Maryland Scavenger Hunt: 2/100

#93 - Indy (non-chain) ice-cream parlor

Not to be discouraged by all the DNFs today, myself and Overbeard stopped for chocolate dip ice cream cones here at Ann's.  I wonder what they were thinking of a couple guys coming in to order ice cream on a cold, rainy day, haha.  That said, this is another place to eat at (though I've had something here once or twice, and it's pretty good).  No worries about it going away either, as Ann's will likely outlast Marley Station Mall at this rate.

The Maryland Scavenger Hunt

Cache #24: Delta PPP

My second in the PPP series by GeoMeeples, and probably the second toughest puzzle of the set I managed to solve (Charlie PPP took me the longest I think). Once I figured out where the cache was, the grab was super quick.  Which is good because a worker at the nearby shop was going in and out moving garbage outside.  Since Overbeard seems to be useless with geo-puzzles (or at least, shows no interest in them) I should probably find else to team up with for some of the more challenging puzzles.  Unless I solve them all myself.  It'll be like notpr0n!  Except spoilers are impossible.  Ha.

Delta PPP

Cache #23: Glory Cache

This was a quick grab with Overbeard.  There's very little space to hide this one, so it's pretty obvious where to find it.  Here's another restaurant I haven't eaten at, I wonder how it is?  Maybe I should start making a list of food places I discover via geocaching, haha.

Glory Cache

Cache #22: Jacques' Message

A clever mystery cache, and after two false starts, was mine and Overbeard's first find of the day.  Well, mine mostly.  Overbeard was busy ODing on Crybabies gum that he had bought at the Dollar store.  Was a little unsure since there was no coordinate check (all mystery caches should really have a checker), but after waiting on a few employees to move away, I managed to spot the cache just hanging out.  Practically out in the open, but a spot no one would actually look.  Not bad!

Jacques' Message

Rained out

Overbeard and I went out to Marley again today for an afternoon of caching.  While I knew there'd be rain, this was a bit more than I had predicted, and I didn't anticipate the weather bouncing around my GPS signal, turning some caches that should be easy finds into DNFs.  Gonna have to come back when it's clearer and fix some of the following caches:

Get Fit If Needed - Our fist real attempt at this one, but it turned out no good.  I'm fairly sure the cache is still there, I'm just not sure where exactly.  Did find a QR code for a Waymarking-like game called Munzee.  Doesn't look interesting though.

"OYR" Wanna Be #7 in Pasadena, MD - Didn't get a chance to really look here, some strange guy in a truck was parked right around GZ.  With the amount of traffic around here, we may have to make this a night cache.

Mattress Mayhem #1 - While it's possible this one is missing, I think it's more our GPSs wouldn't set to a position.  Lots of places it could be hidden back there...  Amusingly, a couple guys came out of Subway asking if we found the cache, first time I've stumbled on fellow geocachers.  There's been work, done in the area recently, so the cache may have gone missing, but we'll see.

Cachin Time - Ah, this one.  I spent about 20 seconds searching for the cache, and no luck.  But there's really no where the cache could be hidden there.  It's certainly possible I've solved the puzzle wrong, as I never managed to figure out what the "Twelve" refers to, so I'll spend some more time trying to solve this one.

Look Around - Another one I'm pretty sure is still there, but the GPS just wasn't fixing onto the right place.  Did find a little metallic snake head token, so not a total loss here!  Also want to take a look at the hint again to make sure I solved this puzzle correctly.

Marley Station Micro - No idea about this one.  Likely I just missed it, a four-star difficulty in an area like that has to be quite devious, no?  Still, tried to hunt around for a while, I suspect it's in the trees?  But I'm not sure, will have to wait for a dry time to check again.

5 DNFs and a skip, ouch. ;x

Cache #21: MML 2013 - Greenbelt District 9

I had to wait an extra 15ish minutes for the bus today, so I figured I'd put that time to work and snag a geocache nearby.  This was a really easy find, as the bushes that hid it are completely bare, so I could spot it from a couple dozen meters off.  Lots of little army men and plastic dinosaurs inside.  Couldn't stop to look for the other ones in the park, as I didn't want to chance the bus coming early.  This was also a timely find too, as if I'm not mistaken, all the MML 2013 caches are being archived on Monday?  Score for me!

