Cache In

For the more intrepid geocachers, Wild Horse Canyon in Okanagan Mountain Park offers a few geocaches in memorable places.    To get to the area, drive southeast through Kelowna and follow Lakeshore Drive to the end.   A parking lot is signed on the right.   this is the start of the Boulder Trail and there are 4 caches in close proximity to the lot.   Two are on a single track trail which takes you down to the lake.   One is a BC Parks geocache a short ways up the trail and one is off trail with a steep climb to a viewpoint.   None of these are on the Wild Horse Canyon trail.   

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Beyond the trailhead area, the Boulder Trail climbs over hills past the Lichen the Hike cache then comes down to a creek crossing.   The bridge was washed out and the trail beyond has some severe erosion and some deadfall.   It crosses a high lookout on top of a hill and the spot is a fine place for a geocache, The Wild Horse Canyon Trail Cache.  The trail winds down through deadfall on its way to the junction beyond.   On the whole the trail is not in good shape and although the caches are good ones, it will be for those wanting that special cache at the viewpoint.

The real Wild Horse Canyon Trail starts farther down Lakeshore Road at a gate.   There are no caches for the first two hours of hiking, but this a beautiful trail that should have a series of caches along the route.   At the upper (north) end of Wild Horse Canyon is a nice geocache called Hobble Up, on top of a hill not far from the trail.   Again, wonderful views reward the hiker-geocacher.     The route through Wild Horse Canyon inexplicably has no geocaches in it.   Steep cliffs on both sides and some swampy sections reduce the number of good hiding spots, but I noted a few good locations.  

I brought one new geocache with me and decided to place it at the south end of Wild Horse Canyon.   At the trail junction to Buchan Bay, Commando Bay and Wild Horse Canyon is a new small cache called Snakes and Stallions.   On an earlier July 1st weekend, we ran from Kelowna to Naramata through Wild Horse Canyon and saw a number of rattlesnakes.   On this trip, I only spotted on long garter snake.  

There are no caches beyond, but there should be.   Hopefully a few of us can string a series of geocaches along the whole route to make a destination geocaching trail.

A series of 14 caches on a side road linking the Coldwater Road to the Coquihalla Highway and above works as a short power trail.   Most of the caches were placed by Grafinator and are named after characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "The name of this cache makes no sense, but why should it?"

We came at the series from the low point which is not easy since there is no road sign at the turn-off.   If you choose to do it this way, look for the sign for a post and rail company which is up the same road.  It would be easier to come to the series by turning off the Coquihalla at the Comstock turnpike.  

Each of the caches are a short ways of the road, hidden in stumps, logs, or by large rocks.   The caches are easy enough to find and there is always a place to park.  

In doing the whole series, no vehicles came up the road, making the searches quiet and uninterrupted.   There were two more caches above the Highway, so vehicles can just take the tunnel and continue on up the hill.   Once all the snow has melted, an uphill to the Tod Mine and Iron Mountain is a sideroad off this backroad. 

This is a fun series and worth the drive, combining it with caches in Merritt or along one of the highways.   Recommended by Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo…

The Stein River mouth is a short way upstream from Lytton, but on the west side. Drive to Lytton, the take the reaction ferry to the far side.

The first geocache is a Gold Country cache – The Lytton Reaction Ferry. Park at the pullout and walk 100m through the grass to a copse of trees to find the ammo box under a geopile of branches. An easy cache with the ferry as the highlight. Drive north through the Reserve and watch for a small sign for the side road to the Stein. Park at the trailhead. The Stein Valley cache is a short distance up the Styren Creek Trail. The container and contents are old and worn, but the logbook is still okay. The next cache is another Gold Country cache – Asking Rock. This is a First Nations heritage site, with a sign and a nice spot above the river.
There were only two caches beyond. Teepee Cache Cache is 9km up the Stein River at the Teepee Campsite. It is a magnetic micro at the bear cache. At 14 km, Suspended in the Stein is a small cache placed under the near side of the suspension bridge (not suspended).  There should be a geocache at each campsite along the 14 km route, and just this week, a new cache was placed at the first one called Stein Valley – Easy Camp.
The Stein Valley is not yet a destination for geocaching. There are too few caches and none of them are unique. But, the Stein Valley is a destination for hiking, backpacking, and camping. A special place that we will return to every year.

For the third year, Sun Peaks will sponsor the Seek the Peaks Geocaching Weekend, this year from July 21-22.   The format will be a little different this year and  more details will be published with the event listing, but here are some highlights:

• In addition to the 65 geocaches placed in the last two years, we will be placing 25 new ones this year, some on the mountain, and some in the valley. 
• A lift pass is needed to go up to the geocaches on the mountain, but a special rate will be offered for a one-day or a two-day pass.  
• The wildflowers will be out in the alpine to greet geocachers.
• Valley geocaches are on cross-country trails, walking paths, and backroads
• Registration/Meet-up will be at 9:30.   The lift opens at 10:00 Saturday and Sunday.
• Social get-together at 4:00 at Masas
• Prizes by random draw at Masas
• More information on trails and summer at Sun Peaks can be found at http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/summer/

Running a big event and putting out a lot of caches takes the starch out of the geocaching legs.    It has been a pretty quiet month for me.   I did manage a couple of series – the Cluedo Series, the Upper Lyons lake series, and caches on the Stein River.   I managed to put out a small number – one in the Six Mile Lake area called The Slough, one on the Outer Dewdrop called Peregrine Updrafts, and one 9k out in the Stein River Valley called Teepee Cache Cache.    I have also been working with Gold Country to plan geocaches, write ups, and pre-launch activitites.   I ask myself if this is work or play?

