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Poison Oak Cachers

Ca Racetramp

By Ca Racetramp
in West and Southwest

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
Posted

Geocats: It was good to see you yesterday and I appreciate your passion for local/California geology and sharing with me. BTW, you're looking great!

 

Anyways, it looks like I might not have to work on the weekend of the 29th. (I should know for sure on Monday.) So I might camp if you and Oreo Pony are going to camp. There is however some other things happening, such as Jackson Browne at Avila Resort at 12 noon and a local blues guitartist named Stubby who is gonna be at the Atascaero VFW on the night of the 29th.

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Hey all POC members: I suppose most of you already know this, but I found out after leaving a cache on an 11,000 ft. mountain in Utah that it is illegal to leave ANYTHING in a designated Wilderness Area. Since a storm was happening the next two days after I left the cache and I left Utah the following day, I asked the Utah Geocachers to help me out.( I even offered a reward). Someone took me up on it right away and hiked up in-between snow storms and retrieved the cache. The Utah geocache admin review did note that in turning it down for publishing that it was a fabulous site that I had picked!!

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Oreo Pony

+Oreo Pony

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Let's set up a Pizza Meet & Greet in SLO. There used to be a pizza place across from the fire station where Santa Barbara & Broad meet. I'll drive by next week to check out the name of it and set something up for a Saturday night in November - any dates NOT available to anyone?

 

By the way, Ptsaljim, it's a good thing you hiked most of SLO's Nine Sisters already. I just read an article that said Cerro Romualdo is now closed to hikers. Article is here.

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

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Any Saturday in November is good for me.

 

Wow, that's a bummer about Cerro Romauldo being closed. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise though. I've just been asked to be a scout master again, so now it means that I can't take the kids on that hike, which might be a good thing 'cause back in 2000 when I took a group of about 9 kids up there and had dinner, they made me super nervous 'cause they were dangling their legs off the side and were pushing each other!! I could NOT enjoy my dinner at all and had to turn my head!

 

Oreo Pony, I noticed that earlier this year you were inquiring about the difficulty level of biking DOWN the High/Lowe road and seemed a little spooked, wondering if it would be dangerous for your kids. Except for the very top 1/3 mile, the road is nice and wide, and has a very even grade, except there are some shallow drainage ditches that cut across it. I don't think that going down would be any problem at all for your kids as long as they watch out for the DRAINAGE DITCHES. (This of course assumes that they will be coming down at a GENTLE speed and not BLASTING DOWN FULL TILT THROTTLE like BooBooBee did.) HOWEVER, GOING UP is definitely a workout - NOT killer, but still definetely strenuous. Unless your kids are good hill climbers and can climb LONG grades, they might be pushing their bikes most of the way up.

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Geo_cats

+Geo_cats

Posted
Posted
Let's set up a Pizza Meet & Greet in SLO. There used to be a pizza place across from the fire station where Santa Barbara & Broad meet. I'll drive by next week to check out the name of it and set something up for a Saturday night in November - any dates NOT available to anyone?

I believe the place you are referring to is: Village Host Pizza & Grill

2138 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. It is next door to a car wash?

The only other pizza place in that area is Fatte's Pizzas but that is mostly just take out. (Good pizza though.)

 

We'll be out of town the weekend of the 11th but home the rest of the month.

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Naturesprite

+Naturesprite

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I'm back from a few weekends of travel. Went out to Madison WI for 5 days. Sure, they have good cheese and some killer polka bands, but our cheese comes from happy cows. Unfortunately, no cr and no time for caching...just a business trip. I did hit a few breweries though (on foot).

 

I'm up for pizza some time this month. I'll bring the lactase pills :huh: . The 19th is the only off day for me, my brother and his friends will be in town and we're booked. Other sats. work though. I'll check the posts.

 

Rock on!

 

NS

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biggeeks

+biggeeks

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi Poison Oak Cachers!

