Phelps

The McIntyer Range from Phelps Mt.

I decided at the last minute to hike Phelps Mountain today. Since this is an easy high peak, only 9 miles round trip and 1800’ of elevation gain along a busy trail system I felt that I was safe enough. Plus I always prepare for the worse case scenario.

I left before sunrise and was greeted with peeks of the snow capped high peaks as I traveled north on I-87. I reached Heart Lake and the Adirondack Log shortly after sunrise and began the hike into Marcy Dam. I was moving fast as there was a chance that a front would move in and at the moment the skies were a crystal clear blue that would make for great pictures. I made Marcy dam in 30 min 2 miles. I stopped and snapped some pictures as how could you pass by a lake nestled between such snow capped splendors. The trail to this point is very easy and the hike into just Marcy dam would make for a nice way to expose little ones to the high peaks and hiking without the hard work. Actually the trail is easy for one more mile until the Phelps trail diverts to the left. Here it becomes steep and rocky, but you only have 1 mile to the top and this went by fairly easy. The trail was icy in spots and the Yax Trax that I bought did not work well. They were better than nothing but I have to buy some mico spikes.

Has I was focused on the trail close to the summit I almost forgot to turn around, which I did and had that WOW moment as I had a great view of the entire McIntyre range. Shortly after that I summated and commenced with enjoying the excellent views that this mountain provided. It is one thing to look at the high peaks from lesser mountains or from certain areas that offer views, but it is quit another to be one a high peak looking at close of view at it’s sister mountains. There is a power in it that cannot be captured on film, canvas or words, but has to be experienced first hand and only after you have earned the right through your blood sweat and tears. I spent 1 hour on top of Phelps alone eating lunch and taking picture on a beautiful, calm, crisp fall morning. What is better than that????

Northville-Placid trip 2009

My two trail mates and I started our Northville-Placid expedition on Aug 10, 2009 from the Long Lake Trailhead, at 9 am on a warm grey day. The trail at this point was easy and dry as it drifted close to Long Lake and then moved away. As we worked our way NE we came upon lean-tos and old foundation of long ago destroyed buildings that once lined this now forever wild wilderness. We stopped at Pawley Point Lean-to #1 and began to set up camp. We had this lean-to to ourselves and it was a gorgeous site with and nice sandy beach. I had brought my pack saw and commenced with gathering wood for this evenings fire. The light pack buck saw worked great for this trip, and is going to make it on all my excursions. I would prefer to take my Hudson Bay ax, but it is too heavy. I was able to call my wife from this location and she warned me that we were about to get slammed with some pretty hefty rain at 11 pm so we decided to stay in the lean-to rather than set up a tent. Big mistake! It did rain and rain hard, BUT the mosquitoes were very hungry and I must say plentiful, and I did not sleep at all that night. BUT I was dry and safe from the big bad thunder, the greater of two evils.

After a mosquito invested night we broke camp in the morning and started heading toward the Seward Lean-to on the Cold River. On the way the trail was good; at one point we had a doe cross in front of us and then walked parallel with us about 20 feet off the trail. She just walked and kept an eye on us. We figured out she must have had a fawn back where we came from. After a few more steps she did a button hook and rushed back in the direction we had just traveled. Another spot a little further up the trail we went through an old blowdown that was impressive. There was about a 100 yard swath of old 30-60 inch oaks that looked like a giant pull them out by there roots and stacked them on top of one and other. We soon started to see the Cold River and the trail turned to follow the river as we headed north.

About 1:30 pm, about 8 miles from the Pawling Point Lean-to we arrived at the Seward lean-to and one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to. The lean-to is up on a little hill over looking a pool in the Cold River. Upstream there is a little flume that flows into a wide and deep pool that provided us with a great cool place to swim and cool off from the hot humid day. After our swim and a little snooze on the one of the many flat rocky areas in the river, I went and collected wood for our campfire and also looked for some worms or grubs to use for bait with a little hand line I brought with me, but gave up. Bear Grylls makes it look so easy. We found as we explored the rock formations in the river that we had a great view of the Seward Mountain range. We ate dinner and slept in our tents mosquito FREE!! I slept like a log as the night was cool.

