Bagging A Lame Roadside Cache...

[+avroair]

Friday before Memorial Day weekend I skipped out early (noon) to pick up 6 ammo cans BrianSnat had left for me in the woods, then move on to bag 4-5 caches in the area. My wife had asked me to get a haircut, fill the propane tank and goto the bank to withdraw some money for going out to dinner in Morristown that evening. I was to pick her up in the green at 5:30 pm.

 

I drove from Rutherford to Kinnelon in good time, and parked in Snat's suggested location and went into the woods to get my ammo cans. There was a light drizzle, but i knew I would find them quickly and get on to some real caching. My GPSr was jumpy under the canopy and the leaves were dripping with moisture. 60 Feet this way... no 74 feet that way... After 15 minutes of doubling back on myself I read Brian's directions... near a log... hmm... so I began to search every log in the area. This is ridiculous, I am searching for 6 ammos cans not one and still can't locate them! Well, the last place I looked I found them, neatly in a row covered with leaves (and mud and wet leaves).

 

I hauled all 6 to the edge of the woods and waited for an opening in the cars. Each time I went down the muddy bank, a car would appear coming up the hill so I would scutttle back up the bank. So I decided to take two in my backpack. I crossed the road in a nonchalant manner and opened my trunk. Saw a cop car coming along so I quickly emptied the ammo cans and in a moment of panic slammed shut the trunk to my car.

 

The cop car passed without incident and I got back to opening the trunk. Well, it was locked with the keys inside so i walked around to the car door. Locked. The driver door. Locked. Every door was locked! Then I realized I had also locked my backpack in the trunk with my cellphone and wallet as well as the keys. The only thing I had on me was my GPSr. I thought about rigging it as a transmitter instead of a reciever, but decided against the move and flagged down a masonry truck. The guy was kind enough to let me use his cellphone to call AAA. He also offered a beat up umbrella, which I politely declined.

 

He waved goodbye and I waited for the tow truck. Then it really started to rain. I passed the time writing in the dirt on the back window of the car. Reorganizing all my waypoints and data in my GPSr and strategically relocating the remaining ammo cans across the street near my car for quick retrieval. Every car that passed I hoped was a geocacher or BrianSnat who would help me out some way!

 

The tow truck arrived an hour later and the guy got out grinning and said "Bet you feel like a jack4$$" I mumbled, I just wasted an hour of good caching time. He asked "you missing out on getting paid?' Not that kind of cache... nevermind. Well, he mangled two of his tools and broke a third trying to get into my car. After an hour of cussing and swearing he finally broke in and I was good to go. It was now close to 4:00 pm and I still hadn't bagged a cache.

 

I drove down the hill and found Brian's Lame Roadside cache #1 quickly and then went for Mountainside. Bad mistake in work clothes. Through a quagmire, up a mountain, down a mountain. I got to the GZ and searched for over 30 minutes. Then I remembered my wife! My cellphone was in the car, I hurried back over the mountain and called her at 5:42 pm. There were 5 messages in my message box. "Hi honey, got locked out of my car... yeah, i'm okay.... yeah, I had to stand out in the rain... no, I don't think I can make dinner tonight." Despite not being an avid cacher, she was very understanding.

 

I missed dinner, didn't pick up the propane, didn't get a haircut, didn't find the 4 caches I had earmarked... but the afternoon was not a total loss... I did succeed at picking up 6 ammo cans and I was able to bag a Lame Roadside cache...

 

[+Team GPSaxophone]

You know, geocaching isn't illegal. If you weren't so nervous about having a cop spot you, this never would have happened.

[+briansnat]

And to think I only live a half mile from where Avro was stranded and was probably sitting home, logged onto the forums while he was standing in the pouring rain.

 

I would have put the cans on my deck for pickup, but I didn't know when he would come for them and if my teen daughter was home alone and heard someone walking around on the deck, she would have freaked and Avro might have been led away in handcuffs saying "but the owner said I could come and take these from his deck".

 

You know, geocaching isn't illegal. If you weren't so nervous about having a cop spot you, this never would have happened

 

Easily said by someone who isn't on the FBI's terrorist watchlist.

Edited June 1, 2004 by briansnat

[mortonfox]

I would have put the cans on my deck for pickup, but I didn't know when he would come for them and if my teen daughter was home alone and heard someone walking around on the deck, she would have freaked and Avro might have been led away in handcuffs saying "but the owner said I could come and take these from his deck".

All you need to do is to inform your daughter that a mysterious stranger would come to your deck to pick up the army surplus ammunition containers. See? A perfectly normal thing to expect on a Friday.