 

Biggeek Ben here from your neighboring club the CCGC. It looks like you all are planning an event of your own, but I also wanted to invite you to a CITO event we're throwing on Dec. 3rd. GCR6HW

 

It's in Salinas (hold your applause) which I know is a drive from SLO, but I'm trying to bribe people near and far with a geocoin.

 

Hope we can see some of you up there :anibad:

 

BGB

Edited by biggeeks
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Geo_cats

+Geo_cats

Posted
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Well, we better pin down a night before the month runs out on us. I propose a Friday night as so many have weekend plans that conflict with a Saturday or Sunday. I would suggest Friday the 18th or the 25th. The 25th might be in conflict with Thanksgiving plans however.

What say

the 18th?

or the 25th?

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Geocats, OP, BooBooBee,and Naturesprite: I rode my bke today from the 101 at the top of Cuesta Grade on West Cuesta Ridge all the way to the cache at Cerro Alto. (I had to hike the last 1/2 hour). It is over 16 miles round trip. Of course you can use your vehicle to get very close. The gate is open now where the pavement ends. This is how it compares to East Cuesta: The ride is harder than East, but the views of the Morros are better. Also I could see the point at Cayucos, Valencia Peak, Pt. Sal, and Atascadero. (Unfortunately I forgot my camera.) You need long pants when you go on the hike, 'cause once you've found the cache you will want to bushwack it to the very top.(I had on bike shorts and got a bunch of superficial sratches.) East Cuesta has better and taller trees and much better rock formations. I only encountered(1) car on East and encountered (6) cars and (2) motorcycles on West.

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Naturesprite

+Naturesprite

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Good Doctor,

 

I am partial to the following caches in our area.

 

Gollum's Grotto (san luis obispo) - several others in the vicinity too.

Night Owl (Los Osos) a night cache. - many more in the area too.

 

If you feel like heading up the big sur coast I'd suggest my very own Salmo Rivulus.

 

Those are just a few. There are a boat load of great caches in this area though.

 

Others?

NS

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Dr. Boggis,

 

If you are into a steep hike with a fantastic view, I'd suggest SLO Highest. And be sure to go to the sitting area that is called out with the last set of coordinates. Anything in the Big Sur area such as Naturesprite's cache is also going to be inspiring. For tricky cache containers, Oreo Pony is the master.

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Well now I'm REALLY an official POC'er. Those superficial scratches I got at Cerro Alto Vista have turned into a GNARLY case of poison oak! <_< I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get a cortisone shot 'cause I'm slapping myself silly trying to avoid itching and scratching. I won't let it stop me from caching over the Thanksgiving weekend though. <_<

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

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BooBooBee's "U"p the Jordan has got it all. A nice drive to get close, then some deceiving road choices to make/maps to study, nice 2/3 mile tree shaded walk to the cache, Nice Cache Swag, and then a nice 1.6 mile hike through an oak forest to a FANTASTIC 360 degree panoramic view! You can see the ocean, Port San Luis, Pt. Sal, the whole Santa Maria valley and Nipomo Mesa, SL4 and Tranquillion Peak on VAFB, ridges and ridges of mountains to the east. AND, Poison Oak is minimal and low to the ground. Round trip from car to cache, hike beyond to panoramic view and back to car is 4.3 miles; total elevation gain 500 ft. Thanks, BooBooBee, for placing this cache. :P

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Oreo Pony

+Oreo Pony

Posted
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Sounds like a wonderful day you had there, Jim. Better than most, eh. I'll have to prioritize that one to #1 on my "to-do list." Should I drive the Accord or the pickup?

 

I did "Doggy Doo Park" in SLO today, and it is the BEST bar none. I was totally cracking up when I figured it out! A must-doo for all cachers... don't let the name put you off.

 

For tricky cache containers, Oreo Pony is the master.

Thanks for the vote of confidence...