We awake to a clear cool morning, made our breakfast, packed up and headed northeast to our next location one of the Duck Hole Lean-to’s. I want to take a second to talk about suspension bridges. We crossed a couple the day before and on our way to the Duck Hole I had to go over a couple of more. I hate these things. They scare the crap out of me. There was one that had a steel grate that was 30 feet over a steep gorge. I made it over and even gathered enough courage and took a picture of the Cold River. Then I looked down and hustled off the damn thing. But I digress…The trip to the Duck Hole is best described as a pleasant scenic walk We stopped at a lean-to about 3 miles from our destination to grab a bit of lunch, when it poured for about 20 minuets, then cleared off and the skies again turned blue. We were lucky like this throughout the entire trip. It rained every day for a little while, but we were always in a shelter. One of the highlights of the trip for me was to stop and visit the location where Noah John Rondeau built his hermitage and stayed until 1950. I remember reading about him as a kid and was fascinated about how he survived in the Adirondacks the way that the pioneers did, except alone and not with a community. Anyway, it met a great deal to me to be able to finally reach this area and now I know why he selected it. It was beautify remote…A place that is nice to visit for me, but not to leave society for.

We arrived at the Duck Hole and again had our pick of lean-tos. We were treated to some great scenery and spent most of the rest of the day observing the multitude of wildlife that was just fluttering and jumping around that wonderful place. I had a humming bird just stop in front of me and hover looking at the white patch on my hat for 20 seconds. In the morning when the mist was still on the pond we observed a deer on the opposite shore, unaware of us, just eating and drinking as she slowly walked along the edge of the pond.

We set out the next morning, which was day 4 or our trip, the day was clear and warm, but we had a downpour during the evening so this part of the trail was difficult do to the blowdown and the muddy trail condition. Now even though the trail was slick and difficult to traverse we made our destination at Wanakena by 12:30 pm. This was yet another wonderful place. 120 foot falls that drops into a 30 foot pool at the bottom that you can swim in (water was very cold here), and you can set your tent up right there. We were thinking of straying the night there or that was the plan, but we arrived earlier than expected and all three of us really wanted a beer. Sooo…after spending a couple of hours resting we decided to hike the remaining 7 miles and get that beer. That made for a 12.5 mile day with full packs, but it was worth it. There were not many views along this section, but we did get to see a Merlin, a type of Falcon that our birder in our small troop had never seen. It swooped right over my head and perched in a tree nearby. Anyhow we made it out and drank our beer (not very cold, but boy it tasted freakin’ good and so didn’t the meal at the Noonmark we had later. Just a jumbo burger and fries, but I was HUNGERY!

This was a great trip for my friends and me. They had done it before, but said they never tire of that section of the N-P trail. I will do that section again and again if I can ever find the time. That and the West Canada Lake region: all in all a magnificent trip!

The Pitchoff Mt Experience

Today was a perfect day. We drove to the north trail head of Pitchoff Mt and spotted a car there and continued down Route 73 and parked at the south trail head and began our hike. I am not going to lie to you there are some steep sections. But, there are a lot of places to stop and take pictures which is the main reason to do this trip.

What makes this trip magical is as you increase in elevation your perspective on the view is always changing in a very noticeable way. As we came to our first vantage point Cascade Mountain dominated our view with little peeks of Marcy and Colvin and Algonquin. Then we came to another viewing spot and Cascade became less dominate and Marcy and Algonquin become more promiate. We came to one huge rock outcrop, about 3 acres in size that offered a spectacular view of the above mountains, and Lake Placid. At this point were saw periquin falcons, golden eagle and red tailed hawks, all who flew right next to us.

From this spot we kept going up and down as we traversed the ridge going from one vantage to another, but as we moved along the ridge we begin to look NW and could see great views of Whiteface off in the distance. After we hiked over the last "peak" it was a short steep downhill hike to our car we spotted.

