A bridge too far
This title was suggested by S, as we turned a simple 2* cache into a death defying 4*!!
We have a lake, man made I think, that has been getting lower and lower due to the drought of the last 5 years. When we first came to San Diego it was full to bursting and a wonderful place to go birdwatching. Over the years it has gradually got more and more empty. An island in the east became part of the mainland, cows meandered through a new meadow, trees grew where once fish swam and the lake shrunk to a puddle, fishing and boating was forbidden and only geocachers wandered around in search of elusive plastic (I exaggerate but you get the picture!)
After all the rain we have just had the lake has filled up amazingly quickly. And to celebrate this a new cache was set. S and I thought it would be fun to try and find it and perhaps 2 others nearby and do a bit of birdwatching.
We found the trailhead and made our way along a path, for once starting up high and making our way downhill. This was only a dogwalkers trail by the look of it, not an official trail and no view of the lake yet. We crossed a small stream on a rickety bridge and then stood watching some Jays and a woodpecker in a tree just off the path at a fork in the way. S started to lead us to the right but my GPSr swung to the left more and I thought we should go that way. S took the geepeees from me and agreed (sort of) . so on we went the trail seemed to fade a bit and we were heartened by another bridge across a stream which lulled us into thinking we were going the right way. The path now seemed to be getting steeper and the trail less obvious. Leading us through a patch of spiney agarve, S said the arrow was pointing much more to the right now although the trail was going left and down towards the lake and this was a 'view of the lake' cache which normally means up high!! We should be over there on that hill he pointed.
The only way was down into the valley, across some huge boulders perched precariously across a fast tumbling stream and up the other side. Well I made it to the boulders but as I am not a mountain goat I could not easily jump across from one boulder to another!!
I had to sit down and slide along, stretch my foot out across the chasim and somehow get momenteum to get across, I managed once but the second time was a little further and the place I need to put my foot was not so much on the rock but on a very insecure looking pile of flotsum, reeds and branches washed onto a rocky ledge. I was scared it would not take my weight, even as S was standing on it himself. S lent forward to take my hand and as I dithered he gave me a tug so I had to jump!! Made it, phew!! Then as the path we had seen from the otherside seemed to have vanished we had to bushwack and use animal trails to the top of the hill. Once at the top I was shaking and had to get my breath while S found the cache easily, thank goodness. But the view was worth it. I signed the logbook and we left a Hippo TB and took two others, hopefully one of them will want to travel to England with me next week!
There was no way I was going back the way we came and I was remembering what I had read in the online logs of previous finders that the trail was not steep or difficult, I knew there had to be an easier way back to the car. Our first trail to the east ended quickly so we tried again. Back up to the cache and this time the trail north was clear and easy to follow, yes it was level and wide and uneventful. We came out at the exact place we had stopped to watch the woodpecker!! We had a great time and will remember this cache for a long time. It we had taken the right path and gone the easy way it would have been just another cache but we made it into an adventure!!
We have a lake, man made I think, that has been getting lower and lower due to the drought of the last 5 years. When we first came to San Diego it was full to bursting and a wonderful place to go birdwatching. Over the years it has gradually got more and more empty. An island in the east became part of the mainland, cows meandered through a new meadow, trees grew where once fish swam and the lake shrunk to a puddle, fishing and boating was forbidden and only geocachers wandered around in search of elusive plastic (I exaggerate but you get the picture!)
After all the rain we have just had the lake has filled up amazingly quickly. And to celebrate this a new cache was set. S and I thought it would be fun to try and find it and perhaps 2 others nearby and do a bit of birdwatching.
We found the trailhead and made our way along a path, for once starting up high and making our way downhill. This was only a dogwalkers trail by the look of it, not an official trail and no view of the lake yet. We crossed a small stream on a rickety bridge and then stood watching some Jays and a woodpecker in a tree just off the path at a fork in the way. S started to lead us to the right but my GPSr swung to the left more and I thought we should go that way. S took the geepeees from me and agreed (sort of) . so on we went the trail seemed to fade a bit and we were heartened by another bridge across a stream which lulled us into thinking we were going the right way. The path now seemed to be getting steeper and the trail less obvious. Leading us through a patch of spiney agarve, S said the arrow was pointing much more to the right now although the trail was going left and down towards the lake and this was a 'view of the lake' cache which normally means up high!! We should be over there on that hill he pointed.
The only way was down into the valley, across some huge boulders perched precariously across a fast tumbling stream and up the other side. Well I made it to the boulders but as I am not a mountain goat I could not easily jump across from one boulder to another!!
I had to sit down and slide along, stretch my foot out across the chasim and somehow get momenteum to get across, I managed once but the second time was a little further and the place I need to put my foot was not so much on the rock but on a very insecure looking pile of flotsum, reeds and branches washed onto a rocky ledge. I was scared it would not take my weight, even as S was standing on it himself. S lent forward to take my hand and as I dithered he gave me a tug so I had to jump!! Made it, phew!! Then as the path we had seen from the otherside seemed to have vanished we had to bushwack and use animal trails to the top of the hill. Once at the top I was shaking and had to get my breath while S found the cache easily, thank goodness. But the view was worth it. I signed the logbook and we left a Hippo TB and took two others, hopefully one of them will want to travel to England with me next week!
There was no way I was going back the way we came and I was remembering what I had read in the online logs of previous finders that the trail was not steep or difficult, I knew there had to be an easier way back to the car. Our first trail to the east ended quickly so we tried again. Back up to the cache and this time the trail north was clear and easy to follow, yes it was level and wide and uneventful. We came out at the exact place we had stopped to watch the woodpecker!! We had a great time and will remember this cache for a long time. It we had taken the right path and gone the easy way it would have been just another cache but we made it into an adventure!!
posted by silver horde @ 10:09 PM
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