Since my good friend and longtime geocaching partner, Scott (a.k.a.
Diefenbaker) and his wife departed Asheboro, NC, for a new domicile on
the NC coast a few months ago, day-long geocaching outings, particularly
those involving trail hikes, have been few and far between. Still, from time
to time, nice opportunities arise, and today, friend Tom (a.k.a.
Skyhawk63), from Browns Summit, NC, had business in Martinsville and
asked if I'd care to join him afterward on a caching trip northward — first to the
town of Rocky Mount and then to the
Lovely Valley Loop Trail
near Smith Mountain Lake. Fifteen caches that neither of us had found awaited
our efforts, one of which had yet to be found, so shoot yeah, I jumped at the
chance.
It was hot, muggy, and buggy, but we enjoyed the hell out of spending time
together and wandering about the woods to sign pieces of paper inside
hidden containers. We found a wide variety of hide types; claimed the
almost-coveted first-to-find honors on the unfound cache; spied what appeared to be an old, haunted church in the woods; and put in about
five miles' worth of fancy footwork. Alas, I came home with three
ticks and a slew of chigger bites, but them's the risks, and hopefully,
neither of us will suffer any maladies as a result. I love the outdoors, but
sometimes Mother Nature is a bitch. Over the years, I've had enough bug bites from woodland excursions for probably a dozen people, and so far, so good...
Yep, a mighty fine day overall, and I hope Mr. Skyhawk and I can hit the woods again in the very near future. Sometimes, you just gotta.
Yep, a mighty fine day overall, and I hope Mr. Skyhawk and I can hit the woods again in the very near future. Sometimes, you just gotta.
L: Our first-to-find scribble on the otherwise pristine logsheet; R: Where's that confounded cache?
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| I say, is that an old, haunted church in the woods? |