This hike was only 5 miles, but it was a long 5 miles. This is a trip that is all about the scenery and should not be done in a hurry. Bring a camera and extra batteries.

Been away for a while

I have been busy with summer activities and such so I have been neglecting this blog. Not to worry. I have plenty of adventures to write about. Namely my adventure on the Northville-Placid Trail with my two trail mates. A four day odyssey through what I believe now is the most beautiful section of the Adirondack Mountains. Right now I am gathering my thoughts and will be posting again shortly.

Pharoah Lake

View of a beaver pond on the way up to the Pharaoh Lake

Beaver Dam

Today some friends an myself went in to the Pharaoh Lake wideness area via the Beaver Pond trail head. The trail in is very easy and a great beginner trail for people who would like to go into a beautiful part of the Adirondacks. There are 6 lean-to's that are placed around Pharaoh Lake. At this time of year there are usually full, but there are other campsites around that offer great places to camp and enjoy the area. There are also trout in this Lake.

We hiked in had lunch and hiked out. 8 miles of easy trails, a nice relaxing hike. The new hikers in our group enjoyed themselves.

Upper Wolf Jaw and Amrstrong

Laddder on Armstrong

Last Friday the 18th my buddy and I decided to hike Upper Wolf Jaw and Armstrong from the Garden as a day hike. This was something that I have been wanting to do for a couple of years as I wanted to see the ADK's Johns Brook Lodge (JBL) to see how the area would be for camping as it would be a good base for a lot of the high peaks in the vicinity.

The 3.25 mile hike in was pleasant and went fast. We took the trail that lead by the NYS Ranger's interior outpost, nice, and that is when we headed up toward Upper Wolf Jaw. The trail was steep, but not terrible but when we hit the 0.9 mile mark that's when it got serious. It was safe to go up without ropes, but you had to climb up ledge over ledge like steps for a giant. After some hard work we made it to the top of UWJ and spent some time taking pictures and then headed to Armstrong. It seemed that we climbed down 1000' into a col and then began the ascent up to Armstrong. This was similar to the ascent up UWJ; there was a 35' ladder to help us in one area. The view from Armstrong was better than UWJ, with an exceptional view of the Gothics. I wanted to go on and get Gothics as the elevation change was not as bad and we could then go down the Orebed Brook trail, but my buddy's knee was bothering him and we didn't want to add any more mileage to the day.

In all the day involved about eleven hours of hiking and when we saw the van back at the Garden we were very happy. It was a little scary in places but it was nice to be challenged.

Gothics

GPS and Comapss

In the last post I talked about my bushwhacking adventure on the side of Prospect Mt and the Berry Pond tract. As I said I calculated the true N bearing and followed it to the pond. I did drift a little to the west, but I hit the pond without any trouble. Now instead of figuring my heading from Barry pond to my van, I used the GPS to do that and then sighted my compass on a point that the GPS pointed at. When all was said and done I hit about 250 meters S of my car and I had to really on the GPS as I closed in. When I plotted my track on the map and looked at what I had done, my fist 100 meters were in a straight line as the woods were open, but that straight line if extended would had missed by 400 meters. That was the course set by the GPS.

Now what I think I observed was that the GPS is good at getting you to where you need to go, but you should not rely on it to set your compass bearing. I believe the GPS constantly updates and changes your course for you as you move. I noticed this when I started out for Berry Pond I check my compass sighting with the GPS and at first it was off then it settled down and was close. I will continue to use the GPS, but will set bearings independently of the GPS and rely on them when Bushwhacking. I think that is the best bet.

