The Old Burma Road and numerous caches were calling
This is the time of the year when the temperature can vary from 100 degrees to the mid-70s depending on how far inland the "coastal low cloud and fog" extends. Saturday was one of those mild days perfect for catching some "inland" caches that will be inaccessible in a few weeks because of the heat.
So, once again I drove over to the "Park and Ride" near Descanso to meet a friend. He has a new van and was willing to drive up the roads in the Laguna Mountain/Sunrise Highway area. The closest cache we saw in our GPSrs was north of Pine Valley. It was a surprise to see this little one-lane road was paved. Had I known that, I could have driven my car.
The first cache we got to was "easy peasy." It was a small container inside a 4" diameter pipe. However, the last people to put it away, put it way inside the pipe. It is a good thing I have very long arms or I wouldn't have been able to reach it. The next cache was "in a bush" according to the hint. So, I took the hint literally and thought it might be another one of those DeCon containers hanging from a branch in one of the four or five bushes near GZ.
There were a bunch of biting flies bothering us as we conducted our ever-lengthening search. I read and re-read the past logs and then somehow saw the ammo box on the ground "under" the bush.
I know it is a manner of semantics, but I would have written the hint differently. That was another example of taking the available information too literally, something I have a tendency to do with most everything.
One cache had a great view to the west. It also gave us a nice look at all the new growth after the devastating fires.
Some of these thistle blossoms were nearly two inches in diameter.
We missed the turnoff to one cache because of the limited parking available, but we found a nice hike in the trip to T.R. Violin's "Big Tree Down" cache. As we bushwacked through the high grasses, the sound of water drew us over to this little waterfall.
After finding the horse gate, I wanted to walk up to the big tree, since that was the reason T.R. placed the cache. He said he discovered the tree some 30 years ago. It must have been spectacular, and it is too bad the fires of October 2003 finally caused its demise.
We walked back to the horse gate and started our search for the cache. I was just going to check the past logs in my Palm again when I heard and odd tapping sound. My friend had found the container under a nearby bush while searching with the walking stick.
I took some pictures of this spectacular tree on the way back to the car. Maybe another cache should be placed near it to celebrate the fact that it is still standing.
We finally reached the end of the Old Burma Road and started back, but then a cache showed up in my GPSr only .3 mile behind us. So we turned around and found the Kwaaymii High View cache.
Last spring I met a couple in Joshua Tree National Park who told me they like to take pictures of their shadows. The late light gave me an opportunity to get a self-portrait.
The late afternoon light accented the beauty of the unique rock formations and this yucca growing in the windswept area of this spectacular viewpoint.
Our last cache of the day was one by Duscwé! It was located at a viewpoint platform that had been built so even people in a wheelchair can see the awesome view of the desert below.
Finally, in fading light and with the headlights on, we gave up the search for caches search and headed home for the day.
So, once again I drove over to the "Park and Ride" near Descanso to meet a friend. He has a new van and was willing to drive up the roads in the Laguna Mountain/Sunrise Highway area. The closest cache we saw in our GPSrs was north of Pine Valley. It was a surprise to see this little one-lane road was paved. Had I known that, I could have driven my car.
The first cache we got to was "easy peasy." It was a small container inside a 4" diameter pipe. However, the last people to put it away, put it way inside the pipe. It is a good thing I have very long arms or I wouldn't have been able to reach it. The next cache was "in a bush" according to the hint. So, I took the hint literally and thought it might be another one of those DeCon containers hanging from a branch in one of the four or five bushes near GZ.
There were a bunch of biting flies bothering us as we conducted our ever-lengthening search. I read and re-read the past logs and then somehow saw the ammo box on the ground "under" the bush.
I know it is a manner of semantics, but I would have written the hint differently. That was another example of taking the available information too literally, something I have a tendency to do with most everything.
One cache had a great view to the west. It also gave us a nice look at all the new growth after the devastating fires.
Some of these thistle blossoms were nearly two inches in diameter.
We missed the turnoff to one cache because of the limited parking available, but we found a nice hike in the trip to T.R. Violin's "Big Tree Down" cache. As we bushwacked through the high grasses, the sound of water drew us over to this little waterfall.
After finding the horse gate, I wanted to walk up to the big tree, since that was the reason T.R. placed the cache. He said he discovered the tree some 30 years ago. It must have been spectacular, and it is too bad the fires of October 2003 finally caused its demise.
We walked back to the horse gate and started our search for the cache. I was just going to check the past logs in my Palm again when I heard and odd tapping sound. My friend had found the container under a nearby bush while searching with the walking stick.
I took some pictures of this spectacular tree on the way back to the car. Maybe another cache should be placed near it to celebrate the fact that it is still standing.
We finally reached the end of the Old Burma Road and started back, but then a cache showed up in my GPSr only .3 mile behind us. So we turned around and found the Kwaaymii High View cache.
Last spring I met a couple in Joshua Tree National Park who told me they like to take pictures of their shadows. The late light gave me an opportunity to get a self-portrait.
The late afternoon light accented the beauty of the unique rock formations and this yucca growing in the windswept area of this spectacular viewpoint.
Our last cache of the day was one by Duscwé! It was located at a viewpoint platform that had been built so even people in a wheelchair can see the awesome view of the desert below.
Finally, in fading light and with the headlights on, we gave up the search for caches search and headed home for the day.
posted by Miragee at
6:54:00 PM
10-Day Forecast
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