MML 2013 - Greenbelt District 9

Cache #20: Stairs to nowhere

Sorry for the picture quality, my camera somehow got switched into movie mode for this shot, and I didn't notice until I was home.  This was a quick cache that Overbeard found right away just about.  My GPS put me on the wrong side of the rail, haha.  When he asked for the pen to sign, I thought he was joking at first, and just signing the railing so we could get out of there. XD  Cache is tinytiny, smallest one I've seen.  It would have to be to avoid muggling again I suppose.  Last one of the night.  14 cache finds today, GREAT SUCCESS. >:3

Stairs to nowhere

Cache #19: Ole Black Water

I wasn't aware this was now a two-lane bridge!  Although now what was being said in the cache description makes more sense, heh.  Took me and Overbeard a little bit to find this one.  Our GPSs were pointing to opposite sides of the bridge.  After several minutes of poking around in the dark, I managed to snag it from the hiding spot.  We were overthinking this, should've been a 1 minute find, haha.

Ole Black Water

Cache #18: Insert Clever Name Here

A quick cache&dash at another maintenance facility.  I had come here this morning as well, but had trouble locating the cache.  After the stop by Hella's I knew exactly where the cache would be here though.  We stopped by, and I already had the cache in my hand before Overbeard could get out of his car.  Night made it tricky to get a non-blurry photo (I need to bring my tripod), but I think this turned out okay.  It was also tricky backing out of here!  Luckily there weren't as many cars as when I tried in the morning.

Insert Clever Name Here

Cache #17: Burial Ground on Mac Lowman's Place

A quiet place to hunt for a cache as twilight approached, I had actually swung by this morning to look for it, but there were some weekend activities going on in the field, so I decided to come back later.  The cache itself was very sneakily hidden, but shouldn't be too tough (You DON'T have to go inside the grave plot.)  That's a great idea for a spot though, and I'm thinking about stealing it for myself when I eventually start hiding caches.

Funny bit about this, I had a dream about wandering around a haunted building with Overbeard tonight after this trip, with stuff like random writings showing up where they weren't before, and a ghost in a mirror that you can't see behind you.  I woke up in the middle and drifted back to sleep again, but it instead became a comedy, haha.

Burial Ground on Mac Lowman's Place

Cache #16: Autumn Leaves

A short hike from Pelican at the Severn, this was another easy find for Overbeard and I.  The stump right there is kinda neat, a hollow tube all the way down as far as my flashlight could see (that's not where the cache is).  We considered hiking the rest of the trail, but we still had half a dozen caches we wanted to check today, and we were losing daylight.

Autumn Leaves

Cache #15: Pelican at the Severn

A little hidden park off Veteran's Highway, looked like we were turning into someone's driveway at first.  Once you get in though, it's a nice, well maintained path that's good for a stroll through the woods.  Overbeard and I managed to snag this one quickly and move right along to the one further down the path.

Pelican at the Severn

Cache #14: Bogged...?

Ignored the tag on my car from the last one and walked across the street to our next cache.  This one was hidden in the local community swamp.  We took the slightly wetter way in, only finding the better path on the way back out.  (Though in retrospect, the briars on the path probably made the wetter path easier to traverse.)  Overbeard hurled that tennis ball at me from behind, though missed sorely.  A few dozen golf balls were strewn about here too.  Seems like someone enjoys practicing their swing, but it too damn lazy to walk a few dozen meters and pick them up.  Overbeard guessed right when we got to ground zero about where the cache was likely hidden, although we had to dig around a bit to find which spot was the right one.  Found 3 TravelBugs in here, and while I thought about moving them on along, none of them seem to have been in my caching App, so I didn't know where they wanted to go.  Also I didn't feel like it, heh.  Turns out they do appear on Geocaching.com, so I'll have to pay more attention to the cache inventory while I'm planning my trips.