New Trail and Bushwhacking

I have not really been an outdoorsmen lately as work has taken a lot of my time. Finally, the catering events and major functions are over for a while and I am ready for some of doors fun. I did do a little catfishin' last week. Did ok, of course the big one got away...no really it did :-)

Yesterday I went geocaching at the Lake George Rec Park where I had been before. There was a new set of GC's planted that took me up to the summit of Prospect Mountain. A approach that I have never done. Also I looked for and found my first Hybrid Cache/letterbox. I would like to see letterboxers not be so adverse to the idea of using GPS coordinates in their clues, but at this time many letterboxers have a negative view towards this. I digress...

Anyway these geocaches where placed about 350 meters apart (Yes I said meters I am on a personal quest to go metric. And I was born and raised in the US) which I think are too close, however this placer hid the caches at strategic points that brought me up the mountain perfectly. The geocacher actually says that that is why they were placed there.

After learning the new trail, at the last Geocahe, I calculated my bearing and bushwhacked to Berry Pond a new acquisition by the Lake George Land Conservancy. I did pretty good for a 2.3 km hike through the bush. I hit the pond at about where I was trying to get to. I then, being lazy took a direction with the GPS and followed that bearing out to my car.

I will talk about that later this week. All and all a good day and I was able to work on my land navigation skills a bit.

Black Mountain 2009

This past Friday I went up Black Mountain on the East side of Lake George from Black Mountain Point. This is a favorite trail of mine as it is a nice little trainer for the High Peaks and it has some real nice views of Lake George. Also, since this trail is for the most part accessed via the lake, it is usually quiet. I was not disappointed. In fact the trail showed very little signs of recent travel. The trail is clear with only a couple of small obstacles. However, as pleasant as the woods were, they were well populated with black flies, that got out of hand a couple of times. One nice part of the day was that I had the summit all to myself, which is a first in recent years. Even the black flies left me alone up there. This trail and a lot on the east side of Lake George do not get a lot of use and are great places to get away. I usually see less people of these trails than I do on the high peaks trails in the Adirondacks.

I want to mention a couple of things about our boat trip up to Black Mountain Point. We saw an otter not 30 feet from our boat in Warner Bay. I saw a pair of them last fall in there, but I was surprised to see one during the busy season. They must be getting used to people. The other thing that I want to mention is my feelings as we made the turn at 14 mile island heading into the Narrows and looked into Shelving Rock Bay at the Knapp Estate. Even the houses that are not part of the Knapp Estate, like Tommy Hilfiger’s House fit into the Old Adirondack feel that little corner of the Lake has for me. I really enjoy looking at these new and old homes that take me back to how I imagine the glory days of the Adirondack were. Anyway this area just takes me back I guess.

Oh and I checked on both my letterboxes and they are fine.

Big Hollow Road letterboxing maintanence

I went up Big Hollow road in Lake George today. We locals call this road/trail the Backside of Prospect. What a nice day to be in the woods. I saw so much bird life it wasn't funny. At one time I had a goshawk jumping from limb to limb over my head for 500 feet. I also saw among other birds four different species of wood peckers... I really need to work on my bird identification.

I traveled up Big Hollow to check on my letterboxes that I have placed along the road and to find a pleura of Geocaches that have been hidden all over the place.

My Lb's survived the winter very well considering that they are in recycled containers. The one thing that concerned me was that all of them were either hidden in a slightly different location or they were left out in the open. The fourth Lb of my Prospect Mountain Environmental Series was left exposed in the rock wall that it was hidden in. I was lucky to not have them muggled. But the important thing is that they are all safe and ready for another season of letterboxing.

The geocaches were easy to find and were in non-discrip locations. The purpose of the caches I believe is to bring people up the road.

One thing to note. The beavers have replaced the dam at the second reservoir again and the pond is a pond again. Life is good.

A hiking tips and more...

When you are hiking a marked trail and you come upon a stack of sticks laying across the trail look around for a trail marker. There are times when a marked trail will be changed or a trail will follow an old tote road for a while and then turn and the tote road keeps going straight and people not paying attention will miss the turn on the marked trail. Trail maintainers will lay brush down across the trail to stop this from happening. There are a couple of these at Pilot Knob Ridge that I have installed, but every year people will step right over them and walk out somewhere where they shouldn't be. Remember to always keep an eye on the trail markers. If you don't see one for a bit stop and find the last one and look for the next marker before you continue.

