Geocaching April 2022

The first day of the month was a hole in the "days of the year" chart for us, so while running some errands we found Columbia Ultra Micro Cache #1. The actual container was not that small (it had its own writing implement!). The name is a bit of a misnomer. It was still fun to find.

An unassuming location

We borrowed a music book from a friend in Bowie, Maryland. After returning the book, we went to White Marsh Park to find some geocaches. Our first find was just outside the park at a shopping center. New Years C & D 2018 was an easy find in an obvious spot. This particular parking lot was behind the stores so muggles were not a problem.

The vegetation hadn't come in yet

In the park, The Girl Scout Way cache is near the parking but far enough off the path to make it a fun challenge. Also, the container was big enough that we were able to offload some of the geojunk that has been accumulating in our geocaching bag. We save tchotchkes to put in caches or maybe make our own cache one day.

In the park

Further down the trail we found Between a Log and a Heart Place, though we were not really sure what the "Heart Place" was based on searching ground zero. 

I swear this is not the same spot as the picture above

Whitemarsh Branch Main Stream runs through the park and Pooh Sticks is nestled somewhere besides the flowing waters and a small bridge. We found a spot that was not the right spot. We could tell by a laminated card saying so. We searched some more but did not make the find. Apparently the container is very well camouflaged. We didn't find all the caches in the park, so we may come back again and try harder.

Thanks for the message Pooh Bear!

Our final find was Amphibians which was another fairly easy find and large enough to leave more stuff than we picked up. And we saw a cool tree along the way. 

A tree just barely hanging on to the bank of the stream

I filled another day on the calendar with Youngin #3, part of a series that is now incomplete with the loss of some of the caches. The container had an Open Caching tag that I picked up to move on to a new location. Once home, it looks like the tags are more for trading than traveling. 

A good spot for a bigger cache

Someone's tag

I had a rainy-day success with Obviously No Outlet #3 (Golden Rod Path) which was an easy park-and-grab with a fun container. The container had enough room for me to drop the above tag.

I saw the sign and it opened up my mind...

The owner of Making My Appointment... emailed me through the geocaching website that the cache container was replaced after I marked it as not there. On a rainy day, that cache seemed like it would be an easy, quick find, which it was, boosting my streak of days cached and adding another day to the "days of the year" chart.

View from the cache into the woods

We went on a trip to the Carolinas and found some geocaches there.

Filling another day on the calendar while running an errand, I found IJKLM #1. There's no explanation for the cryptic name and the cache owner has not made a #2 yet. The location was just off some trails in the woods. Here's the view from the cache...

It's all downhill from here!

After dropping our son off to prepare for a concert, we had an hour to spend. Nearby was a park with three geocaches: EC geotrail #1, EC geotrail #2, and EC geotrail #3. The word "trail" is a bit of a joke, since going from geocache to geocache is more like bushwhacking than following a nice dirt path. The spring vines, thorns, and other undergrowth were already popping up, ready to make the caches even more difficult to find.

A helper by #1

A path free from undergrowth

View towards #2

View from #3

After dropping my son off to work on an Eagle Project, I found King of the Hill, which apparently was placed by another scout as part of a geocaching merit badge. The find was easy and the hill had plenty of room for other royalty to join in.

Top of the hill pathway to the cache

I finally found the mystery cache Alphabet-M (Move) after finding the other clues last month. The geocache is located near some power lines, making for a dramatic area. The access road is mostly overgrown. I had to bushwhack to it but was happy to make the find.

Power-lined path

The Hammond Branch nearby

To fill in another day, I searched for JJ Doesn't Shop Here, which is behind a Home Depot. Not sure what JJ's problem is, but finding the cache was quick for me.

Unusual forest junk--concrete curbs!

A pair of caches are hidden in a Columbia business park. I went on a quiet Friday and found CGD1 and Columbia Alpha which were in easy walking distance of each other. Inbetween finds, I saw a fabulous sculpture in the middle of the parking lot.

View toward CGD1

View from Columbia Alpha (no, that's not the fabulous sculpture)

"Dihedrals" by Rob Fisher (2002)

The month ended with our cumulative total at 582 after adding 23 finds from April. If I follow the same pace, May could break the 600 barier!