A couple extra shots Overbeard took at a pond we passed by on the way back out.

Bogged...?

Cache #13: TIIIMMMMBBBBBEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A quick, easy find for Overbeard and I.  The container had camo stickers on it, but the spot was still pretty open, and the black of the snaps stood out too.  Saw that yellow tag on my car as I was heading back, my car got marked as a possible abandoned vehicle?  Wow.  We were gone for less than five minutes, I couldn't help but laugh.  Really active Neighborhood Watch it seems.  It said it would be towed if not moved "within 48 hours."  klolthxbai.  Overbeard was glad I was driving here, he would've been far more freaked out than I was.

TIIIMMMMBBBBBEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Timberhollow: Round 1

The third and final DNF today, this cache was 100% missing as well.  Here you can see Overbeard's frustration as he comes to a realization that the cache is long gone.  Feel his rage as he menacingly brandishes a twig at the dead tree.

Yeah, the description made it obvious where the cache was, but nothing was there now.  It looks like someone had been kicking at the hollows as well, and there was some dirt strewn about below.  Just to check, Overbeard attempted to boost me up to try looking in the top of the tree to see if some miscreant had chucked it up there as a joke, but we couldn't gain enough height to look.  I tossed a few small sticks in the top to see if there was a sound, but the landings were soft, so it's unlikely the cache was up there anyway.  Left a maintenance request note, so maybe it'll get fixed up.  Though this is the second time it's been muggled, so this may not be a good spot altogether.

Timberhollow

Maryland Scavenger Hunt: 1/100

So, there's this cache over on Gambrills Road that turned out to be a hell of a lot more involved than I thought it would be.  You have to visit 100 locations around Maryland, and take a picture of itself with you and your GPS in the frame.  This'll take you from the Appalachians to Ocean City to College Park and everywhere in between.  I'll slowly collect the pieces I need and see how far I can get.  Maybe with a couple years I should be able to polish off all 100 of these spots and find the cache!  Haha, let the games begin!

I'll be using this grid to keep track of progress, uncovering each tile when I find something.  My first shot was #35, a Roadside Historical Marker.  Might've gotten the one for Ducks in a Pond as well, except there was only one duck, and I wasn't in the shot anyway.  Not going to settle for ambiguity, and it's not like I won't have a zillion other chances for that one anyway, haha.

The Maryland Scavenger Hunt

Cache #12: Alpha PPP

This was a "Mystery cache" and had a puzzle to solve in the description to uncover the true coordinates of the cache.The puzzle was pretty easy though, I solved it over the week so I knew exactly where Overbeard and I were to go.  The true cache area is pretty small and should be a quick find.  When we got out of the car there was one of those mechanical grasping arms on the ground, so I took that over to the spot to poke around for the cache.  Which was good!  As it looked like the cache had a potentially poisonous vine on top of it.  Left the arm back where I found it, for the next cachers to come by and also because it looked kind of beat up, haha.

Alpha PPP

Cache #11: Tzatziki is Hella Good

Mine and Overbeard's first guardrail cache, so it took a couple minutes longer than it should have before I spotted the metallic green glint of the cache.  Makes me wonder if Big Blue really was still there, and we just needed to reach farther.  Not really familiar with Greek cuisine, but I should stop by this place sometime and see what it's like.

Tzatziki is Hella Good

Cache #10: Fallen Tree at Shipley's Retreat

An easy hike deeper in the neighborhood from the Gazebo, Overbeard and I found the cache right quick, though the container had been broken and the loot strewn all around the area. Of course, while I was trying to rescue as much as I could find, I was in pretty much plain sight of several muggles that passed by.  None stopped though, so hopefully they didn't think much of it.  Found my first wooden nickel as well, from MoJaWiJe and Zero Emission.  Gonna see how many of these I can collect from other geocachers, and maybe make my own later on.