Its time to do a pocket query and reset some finding goals again.   Its time to recharge and go on a hunt.

I am looking for geocaches with the same kind of view as Peregrine Updrafts.    Can the pocket query filter for quality spots?

49Fargo and Finderfin are organizing a Cache-In, Trash-Out (CITO) on Earth Day (April 22nd) at noon.   The clean-up center point is in Lac du Bois.   It is supported by the City of Kamloops, with help from local geocachers and some businesses.   Details are on the event listing.   Please come out and support this event.

• Earth Day Clean Up 2012 listing

   

Like a micro in a tree, its hard to see the heart of the event among all the things that happen simultaneously.   Organizing an event is the sum of the efforts of all of the team each playing a different part, all of the tasks that arise unexpectedly, coordinating and communicating, promoting and reporting, and taking care of the details.   Good things happen when you do it right.   The start of the day is a flurry of activity and then all of a sudden over 125 people are out chasing down 139 geocaches.    From there, it is too late to make any changes and we just have to enjoy the geocaching ourselves.

The event went very well.  Key to success was the core organizing team who took on major coordination duties.   Debi Adams (jazzpurr) and Jake Schmidt (sundemon) were very organized and were great hosts for the event at Bert Edwards.   Craig Morrison (MaliBooBoo) organized the GPX files, the printout, and the maps, also to a very high standard.   Prizes, GPX transfer, and general guest services were handled by Vesta Giles (vg4111) and Nic Verbruggen (Tech nic) seamlessly.   Natasha (nenners) jumped in and took on the role of official photographer.  There were other support team Interior Geocachers who showed up, jumped in to lend a hand, and just got the job done without credit or fanfare.  

We put out 139 new geocaches.   This was no small feat and many of the geocaches showed a lot of time and care with themes, interesting locations, and creativity.    Special thanks to LegoFool, Tech Nic, Finderfin, Tkam, Womantracker, Filster, vg1111, 2oddhogs, Team Field, dhoward, jazzpurr, and CGQ.   We have lots of geocaching for 2012 because of their efforts.   Geocachers can thank these owners by geocaching respectfully.   Restore the cache carefully and rehide it well.   Write a positive log on-line.  

The Spring Stomp started as a small event with a small core group and it continues to grow.   We continue to host the event as part of our contribution to the geocaching community,   We hope to do it again in 2013.   Our efforts are worthwhile if we have people come to our event.   A record number of over 125 people attended this year.   Their enthusiasm and support are much appreciated.   It was nice to see old friends and to meet new geocachers.  

Sage Stomp 2012 Gallery

The Interior Geocachers team has done it again.   We have 139 new geocaches and 3 event caches.   
Special thanks to MaliBooBoo (Craig) for preparing the gpx files and the map.   Here is a sneak peak of the cache clusters:

To print your own copy, here is a PDF sized for 11 x 17.

• Spring Stomp 2012 Map 11X17 Final

A series of geocaches on narrow ridges will be released on March 31st and published on April 1st.   All of them (so far) are in the Valleyview Silt Cliffs area.  All are designed to be accessed from the main trails to the south, then followed downhill to the north where they become increasingly narrow.   Most have trails right on the tops of these ridges.   All are on clay and there are drop-offs on either side, but there is no rock, just clay and dirt.   Nonetheless, agoraphobes will not like these locations.   For anyone who loves to hike, these are exciting traverses.  

There are few places to hide a cache container on top of these ridges so micros are placed wherever places could be found. Get your good hiking boots ready, work on your fitness, bolster up your courage, and look for these caches:

• Spine of Clay
• Walk the Spine
• Spine Time
• Pine on the Spine

Hosting an event can be very rewarding, but it can also be stressful.    Here are my top tens.

Top Ten Reasons to Host an Event

1. An event builds the geocaching community, spurring interest, and networking.
2. Geocaching can be a solo activity, but an event is social in nature, a chance to meet old friends and form new ones.
3. Lots of new caches.
4. A chance for new cachers to join the geocaching community.
5. The geocaching "market"  comes to the event – geocaching supplies, trackables, shirts, hats, swag, and usually some surprises.
6. Photo ops and photo sharing.
7. Establishment of traditions within the geocaching community.
8. Meet out-of-town geocachers.
9. Spend all weekend geocaching.
10. Rekindle our interest and passion for our chosen activity.

Top Ten Headaches When Hosting an Event

1. Cache compression issues.   Finding areas that don't conflict with multis and puzzle caches or with other cache owners who are also planning caches.
2. Coordinating cache areas, publication dates, and reviewer approvals.
3. Not knowing how many people are coming!   Many people do not confirm their attendance until the last minute!   Numbers dictate space and planning.   This is frustrating.
4. Cachers who don't abide by the event guidelines – leave early for FTFs, split up to find caches, register for the event, arrive late, etc.  
5. Rain.
6. Mistakes with cache placements.
7. Complaints.
8. Accidents, falls, and mishaps.
9. Grumpy people.
10. Assumptions between the organizers – "I thought you were doing that!"

Spring Stomp has been successful in the past and will be successful in the future. (But I am always glad when its over)