[GeoStL] Re: Our Geocrashing Adventure.
- From: Glenn <GLNash@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 07:47:49 -0500
-
WOW what a story. We should gather up all the geocaching vehicle horror
stories.
I remember that someone pretty much drowned their van in a swamp down south. I
think Mingo swamp at one of Myotis caches.
Another got his big 4 wheel drive truck stuck up to the frame in a giant muddle
in calhoon county at another of myotiss caches. The resultant hole was still
there years later.
I thought Brice got his jeep stuck or something in the middle of nowhere
caching once.
I am sure there are more.
On May 25, 2010, at 12:24 AM, ehamemail wrote:
> -
> 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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>
Glenn
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from this
list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching
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