 

Your 16-mile trek across the Santa Lucias was successful, I see. I went up to Geocachic Dome today and need to get some more miles in the seat before I could handle a 16 MILER! Sorry to hear about that sneaky PO. Scratches are the WORST :P

 

OP

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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OP,I would drive the pick-up. I will definitely DOO "Doggy Doo Park" :D One of the tricks I've learned is to NOT do too many miles in the seat. I stand and pedal as often as I can, even put it in 5-6 gears harder when climbing a hill standing and then only shift to an easy one and sit down when I need a rest. I will have to check out Geocachic Dome. It sounds cool. I always thought it would be cool to build a geo - what's it called?- dome. Actually, the only thing that has taken my mind off the itching is when I'm out caching or biking. Started getting better yesterday.

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Oreo Pony

+Oreo Pony

Posted
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Hi Poison Oak Cachers!

 

Biggeek Ben here from your neighboring club the CCGC. It looks like you all are planning an event of your own, but I also wanted to invite you to a CITO event we're throwing on Dec. 3rd. GCR6HW

 

It's in Salinas (hold your applause) which I know is a drive from SLO, but I'm trying to bribe people near and far with a geocoin.

 

Hope we can see some of you up there :unsure:

 

BGB

Me & mine will be there for the CITO & Plant Planting - thanks for the invite.

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Naturesprite

+Naturesprite

Posted
Posted

Bump.....

 

Didn't want anyone to think the thread was dead B) . I visited Hiya's memorial cache today - it was a nice hike. A few weeks back, Boo Boo Bee and I mountain biked up Caliente Peak for the cache up there. That was a 17 mile ride with 2700 feet of vertical gain. Not too bad for stats, but the ride seemed harder due to weird soil and a biting cold wind. I think I would have had to feel better to die afterwards though - the revenge of the bad back. My recommendation is to bring your own post-ride beer since the selection is limited in Cuyama B) .

 

I hope you all had a nice holiday season and have a great new year.

 

NS

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Oreo Pony

+Oreo Pony

Posted
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Boo Boo Bee and I mountain biked up Caliente Peak for the cache up there. That was a 17 mile ride with 2700 feet of vertical gain.

Hey NS - Glad that wasn't a "group hike" B)B)B)

 

Merry Christmas everybody.

 

Okay. That's behind us....

 

Let's get back to 'caching! :PB)B) The weather is still holding here on the Central Coast and we've all been stuck indoors with all our holiday preparations B) Fun, but I sure miss a day spent seeking hidden treasure. See y'all on the trails.

 

L'Oreo

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Hey Oreo and the rest of the POCer's: When I read about NS and BooBooBee's mountain biking adventure to Caliente I was like WOW that's Hard Core! I also decided that the exposure to the elements and views probably don't equal the effort involved.

The question is, would you do it again NS and BooBooBee?

The reason I ask is because when I find a cache that I like I often go back to experience it again, such as the cache at Pt. Sal and I know that one of these days I will go back to C'ISHUMU.

 

Someone named Rubacava finally went to "O"n top of the world and had the same great feelings that I had about it. WOO HOO!!

 

Spent the holidays in Utah visiting my daughter and granddaughter. Checked up on a cache that we planted there and it's gone:( Didn't do any other caching 'cause the ski slopes were exerting a greater pull on me! I did try mountain biking in the snow and found it to be quite difficult. On the way home I kept myself amused by entering long/lats for faraway places like the Phillipines where our son is at and discovered that he is 7,000 miles away and that the North Pole is only 3,700 miles away!!!

 

I read Bill Bryson's book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and really liked most of it! I read the chapter on Einstein at midnight and started having an "out of body" experience because it was sooo mind bending.

 

Anyways, I look forward to caching in the New Year and wish you all a Happy and Poison Oak Free New Year!!

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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For a cool themed cache up a nice canyon, try BooBooBee's "C"olson's Kitchen Sink. It's got everything there to make a killer meal!! I could barely fit the TOASTER that was in the cache, (that's right, a countertop electrical toaster!!), in my backpack 'cause I biked it today.

I found out something pretty cool about Google Earth before I went to the above mentioned cache. As I moved the cursor along the path of the road, it constantly showed the elevation changes, so I could get the feel for how even the gradient was going to be and know where the steeper parts of the bike ride would be.

