Sunday, January 9, 2011

My Favorite Cache Finds of 2010

Even though I found a relatively low number of geocaches this past year, it was still tough to pick favorites. I did, however, and here is my list.

Micro - Tucked Away Downtown by Jeff60523 (GC1NXXG)
This is just outside and across the street from Union Station in Chicago. Muggles aplenty and my GPSr was almost useless because of all of the tall buildings.

Regular - Caching is a Virtue by cache-n-dash (GC1BX3E)
After hunting a few caches in Baker City, OR, my Dad and I decided to hunt a cluster of caches in nearby Virtue Flats. This cache and the nearby ones required lots of hill-climbing in a desert-like environment. Rattlesnakes were a distinct possibility.

Multi - Jaybirder's Roost by Jaybirder (GC209W3)
First hunt of the New Year. A comfortable 27 degrees and sunshine provided near-perfect conditions for what would turn out to be the longest single-day cache hunt for me and my caching buddy, jbgreer. It also required hunting six additional caches to get start coordinates.

Event - Geocaching FUNdamentals by Geocachers of West Tennessee (GC2440D)
I don't really require a fundamental course in geocaching, but I really enjoy the park that it was held in. Prontopup does a really good job at hosting these types of events, and it appears that he gets a lot of practice.

CITO Event - CITO in Germantown by Geocachers of West Tennessee (GC253F5)
Held shortly after the Geocaching FUNDamentals event, this has to be the best-organized CITO of the 5 I have been to. It was spread across multiple Germantown Parks.

Mystery - The Original Buster Brown by Bulldog Duo (GC1P047)
After caching in Paragould, AR all day, I made a stop in Hornersville, MO on my way home. The history behind the man this cache honors was the most fascinating thing about the hunt.

Favorite Earthcache - Earthquake Lake by Paper_Doll and Girl Scout troops 1629 & 1632 (GC112BZ)
The only earthcache I did on my tour of Reelfoot Lake caches. I picked it because it only had 3 questions to answer.

Favorite Power Trail: Delta Trail SP#1GPT by BackpacknJack (GC2712K)
I spent 2 days hiking the length and back of this neat trail and found 75 of the 112 caches along it. I picked the wrong time of year and the heat and mosquitoes definitely affected my hunt - especially on the second day. I'm going to try to get back there early this Spring to finish up the caches.

Favorite Virtual: So many Storeys, So Little Time by bspeng (GC47A4)
- technically, I didn't hunt any virtual caches in 2010, but I revisited this one during a train trip to Oregon in June. On my previous visit, I saw the view from the 99th floor of the Sears Tower, because there was construction taking place on the 103rd floor. This June, I got to stand in one of the skydeck ledges on the 103rd floor. These ledges extend over four feet outside of the 103rd floor - 1353 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River.

Favorite Cache of the Year - Treasure Hidden in a Field by Worldtraveler (GCF1D5)
This was an incredible cache hunt that I had been wanting to do since I started geocaching more than six years ago. Part of the fun was in remembering what geocaching was like when I began. It was sad to read about what has happened to it in the months after my visit.

This list is subject to change as my memory gets refreshed regarding the caches I enjoyed.

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