Poison Oak Cachers

[+LOSt OSOS]

I have been wanting to do the Cuesta ridge hike for awhile now. Count me in.

[+Oreo Pony]

How about we start out at Cerro Alto Campground and head toward Cuesta Grade? My right knee still can't handle the downhills so well at the end of a hike.

[+Geo_cats]

How about we start out at Cerro Alto Campground and head toward Cuesta Grade? My right knee still can't handle the downhills so well at the end of a hike.

 

No reason that wouldn't work. Gets the climb out of the way when we're fresh and then eases up in the afternoon. Just need to leave a car or two at the end of the hike to bring us back to Cerro Alto. Works for me.

 

So far we have:

slmslo

LOSt OSOS

pointsaljim

Oreo Pony

Geo_cats

 

Do we have a date, the 29th or the 30th?

[+slmslo]

 

Do we have a date, the 29th or the 30th?

 

Either of those days works for me, so if the others' have a preference I can fit it.

[+LOSt OSOS]

Thoes days are good for me

[+pointsaljim]

The 29th works for me, but not the 30th. Cerro Alto sounds fine.

[+Oreo Pony]

Saturday is good for me too.

[+BooBooBee]

Thanks, OP, for letting me know the discussion is continuing. I'd like to participate and Saturday should be good for me. I ran Topo, and I'm not sure how far down the gates will be open along the ridge, so I ran it from Cerro Alto to the ridge road (3.3 miles, 1834-foot gain, 894-foot loss), then to the potential locked gate near Tassajara towers (5.6-miles, 2828 gain, 1311-foot loss).

 

Many of you know I travel with my family, but I don't know what the plan for this hike is. Are we all out to the top, take no prisoners? Or is this a family hike?

[+Geo_cats]

Thanks, OP, for letting me know the discussion is continuing. I'd like to participate and Saturday should be good for me. I ran Topo, and I'm not sure how far down the gates will be open along the ridge, so I ran it from Cerro Alto to the ridge road (3.3 miles, 1834-foot gain, 894-foot loss), then to the potential locked gate near Tassajara towers (5.6-miles, 2828 gain, 1311-foot loss).

 

Many of you know I travel with my family, but I don't know what the plan for this hike is. Are we all out to the top, take no prisoners? Or is this a family hike?

 

The last time I walked it I started at the top near where OP used to have a cache and did not pass any gates anywhere along the nearly 11 mile walk. I would propose that several of the south of the grade cachers would meet at the East end of the TV tower road at the top and leave several cars there and carpool down to Cerro Alto campgrounds to meet up with the rest of us.

 

I would have no objections to your lovely family walking with us. I was impressed with your girls stamina and found them to be bright and perky traveling companions.

 

There is nothing that says that we all need to walk in lockstep either. If some want to go to the top of Cerro Alto and log the cache there but others would find it too taxing, they can continue on and maybe wait up for the others along the way. (It's a road most of the way, no way to get lost.)

When I hiked this I tried finding The Treasure is Mine cache but it appeared to take some serious bushwacking to get to it and I wasn't up to it. I may not want to attempt that one because bushwacking is not my style. So like I say, we can pick and choose caches to to find or not, mountains to climb or not and on the average meet up along the way.

 

I'm going to bring a cache repair kit as some of these caches may be in need of some TLC.

[+slmslo]

 

The last time I walked it I started at the top near where OP used to have a cache and did not pass any gates anywhere along the nearly 11 mile walk. I would propose that several of the south of the grade cachers would meet at the East end of the TV tower road at the top and leave several cars there and carpool down to Cerro Alto campgrounds to meet up with the rest of us.

 

 

I'll be one of the southerly cachers and meet at the east end of the TV tower road. Can I get confirmation from at least one other to meet there? Can someone tell me which road it is that I would turn into. If I'm coming from the south is it on the other side of the fwy? What time shall we meet?

[+Oreo Pony]

I'll send you an email.

 

L'Oreo

[+slmslo]

I'll send you an email.

 

L'Oreo

 

Never mind. I am so bummed!!! I was really looking forward to this. Now I just found out that I've been assigned to officiate a high school basketball game on that day. Smack in the middle of the day, too - 12:30PM! Y'all have fun without me

[+Geo_cats]

So, at this point it looks like we hike on the 29th and those that are interested are:

So far we have:

 

LOSt OSOS

pointsaljim

Oreo Pony

BooBooBee and family

Geo_cats 1

 

We'll need to know how many with each party so we can plan the car drops so we can get everyone back to the trailhead.

How early did we want to meet?

