To Conquer the Park

On May 10th we set out with the intention of getting the final cache at Point au Roche State Park. We didn't have much time, but that hasn't stopped us yet.

Ram's Head?
It looks like we left the best for last because this was one of the more interesting trails in the park. Due to our time restraints we didn't get the chance to walk all the trails that led to and from Ram's Head but the main path was excellent nonetheless.

A sitting area by the lake

At the end of the path there is a rock wall that consists of a 15ft or so drop with all sorts of interesting plants on it.

Pretty red flowers

The cache is hidden not too far from it among the thick cedar trees. Colette received her first geocaching related injury when the forest tried to fight her off.

Note the red mark on forehead!

We left one of the travel bugs here and headed back to the car. This is yet another place that I would love to visit again!

Cliff Haven Cache 1

In the southern part of Plattsburgh, especially around the old base, there are several caches that we just don't know how to get to. Unfortunately some cache owners don't bother explaining how to get to a from a cache or what hoops you may need to jump through to get within range of a cache. For folks that are new to the area or may just be visiting it's kind of a turn off. After finishing with Point au Roche we tried for some of these caches. Unfortunately the only one we got to was in a park. The kids got to spend some time playing on the swings and sliding then we headed into the nearby woods to find the cache. It was quite wet so I ended up travelling in alone. 

On the plus side it was a nice big ammo can with lots of swag that the kids got to go through. 

I can see your house from here!

Another Visit to Point au Roche

It looks like I'm starting to get a little behind! Going to work on that :)

On May 5th we got started late in the day but lack of sunlight doesn't slow down cachers at all! ... Well, much. I had offered to help replace a cache for a local cacher and that was our ultimate destination. But first, Point au Roche!

Booty Point
Located on the most Southern point on the Eastern portion of the park, this cache has a fantatic hike attached to it! Round trip from parking is about 2 miles but thers never a dull moment so the time flies by! Rather than explain our trip I decided to make a video log. Enjoy!


Cherish Your Heritage
This was the cache that I offered to replace. It has been disabled since December so the New York Admin has started paying attention to it. Rather than let it be archived I decided to help the owner replace it. The Heritage Trail behind the Crete Center in Plattsburgh is a fantastic walking and biking trail. It is paved and although it closes at 9pm is completely lighted. We decided to move the cache location due to it being easily found by muggles. Hopefully soon it will be updated!

Shop and Cache #2
After hitting the grocery store we headed home. When I arrived home I was happy to see two new caches had been published and one of them was down the street! I decided to go after it but Co opted out due to being tired. I stopped by my mother's and asked her if she wanted to get a FTF. She of course said yes and we were off. After only a few minutes, most of which was waiting for the GPS to wake up, we found it. This was her first FTF!

Old and New

On May 4th we got up early, as usual when you've got young children, and knocked out some laundry as well as a cache that had popped up the night before. When we set out it had not been found yet so we might just get another FTF :)

IHP # 95 Another IHP To Make You Smile!
The IHP in the caches name stands for I Hate Puzzles. I can only imagine that they aren't the biggest puzzle fans. Thats fine because we really enjoy traditional caches! We knew where the cache was going to be when we pulled up to the boat launch and parked. This cache was similar to the one we had done just a few days before. Unfortunately we missed the FTF by one :( but we did get to trade some neat swag. Also I forgot to take a picture of the find so just imagine Colette holding a neat looking container and smiling at the camera.

Old-Time Campmeetin'
After laundry we picked up my mother and headed West. Our destination was a natural reserve called The Gulf. None of us had ever been/heard of it so that would be part of the adventure. Before we got there though we stopped in Mooers and picked up this cache. This was another older cache that has done a great job standing the test of time. It was a rather easy find due to it's size but that didn't make it any less fun! We swapped travel bugs and my mother traded some swag then we were on our way.

A rather large cache!

The Little Wooden Gulf Bridge

In the Gulf Unique Area Preserve there are a couple of well made trails. Due to the reserve being so far from anything else there is a sign in area. 

The box with sign in log

After signing in we headed down the trail we hoped would lead us to this cache. There are three caches in the area, one being a multi and the other requiring bushwhacking. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to go after the other two, but that gives us a reason to go back :) We really enjoyed the trail we hiked on. There are plenty of unique sights and land formations. There were also some very pretty flowers making their way under the tree canopy. 

When we arrived at the bridge the hunt for the cache began. 