[+avroair]

You know, geocaching isn't illegal. If you weren't so nervous about having a cop spot you, this never would have happened.

 

Easy for you to say since:

1. You don't live within 10 miles of the Trade Tower site

2. You haven't already been picked up by the FBI for placing an ammo can on public county land

3. You aren't a foreign national

4. You're wife isn't looking for any excuse to get you deported to London so she can move there

 

These had me nervous... you miss the point of my story entirely.

[+JMBella]

Great story, thanks for the chuckle Arvo. I'm laughing with you not at you. Ahh who am I kidding I really am laughing at you! I can certainly put myself in your position, especially with your wife waiting for you. Can't tell you how many times I have told my wife, "Yea, I'll be home in about an hour" 3 hours later I come walking in.... "Hey check out this cool travel bug". That's usually when the frying pan comes out. THWACK!!!

[+Team DEMP]

Nice story! I can see it now in next month's Todays Cacher!

 

Try not to pull this stunt when you're heading off to the Night Sweats 2 event in order to skip out on the 1st round

[+avroair]

Hey check out this cool travel bug

 

Last time I said that to my wife she replied, get that thing out of my house! And the travel bug too. You are worse than the cats!

 

Try not to pull this stunt when you're heading off to the Night Sweats 2 event

 

Wife will be coming too to make sure I don't come back early in the morning.

[+avroair]

TN L: my keys in the car. S: the back of my dirty car window.

Thanks for the cache.

Edited June 3, 2004 by avroair

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I was able to bag a Lame Roadside cache...

 

But of course since it was lame you were too proud to log it, right???

[+avroair]

But of course since it was lame you were too proud to log it, right???

 

Au contrare... BrianSnat's Lameside caches are anything by lame

[+Team GPSaxophone]

You know, geocaching isn't illegal. If you weren't so nervous about having a cop spot you, this never would have happened.

 

Easy for you to say since:

1. You don't live within 10 miles of the Trade Tower site

I don't live within 1000 miles of it!

2. You haven't already been picked up by the FBI for placing an ammo can on public county land

Does the CIA count?

3. You aren't a foreign national

Born and raised in the U.S. of A.!

4. You're wife isn't looking for any excuse to get you deported to London so she can move there

No, but I'm trying to get deported to Colorado

These had me nervous... you miss the point of my story entirely.

I didn't miss the point. You should go read some of my other replies. It's called humor

[+avroair]

If you weren't so nervous about having a cop spot you, this never would have happened.

 

This sounds like a lecture.

 

It's called humor"

 

It's called humour!

[+briansnat]

Au contrare... BrianSnat's Lameside caches are anything by lame

 

Oh, that one is pretty lame. Nice view of the lake though.

[+avroair]

Oh, that one is pretty lame

 

Slack? I was desperate!!! All caches were created equal...

[+Team GPSaxophone]

It's called humor

 

It's called humour!

You probably refer to Coke and Pepsi as "soda", don't you?

[+avroair]

You probably refer to Coke and Pepsi as "soda", don't you?

 

That's what Californians refer to it as! In Oregon it's pop. What do you call it in NM?

[+dhenninger]

This is the Northeast Forum, It's SODA.

 

My wife is from pop land

 

Dave

[+briansnat]

And to add to the confusion, places down south they call all soda, coke, no matter what the flavor (or shall I say flavour?).

Edited June 3, 2004 by briansnat

[+avroair]

I don't drink soda so I wouldn't really know.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Since I'm from Colorado, I refer to it as "pop". New Mexicans call it "soda" and always look at me funny when I order it. Californians call it "coke" regardless of the brand, however if you order a "coke" they might ask, "Is Pepsi ok?" Sheesh....

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Too funny, I just posted that then switched windows to Yahoo. I have an email that begins:

If you were going to buy soda (or, as many people call it, "pop") but

were concerned about your health or weight management, what would be the

most important item on the label to you?

[+joefrog]

And to add to the confusion, places down south they call all soda, coke, no matter what the flavor (or shall I say flavour?).

Yep, Coke is COKE down here -- pick a kind later, LOL.

 

Flavor? They tried that once on Coke. Confused the heck out of us Southerners.

 

Gonna be back up to NYC last week of July -- hope to bag a few while I'm around!

[+joefrog]

Friday before Memorial Day weekend I skipped out early (noon) to pick up 6 ammo cans BrianSnat had left for me in the woods, then move on to bag 4-5 caches in the area.

BTW....

 

HAH! Great story! Gotta pass that along!