Back on the Geocaching Trail

Here you see Two Old Farts (Old Rodan, left, andOld Diefebnaker, right) wondering what the hell kind of curve balls lifehas been throwing at them. Our longtime third wheel, Old Rob, is facing aprofoundly critical time, and another of our best geocaching friends,Night-Hawk (a.k.a. Tom) is in a different but potentiallyequally serious place. All of us are struggling to come to grips with thesefacts in our own ways. All this comes amid the biggest life change Brugger and Ihave willfully undertaken since we decided to share space in each other’s livesgoing on fourteen years ago.

Change comes hard.
During the month of May, I made exactly four geocaching trips, two no more than quick jaunts, and this constitutes the least amount of caching in a month’s time since the genesis of my geocaching days back in 2008. For all these years, caching has been an ongoing and what I would call the most immersive and invigorating activity of my adult life. For both Old Rob and Night-Hawk, geocaching has been a defining aspect of their personalities.
Anyway, today, Scott and I ventured forth to the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area  just south of Burlington. A new trail system has opened up (the Oak Hill Trails) adjacent to the original area (Pine Hill Trails). Eventually, the two will connect. Anyway, four new caches recently came out on the Oak Hill Trails, so Scott and I took it as our task to go out and hunt them. We did this thing, found two other newish caches in Burlington proper, and then did the Simply Thai lunch thing in Elon, as tradition demanded.
Ms. B. and I have plenty of tasks piled up to conquer, so this evening, we’re conquering them. Well parts of them. Big parts. Or at least medium-size parts.
Parts is parts. Lovely little picnic area in the foundation of an old cabin The Giant Claw A little dam and reservoir hiding in the woods near the trail View from below the dam