Alabama 67-County Challenge (GC14RJR) State of Alabama 1/8/2010

When we started caching in 2007, we would cache in areas we knew and liked, which mostly seemed to be northeast Alabama. Then of course, we would cache our way to the beach, so only the straight line southern counties on our trip would be hit. We soon learned from our caching friends we should attempt the 67 county challenge. So, with the help of CaverScott and oldboy hiker, we slowly chipped away at the needed counties.

The whole process to complete the challenge took a couple of years, but once we really decided to finish it, we were on the road almost every weekend!

The Auburn Eagle in Auburn, AL



Sneaky hide in Fairhope, AL







We'll go anywhere for a cache!



Unique Cache Container!





Desoto State Park



On the ferry going to Dolphin Island, AL

Tin Man North of Demopolis



Very old tree in Mobile, AL




With all of us having the necessary time off from work, we planned our final clean-up cache run for the southern Alabama counties. Caver planned out the trip with exact precision and excellent routing of caches and counties. We had a blast finding all the caches and seeing all the different counties. We also learned a lot of history and enjoyed seeing the sights of the rural south.

We thoroughly enjoyed the 67 county challenge!


Cemetery in Tuscaloosa, AL





The Roxy in Florence, AL



Leave No Turn Unstoned (GC1RV4C) Bankhead National Forest 10/10/2009

Finding this cache was the main reason for our visit here to the Bankhead National Forest area. We all knew this was going to be difficult to get to, as well as a major challenge to find. But we were up to it. Especially since Oldboyhiker committed to making this his grandest milestone yet! 5000 cache finds! What an honor to have your cache (Michael and David) interesting enough for the oldboyhiker "to want to go for it!" One of the cache owners, Michael is actually Mimi's only son, which really raised the ears of "The Poodle!" It was a cloudy day, but the rains held off for us during this journey in and out. Mother Nature was gorgeous today! Being early autumn the dense wooded areas offered breath-taking views and great foliage colors, which made it a more invigorating!! Donna (aka Mother) stayed in the vehicle, unsure if she could make the hike. Do not worry she had the doors locked and a very large handgun at her side. She was going to read her book. So off we go!

After our challenging and approximate .5 mile trek in, we finally get to the general cache area. The view was actually breath-taking. Imagine huge rock formations on both sides of a beautiful creek that was rushing more than normal due to recent rains. You could close your eyes and hear, feel and smell of a wildlife area that not many people have experienced. Man it was "out there!" We began our search. We looked at all potential areas. We knew, by the previous log as to what type container we were in search of. For over an hour, the entire group searched silently and remained focused on our goal. All you could hear during this time was the flowing creek and the slight chitter-chatter of oldboyhiker talking to himself. Did you know he did that when he is really concentrating? It was also brought to our attention during the day that this would actually be Beep~Beeps 1400th find, which was an added incentive. We continued our search. The coordinates were defiantly playing games with us. We all expanded our search even further. Still no luck yet in coming up with the milestone smiley. We continued searching. I could tell by the atmosphere that we all were beginning to ask ourselves, “will we find it? What if we do not find it?” Slight fear sneaks in. Dusk is approaching. We gotta find it! Silent searching continues. We are all scattered about. Mimi makes a really weird decision and ventures even further. I looked at her and said to myself….”could it be?” The search continues for all. Five more minutes passed. I was telling myself, “it may be time to leave!” But what would we do now? Not finding this cache would literally screw up our entire day…and even weekend! A few more minutes pass, and we hear the very distant yell of LCP, Lady Clay Pigeon, Mimi, Michael’s Mom and even a.k.a. “The Poodle” scream, “FOUND IT!” Next thing I hear is oldboyhiker saying, “YESSS!” What a sweet sound and sweeter relief! We did it! We found it! We all go to the area where she located the cache container. I will not elaborate as to exactly where, because it might take away from future finds! We signed the log as minus 1 + 1 which included oldboyhiker, beep~beep, ragdoll and Donna. "The Whip" (caverscott) was not with us today, so we un-leashed ourselves and ran wild in the woods!! We all returned after 3.5 total hours as very wet, torn, worn and dirty-dirty dogs! Pictures and video are upcoming on Mimi’s Facebook page. Check it out!

Thank you Mike and David for your contribution and efforts in placing this cache in such a great unforeseen area. It helped make a memorable day for all of us! It was great to find it and we all feel so accomplished. Congratulations to oldboyhiker and beep~ beep allowing us to be a part of there milestone journey. Remember, “The fun really is in the journey!!