The Little Wooden Gulf  Bridge

We were all stumped when suddenly Zoey happened upon the very well hid container. Apparently I deleted the photo of her holding the cache but she was very proud of herself! I traded a CITO kit (there was some trash on the trail which we disposed of) and the others traded their swag and placed the cache back to it's home. The hike back was just as enjoyable as the one to the bridge. We all hope to visit the Gulf again in the near future, hopefully this time we'll remember some bug spray!

They can't all be Winners

On spur of the moment we decided to try for some caches in May 3rd. There are several "clusters" of caches in various locations in Plattsburgh, NY that we aren't too sure how to get to. I thought it would be fun to try and find how to get to one set not far from where we had just finished shopping.

on the block
We "attempted" three caches today. This was the first and only "success" of our "attempts". The reason I'm quoting left and right is simple. I don't believe that the cache owners care about several of the caches in this area. The trails we went on were behind the college's baseball field. The paths are well made and focus a bit more on mountain bikes than walking or running, but that didn't stop us from enjoying them. The cache we did spot was encased in a large concrete block that I assume was part of a structure in the past. There is a pipe built into it and the cache is hiding in there. Unfortunately someone thought it fun to push the cache to the back of the pipe and it is now unreachable. We logged it as found partially due to the fact that we did find it and that it will probably never be fixed.

We also searched for three more. The first we couldn't get to because we didn't have the footwear for it and the other two are logs upon logs of DNFs due to them needing repair. Overall a fairly unsuccessful trip out, but we did find some new trails!

Maple Cotton Candy is Awesome

On May 1st we went to the Maple Festival in St Albans.

They block off a portion of the main strip in the city, right next to a park, and have all sorts of booths and vendors. There are also other activities in nearby buildings such as craft and antique shows. We had a great time exploring St Albans as well as trying various maple inspired foods. As with most activities you can always find some time for caching!

I shouldn't even be here
Our first and only stop of the day was a small size cache between Swanton and Highgate. I used our GPSr, the Magellan eXplorist GC, to filter out anything too small since this would be our only cache and we wanted to trade some swag. The cache was hidden in a spot we had only encountered once before and was well protected from the elements. Zoey really liked the container since it had Elmo on it :) We decided to send out our first geocoin using this cache. My mother also traded some swag that she had picked up at the festival. This ended up being a great choice for our only cache of the day!

There's Something About Swanton

On April 30th we were Vermont bound once again. My mother and brother wanted to go with us and since we were going to St Alban's Maple Festival on the 1st we had to make the most of the 30th.

Moonlight in Vermont

View from the shoreline

We started our day by visiting a cache that had been recently reactivated. It seems that the lake was trying to take back part of the shore and as a result the caches original location wasn't safe anymore. This cache is on private property but the log clearly states that it was places with the owners permission which was great because the location was awesome! It's right next door to a bed and breakfast and looks like it's frequented by the locals. It took us a bit longer than normal because the new coordinates are a bit off, but ultimately Justin found it as we were about to call it a DNF. The area was just plain awesome and I'm glad we were able to do a cache there.

The Treeman celebrates another find!

The Litte Red Caboose

Little Red Caboose and New walking bridge
Just down the road we stopped in Swanton and the Swanton Historical Society R.R. Depot Museum. The museum has lots of really cool stuff if you're interested in trains or local history. There's an old station, switch house, a caboose and what is left of a rail house. Across the street is a train bridge that has been re purposed  as a walking bridge. The caboose hide was fairly crafty and my mother happened upon it after a few minutes of searching.

Zoey getting credit :)

The awesome bridge!

The walking bridge though we were unable to find. We spent way too long searching for it with no luck. You can tell that many people have searched for it without finding it but have yet to log a DNF. Some cachers even admit to this in their found it logs. There have been 2 more DNFs since we logged ours but the CO insists it's still there. I believe the problem is the area is needle in a haystack heavy.

Swan Princess
This was a quick walk in the park. Apparently there are swans that live in the park but they weren't out yet. Did a bit of CITO while we were there which shouldn't have been necessary since there were ample trash bins nearby.

The cache with our lovely models

a walk in the woods and The Desert

Not too far from the park we were at before is what use to be a recreational trail for snow mobiles. It seems that they are no longer allowed to use the area because they were abusing the land owners good nature. This hasn't seemed to have stopped ATV owners since there was plenty of tire tracks on the trails. The first cache was just inside the trails but still well hidden in a common caching spot.

Zoey inspects the treasure

The second is in an area that very much looks like a desert in the middle of the forest. This cache took us a bit longer but I was determined that I knew where and how it was hidden, it was just a matter of finding it. Sure enough I was right and we were soon on our way. There is another cache in the area but unfortunately we ran out of time for the day and will have to return in the future!

A less than flattering shot!