Log entries The Other End
5x
0x
4x
2010-09-02 00:36
sandvika
(
105)
- Found it
We've long since given up being FTF hounds being technologically disadvantaged in our locality compared to local cachers. However, when the owner notified me of his new cache because it was similar to some of my caches that he had found, I was hooked by the time I'd read just a few lines of the description and the lure of a rare chance for FTF on a puzzle cache provided even greater incentive.
The excellent puzzle was solved by lunchtime, aside from an error transcribing the coordinates that turned out to be of no consequence. However with sons to feed and chores to do it was about 4pm before we left home. Having recognised the need to park and walk (as opposed to our then unknown FTF challenger who sought not to walk and was thereby thwarted by the fence) we parked at an appropriate spot and gained access to GZ easily.
The cache hiding place called us and we ignored the deviation indicated on the GPSr - the indicated direction seemed hostile and improbable terrain. We duly set about the search but after only a few minutes Sharky cried "Wasps!" and fled. Penguin followed him swiftly. Then I noticed that there were scores of the blighters buzzing around my legs and I knew I was in trouble. I duly fled and was not pursued, but my relief was short lived as I felt a sting in my shin. A wasp had clearly found its way up my trousers. I rolled up my trouser leg but no wasp flew out so I whacked my leg repeatedly to squash the fiendish thing before it could sting me again. I then rolled up my trouser leg further until i found the corpse of the hapless insect and was able to scrape its entrails from my leg and trousers.
We widened our search, giving GZ a wide berth but it quickly became clear that there was no better or more likely hiding place than the one we had foresaken in our search due to the presence of the wasps' nest. A call to the owner confirmed that we had been looking in the right place, and moreover, the transcription error corrected, my GPSr would have us look nowhere else. There then followed a fruitless 20 minute search of the hiding location, avoiding the wasps' nest and the now very evident "flight path". A further call to the owner for the "spoiler" clue confirmed what we feared: I had to return into harms' way to retrieve the cache and had been seconds away from getting my hands on it when the warning cry came. A quick dash and grab to retrieve the cache and a brisk retreat sealed our First to Find.
We had wasps interfere with one of our caches too (The White Family were the FTF hunters forced to retreat), but all was well by November and the wasps have not returned in the 3 years since. This is one of those caches where the beautiful simplicity of the puzzle (but only if you understand it) restricts possible hiding places and aside from the wasps, the location has many merits, so I hope in due course it can be returned to where it was and then remain wasp-free.
By a twist of fate, if we had not needed to meet the owner at the start coordinates for his excellent "Off the Rails" cache (http://www.opencaching.org.uk/viewcache.php?cacheid=139) to return this cache to him, we would have found ourselves thwarted by the out of date TerraCache listing (its' alter ego) that I'd printed out. So we are actually indebted to the wasps for allowing us our second find!
Many thanks for the excellent puzzle and cache that won't easily be forgotten. Sandvika #987 (GC #913)
The excellent puzzle was solved by lunchtime, aside from an error transcribing the coordinates that turned out to be of no consequence. However with sons to feed and chores to do it was about 4pm before we left home. Having recognised the need to park and walk (as opposed to our then unknown FTF challenger who sought not to walk and was thereby thwarted by the fence) we parked at an appropriate spot and gained access to GZ easily.
The cache hiding place called us and we ignored the deviation indicated on the GPSr - the indicated direction seemed hostile and improbable terrain. We duly set about the search but after only a few minutes Sharky cried "Wasps!" and fled. Penguin followed him swiftly. Then I noticed that there were scores of the blighters buzzing around my legs and I knew I was in trouble. I duly fled and was not pursued, but my relief was short lived as I felt a sting in my shin. A wasp had clearly found its way up my trousers. I rolled up my trouser leg but no wasp flew out so I whacked my leg repeatedly to squash the fiendish thing before it could sting me again. I then rolled up my trouser leg further until i found the corpse of the hapless insect and was able to scrape its entrails from my leg and trousers.
We widened our search, giving GZ a wide berth but it quickly became clear that there was no better or more likely hiding place than the one we had foresaken in our search due to the presence of the wasps' nest. A call to the owner confirmed that we had been looking in the right place, and moreover, the transcription error corrected, my GPSr would have us look nowhere else. There then followed a fruitless 20 minute search of the hiding location, avoiding the wasps' nest and the now very evident "flight path". A further call to the owner for the "spoiler" clue confirmed what we feared: I had to return into harms' way to retrieve the cache and had been seconds away from getting my hands on it when the warning cry came. A quick dash and grab to retrieve the cache and a brisk retreat sealed our First to Find.
We had wasps interfere with one of our caches too (The White Family were the FTF hunters forced to retreat), but all was well by November and the wasps have not returned in the 3 years since. This is one of those caches where the beautiful simplicity of the puzzle (but only if you understand it) restricts possible hiding places and aside from the wasps, the location has many merits, so I hope in due course it can be returned to where it was and then remain wasp-free.
By a twist of fate, if we had not needed to meet the owner at the start coordinates for his excellent "Off the Rails" cache (http://www.opencaching.org.uk/viewcache.php?cacheid=139) to return this cache to him, we would have found ourselves thwarted by the out of date TerraCache listing (its' alter ego) that I'd printed out. So we are actually indebted to the wasps for allowing us our second find!
Many thanks for the excellent puzzle and cache that won't easily be forgotten. Sandvika #987 (GC #913)
