Adventures in Geocaching

We learned about geocaching when we went to the 2013 Cornell Geospatial In-service. Although many of our classmates geocached in the evenings, we didn't participate due to my health at the time. But when we got home, we tried it out, with the Culvert cache : STGT:CLO12:Medina Culvert, being our first find. Looking back, it is interesting to see that this is a Seaway Trail cache, although we didn't know it, or have the booklet at the time. We'll have to go back to get it punched tomorrow.

Our next caching trip was out to Indiana to drop off the 2 youngest grandsons. Coming home we hit 7 caches in one day, although John practically had to carry me out of the woods at the John White Game Farm. Since that time I've lost a few more pounds, and the more we cache, the better shape I find myself in. 

So, for the adventure part, I guess I should tell the story of looking for a cache on the canal in Albion this week. We were in the woods when we heard a splash and a scream. A little girl, probably around ten years old, had been fishing on the other side of the canal with her father when she fell in. John and I ran out of the woods, and John was ready to jump in and swim across the canal to rescue her when her father jumped in. The only problem was the canal on the south side is concrete walls, and not easy to get out of. I yelled to the father to stay there with the girl, we would come over and pull them out. A fisherman (Pedro) saw that there were cables hanging from the wall, and told the father to grab onto those and the three of us ran over to them. (I should note that a year ago John couldn't have run, and a month ago I couldn't have done it either). John and Pedro got there first, and pulled the little girl (Natasha) out, and I wrapped her in my Colts hoodie. Then John helped told the father to swim to the barge and helped him out there. Perhaps the story would have ended fine without us, but I know the canal to be unforgiving, and I'm glad we were there to help out.

The next day was John's birthday, and we went east to Sodus Point to do some of the Seaway Trail caches including Chimney Bluffs State Park. Wow, that was a tough one. It was about a one mile hike, uphill both ways. Up quite a steep hill! My legs still ache. Our last cache of the day was at Casey Park, and it was another uphill climb. But, we made it, and I can see how going caching has helped me to become healthier and more fit, so I hope we continue this for years to come. And just wait until I tell John that our very first cache was a Seaway Trail one, and we didn't even know it!