[+Oreo Pony]

My crew will consist of me & two kids - and we're north county.

 

How about we begin the hike at 9 am?

[+LOSt OSOS]

Will be just me and I a in los osos. Start time no later than 9:00 am

[+Oreo Pony]

A co-worker and her husband might join us. North county folks.

[+Geo_cats]

Ok, so far we have a hike from Cerro Alto trailhead to Cuesta grade top starting at 9am on the 29th, weather permitting.

 

LOSt OSOS 1

pointsaljim 1 and a dog?

Oreo Pony 3 or 5

BooBooBee and family 3?

Geo_cats 1 car- 4, 5 in a pinch

 

I count about 9-11 people. Now, how many people will your vehicle hold? We need to figure out what cars to leave at the Cuesta end and then carpool down to the Cerro Alto end to meet up with the rest of the intrepid explorers.

 

I haven't seen BBB and PSJ on here lately. I'll email them to remind them to log in.

[+Oreo Pony]

Here's the weather forecast for Saturday the 29th:

 

Mostly Cloudy High 58°F

 

Precip 0%

 

Wind: SSW 11 mph

Max. Humidity: 59%

UV Index: 2 Low

 

Sunrise: 7:11 AM PT

Avg. High: 61°F

Record High: 78°F (1956)

 

Mostly Cloudy Overnight Low 36°F

 

Precip 10%

 

Wind: ESE 6 mph

Max. Humidity: 63%

 

Sunset: 4:58 PM PT

Avg. Low: 31°F

Record Low: 17°F (1990)

 

Last Updated Thursday, Dec 20, 6:27 AM Pacific Standard Time

[+pointsaljim]

BooBooBee and I will definetely be there for the hike up to Cerro Alto from the Campground....we are mulling over the idea though of having our bikes stashed at the nearby ridge road and either riding the ridge road over to the 101 or maybe riding back down Cerro Alto.....I don't think she will have her kids or hubby if she does this option. We will keep you posted, but will definitely be hiking up Cerro Alto with the group.

[+Oreo Pony]

If my kids don't go (highly likely they'll stay home with Dad), I'll have room in my car for 5. I'd like to park at the Botanical Gardens.

[+SLOFolks]

Is there some restriction against caches on Cal Poly property? My son & I were just wandering around there thinking about planting one. I came home and searched for active caches nearby and there seem to be none on the main campus at all. Is that just 'cause they don't last or has Poly asked that the not be placed for some reason? I guess we can just try to place one and see, but I thought y'all might know.

[+SLOFolks]

Is there some restriction against caches on Cal Poly property? My son & I were just wandering around there thinking about planting one. I came home and searched for active caches nearby and there seem to be none on the main campus at all. Is that just 'cause they don't last or has Poly asked that the not be placed for some reason? I guess we can just try to place one and see, but I thought y'all might know.

[+slmslo]

Is there some restriction against caches on Cal Poly property? My son & I were just wandering around there thinking about planting one. I came home and searched for active caches nearby and there seem to be none on the main campus at all. Is that just 'cause they don't last or has Poly asked that the not be placed for some reason? I guess we can just try to place one and see, but I thought y'all might know.

 

Take a look at the rules for hiding caches, but if my memory serves me correctly you MUST get permission from the owners if you want to place caches on private property, or on certain government owned property, such as state parks and such. In this case I believe you have to get permission because it is state owned property. You could probably just check with Administration to see who you need to contact in order to get permission. Good luck.

[+Moose Mob]

Is there some restriction against caches on Cal Poly property? My son & I were just wandering around there thinking about planting one. I came home and searched for active caches nearby and there seem to be none on the main campus at all. Is that just 'cause they don't last or has Poly asked that the not be placed for some reason? I guess we can just try to place one and see, but I thought y'all might know.

 

Take a look at the rules for hiding caches, but if my memory serves me correctly you MUST get permission from the owners if you want to place caches on private property, or on certain government owned property, such as state parks and such. In this case I believe you have to get permission because it is state owned property. You could probably just check with Administration to see who you need to contact in order to get permission. Good luck.

We have a few posted on UNLV that don't have specific permission, and the administrators are aware that they exists. I would check with the local reviewer just to be sure.

[+BooBooBee]

Is there some restriction against caches on Cal Poly property?

There used to be caches at Poly. I believe there was one at the Design Village, but I remember for sure that there was one at the old power plant (waypoint GCJ0WX). Perhaps they've changed their policy. There are, indeed, lots of GREAT spots at Poly for caches. It'd be great to get some up and running.