Great day to be in the woods. Cool, sunny and just plain pleasant. I check on the Pilot Knob Moose Letterbox and it was dry and waiting for long hikers to find it.

The Adirondack Almanack is four years old this week.

The Adirondack Almanack is celebrating it's fourth anniversary this week.

This website has a wealth of information both current and historical regarding the Adirondack region. If you have never been to this site stop by this week and check it out.

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/

Ideas to become mentally and physically prepared for a long Lb search

You may be one of those letterboxers who really would like to look for that Lb that is off the beaten path, but you are little nervous about going into the deep woods. In this blog entry I am going to give you some tips that will hopefully help you become a little more comfortable with the idea of going out and getting those letterboxes that are a couple of miles off-road. I want to use my letterbox at the Pilot Knob Ridge Preserve that is owned by the Lake George Land Conservancy as an example of how I would prepare of a trip in the woods looking for this Lb will take you. The total trip is about 4 miles and the beginning 0.75 mi is a little on the steep side, but the trails are well maintained and well marked. I know as I am a Volunteer Preserve Steward and I am on this piece of the Southeastern Adirondacks a couple times a month.

So I will answer some hypothetical statements I believe that people may ask themselves and then answer them.

I don’t feel comfortable going into the woods.

If you feel uncomfortable going into the woods, do not go alone, bring a friend. This applies to experienced hikers also. This is the number one rule when hiking in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, so you should not feel bad because you don’t want to go it alone.

Let someone at home know your itinerary. When you are expected back, making sure that you leave enough of a cushion to allow you to enjoy the unexpected. After that time has past that person will call the authorities and let them know where you are and how late you are and they will take it from there.

You have a partner, and someone at home is going to alert the authorities if you are late, now it may take time for the rangers to find you that is why when you are going into an area for the first time you will have a little Possibles kit with you. That will contain some waterproof matches, high energy food an emergency blanket, knife, some twine and water purification tablets. You will also have in you pack rain gear and some extra weather appropriate cloths. So that if you do stumble off the trail and you do become lost you may be uncomfortable and scared, and never are going to go back into the f$&king woods again, but you will have an adventure that you will tell your friends and family about when the handsome or actually now a days pretty ranger finds you and takes you out.

In other words and stated a little more briefly, you are prepared for the worse and that it in itself should give you comfort.

When I come to a steep section of the trail I hate it.

Here is the mind over matter thing. The beginning of the Pilot Knob Ridge trail has some steeper spots in it. The steepness of the trail coupled with your unfamiliarity with the length of the trail makes the hike up to the Gazebo seem a lot longer than it really is. The hike up to the clearing is only 0.75 mi long and will get your blood going and yes you may even work up a little sweat. Good! Your body needs to be pushed a little and if you are in good health a little exertion like this is what the doctor ordered, and for me literally ordered. When you come to a steep section that makes you think about turning around, do not think about the steepness, just take small steady steps and slowly chip away at the hill. Do not worry yourself one bit if the group is getting a little ahead of you and you are the caboose. We all have and will be there. They will stop for you and let catch up. A lot of people, who are in okay shape, but they only hike infrequently are the hurry up and wait type of hiker and they really want a slower person in the group to allow them time to suck wind while you chug away up the hill. I am grossly over simplifying this, but I have run into this enough times to mention it here.

Now if you really wish to do some long letterboxing that requires you to hike more than a mile and you a are reluctant because you are afraid you can not handle it physically, go for a 30 minute walk every night, more if you have time, but that will get your legs in enough shape to be able to handle any moderate hike at a slow to moderate pace.

I really want to look for a letterbox, and I am beginning to become comfortable on the trail, but I am a little reluctant to go to an unfamiliar location.

