|
| Jesus Rob |
Mercy, it's been way too long since I went out on a lengthy, invigorating trail
hike to hunt a bunch of geocaches — something that not so long ago was at least
a weekly, sometimes daily event. One of the drawbacks of being an avid geocacher
is caching out the nearby environs and having to travel farther and farther
afield to find any appreciable concentrations of caches. Add to that our recent
bout with severe winter weather and the fact I'm now having to manage virtually
all of my mom's affairs in addition to my own, and the opportunities to get out
there have been pretty slim. But thanks to a new extension of the
Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Haw River in Alamance County, a balmy day, and
a bunch of new caches courtesy of the nefarious "Yoda" Rob Lee, regular caching
crony "Bloody" Rob Isenhour and I were able to put in
|
|
Can you undeerstand?
|
a good five to six miles in the woods and claim seven caches, with
first-to-finds on three of them. Most stimulating for us, along the trail we
came upon numerous crumbling, abandoned structures; discarded implements of
death and destruction; and a few wrecked, rusting vehicles. We also witnessed a
number of strange figures around (and in one case
on) the river, some
shambling silently through the shadows, others wailing and screeching in what
might have been an alien tongue. By keeping a low profile, though, we passed
more or less undetected through the woods, and thus lived to tell our tale.
The journey was not without some physical challenges of its own. While for the
most part the trail is not terrain intensive, and none of the caches required
any significant acrobatics to retrieve, several times we ventured into the
surrounding environs to check out some of the more intriguing sights, and there
is one stream crossing where no bridge, deep water, and a trail of submerged
rocks make for an interesting experience. Neither Rob nor I fell in, but we each
did our own version of a victory dance at the end, and neither were what I would
call graceful.
I did discover what looks to be the perfect spot to place an evil, monstrous,
dangerous, devious, heart-stopping, maybe kinda cool cache. This will require a
return trip. Whether I can survive this endeavor remains to be seen. You'll no
doubt hear about it one way or the other.
|
| No survivors |
|
One of the myriad structures near the trail we detoured to explore. We
went with caution, for we figured
there might be Walkers nearby.
|
|
|
One of several implements of death and destruction we came upon. Hark!
What's that sound?
|
|
|
Oh, lord, yes. There be Walkers here. Run! Run like hell!
|