Ranger Boy in the Southern Kettle Moraine?

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:24 pm

Okay, so I have two storytelling gigs in the next couple days, and a long stretch of time before hitting the library in Waterford. I'm excited to hear there's a rare bird being seen in the Kettle Moraine, near the Scuppernong Trail, so hope to try for it and a few caches in that part of the forest, too between gigs.

There are two Ranger Boy caches in the vicinity. I think with my available time, plus I guess I need to do a solve first, Rebus and Tutthead will be out this trip. The other one is GC1C84G "Just another 35mm film canister." How much time can I expect this one might take me to do if I decide to do that? I did HAL in Brookfield a couple months ago and really enjoyed it.

I'm not quite sure if the colored shapes on the cache listing mean anything, but I'll probably be printing it out...just in case! Thanks!

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 6:02 pm

Let's see... "Significant hike" icon, mentions in logs of ticks and thorns and lots of bushwhacking... Yep. You could do it!

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 4:01 pm

Actually the hike for "film can" is not very far, maybe 3/4 mile round trip. Don't make the mistakes I made the first time I went, which include:

Taking the horse trail instead of the hiking trail, resulting in a .2 mile bushwack up a 40° slope

Not reading the cache page to realize the first stage is a virtual and spending 45 minutes looking for a container (including time spent looking under the object used for the calculations)

Once you get to the final, your work will not be over. You will see when you get there. I would say allow around an hour for this one, in and out. There is not LOTS of bushwacking. Stage one is on the trail. Stage 2 involves about a 200 foot bushwack through typical KM terrain (= thorns.) If you are still looking for more after you are done, you can find Field of Pines and Iced Cache #2(?) on the same trail system, and Square Old Man is close by. There are many other "Golden Oldie" caches in this area, hidden in the days before micro-spew and parking lot hides.

Note that Rebus and Tutthead does not require any puzzles to be solved at home, but it is fairly long, involving field solves of several puzzles, and you do need to bring the cache page with you, in one form or another.

Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 8:20 pm

Thanks Dave. I had noticed the presence of some of those oldies as well, high on my list and especially so if they're on the same trails. I had an interesting little "issue" arise today at my storytelling gig, so for the time being, I'm completely penniless and without ID. Everything is safe and on its way to my house, but unfortunately....I'm not. Have a storytelling gig in Waterford tomorrow night and hope to find some way to scrounge up some gas money! Don't know if the library can pay me cash, LOL. Hopefully all will work out and I can still look for these AND get enough gas to get back home tomorrow night.

I need a better system for these gigs. Changing in the ladies bathroom on campus just doesn't seem to cut it. If it's not a wallet, it's keys. Sheesh! At least I have my GPS, priorities, ya know!