[+BooBooBee]

I'd love to bring my family, but the logistics of getting the carseats to a shuttle car baffle us. So, the plan is that PointSalJim and I will ride together from Orcutt, bikes will be involved, not sure how we'll work that out with the shuttling.

 

I do have some ideas, and will discuss them with PSJ to see what we can work out from this end.

 

At any rate, we'll see you Saturday morning. Weee!

[+pointsaljim]

BooBooBee and I will be meeting everyone at the Cerro Alto Trailhead at 9 a.m. on Saturday. We're stashing our bikes at the top before hand and peddling back down the trail after spending some time at top and along the ridge road, so we will be taking care of our own transportation. Looking forward to a good time!

[+BooBooBee]

What a GREAT day! As planned, PointSalJim and I shared fuel from our neighborhood to the meeting place, with a (relatively) quick stop at the locked gate at the western end of Cuesta Ridge (TV Tower Road) to stash our bikes. Then we high-tailed it for the hiking trailhead at Cerro Alto, MUCH too late to begin the trek with the other POC'ers who came: GeoCats, OreoPony, EagleChief.

 

We didn't know which trail they'd taken, so we shot up the middle of the three most-obvious options. Too bad we hadn't paid more attention...we could have grabbed two more caches had we followed GeoCats' route! But we had a really nice walk (MAN, I'm outta shape...I feel a New Year's Resolution coming on).

 

We met up with the other three along the ridge road, then sought out GeicoCave together with success. OreoPony raised an eyebrow when I put a TB in there (so remote) but I like the TB game and those bugs get me going to places I'd otherwise probably miss. Maybe it'll bring someone else out. Otherwise, I forsee another trek out thisaway.

 

We continued along the ridge on this BEAUTIFUL day, 'til we all came to GeoCats Elevation Celebration which, lo and behold, was only about 17 feet from where PSJ and I had stashed our bikes! Too funny.

 

We picked up our bikes and headed east for a mile or so (MAN, I'm outta shape...) before noting that we'd done a LOT of downhill speeding considering my new GPSr's topo showed it as flat. Opted to head back...GOOD THING. (Did I mention I'm feeling a resolution coming on?)

 

Pedaled back to the Cerro Alto trailhead/ATT route and enjoyed a blast down the hill to camp.

 

It was really nice to cache together again. I haven't seen OP in an age, and hiking with GC is always relaxing and educational. (Want to know about geology? Ask GC. If he doesn't know the answer on the day of the hike, he'll have it by that evening!)

 

Thanks everyone!

Edited January 2, 2008 by BooBooBee

[+BooBooBee]

I know the POC had a website at one time, but I understand the cacher who originated it passed it on to African Queen who, as far as I can tell, hasn't been caching (at least under that name) since 2005, which is also the last year in which the website was updated.

 

There's a new cacher in our area, EvilSpork, who I've e-met recently. He offered to host a site if we want to put one together.

 

He writes:

"if you guys need web hosting i have an obscene amount of hosting that i can share.

if someone wants to put down the $9 and buy the domain name, i can host a site if someone wants to make it!

www.godaddy.com for the domain name. "

 

I use godaddy for two sites I maintain (www.BestFamilyAdventures.com - my first attempt at creating a website. It ain't pretty, but it does the trick; and www.tricitysound.org - a much-better effort IMHO) and it works well for me.

 

I guess I'm asking if there's any interest in having our own page again, something we could, perhaps, provide a bit more maintenance for.

 

I like the forums here, but GC doesn't send me updates and, honestly, I just can't seem to remember to check here regularly enough to keep up to date. (How hard is THAT? Too hard for this blonde, apparently.)

 

Thoughts...?

[+LeffertsFamily]

okay the "help me please" cache is really bugging me.. does anyone want to meet out there tonight and try and find it as a group?

[+Shuckymomo]

okay the "help me please" cache is really bugging me.. does anyone want to meet out there tonight and try and find it as a group?

 

I did a search on it and couldn't find it. Where is it?

[+LeffertsFamily]

well it has been found finally.. no one responded so im going to tuck my gpsr in for the night

 

shuckymomo: GC18A05

[+Geo_cats]

I was curious to find out what the heck all those holes were dug for along our hike track. It looks like they were looking for chromium (chromite) for the most part. I couldn't find anything that said how successful they were at getting any but seeing there was not gobs of tailings, I suspect they didn't find much.

 

It was a fun day out with my fellow cachers. I can't wait until the next hike, meet, or picnic function.

 

What do we want to do next?

