've been reading and typing for a while and they had already done 4 and a bit miles by GE path measuring a while back. Hopefully they seem to be doing tourist things as they should, this trip is not entirely for Geocaching is it.

 

I keep thinking that while this did not fit into CD's MAY-TEN-ANCE contest, 2013 on several counts, but maybe it would be good for someone to honour this effort to resolve the 'is it or isn't it' mystery... somehow. I know it will likely be on the blog in the near future, but it sure has been grabbing peoples attention just for the fun of watching. I've already learned a few new tricks for doing things (aside from what I do anyway) just by playing along.

 

Got to get back now...

Doug 7rxc

Edited June 7, 2013 by 7rxc

[+The A-Team]

...it sure has been grabbing peoples attention just for the fun of watching.

There are now 207 users with it on their watchlist. Plus there's probably a few that are watching it through a bookmark list.

 

...and we're deep into page 3 of a discussion of a cacher going to look for a cache!

[+the3gmen]

so much for my noon on Friday prediction.

 

I'm glad to see that they are taking their time and doing some exploring on the way down the river.

 

Is there anyone following this thread that has actually been down this river ? I'm wondering is someone

could describe what the landscape is like around there. From the google maps terrain map, it looks very flat.

Are there trees ? Bushes ? Or is it just pretty much bogs and swamps ?

[+wmpastor]

...it sure has been grabbing peoples attention just for the fun of watching.

There are now 207 users with it on their watchlist. Plus there's probably a few that are watching it through a bookmark list.

 

...and we're deep into page 3 of a discussion of a cacher going to look for a cache!

Try that with a big-box store parking lot lamppost cache!

[+Russ&Steve88]

...it sure has been grabbing peoples attention just for the fun of watching.

There are now 207 users with it on their watchlist. Plus there's probably a few that are watching it through a bookmark list.

 

...and we're deep into page 3 of a discussion of a cacher going to look for a cache!

 

Guiltily collecting pay while anxiously staring at an orange dot labeled "50".

[+SwineFlew]

...it sure has been grabbing peoples attention just for the fun of watching.

There are now 207 users with it on their watchlist. Plus there's probably a few that are watching it through a bookmark list.

 

...and we're deep into page 3 of a discussion of a cacher going to look for a cache!

209 now.

[+thebruce0]

Looks like it could easily be dark by the time they arrive at gz. From their 8:30 start time today, they look about half way.

[+SwineFlew]

Looks like it could easily be dark by the time they arrive at gz. From their 8:30 start time today, they look about half way.

Its far north that the sun doesnt set until late in the evening.

 

They are just taking their sweet time today. Or I am just in a hurry for them to get to GZ.

[+GTTTM]

Yes just in a hurry I think

 

I'm hooked to this too, what an amazing trip, even if on arrival GZ there's nothing to be found, oh to have the time/money/skills to do a trip of that sort...........

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Looks like it could easily be dark by the time they arrive at gz. From their 8:30 start time today, they look about half way.

Its far north that the sun doesnt set until late in the evening.

 

They are just taking their sweet time today. Or I am just in a hurry for them to get to GZ.

 

Based on the distance between the last couple of SPOT waypoints it looks like they're picking up some current. I bet that they're itching to get to GZ soon and may push the last 15 miles or so to make sure they get there before dark...or, they could mess with us and stop just short of GZ and search for it in the morning.