[GeoStL] Our Geocrashing Adventure.
- From: "ehamemail" <sydstyr@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 00:24:30 -0500
-
I love a good story: even if it does result in my shame and humiliation. In
hindsight I was pretty stupid, I think, but at the time.. well .. you think
you can turn around without a problem. No humans were physically harmed during
the making of this adventure. Ego bruised and banl account is going to pay,
but ll aches and pains are residual and only showing up for me today -- and
that's mostly my achey feet.
I set out with my daughter and one of her friends to have a couple of hours of
fun at the Toledo, Illinois .. something.. Spring Day Festival, Summer day
Festival .. something like that. It's about 30 miles from here, rides were a
$1.00 each. On the way out I looked at the GPS and we headed to a cemetery
cache (not with the Kyd's blessing, as she does NOT approve of cemetery caches
at all.) Anyway, it was hot, the cache must have been in a rock on a hill
covered with rocks and snake skins, so we gave up and left. According to the
GPS, the nearest cache was "Before the River Bottoms" GC20TKK
Clearly, the name should have been a big hint.
We made our way to the cache and had I been thinking, the standing water in the
fields and on the road should have been a red flag. The girls got out, made
their way to the cache about 10 feet from the road, signed the log, laughed at
the mud they were in and got back in.
Checked the GPS for the route to the next cache.
You know those stories about people who are run over by a train because the GPS
told them to turn onto the railroad track? Yeah. ME!
(I'll be needing to eventually buy new maps since, CLEARLY, Mapsource and Roads
and Rec suck rocks.)
Here's my log for the cache:
(The log right before mine, dated February 23 -- which I had not read because I
only had the GPS -- is: I tried to go down some roads that I should not have.
Turned the jeep around. tftc)
My log:
Found the cache. We also went down some road we shouldn't have. However, I slid
off the road while in the process of turning around and now have several
thousand dollars of damage to show for it. I think I hate this cache.
Do NOT go past the sign that says "Road Closed When Muddy." There IS no road.
There are people who are willing to call a tow truck and if that doesn't work
they'll bring in friends to help. They are also willing to chuckle, point and
give great advice, "It does tend to get a bit scary down here after dark."
Luckily, a few men, young and old were willing to pull my truck out with their
truck. They also, luckily, had a tractor available to pull their truck out.
Thank God for the kindness of strangers or one overweight middle aged
geocacher, her kyd and kyd's friend would STILL be on the road that isn't
there. The GPS will tell you it's there as will the paper maps, but, according
to our rescuers, "There are trees THIS big growing where the maps say that road
is." Turns out, we're rescue #2 of the week. The last guy was a salesman from
Pennsylvania.
Of course my log makes it sound a little more simple than it really was. It was
hot. DAMN hot. We were over a mile into a road that clearly showed on a map.
We came down a hill, made it through a very muddy spot: HA road must be CLOSED,
to only realize that, what I couldn't see before going through that spot was
that there was more water around a bit of a curve, hidden by brush. I made a
great attempt to turn around, but the back end slid into a ditch and in trying
to get out of that I nose dived into the ditch.
I can't begin to describe the mud. The girls waded through with their shoes
off. I had on the fake Birkenstocks (the indigenous peoples here call them
"potato shoes") and was hopeless. I did find a pair of old tennis shoes in the
truck and after leaving a note, taking a waypoint and writing down the
coordinates in case the GPS died we starte to walk out.
After we had found the cache, we passed a house about a hundred yards down the
road. They waved. We waved. They later decided to come looking for us because
we hadn't come back. By this time we were heading back up the road. Of course
the girls were 1/4 mile ahead of me. Grandpa said, "Betchyer stuck down there
ain't ya?". Grandma said, "You're the second one this week."
Grandpa said they'd go back and call the guy with the tow truck that they
usually called when this happened. And, off they went.
The girls headed up the road for cell service. We had managed to get just
enough half-calls out to start to alarm the friend's dad, "Tim, this is Nancy.
We're stuck. Do you know anyone with a tow truck.... no I don't know where we
are but I can give you GPS coordinates."
Grandpa came back with a neighbor in another 4 wheel drive truck. We met up on
a hill. I stopped them and asked if I could have a ride back. When the kid
lowered the tail gate and I said it was too high I couldn't get in, the guy
said,"Just give me your keys and we'll get it out."
They did. I actually think that's when the damage ocurred. It would have been
impossible to get to the front and pull it forward.
Meanwhile, I had no idea where the two girls are. They were supposed to go
until they got cell service to let Friend's dad know we weren't dead. Gramps
told them they should just stay there. All in all, by that time I was much more
concerned with them than the truck. I AM from the "Big City" as the indigenous
peoples also like to point out.
Eventually my truck was freed and while someone went for a tractor to pull the
other truck out; we took the opportunity to escape. I should say that I
offered to pay for their help and it was turned down. When I got back to the
the house, I had gathered up all the cash that was in the truck and told Grams
that I was putting in her mailbox so no one could say "no".
Turns out, this is a regular happening. The road has two names; it straddles
county lines and neither county wants to put up a "Dead End" sign. Grandma
and Grandpa are the parents of the cache placer. I sent a little note to the
owner asking her if she'd please put a little note on the cache page to not go
down that road. SHE DID!
While we are OK, my truck is not. It will need a new bumper, front panel that
goes above the bumper, fog light, passenger side mirror, right front
fender/quarter panel. The entire truck will need to be buffed and most likely
the entire passenger side, hood and roof repainted. After driving it tonight
and while cleaning the mud from the steering wheel, hubby thinks the ball
joints will need to replaced too.
So. Here's one for lunch table lol.
Nancy
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