Fallen Tree at Shipley's Retreat

Dr. Oz and the Great Gazebo: Round 1

Mentioning this cache really quick since it looks like we may get another shot at it.  Second DNF today, and Overbeard and I agreed that there was no way the cache was still there.  Muggling was a high probability, as it looks very likely some landscaping had taken place there.  I made a note to archive the cache, but the CO showed up and put a note that she would attempt to perform maintenance on the cache when she's in town next weekend.  If so, we can make another swing by this one.

Dr. Oz and the Great Gazebo

Cache #9: Spot Marks the X: Round 2

After I left the last DNF, I decided to head over here to clear this one up.  Unlike last week, my GPS led me right where I needed to be, and I grabbed the cache in under five minutes.  Wat.  None of the clues actually made any sense to me, even after I found the cache.  ¯\(°_o)/¯

Met up with Overbeard shortly after this one and he was eager to get back over here and see just where this elusive find was.  Should have guessed before, but you can ignore almost all the brambles and just walk over to the thing. 

 Spot Marks the X

Timber!!!!, WNCS #3: Round 1

Didn't think I would find this one (and I didn't), but today was the latest in the season I was willing to go for a trek this deep in the woods.  Soon all the mosquitoes and ticks and crap will be out, and I'd only want to make my way through with an infinite flamethrower or something.  Anyway, the hike itself is pretty nice once you get past all the brambles at the start.  There's a lot of open long grass areas to walk across, a couple streams to cross several times, and quite a lot of fallen trees.  There was even a steel ladder in place as a makeshift bridge over one of the trickier stream crossings, haha.  The path to GZ is about half a kilometer as the crow flies, but you'll cover over twice that distance to get there with all the zigzagging and possible backtracking.

The GPS pointed me to three separate spots when I arrived, one under the huge tree, one a ways behind the root wall, and one down the "path" from the other two.  I found a few man-made objects beneath the tree (a black plastic rod and a square chunk of wood), but no sign on the cache there.  I'm about 80% sure GZ was the second spot, but it hasn't been found from August, so I thought the fall leaves and the snow may have buried it.  I dug around the leaves for a while, but I never ended up finding anything.  After about an hour searching back and forth between the three spots, I decided to call it there and head back to the car.  Make sure to keep your bearing on the way out!  It's quicker than going in, but it's also easier to wander off in the wrong direction.

I'll be waiting for confirmation that this cache still exists before trying again.  Also winter.  This hike would be hell in summer.

Timber!!!!, WCNS #3

Cache #8: Me and the Suspect

The parking lot here is closed now, but there's still plenty of space to park alongside the road and walk in, and enough time to find it without getting in trouble, ha.  Amusingly my Dad saw me setting out here as he was driving home from the store and honked at me.  Confused me for a second, haha.  Back in the woods, there's a bunch of signal bounce (as would be expected), and I finally found it when I extended my search radius just a bit.

Me and the Suspect

Cache #7: Late Cache - Searching for a Lady Bug

Started off today's journey with a nearby hike, just north of the first cache I found last week.  Didn't see a clear way in, so I ended up hopping through the roadside brambles and bushwhacking a bit.  Of course, once I'm through that, I see a huge, clear path that I could've taken right from my car.  Blarg.  The cache itself wasn't too bad, I did end up circling around it twice before I figured out where the sucker was.  The natural camo on this one is very well done.  And inside was a Cobra Commander action figure!  XD  It was gone when I came back with Overbeard in the afternoon though.

Also, have my new camera battery today, so I can actually take decent photos, instead of relying on my cell phone or Google Maps, hahaha.

Late Cache - Searching for a Lady Bug

Cache #6: Marley Creek

Our last find of the day, and a pretty simple one to find.  Off a smaller trail that branches off the main B&A trail just north of Marley Station.  Of course, it didn't help when my GPS battery got low and started throwing our coordinates all over the county.  Overbeard's stabilized after a little bit, and he was able to lead us right there.  A good clip from the creek, despite the name.  Overbeard even left a small present for the next passer-bys! *snicker*

Marley Creek

Cache #5: In a Past Life: Station 7704

This should (hopefully) be the last picture I grab off Google.  I'm a photographer dammit!  Anyway, this was our most amusing cache find of the day.  Right behind Ann's Dari-Creme.  Of course, with the warm temps after a bitter winter there were a few people around.  Overbeard and I made a mini-show of waiting for our friend Rodriguez to show up while we checked our phones to move about the area and key in on GZ.  Ended up right on top of it and Overbeard pulled it out stealthily so we could sign it and slip it back in place.  I then "got a call" from Rodriguez, who was "waiting at the other side of the mall."  Seriously?  God dammit, Rodriguez.  What the hell.