[+BooBooBee]

well it has been found finally.. no one responded so im going to tuck my gpsr in for the night

 

shuckymomo: GC18A05

 

Just got your message about heading out and sweeping the area as a team. (Just for the record, I don't usually get online 'til after the kids are in bed.) Woulda run out there with you, but you and the GPSr are probably SOUND asleep by now!

[+BooBooBee]

What do we want to do next?

 

Well, my swim season starts up pretty soon, so if I'm gonna do anything it better be quick. So I propose another Pizza & Cache event down thisaway. Why thisaway? Well, my husband can come, for one thing, and since we don't see him along on many of our activities, I'd like to do all I can to include him in anything I'm organizing.

 

So, Friday, Jan. 25, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Giavanni's Pizza, Orcutt (at Clark/Bradley Road intersection). Let's call it...er...Pizza with everything (hold the Poison Oak). I'll post the even tonight.

[+Oreo Pony]

I've calendared the 25th but don't know if my kids and hubby will mind by having pizza without them. We'll see.

 

P.S. I lost the fly!

 

P.P.S. I found him. (He was in my lint collector of the dryer )

[+BooBooBee]

I've calendared the 25th but don't know if my kids and hubby will mind by having pizza without them. We'll see.

 

P.S. I lost the fly!

 

P.P.S. I found him. (He was in my lint collector of the dryer )

SOOO glad you found the fly! The lint catchers are great, aren't they! It's amazing what I find in mine, what with the two kids n' all. (At least, I BLAME it on the two kids...what will I do when they grow up?!)

 

The event has been submitted for approval. Waypoint: GC18B3Y

 

I know 5 is early for some, but that's why we're running 'til the place closes! If you can't get down there 'til 7, we'll be there. Have to eat early before you head to your night job? We'll be there!

 

Hope to see you all, and more, there!

[+LeffertsFamily]

yah i was probably passed out.. we hadnt cached in awhile so we had been hitting the sport hard the last few days, was probably good we did hit the hay since hubby had to go run this morning for work. I missed the last pizza event due to not checking for caches in a really long time. I am very excited you set this up!! we will be there!!

[+pointsaljim]

ATTENTION!!!! I want to know who wants to go with me to (2) new caches that have been planted by Camo Cacher way the heck up Huasna Canyon Rd. near my Pine Ridge View Cache. One is called Operation Skywatch and the other is What in the World. They were only planted about 3 weeks ago and have NOT been found yet. Also, we could go to my Pine Ridge View Cache which has only been visited once in 1 1/2 years. The biggest obstacle will probably be coordinating when the Forest Service Gate will be open just past the wooden Huasna Bridge....especially now that the major rains are starting. All of these caches are in way cool, way remote settings...This could be an AWESOME trip. From the Arroyo Village Grande Village it will take at least 1 hour of driving just to get to the parking spot. From there it will be hiking.

[+BooBooBee]

ATTENTION!!!! I want to know who wants to go with me to (2) new caches that have been planted by Camo Cacher way the heck up Huasna Canyon Rd. near my Pine Ridge View Cache.

 

Well, I'd love to go, but if the forecast is correct, this weekend's CERTAINLY out. Let's watch the weather and see what the future holds for us all.

[+LeffertsFamily]

i havent checked these out.. but how difficult would it be for kids? I might be able to secure a sitter if it would be too much for them. (8 and almost 6). I know hubby would love to do it...

 

p.s. my husband just sent me a link that makes your vehicle a travel bug!

[+pointsaljim]

My Pine Ridge Cache would probably be doable for kids. It's about 2 3/8 mile one way with only a short section of semi-steep uphill. The (2) new caches by Camo Cacher are rated a Terrain 5 difficulty factor, so that could mean it's pretty difficult or maybe Camo Cacher just rated it a 5 due to the remoteness. I suggest we e-mail him for the answer.

[+LeffertsFamily]

probably easier if i just get a sitter.. that way no one is held back by the kidlets.... they are great hikers, we can always take them back out there if hubby and I feel its okay for them once we do it. Let us know the date and if we are free that day we would love to join you.

[+Oreo Pony]

The kids and I will try to make it too. LeffertsFamily, my kids are 8 & 12 so you'd be hiking with us if you brought your kids. I know my kids are slow hikers, but always seem to pick up the pace when there are others around

[+pointsaljim]

I received this response from Camo Cacher in reply to an e-mail that I sent to him last night. I have not asked yet about the Terrain 5 Difficulty Rating.

 

"The gate was open when I was up there last weekend. The only gate I came across was the one 24 miles in with No Trespassing welded on it. Do you think it will be closed because of the coming storm? Can you do me a favor if you make it up there before I do. Would you place a log book and pen in a ziploc bag and leave it at the What In The World cache. I came across this metal box by accident. I dont know what it is, but decided to make it a geocache also. If you know or can figure it out, please let me know."