The Night Stalker: The Horseman (GCTNTR) Columbia, TN 2/12/2011

We started this geocaching thing as a hobby, but soon discovered it is an obsession. We are caught up in the madness of this game! Yes, there were times we thought we could lay low and not play, but those times were short lived and told us something about ourselves…we HAVE to play! So in the three years it took us to get to this point, we have a lot of acquaintances, friends and VERY good friends we can count on because of our “hobby!”

One such VERY good friend suggested this cache as our big 5,000th find. Steve, aka oldboyhiker, mapped out a plan to make it happen. Of course, it sparked an interest! We loved the way the cache page read and the fact that it was a night cache in another state also fueled the fire. He told us about the many road series in this area to run up our numbers to fulfill our quest.

As luck (yes, I said luck!) would have it, the weekend turned out to be absolutely beautiful! We start out very early in the morning and leisurely cache our way north. We had a lot of time before nightfall to get the necessary number of caches and we did just that. We had enough time to kill before nightfall that we met up with oldboyhiker and his “partner in crime” smarky for a few drinks and dinner. We had such a great time together, we almost lost track of time. It is quite dark outside when we pay the tab!

We head directly over to the parking coordinates and plan our route in! Wow, is it ever dark and spooky! The sky has a few scurrying clouds masking the bright half moon and stars, but we are equipped with plenty of illumination to see our way and discern our markers. The trek in is slow, as we have to watch our steps for mud and manure. It is a long hike in and we are sure there were eyes watching us. After quite a while, we arrive at our destination and start celebrating as we find our prize! Smarky and OBH surprise us with mementoes to mark our grand 5,000! We toast champagne and drink in the moonlight! We are also celebrating Smarky’s D/T finale as this was her last difficulty/terrain rating to get!

Just as we remember to sign the log, we hear coyotes in the distance and hurriedly pack up to go back to our vehicles. What an awesome adventure and milestone for us all! Clay Pigeons, Clay, Alabama.

The Poodle Challenge (GC20B4E) West Jefferson, AL 2/21/2010

While we had the most beautiful pre-Spring weather this weekend, our plans seemed to change with the wind. Our Big Dogs biking excursion to Chattanooga was cancelled when obh was too sick to travel. Then mtn-man changed our plans to cache Guntersville with CaverScott today by publishing new caches close to home. The FTF fever caught all of us and we picked up 3!

Soon we found ourselves caching the West Jefferson area and this cache kept popping up. I tried several times to circumvent this cache. Remembering all too clearly my last experience trying to navigate my way across the trestle for our 900th find, I was clearly opposed to the idea. Even when the possibility of going to do this cache was mentioned, my heart started to race, my breathing became erratic and my palms started to sweat. Still, we were headed in the direction of this challenge. My companions were slowing building my confidence with each mile we drove. The drive in to this cache is amazing and fun and a first for CaverScott, since he came in the other way for the Tunnel Cache.

We soon arrive at the parking area and face the long and winding trestle. Already my pulse begins an erratic beat. I'm nervous and challenged at the same time. OCP (Old Clay Pigeon as he has become known in the geocaching world) and Caver walk out ahead of me still trying to coax me across; after all, oldboyhiker put this cache out for me to conquer my fear of heights. This is mind over matter; I should be able to do this. Right?



1,000 feet above a river!



I get a few feet into the crossing when the view to the bottom opens up. I freeze. I remember from the last time I tried this, the creek underneath is like a 1,000 feet below and if you fell through; it would surely be to your death! I tell them I can't do it. I can not make it across. Slowly, Scott makes his way back to me to have a little chat. His voice is low and calming. He asks would it help to hold hands. I debated quickly on this possibility of support and took it. He is slowly walking with me and telling me the most amazing story of a similar situation. All the while I am concentrating on the sound of his voice, his story and my footing. Before I realize it, we are across the trestle and on the other side!

Since we are here and I didn't get to see the tunnel on my previous visit, we all decide to walk to it and check out the other cache before attempting the cache in which we came for. The tunnel is spectacular and very much worth the visit. The original cache is in good shape and I signed the log to say I "officially" was here.

We return to the task of finding The Poodle Challenge - the Trestle II cache and this too takes on a new challenge! After about 30 minutes of hard searching, we resort to PAF for a better clue. If we would have read the previous logs better, we would have known the cache is about 134' from the coords. We expand our search and I soon spy the cache container! EUREKA! We have accomplished a very torturous (for me, anyway) cache placement.

Jim gets the grueling task of holding my hand and "helping" me back across the trestle. It's still one foot in front of the other, very carefully, but we are soon to the other side and on solid ground! I am VICTORIOUS!!! Thank you Steve for this incredible cache and accomplishment for me. I signed the log for us and took the "Courage" geocoin!

LCP I did it!!!