Surprise Container

We were out for a walk in the park to find a cache and look for wildflowers.  It's great to find a creative container.  This fun one was well done.  Technically we weren't social distancing with the man on the container.  😉

Spring Caching With COVID-19

We are nearing the end of April and will have one of our fewest geocaching find months.  We've stayed away from most busy parks and have had fun with fewer finds.  Birding while geocaching this year has been very good.  We realize the game has changed for us.  I may never attend another event at a restaurant although time may eventually change that.  We are still having fun with caching and enjoying the views while the longer walks have helped me avoid the other Covid-19.

Since early studies show weight is the biggest factor in COVID-19 hospitalization for those under 60, I am happy to be able to get out for a walk in the park when done with a day at my home office and to find a cache while keeping my BMI in the normal range.  The birding has been quite good too.

18,000 Finds at The Ghost Orchid

For our first 17 caches at 1,000 find milestones we were in Pennsylvania with the dogs hunting a terrain 3 or higher cache.  We've always planned to make those milestones with the dogs as they are a big part of our outdoor lives.  We were in great shape to continue that tradition for 18,000 until I got deathly sick on vacation in October.  October became one of our lightest months ever for geocaching.  It also meant we were going to find a milestone in Florida without the dogs.  Choosing a cache wasn't a question.  We both knew it would be The Ghost Orchid in Fakahatchee Swamp.  It is now a thirteen year old cache.  It has been found 113 times in thirteen years.  Most of the visits have been group outings with prior visitors acting as tour guides.

Fakahatchee is an amazing place.  Our first visit was in 2017.  We found a few caches, but the wildlife viewing was the hook that captured us.

Old tramways from citrus days serve as trails.

Sometimes

Some citrus trees still hang on and bear fruit.

2017 had us hooked.  We returned to Fakahatchee in 2018.  Our first venture was to find Share the Music Cache.  It was also our first experience at getting wet in the swamp.

Despite some blood and spotting a cottonmouth on the way out we were hooked.  We came back the next day to tackle The Ghost Orchid.  We were cocky.  We can do this.

It was wet from the moment we left the tramway and knee-deep and raining.  We looked a long time without finding stage one.  The birds were laughing at us.

The vultures were waiting.

We retreated back to the tramway and set our sites for 2019.  This was supposed to be the easy stage.

We were ready in 2019.  We had a dry bag and a dry box.  We planned more.  We headed into the swamp and found a warm up cache at an old camp on the way to the parking area.

Even the really large gator with really sharp teeth could deter us.

Moving was tough and wet, but we spotted stage one!

Ali spotted this turtle.  It's odd to think we will most likely be the only people this turtle ever sees.

Fakahatchee was peaceful and awesome.

We spent over four hours in the swamp on this journey and did not reach the final.  The area closes at sunset.  Even if staying after dark were possible, I have no desire to meet a panther after dark.  We left with one dead gps as a sacrifice to Fakahatchee.  We would be waiting another year.

We were back for another visit in February. We were already aware of the growing risk of COVID-19.  Fakahatchee seemed like a good place to be on our own.  With a few birds.

There's no real getting used to being in the swamp.  Once you step off a tramway, you are there in the water.

Once you are in, you pretty much stay in.  If the water is below your knees, it is low.  The image below is easy walking with a long stretch of open low water, and few downed tree parts to crawl over.  The worst risk is finding tree trunks and limbs to trip over.

Cypress Knees

The deep portions of the water came up to my chin.  Ali had picked a shallower path in the crossing, but the water was still quite deep.  It was enough to feel the bouyancy of the water and a little float while crossing.

We fared better on our journey than this alligator did.  It was near the final, but wasn't the skull by the cache.

Spoiler Alert. 😉

Ali with Find #18,000!

It's not a journey for everyone.  It was a wonderful adventure for us.  We spent over four hours on this last journey to the final.  We spent almost ten hours making the journey together.  We could have joined the tour to the cache, but were happy to work through the stages as a team.  It was a special milestone.  I hope we are able to revisit Fakahatchee Swamp for other adventures as we look for more of the hides in this amazing place.

Making a No-Sew Cloth Mask

I don't sew. I've tried to make my own cloth mask, but it hasn't work out. This video was posted through a Twitter feed for the ASSP. It's a basic and effective way to provide coverage to your face while you are out hunting geocaches. Stay safe and protect those you may see on the trail by wearing a mask.

  Mine has a geocaching theme.  The bandana is a reviewer gift from Groundspeak.  The video says hairbands or rubber bands to make the ear loops.  I stitched together elastic pieces.  The elastic seems more comfortable than the rubber bands.  I'm all out of hair bands.  😉

Now go out and find some caches.

Why We Have No Events At This Moment

Stay safe out there fellow geocachers. Happy Easter!

Cleveland Metroparks Announces Partial Closings of Reservations

Cleveland Metroparks has announced partial closings of reservations. Updates can be found here.

As of 9 April these are listing on the site.