Camo Cacher

 

The gate that Camo Cacher is referring to that is at 24 miles is the place to park. The gate at the wooden bridge is approximately 12 miles in, so we really need to make sure it is open or else we would be looking at a 24 mile round trip HIKING on the dirt road before we were even in the vicinity to begin the actually hiking on the trail.

[+Geo_cats]

Oh boy, we'd better start saving our dimes and quarters. I just read about a new GPSr Garmin is going to be selling called the Colorado that allows you to play a game called Wherigo with it. People will be able to build 'cartridges' to download and then do a historic walkabout, a fantasy interactive game, a virtual multicache or whatever your fevered little brain can concoct.

 

Hey, this might get the wii addicted little darlings out of the house even.

[+Geo_cats]

Oh boy, we'd better start saving our dimes and quarters. I just read about a new GPSr Garmin is going to be selling called the Colorado that allows you to play a game called Wherigo with it. People will be able to build 'cartridges' to download and then do a historic walkabout, a fantasy interactive game, a virtual multicache or whatever your fevered little brain can concoct.

 

Hey, this might get the wii addicted little darlings out of the house even.

[+Oreo Pony]

The gate at the wooden bridge is approximately 12 miles in, so we really need to make sure it is open or else we would be looking at a 24 mile round trip HIKING on the dirt road before we were even in the vicinity to begin the actually hiking on the trail.

 

Yikes! 24-mile trip, eh? I'm guessing the kids and I won't be going on that li'l hike. Is a Jeep involved?

 

L

[+pointsaljim]

The gate at the wooden bridge is approximately 12 miles in, so we really need to make sure it is open or else we would be looking at a 24 mile round trip HIKING on the dirt road before we were even in the vicinity to begin the actually hiking on the trail.

 

Yikes! 24-mile trip, eh? I'm guessing the kids and I won't be going on that li'l hike. Is a Jeep involved?

 

L

I'm not doing a 24 mile hike either! It's only a 5 - 6 mile HIKING round trip if we make sure that the gate is open. Maybe Suebee and I will take a drive out there on Friday afternoon to see if the gate is open and to assess the creek crossings

Edited January 10, 2008 by pointsaljim

[+pointsaljim]

EVERYONE WHO LIKES REMOTE CACHES IN GREAT LOCATIONS READ THIS!!

 

Late this afternoon, Suebee, Riley the Pup, and I went up Huasna Rd to scout out the as yet unfound Operation Skywatch cache and the unfound What in the World cache. We left a little too late from Santa Maria, (3:15), and had to stop our hike because of darkness.

We are DEFINITELY going back next Saturday, Jan 19. We will be leaving Santa Maria at 1 P.M. and would like to have as many geocachers come along who like this kind of geocaching. The drive there is a fantastic drive on a rural country road. The hike itself is a maximum of 4 miles round trip depending on how far you are able to drive on Avenales Rd. If time permits, we will then drive another mile further up the road and proceed to check out our own Pine Ridge cache. This will require another round trip hike of 4.6 miles.

We made it up in our 4 Runner that does NOT have 4 wheel drive. It did help that it has slightly higher clearance than standard passenger vehicles. Below is our log entry on the Operation Skywatch cache. Here is the webpage address:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...db-7e1886e056c8

 

Suebee and Pointsaljim left Santa Maria about 1/2 hour too late,(3:15 p.m.) and had to turn back 3/4 of a mile away from the cache because of darkness and because the critters, (wild foxes), were coming out and Riley the pup couldn't contain herself and wanted to chase them. The GPS said that we had 0.6 miles to go and I figure actual walking mileage left was probably 3/4 mile. The entire drive on Huasna Rd. was gorgeous, crisp, and clear! The gate is open, the creeks are easily passable, and we only saw one mountain biker once we crossed the wooden bridge a few miles past Huasna Township. About 11.2 miles beyond the wooden bridge we turned onto the Avenales Observation Rd and were only able to go about 0.4 miles before the road got too steep and rutted for our 4 Runner that is NOT 4 wheel drive. We pulled over and hiked for another 0.53 miles, elevation 2,709 ft.in this totally remote area has fantastic views in all directions before we decided to turn back for the reasons listed above. On the drive back we stopped to gaze at the stars which were so many in this area where there are NO city lights or other lights for that matter. We will be back next Saturday afternoon!!

Edited January 13, 2008 by pointsaljim