Hi, GeeOh!

(Continued from my See Sandy Run cache log …)

Well, on the long slow drive to the vast sea of stones, the sprinkles began again, and the rain soon followed. By the time we reached the parking area the rain was steady, though still light. After a fruitless search for a possible trail around the boulders, we headed straight across, first testing the rocks, which surprisingly weren’t slippery at all. Rich’s excellent memory (and his GPSr) led us right to the spot. The Indian guard is nowhere to be found, but the cache is still in place. It’s wet inside, though, and the logbook is soaked through! Rich made a short note of our visit, being careful not to get the book any wetter; unfortunately because of the conditions we weren’t able to dry out the contents at all and had to put everything back in the musty container wet as it was.

We swiftly skedaddled our way in heavier rain back to the parking area, where we briefly considered and then quickly discarded the idea of going for the Earthcache at this location. It was cold and we were wet and hungry. (I was particularly jealous of the two couples sharing a bottle of wine in the back of their SUV!)

From the list of nearby dining establishments in Rich’s iQue, we identified “Franco’s Pizzeria” in White Haven as a candidate for lunch. When we arrived we discovered that it is now called “Pancho’s Pizzeria” and is a combination pizzeria and Mexican restaurant. It’s bizarre, but it seems to work! The sausage pizza tasted great and had a nice thin crispy crust. I can’t vouch for the Mexican fare since we didn’t try it, but I have a feeling it would be quite authentic. We stopped at Bear Creek Falls along White Haven Road on our way home, and took a few photos … very quickly because it was raining and I was frozen. We still haven’t searched for the cache at that location.

It’s been over three years since my first visit to “Lost at sea?” and I enjoyed this experience just as much, even in the less-than-perfect weather conditions. I hope you’re able to maintain this cache for years to come!

Zhanna

Hi, OB!

Can it be … an Oysterboy cache that doesn’t involve a devilishly devious hide or require feats of great strength, courage or balance to reach??? I want my money back! Seriously, it was a pleasant break from your usual challenges, and I enjoyed the opportunity to focus more on my surroundings than tear my hair out over the intricacies of the cache.

We were lucky we got out to do anything today, since the miserable weather we’ve been stuck with for a week held on for yet another day. In fact, had it been raining in the morning as it was toward the end of our adventures, I’m sure it would’ve been another full day spent sitting at home. With our intended trip to the Catskills out of the question due to such unpredictable conditions, our choices then were to head east to Sam’s Point or the Shawangunk Ridge trail, or southwest toward Hickory Run and the gamelands across the river. East was a bad idea—even if the rain was gone, the persistent clouds and fog would make for less than optimal views—so the Hickory Run area won out.

We chose the back way through Bear Creek over the bleak journey along the Turnpike, and early in the morning the weather did show some promise of clearing up for us. We decided to hike the old railroad bed from the recommended parking area down to the Lehigh Gorge Rail Trail adjacent to the river, stopping for your cache and any other interesting diversions along the way. Even in the humid woods the conditions were pleasant and picturesque and I enjoyed every moment of the hike. We were enthralled by the old trestle abutment, and each ate way more than our share of Ice Breakers sour candies. After a short bushwhack through the open woods, we walked right up to your cache. As I may have expressed earlier once or twice, after our experiences this summer with Beelzebub and RORRIM, I actually had to re-read the cache printout to assure myself that this was indeed an Oysterboy cache. I traded nothing from the cache this time, although I was intrigued by the Rubik’s cube-style puzzle inside.

The rest of the morning was spent exploring the other railroad bed in the area, poking around at the old trestle, watching the stream (which was quite full after the recent rain!) and just enjoying some nice conversation and those rare moments of peaceful silence we can only find in the woods. After finishing up at the gamelands, we had a choice between two activities at Hickory Run State Park: either searching for an old benchmark for which we had no datasheet, or navigating across the boulder field for both fun and exercise, as well as to check on an old favorite of ours, GeeOh’s “Lost At Sea?” cache (where the story continues). Thanks for a fine introduction to this SGL!

Zhanna

Howdy, OB!

Sorry for this somewhat late post. I was not actually planning to do any caching today (Friday)—least ways not until I’m caught up with geocache and benchmark logs, some from as far back as June!—but after eight gloomy, depressing days of rain I was itching to get outdoors for a lengthy hike. Since I’m still not familiar with all of the State gamelands in this part of PA, SGL #149 being one of them, this cache appeared to be a good candidate for today’s adventures. My ever-dependable hiking/biking/caching/benchmark and squirrel hunting partner, Zhanna, was ready and waiting for me at 8:30am, and after loading my gear into her SUV we were off to White Haven, dodging light showers the entire way. Fortunately, at the suggested parking area the precipitation abated, and it even appeared likely that the sky was trying to clear up. Temps were in the low-fifties, but I felt comfortable hiking in shorts. We were both anxious to see where these old railbeds would lead.

We followed the main trail (first railbed) from the parking area only a short distance before encountering the remains of the large trestle. Evidently the railroad crossed Sandy Run here on its journey northeast and north, but later this morning we noticed that it also passed over another old rail line, which itself crossed Sandy Run slightly further to the west, paralleling the stream along its southern banks, before turning southeast at the Lehigh River. From the trestle a dim footpath lead us to a brief and easy bushwhack to the cache site. Everything there was in order. I traded travel bugs: “R2D2” for “Geoffrey” giraffe, signed the logbook and left two of my signature geo-magnets.

After re-hiding the container exactly as we’d found it, we continued our investigation of the gamelands. From the topo map we knew that the second abandoned railbed should take us to the Lehigh River Gorge Rail-Trail. The recent logbook entry from MtnDave helped to confirm our suspicions. (I wish I’d read his post on the cache page beforehand!) Skirting the thick rhododendron near the cache site we worked our way east and north toward Sandy Run for a very short distance and picked up the second railbed. It was an easy and scenic trek to the point where it emerged onto the Rail-Trail (N41° 01.029′ W075° 44.363′). At several points along the way we were almost directly above the raging, swollen stream. Then, retracing our route, we followed this second railbed back under the big trestle, where it abruptly ends at the abutments of a smaller trestle that once crossed Sandy Run. (There’s a footpath leading up the bank to the first railbed. It emerges just to the left of a large mound of dirt as you reach the big trestle from the parking area.) The total distance we covered was about 3¾ miles.

Overall this was a very pleasant cache hunt, and a bit unexpected for an Oysterboy placement: we found friendly, well-drained trails; no excessive bushwhacking or precarious ravines to deal with; and a hide that was simple and straight-forward. The only disappointment was that the area where the cache was hidden is relatively unspectacular compared to the assortment of scenic/interesting riverside spots that were just a stone’s throw to the north on that second railbed. We tend to go caching mostly for the opportunities to explore new and interesting places, hopefully leading to great views, inspiring scenery, a bit of local history, etc.

Thanks for the cache and the opportunity to discover a terrific new place.

~Rich in NEPA~ P.S. The pizza at Poncho’s Pizzeria in White Haven was really good!!! Didn’t try the tacos, though.