BEDFORD RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Viaduct area. 
• Area closed: Hemlock at bridge on Button Rd. 
• Area closed: Dunham area. 
• Area closed: Portion of Egbert Picnic Area. 

BIG CREEK RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Rear of Snow Road picnic area. 
• Area closed: Rear of Memphis Picnic area. 
• Area closed: Upper Fern Hill Picnic area. 

BRECKSVILLE RESERVATION: 

• View a map of Brecksville Reservation road closures
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Snake Hill on Valley Parkway. 
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Meadow Dr. From Chippewa Parkway to Valley Parkway. 
• Area closed: York Road Archery Range due to wet/muddy conditions. Targets also delayed in shipping. Expected to open May 1, 2020. 
• Area closed: Gorge Parking lot.  
• Area closed: West portion of the Brecksville Nature Center parking lot. 

BROOKSIDE RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Meadow Ridge picnic area. 

EUCLID CREEK RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Euclid Creek Quarry Picnic Area. 
• Area closed: Euclid Beach Pier. 

HINCKLEY RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Whipps Parking lot.  
• Area closed: Portion of Spillway Parking lot.
• Area closed: Horseshoe Trail, Soybean Loop, and connector bridle trails, closed for season to horseback riders until May 1, 2020 due to weather conditions.  

HUNTINGTON RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Lower ADA lot. 
• Area closed: Underpass Rd. 
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Portion of Porter Creek Rd. 

LAKEFRONT RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Edgewater Pier. 
• Area closed: Upper deck of Edgewater Beach House.  
• Area closed: Upper Edgewater.
• Area closed: Dog Beach. 

MILL STREAM RUN RESERVATION: 

• Area closed: Portion of Wallace parking lot.  
• Area closed: Albion Woods parking lot.
• Area closed: The Chalet. 
• Area closed: South Quarry parking lot. 

NORTH CHAGRIN AND ACACIA RESERVATIONS:  

• Area closed: Boardwalks and decks are closed. 
• Area closed: Squire’s Castle. 
• Area closed: Partial closure of Nature Center parking lot.  

OHIO & ERIE CANAL RESERVATION:   

• Area closed: Towpath Trail heading North from Rockside Rd. and Aqueduct APT Loop. Closed to all users until flooding recedes.  
• No closure, please use caution, South of Harvard Road Trail Head Parking Lot. Tree removal work being performed for Sewer District culvert repair work. 
• No closure, please use caution, construction in progress on North of Sideyard Park coming down the hill from Sokolowski's University Inn on the Towpath 
• Area closed: Railroad construction has APT between Harvard Rd. and Old Denison along Jennings closed, able to use the roadway as a detour.  
• No closure, please use caution while crossing the area near towpath trail on Literary Road and University Road. Construction underway. 
• Area closed: Towpath Trail under 480 Valley View Bridge, has intermittent closures due to bridge construction. 
• ​Area closed: Merwin's Wharf parking lot.

ROCKY RIVER RESERVATION: 

• View a map of Rocky River Reservation North road closures
• View a map of Rocky River Reservation South road closures
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Valley Parkway from Spafford Rd. to Berea Falls.
• Area closed: Fort Hill Stairs and area surrounding Nature Center. 
• Area closed: Rocky River Nature Center upper parking lot. 
• Area closed: Emerald Necklace Marina patio. 
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Hogsback Lane. 
• Area closed: Valley Parkway from Old Lorain Rd. to overflow parking lot at Memorial Field.  

SOUTH CHAGRIN RESERVATION: 

• View a map of South Chagrin Reservation road closure. 
• Area closed to vehicles, open to pedestrians: Hawthorne Parkway from Route 91 to Arbor Lane. 
• Area closed: Sulphur Springs 

Self Isolate

Geocaching and Doctor Who have a special linkage.  As we are told to stay at home, this warning should chill us all.  I wouldn't ignore this order. Resistance is futile.

A Different Way of Geocaching

We went out yesterday for the first time with masks.  We have a small number of store masks and  N95 respirators left from home tasks.  We will need to work on actually making masks at home.  I'm hoping to add a Geocaching theme to mine.  In the meantime, we'll work through our conventional ones.

We were using Geodog Lizzie to keep watch for non-social distancing muggles.

Most park visitors were doing great with social distancing although the ten youth playing volleyball didn't seem to understand.

Known Ohio Park/Recreational Area COVID-19 Closures

Please check local park web sites for most recent updates.

Lorain County Metroparks

• Park hours have been adjusted to 8am to 6pm

Medina County Parks

• Limited Park Closures for staffing reasons.
• As of 23 March  2020 all parks except those below have been closed for COVID-19
  • Brunswick Lake Park
  • Buckeye Woods Park (Only State Route 162 and Deerview Lane entrances open)
  • Hubbard Valley Park
  • Lake Medina
  • Letha House Park West
  • Multipurpose Trails: Lester Rail Trail, Chippewa Inlet Trail, Chippewa Rail Trail, and Montville Trail

Ohio State Parks

• Hocking Hills is closed

US Army Corps Recreational Areas

• Berlin Dam Recreational Area

Updated 5 April 2020