About five years ago, I placed a series of
Twin Peaks–themed geocaches (
"Project Blue Rose") in various locations in Greensboro, one of which lurks deep beneath the
city streets in an old storm drain system. Yesterday, I was caching in
Greensboro with friend
Diefenbaker (a.k.a.
Scott), and it came
to my attention that he had never claimed this particular hide. I've wanted to
check on it for a long time—caches placed in such an unfriendly environment
frequently end up damaged or going missing—so I suggested he go after it with
ye olde cache owner accompanying. He found the idea agreeable.
So, off we went to ground zero: a culvert entrance, about four feet in
diameter, which hides at a small creek that flows through Greensboro's Lindley
Park neighborhood. We haven't had a lot of rain lately, but a strong, steady
current of water flowed through the pipe. Fortunately, both of us had worn our
trusty, waterproof hiking boots, so, with flashlights in hand, into the gaping
maw we went.
FYI, long before my "Project Blue Rose" series, this particular tunnel had
been used for a stage of a multi-cache called "
Greensboro Underground"
(which I found in June 2009; you may read about that wild adventure
here). I credit that underground excursion with curing me of arachnophobia, and
had Scott and I found ourselves back in a cramped chamber filled with giant,
hairy wolf and fishing spiders, I might have experienced a fair adrenaline
charge; however, it's too early in the season for the big multi-legged
monsters to be out and about, and I reckon that's fine.
I found that out, this many years later, negotiating such a cramped space for
such a distance caused me a bit more physical discomfort than it had in those
old days (okay, yeah, it hurt), so in the future, I may need to limit my
subterranean excursions to those that allow for standing upright. The top of
my skull will thank me.
Once we reached our final destination, I
was pleased to see that the Project Blue Rose container remained intact and in
its proper location. The log sheet, however, had gotten soaked, so I will need
to replace it. I can do that next time I'm in the area; I reckon my back and
knees (and head) will hold out for at least a few more ventures into these
deep, dark confines. Maybe I'll plan my next one for when the spiders are out
and about, just to get a charge.
Anybody wanna go along?
|
|
Looking back toward the entrance as we make our way in...
|
L: The view ahead...as far as our flashight beams will reach; R:
Diefenbaker claims his prize
