CELEBRATING M/W'S 500TH CACHE

The sun was shining on our snug little house when we left this morning. It was tough to believe it wasn’t going to be a warm spring day. Instead, it was a March day – intermittent sun, clouds, rain and sleet, wind, warmth and chilliness. The three of us (Mike, Kathy, & Nellie) met with nephew LJ for a geocaching hike in the hills above the Snake River this side of Wawaiwai. Mike had carefully coordinated a memorable outing to commemorate his 500th find. Not just any cache would do. “Devil’s Eye” would provide the appropriate adventure.

There’s only so far you can go by car; we parked and set off on foot. “Devil’s Eye” is one of those caches located on quasi-public-maybe-private land. We could see the cows from the road; it was obvious we were entering ranching territory. Nellie squeezed under the fence; Mike climbed over; I opened the gate and walked through. Somehow LJ had already crossed the barrier and was waiting for us. By the time we went through a second gate, the word “trespassing” crossed my mind.

Initially the ascent up the draw wasn’t too steep. Mike marched right along; LJ’s gait was a little slower; I brought up the rear. Nellie was here, there, and everywhere, totally enjoying the opportunity to explore. We crossed the streamlet once, and all went well. LJ asked if I remembered lying down on my belly to drink from such a stream. We discussed that such water never seemed to hurt us; maybe we built up tolerances. Not far from the streamlet, LJ spotted some yellow bells, a sure sign of spring.

Now the trail was getting steeper and the game plan seemed to become every man for himself. Mike took the high road while LJ cautiously circumvented a muddy spot in the trail and followed a lower route. I stepped right in the mud, which now caked my hiking boots. When I saw that I would have to traverse the side hill to achieve the high goal – “up there” -- that was pretty much the end for me. I found my way back across the muddy spot and sat down to wait for Mike and LJ to come back. “Devil’s Eye” is a hole in a rock outcropping and a worthy site. Mike was disappointed that I didn’t make it; LJ quietly said that the last part of the trek was really pretty steep.

The rest of the adventure was downhill and went quickly and easily. We found two more caches in the vicinity, then returned to Clarkston and said good-bye to LJ at his pick-up. When we got to the house, we were so hungry that neither of us wanted to wait for a prepared lunch. We had peanut butter sandwiches and apple wedges. But we made up for it tonight, having marinated grilled pheasant for dinner.

LJ took this beautiful shot of the Snake River from the "Devil's Eye" cache site. He also took the "official 500th cache" photo of Mike (above left) and the photo of "Devil's Eye" on the right. The top photo is of Mike and LJ confering over GPS information early in the hike.