The letterbox clues are the beginning of understanding where you are going. Use the internet to search for trail descriptions. If a letterbox is hidden in the Adirondack region of New York State the Adirondack Mountain Club has detailed trail descriptions of hundreds of trails in books for sale or at the library and on-line for free. Pilot Knob Ridge is published in the ADK’s Eastern Section trail guide. By reading the trail descriptions you will have fewer surprises and know what to expect. You will know that this steep section does not last for ever, that there are sharp switchbacks in the trail that you will need to pay attention.

Now if the box you wish to hunt for has no trail description and the clue is not detailed, but you will not be put off, get a topographic map of the area and study the trail that you wish to look for the Lb on. Trust me this is not as hard as it sounds but understanding and map and compass will give you one more tool that you have that will allow you to enjoy the hunt for the box and the trail itself on your journey. Skill with map and compass takes time and you should practice using and reading these important tools. Have knowledge of how to use a map and compass will give you yet another layer of confidence.

I am not put off by hiking, but sometimes you have to go off the trail to look for the letterbox and I am worried that I may not find the trail again.

This is something that you should defiantly be cognizant of and is something that I have run into hunting and geocaching. Last year I was geocaching in an area that I was familiar with and have been on the trail that leads to the area of the geocache many times. I reached a bend in the trail and had to go about 300’ off the trail to locate the geocache. When I was done I headed out to the t rail and missed it, I had to use the GPS’s track back feature to relocate the trail. What if the GPS failed I would knew what to do to relocate the trail, but it would have been more difficult than it needed to be.

What happed and what should I have done? When In reached the point that I was going to leave the trail I should have looked at the direction that I was going to be going and take a bearing with a compass. Shoot a landmark like a unique boulder or tree. Also look for something near the trail that would be a defining landmark. Go to that point and keep going if you need to use your compass until you are where you need to go. Before you leave the point that you just sighted look back at your “back bearing to the trail so you know what to look for. You get the idea you will use the back bearing to get back to the trail.

It is easy to become excited when you are in close proximity to the treasure, but that is the time to slow down and take your time. This step will prevent you from getting lost.

Now with that said, use a map and know where the roads and lakes and streams are on the map for instance on Pilot Knob ridge, if you for some reason lost the trail on the orange trail you would go west as this will take you out to Pilot Knob road and Lake George, and from there you will be able to find your car.

All this information are just ideas to get you started. Start with easy trails that are very well marked and in fairly civilized area and them begin to go to more and more challenging hikes. If possible join a hiking group like the Adirondack Mountain Club and go with experienced hikers or maybe you have a friend that is an avid hiker who would love to take you along and show you some skills.

The Pilot Knob Moose Letterbox is a good box to go after if you are a little nervous, but really want to go for a hike in the woods. Good luck and let me know if there is anything more that you would like to know.

Great Letterboxing Idea.

New York Letterbox Hiking Challenge Patch launched by Jackbear is an excellent idea!! See contact information below and in the side menu. Check out his blog for the complete information. Jackbear blog about how to earn this patch.

I have long wished that there would be more letterboxes planted in areas of interest that required a little more hiking than many of the boxes located in my area do. I understand why many boxes are planted where they are, very near the road or in parks. Many boxers themselves are reluctant to venture in to the woods too far; also many of the boxes that are planted deep in the woods are not visited that often and are a little more difficult to maintain. Let's face it many new boxers and I was one myself, want to visit their box and see the log book full of visitors. That is not going to happen with the deep woods hides. I have one the Fishbrook Lb that has not been found in two years and the hike in is not that bad.

Any how I think that Jackbear's idea of a hiking challenge patch is a great idea, that will hopefully get more people out hiking. Not only for the sake of looking for letterboxes, but to learn new skills and to have a fun filled adventuresome day that does not cost very much! Yes hiking is cheap, you just have to learn a little about hiking safety and you will have all you need to enjoy hours of fun outside, away from technology, and yes giving your body the exercise that it craves.

Information that you need to know about how to earn your New York Letterbox Hiking Challenge Patch . This is posted with permission by Jackbear.