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Naturesprite

+Naturesprite

Posted
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I won't speak for Boo Boo Bee, but I would go back to caliente. Not so much for the cache, but to experience the place in a different way. I would probably hike it if I did it again and plan on spending the night up there. Once I've biked it, I don't feel compelled to do that again, not so much because of the difficulty, but because it's a long drive for a ride. I saw a number of fossils on the way up and I might like to walk it to do more fossil hunting.

 

NS

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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Thanks for the input NS. Since I posted the question, BooBooBee told me that the views are awesome. Therefore, I will hike it on a non-windy day and maybe look for some fossils.

 

I've been told that somewhere in the vicinity of Hurricane Deck that there are pretty cool Indian paintings. Was going to overnight backpack it with a friend on New Year's weekend, but we backed out when it looked like the rain was going to be major, which it was.

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pointsaljim

+pointsaljim

Posted
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ATTN EVERYONE: OREO PONY'S SPOONER RANCH CACHE IS THE BEST CACHE I HAVE DONE, BAR NONE! And here's why: The cache hiding spot is way cute with the perfect clue, the drive to and from the trailhead is way cool and curvy with some great ocean views including huge waves, and there are a multitude of ways to get to this cache depending on whether you want an easy bike ride, long but moderate trail bike ride before it, super hard yet total RUSH bike ride after, some long hikes with killer views, walk it, EVEN possible to wheelchair it if you can get a friend to push you up a few short areas on the way to the cache. There is also some cool history to boot! I chose to do the easy bike to it and then the super hard/TOTAL RUSH bike ride after(8 miles total - reference Bike Ride #3 in "Mountain Biking Southern California by Mark A. Ross and Brad Fine). After going to the cache on Islay Creek Trail, I went UP the East Boundary Trail to the Ridge Trail which was a gnarly workout with killer views and then the middle part of the ride offered pretty fast downhills with occasional mini-JUMPS and short uphills, and then the final almost 2 miles were a total rush downhill with nice banked turns and short rocky technical sections --WOO HOO!!! The ranger told me the easier way is to pedal up Pecho Road to Hazard Canyon Rd east and then take the Manzanita trail to a short section on the ridge road and then go DOWN the East Boundary Trail and then Islay Creek Trail West to the cache. I recommend long pants if you do the trail ride that I did 'cause there is some POISON OAK that will for surely get you if you eat it at the wrong spot and a few areas where it nips at your ankles. If hiking you can do in shorts. I also took all kinds of cool pics that I haven't posted yet. At one point I could see Morro Rock, Cerro Negro,(Black Hill), Cerro Cabrillo, and Hollister Peak all at the same time. Just before I started the total downhill RUSH, the rising full moon was at one end of the trail and the setting sun was at the other end.(I will post pictures soon). WOW!! What a Friday the 13th! THANK YOU OREO PONY for picking the PERFECT location!

Edited by pointsaljim
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Oreo Pony

+Oreo Pony

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pointsaljim - you are so great!

 

Thanks for enjoying my cache placement and hint so much. I just knew folks like you would make the most of such a wonderful trail. I'm glad somebody was physically able to make all those trails. The pictures and the moon were wonderful. The kids (and I) just can't do all you did yesterday (yet).

 

I am so glad I'm a Geocacher.

 

[edited to add "yet"]

Edited by Oreo Pony
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Geo_cats

+Geo_cats

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I thought I had better post something so people don't think Geo_cats got run over or something. :) Did a bit of caching over the holidays and did some fun ones in Las Vegas just before Thanksgiving.

 

For those of you who missed the Box Canyon cache in Stadium Park in Atascadero, we have adopted and reactivated it. If you haven't done it, it's a nice one in a gem of a park. There are several trails nearby and a heavy duty climb up Pine Mountain if you are up to it.

 

I've got a new one to post soon. (Would have done it tonight but the site is down for maintenance.) :blink:

 

I need to do your Spooner Ranch one OP. It sounds like a good one and I need the exercise after all the eating that's been done these last two months.

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