Alpha Geocaching Winter 2023

Another set of alphabet caches showed up on the map so I went to find Alphabet O (Old) - Redux in Gorman Park. The entrance to the park is an easement between two houses on a cul-de-sac, not the most obvious trail head. At least they are not hiding power converters, right?

Hidden by a shrubbery

On the trail in the park

The find was not hard with the trail so well marked.

We had an unseasonably warm day in February, so I went back to the park to pick up more of this Redux set. Alphabet N (New) - Redux is near the O cache but across a small stream. I made the find very quickly and had an enjoyable crossing.

View from the cache

If I was a shadowwalker, I could cross the shadow bridge

Not much further down the hilly trail system is Alphabet P (Placed) - Redux. Once I had the right angle on the cache, it was very easy to spot. The "P" could easily stand for something else for this cache!

That same stream again

Getting to Alphabet Q (Quick) - Redux is not as quick as the name says. The hike to it from P took a little while and went through some very "barely there" trails on the hillside/cliff looking down to the river. The hiding spot seemed obvious but it was far enough off the trail to be safe from muggles.

View of thorns from the cache

I made some calculations for the R cache but it was more accessible from a different park entrance, so I left that for another day. On the way back to the car I saw a strange rock and branch formation.

What caused this?

The next day I went to the other entrance and had a pleasant hike to Alphabet R (Root) - Redux. The weather was perfect and the hide was easy to find.

View from the cache

I started working on the Redux series E-F-G-H-I. This series is trickier because all of the caches are mystery caches. One or more of them is not at the coordinates listed on geocaching.com. Finders need numbers from the other caches to calculate the location of the false caches. I went for H and I since they were close to each other. Alphabet H (Hanging) - Redux was an easy find off the walking path system in Columbia, Maryland.

The stream nearby

The I-cache I could not find, so I suspected it was the actual mystery cache. I had a little more time to run around, so I drove over to where the E-cache was but could not make the find there either! I sent an email to the cache owner. He verified some information, so I started searching again.

The next search was for the other letters. I found Alphabet F (Fallen) - Redux not too far off the path.

Among all those branches and things

Further into the same woods is Alphabet G (Ground) - Redux. The hike in was a bit challenging with the underbrush and a long downward slope. The cache was in good shape and I had a more strenuous trip back since the slope was upward.

Less cover for a cache, more distant from muggle eyes

I was able to calculate the coordinates of one of the other caches but did not get to it before winter ended.

Back on the original series, I found Alphabet_G (Ground) behind some fallen logs. Really big fallen logs! There was a nice beach back there where the kids threw stones into the river.

Treacherous terrain!

Alphabet-F (Five) was up the hill on the other side, a much more challenging bushwhack.

Someone should clean up this mess!

The kids were done with caching for that day, so we headed back to the car. I was amazed at this tree that looks like it was pulled in half from the bottom.

How is that staying there?

Another day I returned to the trail to look for more of the original caches. Alphabet-E (Evergreen) is no longer hidden in an evergreen tree but still was easy to find.

A typical forrest view

On the way to Alphabet-H (Hole), I saw a massive obstruction on the trail. It was easy to traverse. I am sure the kids would have loved getting around such an obstacle.

You shall not pass!

The cache is located in a rocky part of the forrest, not a feature usually associated with the woods.

Atypical forrest view

With that find, I had all I needed to calculate the location of the I-cache, which also did not happen before the vernal equinox. I will be sure to wrap up these two sets early in the spring! The S-T-U-V Redux set was just posted and I still have W-X-Y-Z to start.

Alpha series completed this winter:

N-O-P-Q-R Redux

 E-F-G-H-I, but not I

 E-F-G-H-I Redux, but not E or I

Previously completed:

A-B-C-D (and the Redux)--see this post

J-K-L-M (and the Redux)--see this post

N-O-P-Q-R--see this post

S-T-U-V--see this post