Cache In, Trash Out in Browns Summit

Geocaching is not solely about hunting hidden containers and scribbling your moniker on a log sheet. Geocaching is intended to be an environmentally friendly activity, so, in keeping with that concept, geocachers periodically get together at what's known as CITO ("Cache In, Trash Out") events, where the focus is on cleaning up litter.

As they do each year, friends Tom & Linda (a.k.a. Skyhawk63 & Punkins19) hosted a CITO event this morning near their place in Browns Summit, NC, along a stretch of rural road that they adopted in honor of Tom's parents. I got up early and headed down to the event ("Bud & Ann Memorial CITO Spring 2025") where a fair number of geocachers were gathering to attack trash. For the next hour and a half, we scoured a mile-long stretch of the roadway, which passes through a lovely section of forest along the Haw River. By the time we were done, one would have been hard-pressed to find a speck of garbage along there with a magnifying glass.

To cap off the morning's work, Tom & Linda then hosted a lunch event ("Post-CITO Lagagna Fest—Yum!) at their place, featuring Linda's fantastic homemade lasagna. Afterward, friend Diefenbaker (a.k.a. Scott) and I set our sights on a bunch of new geocaches around Reidsville, which we knocked out during the rest of the afternoon. A good, productive time from start to finish.

 

The CITO event was long-planned, and I'm glad I took part in it; however, I was sad to miss the local "Hands Off!" protest, as many folks of my acquaintance attended them around the country. I applaud everyone who turned out for these important—and peaceful—protests, as Trump's executive power has gotten far enough out of hand to frighten to anyone who reveres the United States Constitution. MAGAts sure as hell don't, and it's way past time to see a change.

The Browns Summit Chainsaw Massacre?

I love finding haunted places while I'm out geocaching, and I came upon a mighty fine one this afternoon. It's out in Brown Summit, a few miles north of here, on the edge of Bryan Park North, a relatively new extension to the already sizeable park. There's over five miles of hiking/equestrian trails in these woods, only a portion of which has so far been claimed by geocachers. I had gone out after a couple of new ones, and my search led me to the remains of an old homestead, with a crumbling farmhouse in the woods; a couple of collapsed tobacco barns; a field full of abandoned, rusting automobiles; a chugging generator; and an honest-to-god roaring chainsaw somewhere just beyond my line of sight. There's a couple of squalid, dilapidated houses just beyond the woods, both clearly inhabited. The geocache (GC6DNBN) was virtually within sight of this rather forbidding property, and during my search, I kept a keen eye and ear open for the approach of any hostile beings, human or otherwise. Obviously, I lived to tell the tale, and I rightly look forward to heading back out that way in the coming days.

Multiple dead cars... multiple dead bodies?

It fall down!

Still alive to tell the tale — for the moment.