How Far Would You Go...

[+wildwoodke]

So today, being out of town and not having a meeting until almost 3, I targeted a waymark that I have been thinking about for a couple of years. Got in the truck at 5:45 in Grande Prairie, Alberta and started the drive north to Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia up to Mile 62 near Charlie Lake.

 

There I waymarked the third Highway Giant - Muffler Man in Canada and according to one website the northern most Muffler Man known to exist.

 

See the waymark at: http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMJ52H_Charlie_Lake_Lumberjack_Charlie_Lake_British_Columbia

 

Grande Prairie to Charlie Lake is about 470 kilometres return trip (290 miles).

 

Needless to say there were a few waymarks picked up and visited along the way. It was a section of Canada that I hadn't driven before with the first quarter, half way up in the dark and in rain.

 

Thankfully I came across this giant as I was beginning to think it wasn't there and was last documented on the Roadside America Website (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/7) in February 2011.

 

So...how far would you go to get that icon on your "Waymarks Posted Category Grid"?

 

KE

[+BruceS]

I guess the furthest I drove to fill a grid square was about 650 miles each way to get a Death Mask grave. I did get a few hundred other waywarks on that trip but my objective was this waymark and two more in same cemetery. This excludes a trip to New Zealand to get a Maori Historic Site, which I have also done.

Edited September 26, 2013 by BruceS

[+elyob]

I want to write that I too drove far (500km one way) for a Muffler Man, The Berkshire Giant, WM7ZN2. True confession: it was my only geo-incursion into Massachusetts.

[GT.US]

http://www.Waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&lat=47.6779496&lon=9.1732384&t=3&id=konstanz+germany&st=2

 

I was in Ljublana and I took a train to Zurich (700+ km) then rented a car and drove to Konstanz GE (71 km) to get a Stolpersteine, a Bismark Tower and a German Trig point (among others).

[+Torgut]

Oh man. Zero. Not even a step. Sometimes not even a look.

[+silverquill]

You're all crazy! I NEVER go out of my way to get a waymark. If I can't walk across the street or park and shoot, I don't bother. I never walk more that 1/0th of mile for a geocache, either!

[+iconions]

I've been working on BruceS's Missouri History and Monster Scavenger Hunts and I've gone on over to the "Red" (St. Louis) side of Missouri a couple of times to pick up visits for them. 250 miles one way. To be fair, I did go and explore Bellefontaine Cemetery for several hours on both occasions - great old Cemetery with excellent history! I even bought an author signed copy of a book that the cemetery has. Just me...

[+MountainWoods]

You're all crazy! I NEVER go out of my way to get a waymark. If I can't walk across the street or park and shoot, I don't bother. I never walk more that 1/0th of mile for a geocache, either!

You can't walk more than 1/0th of a mile for a geocache, at least not in a finite time.

 

(Of course it's just my opinion, but I would walk, and in fact have walked, much farther for a waymark than for any geocache. And that includes a lot more of visiting other folks' waymarks than the nice walks I've taken to post my own. Just the two hikes my wife and I took trying to find The Ole Man of the Ozarks were absolute work-outs. And we never saw the thing!)

[+YoSam.]

I only have 266 of the "grid" spaces, so I made a list, now I don't specifically go for a grid space when I tour.

I like to "discovery" stuff. So, I plan a tour trip of about 4 counties, say, in MO. Then I check a map route making sure I visit all county seats. I check Nat. Reg of their listed sites, and Smithsonian for outdoor statues....then off I go. I visit all town within 3 miles of the chosen hwy route. I also bring along, 6 to ten grid square names that I do not have an be on the look out for one of them.

I know I miss a lot, BUT I find a lot. And each trip I miss less.

 

Took two trips through the Panhandle of Texas, via OK and KS...I found a ton of Historic (my main goals) but missed a lot I do not miss now. So, how far? depends on how you view How far. A trip has been 2 thousand miles, some trips less.

Just finished one in Sept. went through 7 MO counties and 2 in IA, since I am that close cannot pass it up.

In the major counties of MO...BruceS has been there and had all the "good" stuff....but there were still small things he missed and that was worth the search for me. I noticed many (like in IL) who follow me in an area, and they find a lot I missed.

Good for the game.

 

Back when I started I was going to find all the Lewis & Clark markers on the Katy Trail. Sometimes it is 12 miles between trailheads (usually old deserted train towns) and the markers are in between. I have walked up to 8 miles for ONE (1) Lewis and Clark marker - see Lewis & Clark in Gore.

Edited November 24, 2013 by YoSam.

[+MountainWoods]

Yeah - It's hard following some of these "jokers" like BruceS and GEO*Trailblazer 1, the latter of whom lived only 11.3 miles from me as the crow flies, in the same county. Fortunately for me, Charles had enough different interests than mine that he left me some things to waymark. For example, he only did a few cemeteries, whilst I love to waymark cemeteries (a little ironic...).

 

I've been fortunate in another way. If you look at a topo map on your GPS, you will find tons of cemeteries, churches, former schools and fire stations. At least it's that way in my area. It just so happens that my historical interests bend toward worldwide cemeteries, abandoned cemeteries, churchyard cemeteries, country churches, baptist churches, former schools, one room schools, outhouses, hand-operated pumps, firehouses, and so on.

 

So I have been letting my topo map find my potential waymarks for me!!! Many of the former schools don't even have any remnants standing, whilst others are still standing empty, and many have been converted into homes or community centers. On the other hand, I have often bumped into cemeteries that are not on the topo; several of those have been churchyard cemeteries that only had the church on the topo. I've also had it work the other way (including just 2 days ago), where I went to visit a cemetery on the topo and found that there was a church there not listed on the topo.

 

And of course the outhouses and pumps are not on the topos (duh!), but the schools, country churches and cemeteries that have such things often cause the "Aha!" moment when I find these really cool appurtenances. So yeah, if one wants to call that cheating, I've been doing it a lot. Let my topo find my potential waymarks.

 

As I've gone along, I've also added other things that I wouldn't have thought of, but found that they were waymark categories, such as dated buildings and structures, stained glass windows, and so on. These, again, are just part of the main 4 topo POIs that I use to find potential waymarks. Great fun!

Edited November 24, 2013 by MountainWoods

[+flipflopnick]

A few years ago my Uncle died. The funeral was down south of England, only 260 miles one way. So I grabbed the necessary for Apsley Cherry-Garrard's grave whilst away.

This involved staying overnight for 2 extra nights, driving a further 120 miles. I used my own car. Not a great cost. But several days of planned Waymarking resulted with only 6 quality Waymarks posted nearby and several more on the journey there and back.

 

The journey I will do some day is to Waymark Tom Crean's grave, in Eire. This will involve a ferry crossing with car or flight and hire car, and several nights accommodation.

 

Whereas the longest Waymark in the making is over 2 years. I found the postcard "RUSH HOUR". There then followed the search for the bridge depicted. Eventually found in a book of illustrations of pack horse bridges, as I wrote 2 years later.

The visit to Wasdale and Row Bridge was delayed for 2 weeks after finding. Grabbing the necessary took only a few minutes. Slightly disappointing after all that expectation. A day trip from home.

Edited November 25, 2013 by flipflopnick