More Alpha Geocaching 2023

A geocacher has released an ongoing series of caches following the alphabet, with twenty-six caches leading to a final cache using the numbers hidden in all the other caches. I've been working on the series on and off for about two years and am finally getting close to the end!

I found Alphabet I (Inside) - Redux inside of a tree in the park and got another clue for the final find.

Typical trail in the woods

I finished out the series with Alphabet E (Evergreen) - Redux a few days later. Making the find wasn't too hard since it was still early spring and the nearby pool was not in use yet...not even close! This series was weird, because each letter had coordinates online, but only some of them were correct coordinates for the find. These others had to be calculated from information in the other caches. It was a bit of a headache to sort out but I finished it up.

Spring had barely sprung

Then summer happened, shutting down the alpha-caching until the fall, when the woods are less thorny and weedy. Sure, the fallen leaves make a challenge. I feel they are an easier challenge to deal with.

I started up again in October with the S-T-U-V Redux series in a park in northern Columbia. They are all on one trail though in a bit of a mixed-up order. Luckily, my father-in-law was there to help. My first find was Alphabet T (Turtle) - Redux which was just off the trail. The turtle was too small to see from a distance but I did spot the container fairly quickly. The trail had a crazy big tree on one side, so I took a photo with it.

Amazing tree

Me for scale

Next up was Alphabet S (Stick) - Redux which was a tricky and fun container in a tree. While the alphabet seemed to be going backwards, the next find was Alphabet U (Under) - Redux, much further along the trail and much further from the pavement. My father-in-law made the find here and was a big help in figuring out the coordinates for the final cache, Alphabet V (Very) - Redux. Happily, ground zero was back by where we parked. Unhappily, construction was going on just off the trail (reinforcing the nearby pond?). I felt suspicious enough looking around for the cache so I didn't take any pictures. A bicyclist on the trail stopped and came over to the spot where we had just been. He seemed like he was only looking at the construction, not at the hiding spot. At least I hope so.

A river runs by it

I finally made a second search of Alphabet-I (Inside) and made the find, only to discover an empty bottle! There was no log, no number for I, and no lid. I messaged the owner. On the way to ground zero, two deer spotted me. Can you spot them?

Easy find

Less easy find

Uneasy find

The W-X-Y-Z series still awaits as does the final Alpha cache. The cacher has not created a Redux series for the end of the alphabet yet (at least as I write in November 2023).

Alpha series completed this post:

I of E-F-G-H-I

E and I of E-F-G-H-I Redux

S-T-U-V Redux

Previously completed:

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

E-F-G-H-I, but not I--see this post

E-F-G-H-I Redux, but not E or I--see this post

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

N-O-P-Q-R--see this post

N-O-P-Q-R Redux--see this post

S-T-U-V--see this post