With this being Memorial Day weekend, I would have enjoyed taking a long caching trip. Instead, my caching plans were relatively modest. Having talked with jbgreer earlier in the week, we made plans to go after THE 385 CACHE by MagicRock (GC1918C) and then go to Holmes Park in Germantown and remove "Gangstas" Redeemed! by jbgreer (GC92F5). Any other caches we might hunt would be a bonus.
This would actually be our second attempt at "The 385 Cache". We were in the area back in late February (23rd) hunting other caches nearby. We didn't have any "special equipment" for this one on that day so we had simply explored the area around the coordinates. While there, we found a hint regarding the special equipment we would need.
My impetus for hunting this cache on this particular day had to do in part with a visit to the cache site earlier in the week by prontopup and Hoot Owl. They hadn't found the cache, but prontopup posted pictures of the immediate area and prompted the cache owner to provide additional information on the cache page. Our goal was to find this 4/5 cache without having to call the owner or a previous finder.
Getting to the cache site was much more difficult on this day then on our previous visit. There was a lot of overgrowth on the path and the air was filled with pollen that made us cough a lot during the hike in and out. The now familiar railroad bridge that has to be crossed if approaching from the west looks in worse shape each time we come to this area.
As for the cache hunt itself, I can't say too much without spoiling the hunt for others - we are at this point only the second two-person group to find this one and the first ones to find it unassisted.
I'll just say that our "special equipment" didn't really help us. We got really lucky in where and how we searched. Still, it was a great feeling to find this cache and get out of this area! Once back to the parking area, we had another problem - we were stuck. A simple redistribution of the weight got us free, though. We had thought about hunting a few other caches in the area, but I just wanted to get cooled down while we drove to Holmes Park.
"Gangstas" Redeemed! by jbgreer (GC92F5) was definitely a memorable cache for me. I hunted it during a time where I was more willing to keep coming back to hunt additional stages. It was surprisingly a tough cache for jbgreer to maintain as well. Stages frequently turned up missing. Sometimes the container(s) were gone and sometimes the hiding place was gone. When we went to collect the stages of the cache, At least two stages were gone and several decoys were gone as well. This cache had been around since 2002.
When we were done, I mentioned that AATN by cgeek (GCY1H9) was nearby and that I had searched for it 2 or 3 times without success. We were successful on this day thanks to jbgreer using a different visual perspective to spot it.
On the way back to jbgreer's house, we decided to hunt one more cache that had given me some trouble. Trolling For That Darned Treasure! by itcomagic (GC1BBBT) was in a familiar area of Audubon Park. I had found the first stage after itcomagic had posted a hint on the cache page. The second stage location was a tough search for me because of muggles and mud and I had to call it quits. Once again, jbgreer avenged a DNF for me. The only thing I didn't like about this cache is that the name of the cache didn't fit with what the final container turned out to be. No room for "treasure" in this one.
At this point, I think we were both ready to call it a day. I have gotten so used to easy and quick caches, that these three wore me out!
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