In a Past Life: Station 7704

Cache #4: Peyton's Place

This was actually the first cache Overbeard and I looked at last weekend, as it was a quick walk from his house.  Though we didn't find it then, mostly on account of trying to start our first Geocaching adventure in the dark.  Both figuratively and literally!  This time we came up with the cache in short order, success!  Some of the hints for this are slightly off which led to misdirection (other hints were spot-on though, so I should've listened to them before, haha).  Inside were a few knick-knacks, including a tiny blue rubber ducky with a cracked neck stuffed into the cap.  Overbeard was a bit fond of the duck, but he decided to leave it in the end.

Peyton's Place

Spot Marks the X: Round 1

That was, until we got over here.  Myself and Overbeard got out here, and there's just this huge plot of brambles and trees with a chain link fence around it.  What.  It looks like there used to be a ball field here (we found a home plate and 1 base) but the fence goes right through the middle of the field, and the bases are pointed wrong anyway, so idfk.  Anyway, we searched and searched, high and low, pored over comments from over cachers, etc. but in the end all we had to show for an hour+ of time were thorns and scrapes.  The hint that's given is supposed to "make sense", but it hasn't helped us out at all.  We'll just have to return to this one after we get more experience (but hopefully before summer!  Don't wanna be there in the heat)

Spot Marks the X

There were a couple others we failed to find, such as Big Blue, Get Fit if Needed, and Marley Station Micro.  Though we didn't give those a fair shot yet either, mostly because of muggles.

Cache #3: Kenora Drive's Robin's Nest

Another one from Google Maps because I suck. :D  Hidden in the woods south of Kenora Drive, this was easily the most trash-infested location Overbeard and I explored today.  Guess what the cache looked like?  Yeah.  It's not *too* bad, but there's a lot of thorns around, but you shouldn't be getting deep in those like I did.  The container seems like it wasn't fit to withstand our wet winter, and most of the contents were damp.  It was stuff like a Geek Squad badge, a 3-player baseball card, etc.  Also a small bottle of bubbles that we couldn't do much with as the wind was blowing decently.  We were feeling pretty good about our 3/3 so far!

Kenora Drive's Robin's Nest

Cache #2: Ouch that hurts

Pic stolen from Google Maps because I was dumb and forgot to shoot one here.  This was a pretty easy cache to find for me and Overbeard, right behind the Goodwill near Old Mill HS.  Granted, there's really not a lot of space to search.  Despite the description, this was one of the least thorny places we traversed! (More on that later...) 

Ouch that hurts

Cache #1: Add a Buck

This was the first cache that myself (under the alias Wandær) and Overbeard (Erik) went after, near the maintenance facility at the corner of Burns Crossing and Old Mill. We weren't really sure what to expect, and ended up vastly over thinking it. My phone's GPS was jumping around a bit, and I got to tromp through the woods a fair bit, while Overbeard hung back on a call for a moment and was able to just walk right over to the general area.  Though he kept being all worried that he'd get a ticket for parking at the bridge over the Run (he wouldn't).  A bunch of crap of the ground, as you' expect from a somewhat easily accessible wooded area.  Even saw an old telephone pole maintenance box, wires disconnected.  Eventually I managed to spot the cache, and we found a dollar and some assorted change inside.  Clever use of camo here.  Overbeard took the dollar and left another in it's place, with a short message about it being our first cache.  We cased a couple others along Burns Crossing, but Overbeard kept being scared that the fuzz was gonna show up and write him a parking ticket.  In the middle of the woods.  Right.

Add A Buck