When I got up on Friday morning and saw a good chance of rain where I had planned to go (Reelfoot Lake), I decided to get my oil changed in Olive Branch, MS and pick up 10 caches before traffic got too bad.
Even though I got to the oil change place by 7:30am, they were extra busy on this day. It took nearly two hours to get my oil changed and my tires rotated. Oh well - I had the whole day off of work. I found 11 caches - including my 3200th find just before lunchtime. There was a big cluster of caches to the east in Southaven, MS, but the traffic was getting heavy so I figured I would head home.
On the way, I made a snap decision to hunt FTF Pirate #1: Boneyards by Chance Encounter (GCYX0Z) a three-stage cemetery cache hunt that hadn't been found in nearly three years.
The cache hunt was set up to go through three adjacent, but very different cemeteries. I had done some aerial recon on the area before and thought I knew how to get in the first cemetery - Forest Hill Cemetery. I ended up looping the area and entering off Elvis Presley Blvd. This cemetery was the nicest kept of the three, but was still in need of repairs. I found the first stage of the cache easily and took a few pictures of the surrounding area.
The next stage of the cache took me south to Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Autorouting took me to the corner of Elvis Presley Blvd. and Elliston Ave. which is the entrance of the cemetery, but not a good place to park. This section of EP Blvd. is nasty and had a hooker pacing across the street from the cemetery. I ran back to where the 2nd stage was and found it quickly. The container is still functional although it has small holes chewed in the top - the final stage coordinates were laminated, though, so no problems.
No problems, or so I thought. The coordinates I wrote down took me far to the west of the cemetery area. I ended up having to go back and re-read the coordinates from the previous location. Aaaarrrggh!!!Ok, now with the final coordinates, I made my way to the final stage. I parked in a cemetery that turned out to be the wrong one. I got to within 60 feet of the stage coordinates and ran into a big ditch. After surveying the area, I figure out where I needed to have parked and hiked back to move the car.
Upon arriving at the last parking area, I began my hike back to where the coordinates led.
This cemetery was a lot sparser than the previous ones, and since I was looking for an ammo can, I knew I would have to enter the brushy area in the back. I got to within 20 feet of the cache location and did a lot of looking in a lot of rough places. I spent about a half an hour before finally giving up. I'll save the final coordinates and make another attempt next winter. This cache was last found in 2007. Subsequent seekers never got past the second stage.
After visiting all of these unkempt, neglected cemeteries maybe I'll just get cremated and spread to the wind. Exiting the area, I once again passed through an area of Memphis that looks like a scene from a third world country.
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