Great day of caching with Chuy! and 3cd's
Last Sunday, Auld Pro and I thought about doing the new Tecate caches, thinking it was a hike. Turns out, the gate at the bottom of the road is open, so they are accessible by vehicle. Chuy! emailed me about going and I forwarded that message to 3cd's. He could go, and was kind to pick me up near my "Four Corners" cache so I didn't have to drive very far.
We met up with Chuy! along Hwy 94 and then continued on to Tecate where we parked 3cd's truck near "Boom!" and continued the rest of the way in Chuy!'s 4WD truck. It was a hazy day, warm, and humid, so I was happy we were driving up that zig-zagging road. About 15 years ago, when I lived at Madre Grande Monastery outside the little community of Dulzura, I walked up the road to the top of the peak and I'm sure glad we were not walking today. Although I am in better shape now, I think walking up the road to the top would have been a painful experience again, just as it was back then.
Here is the Profile of the drive up the road.
One of the caches was right on the border, which is marked by three strands of barbed wire, laying on the ground. I cannot imagine the environmental destruction that will occur if they build the proposed fence in this area, and in other rugged areas along the border . . .
From this vantage point, the contrast between the open space on the U.S. side, and the urban crowding on the Mexico side in Tecate is amazing.
This is another view from that location that was not even halfway up the peak.
After the first set of caches were placed, the next group that came along, including SKILLET, FATTBOY, and Team Fatman, placed a few more caches including one near this rocky outcrop down a trail through the area that was scorched in the Harris Fire last October.
As we drove up the road, 3cd's pointed out this balancing rock. All we need is a long crowbar to start a game of boulder pinball . . .
There were lots of interesting rock formations along the route including these.
At the top, the Border Patrol keeps a lookout with a huge scope.
We talked to the officers for a while and I learned one of them just returned from a second tour of duty in the Service. He was in Afghanistan for one tour, Iraq for the other. He is very glad to be back in the U.S.
3cd's retrieved this very cool coin from the cache at the top.
After completing our tour of Tecate Peak, 3cd's and I stopped to get a few caches along Hwy. 94, several of which I had already found, including Chuy!'s "Walk the Plank" and some of NightHunter's "Stone Ruination" caches placed at the remnants of homes people built many years ago, and which were destroyed by the wildfires that are part of life in the chapparal habitat.
Along the highway, there is a unique rock formation that is the "Madre Grande." From just the right angle, the rock looks like Aunt Jemmima.
I have always wanted to place a cache to highlight her presence on the ridge, but there are two other caches nearby that get in the way of the "proximity" issue . . . One of those is "Lighten Up" which, before the fire, was in thick chapparal. Not so anymore. 3cd's didn't have to do any bushwhacking to find the cache today.
Last October, during the Harris Fire, the wind was blowing nearly 70 mph as the flames roared through this area. It is hard to imagine how hot the fire was to reduce the thick vegetation growing here to the bare earth that remained after the fire.
Once again, I owe thanks to 3cd's, and Chuy!, for doing all the driving. I am very, very grateful to my caching companions who make it possible for me to join in on these fun caching adventures.
We met up with Chuy! along Hwy 94 and then continued on to Tecate where we parked 3cd's truck near "Boom!" and continued the rest of the way in Chuy!'s 4WD truck. It was a hazy day, warm, and humid, so I was happy we were driving up that zig-zagging road. About 15 years ago, when I lived at Madre Grande Monastery outside the little community of Dulzura, I walked up the road to the top of the peak and I'm sure glad we were not walking today. Although I am in better shape now, I think walking up the road to the top would have been a painful experience again, just as it was back then.
Here is the Profile of the drive up the road.
One of the caches was right on the border, which is marked by three strands of barbed wire, laying on the ground. I cannot imagine the environmental destruction that will occur if they build the proposed fence in this area, and in other rugged areas along the border . . .
From this vantage point, the contrast between the open space on the U.S. side, and the urban crowding on the Mexico side in Tecate is amazing.
This is another view from that location that was not even halfway up the peak.
After the first set of caches were placed, the next group that came along, including SKILLET, FATTBOY, and Team Fatman, placed a few more caches including one near this rocky outcrop down a trail through the area that was scorched in the Harris Fire last October.
As we drove up the road, 3cd's pointed out this balancing rock. All we need is a long crowbar to start a game of boulder pinball . . .
There were lots of interesting rock formations along the route including these.
At the top, the Border Patrol keeps a lookout with a huge scope.
We talked to the officers for a while and I learned one of them just returned from a second tour of duty in the Service. He was in Afghanistan for one tour, Iraq for the other. He is very glad to be back in the U.S.
3cd's retrieved this very cool coin from the cache at the top.
After completing our tour of Tecate Peak, 3cd's and I stopped to get a few caches along Hwy. 94, several of which I had already found, including Chuy!'s "Walk the Plank" and some of NightHunter's "Stone Ruination" caches placed at the remnants of homes people built many years ago, and which were destroyed by the wildfires that are part of life in the chapparal habitat.
Along the highway, there is a unique rock formation that is the "Madre Grande." From just the right angle, the rock looks like Aunt Jemmima.
I have always wanted to place a cache to highlight her presence on the ridge, but there are two other caches nearby that get in the way of the "proximity" issue . . . One of those is "Lighten Up" which, before the fire, was in thick chapparal. Not so anymore. 3cd's didn't have to do any bushwhacking to find the cache today.
Last October, during the Harris Fire, the wind was blowing nearly 70 mph as the flames roared through this area. It is hard to imagine how hot the fire was to reduce the thick vegetation growing here to the bare earth that remained after the fire.
Once again, I owe thanks to 3cd's, and Chuy!, for doing all the driving. I am very, very grateful to my caching companions who make it possible for me to join in on these fun caching adventures.
posted by Miragee at
5:33:00 PM
10-Day Forecast
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