Geocaching and the Geocachers I Cache With

There is a hobby I took up with my ex
before he was my ex
called
Geocaching

It is a high tech treasure hunt
if you are interested in knowing more
go to www.geocaching.com
and read all about it.

Anyway,
everytime I try to introduce this sport
to a new man in my life
it seems the whole relationship
goes to shit immediately afterwards

Honestly, I don't think it
has anything to do with geocaching
but it is quite disappointing
because there are several things I really like
in regards to geocaching,
which will now be referred to simply
as caching.

For example
I noticed there were several new caches
in the town I am currently in
and the surrounding area
that I have not done.
A few short months ago,
there were very few
so

I enlisted my 17 year old
to join me on a hike
in the local state park
that has several new caches in it
and two that my ex did with
my son, but that I did not tag along,
and I want to do them for myself.

Now, this child has been sitting
on his backside
inside
most of the summer
and I
I have been walking and
sitting in the sun
for most of the summer

I was equipped with
my hiking shoes
Camelbak full of water
Clif Bars
and a good base tan

he came in his steel toed shoes
one bottle of Dasani
and white
white
skin

granted he did wear a cap
but he always wears a cap

It had rained the night before
so I didn't know what to expect
when we got there

even though I have a year pass to the parks
in my fair state
I stopped and asked the ranger about the
rainfall
and trail conditions

the farther back in the park
the more rain they received

so we drive to the one I really want to tackle
the path is a lake (around here)
or a large puddle (where I live now)

so we went to plan B

We found an easy cache
off a well beaten path
and started on my way

Then I began to remember
why I don't esp. enjoy caching
with my youngest
He is all about getting down the path
as quickly as possible
he didn't traverse the
wet clay or puddles well
he complained about the
horse flies
which really liked him
(probably didn't shower recently)

and he left me way behind
until he came to the out cropping
of gypsum in the clay walls
which were really cool looking up close

I didn't see any lizards
which didn't surprise me
because when we started down the path
he practically yelled
Rabbit
and there was a cotton tail right there
I couldn't get the camera in my hand
much less ready to click a picture
before it shot away

it was like trying to be stealthy
with a 5 year old.

It wasn't happening...
and the rest of the hike was the same way.

The first cache we did,
was easy, it was right off the path
it was a cool walk
through a park I have been to
countless times
and yet I had not
seen this part of it before

so caching does take you places you
might not have seen otherwise
which I like

Then after much work to get
the red clay off our shoes
we picked another one to tackle

It was a 4 mile round trip hike
on a running trail.

I am thinking
hmmm running trail
probably pretty flat
and close to the front of the park
so dry...er

Ummm it was dryer
but it was NOT flat
I let the child (yes, like a 5 year old)
carry the gpsr
(global positioning system receiver)
and off we went.

He was so noisy,
still fussing about the flies
and then stuck the gpsr
in his pocket

so when I asked
"How much farther?"
he wouldn't let it reset before
telling me something outrageous

Long story short
We didn't find this cache
We hiked a half mile past it before he figured it out
and
I found out that I can hike more and
reasonably better than I could 3 months ago

As we were traversing this magnificent
part of the park
I thought of all the caching partners
I have had

You know,
Amused Muse and I cache sometimes
and really it works out fine
we work together
we stay together
we bounce ideas off each other
but we don't have time to get together
to go caching unless we plan it
in advance
and she has others to cache with that
are closer to her
geographically

My oldest son is great about
caching with me
he makes sure I can maneuver
over tough terrain
he doesn't just run ahead
like my youngest
or my favorite caching partner
(he isn't my fav because of his caching abilities)
but at times, my oldest doesn't enjoy caching
as much as I do

My ex was an ok caching partner
he tended to bushwhack too much
trying to travel
as the crow flies
instead of thinking of the best
approach
come to think of it
he did that a lot
in other areas too

LOL

anyway,
I like caching
I don't like doing it alone
that is how I messed up my knee

I wish I had a good caching partner
but then again
don't we all...

I am off to do some caching today
with no partner in sight
so it will be a solo trip

but it won't be in the park,
just moseying around town.

If you have questions or
want to know more, just let me know.