According to Jackbear's rules this is what you have to do to earn his NY patch.

The guidelines? - Each foot mile you hike in NY while letterboxing counts.
You keep track, and this patch is on the honor system. We won’t challenge your
numbers, but you should challenge yourself. We recommend that you only count
miles on the trail to and from letterboxes in NY, NOT miles driven to
letterboxes…this is a “hiking/letterboxing” patch. We also encourage
participants to make hikes that are at least one mile or more (i.e. 0.5 miles to
a letterbox, and back)…yes, this is also a “challenge” patch. Miles can be
counting finding, planting, and maintaining letterboxes.

- Challenge Patches will be available for both residents and non-residents completing a challenge.

- Start date for counting begins today, April 2 2009. Hikes while letterboxing before
this date should not be included.

- Patches can be ordered by sending an SASE to Jackbear for a $3. Payment can be via paypal, cash, check, or money order.

-Your SASE can be mailed to John Ballou, 200 Hillside Ave. Rochester, NY 14610.

Patches will also be available at gatherings in NY attended by Jackbear, Scout,
or Sahalie.

Contact information for Jackbear

Yet another reason to letterbox.

I went up to the Lake George Land Conservancy's preserve at Gull Bay to pick up a letterbox that I have been looking forward to looking for, for a while. Today I was not disappointed with a fine couple of hours of hiking, letterboxing, birdwatching and yes geocaching all in a little tiny nature preserve.

I found the letterbox easily, it was hidden in a great place and had a very nice hand carved stamp. After I found the box I went caching. The GC was located on the opposite side of the preserve which allowed me to have a pleasant hike along old tote roads to a vantage point that offered a stunning view of the Great Blue Heron nesting grounds.

Not only did I find the caches and letterbox, but I saw deer, grouse and of course a pleura of great blue heron. All in all a great letterboxing/geocaching day!

Thoughts on Geocaching

I did some trail maintenance this weekend ant the Pilot Knob Ridge Preserve and while I did this I also looked for two new GC's. I am seeing a trend that I do not care for too much, that being that cachers are over populating certain areas.

On the 200 something acre preserve that I help to maintain, there are now 5 caches, one brings you to that special place, the rest are stuck in the woods, and one is in the kiosk. When I first began geocaching and letterboxing 4 years ago I liked the discovery of those new places that are known to a few, but are still special, or the thought that goes in to making a multi-cache that takes you on an awesome adventure. That GOOD caches are becoming diluted with the pleura of GC's out there that are hidden simply for the sake of hiding a cache. I don't bother hunting for roadside caches or caches placed in areas that I have already been or micro's.

The problem for me is two years ago a majority of the caches were interesting now they are the exception. Geocaching for me is something that I do now if it is near to a place that I am hiking, but I do not go out of my way to cache or look for boxes anymore. It really is too bad, because there are some many places that are interesting that do not have a stashed item on them that could, but with the volumes of junk caches out there are even more difficult to find. I fear that the popularity of the sport is going to be its demise. The GC lords need to space the single caches further apart, and to coordinate better with letterboxers for the sake of both activities

First Hike of the Season

After a very quiet winter with me at war with my lower back I am finally able to get out and hike.

Today I went up the little Pilot Knob Ridge preserve that I am a volunteer for and did my first loop around all the trails. I was very happy seeing all the trails in excellent shape. I won't have to spend the first few weekends up there hacking blowdown.

I am looking forward to getting up north and we are planning a 5 day trip on the NPT so I have a lot to look forward to this summer.

I was happy with my winter conditioning program, I was out of breath in a couple of spots, but not bad really. Of course I was taking it easy the first time out. I will push it a little more next week.

Just Back From Vacation

I just returned from a 21 hour drive from Fla and after a wonderful two week Vacation. Most of what we did was theme park related but we did some outdoor related activities as we explored the Central Florida. I will post them this week and yes I will spare you the family photo session.

Just wanted to let everyone what has been going on.