+donbadabon Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Ok, I am taking the plunge, and have my first cache already to place, but I am having a problem deciding where to put it. Being fairly new to the parks around Fairfax, I don't want to rush into it, and have actually spent a week researching parks and other sites that could help. There is 1 thing I am using as a criteria - 1)I do not want to place in a park that has no real parking areas - I personally hate parking in residential areas to look for a cache. Burke Lake would be great, but it already has 10. Any suggestions on a good park that fits the 1 requirement? Like maybe a park where you've always wondered why there is no cache there? Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Its not easy finding a good, uncached area. It takes some research and luck. Check topo maps at www.topozone.com and satellite photos at www.lostoutdoors.com. Look for little pockets of green on the topozone maps, then check the area on the sat photos for development. You find a place, then drive there to make sure it's public land. If it is, scout it, then return with your cache. Even in NJ, as dense as the caches are here, I've been able to find new areas to place caches using this method. Little, unknown parks...maybe 100, 200, and as many as a thousand acres (in one case over 2 thousand), tucked away and unnoticed by the general public. Also read the paper and look for news about land acquisitions. You may read a story about a 300 acre farm, or 400 acre mountaintop that was saved for development. You can then be the first one there with a cache. Finally, keep your eyes open while driving. If you see a large wooded area, swamp, or meadow mark a waypoint as you drive by. When you get home check it out on Topozone, or even a road map, to see if it's parkland. "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry [This message was edited by BrianSnat on August 19, 2003 at 05:19 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+KernBob Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Speaking of maps... I'm sure your local day hike groups publish maps to the trail heads. In NY I've found these maps most usefull in finding good cache locations. They have been very helpful in figuring where to and where not to park. Drive Fast, Take Chances. -- Jon Bedford Quote Link to comment
+JoeCthulhu Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 Try South Run Park. Just south of Burke Lake Park. Entrance off Fairfax County Parkway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. -Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) Quote Link to comment
+bigcall Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 South Run is a good option. Fairfax County has a lot of stream valley parks that are potentially good spots. Since they are zoned as a flood plain they can't be developed. Check a topo map for any of the major runs or streams that feed into the Potomac River. Pohick, Accotink, South Run all come to mind. Also here's a new park that may be worth a look. Hope this helps some. Success is not measured by the position one has reached in life, rather by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed. - Booker T. Washington Quote Link to comment
+donbadabon Posted August 21, 2003 Author Share Posted August 21, 2003 Checked out South Run today. The only problem is the trail circles the park, so what took me 1.5 miles to walk, could be done in .2 miles through the woods. Looking at the other options this weekend. Thanks for the suggestions! Quote Link to comment
+donbadabon Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Reconsidered South Run. Figured there are two ways to get to the cache, a longer 1.5 mile hike, or a shorter .4 mile (using trails). So I will leave it up to the cachee to decide which one to use. Planted the cache today, awaiting the approval... Quote Link to comment
+JoeCthulhu Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 Found it. What the first finders prize anyway? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. -Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) Quote Link to comment
+donbadabon Posted August 24, 2003 Author Share Posted August 24, 2003 The first finders prize was a Geocache keychain, a backpack combo lock, and a First-To-Find laminated card. Quote Link to comment
+donbadabon Posted August 31, 2003 Author Share Posted August 31, 2003 I am really starting to like this park. So I hid a smaller decon box on the opposite corner of the first one. This was so someone, if they wanted, could have room to hide a third in between these two. Especially around where the dirt path meets the paved one. That would make a nice hike around the park. Quote Link to comment
+JoeCthulhu Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 Actually there is a third cache already in the park. Not many have found it, and don't ask me too many questions, cause I'm not giving it away. If I was goint to hide another cache in the park I'd do it on the other side of the park, SE from your second one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. -Ambrose Bierce, writer (1842-1914) Quote Link to comment
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