In the midst of suburban sprawl, this small pocket of woods serves as a reminder of the not too distant past. Over the years, I had driven by this small lot between one of Knoxville's busiest highways, a shopping center, and a subdivision, but never noticed it. When the cache showed up, I expected to easily be the first finder, and set out after dark. I severely underestimated the challenge, and spent the next hour navigating through some of the thickest woods I've ever seen. Exhausted from climbing through privet and thorns, I finally reached the coordinates and was greeted by an abandoned farm which had been left alone to be reclaimed by the encroaching forest. The crumbling walls and rusted tractors, which seemed to have been forgotten in history, stood in stark contrast to the sounds of traffic that penetrated the woods. 

I didn't even find the cache. This one would sit at the top of my unfound list for several months, until I finally located it on my third try.

Barnyard Hunt

There are some places with which we share a special connection, and which visiting moves and inspires us in ways that can't be explained. There are places so timeless, it's easy to get lost in thought pondering the lives of those who  came before us. For me, this hilltop was one of those spots. 

In the middle of the 18th century, my ancestors set out from the Isle of Barra to settle in North Carolina. The small, remote island was one of our main destinations during a 10-day trip to Scotland, with our goal being not just to explore the old castle and walk the streets of Castlebay, but to learn more about our Scottish heritage. During my brief visit, I certainly learned alot about the history of my ancestors and the promise of opportunity that beckoned them to the New World, but other moments such as this climb to the island's highest point allowed one more opportunity to gain insight into life in this far corner of the Outer Hebrides.

Barra Girl Heaven Cache

Why a milestone find in my top 10? When I found my 1,000th cache, I miscounted and ended up logging a lamppost micro for 1K. Given my caching style at the time, this was probably appropriate. I got burnt out shortly afterward (No surprise there). 

It would be nearly 2 years before 2K rolled around, and by then I had seriously changed my caching habits. Strings of 100+ cookie cutter micros per day were out, and I found myself increasingly passing by caches which sounded uninteresting. Knowing that 2K would coincide with a trip to Oahu, I began planning a milestone find that would be more than just a park-and-grab. I set out at the top of the mountain at sunrise on a hike that showcased some of the island's native (and introduced) flora, passing from thick lush woods and downward through an increasingly arid landscape on my way back to the ocean. I took my time on the hike, pausing frequently to admire the exotic environment and to take countless pictures of the skyline far below.

Big Tree Above Manoa

At one point, this was my closest unfound cache. Getting there required access to a boat and took several days of advance planning, and when we finally got there... the cache was missing. The owner promptly made a special trip to replace the cache after I logged the DNF, and we went back several weeks later and scored the find.

Cactus Cliff Cache

In 1998, I got into backpacking and made numerous trips to the Smoky Mountains. Late one night, we got lost while trying to find a trailhead north of Fontana Lake, and stopped to get directions from an elderly man who was out in his front yard. Not only did he know where the trailhead was, but he lived there before his family and several hundred others were evicted from the lakeshore area during the construction of Fontana Lake. From that moment, my fascination with the lake and it's history have only grown. Homes, cities, schools- all were forcibly removed  for construction of the dam during WWII.

This virtual had been on my list since the day I started caching, and I finally had a chance to visit in August 2006. We hiked down from High Rocks before dropping down to the historic Hazel Creek. Walking the now abandoned streets of Proctor, it's hard not to be moved, or at least to wonder what life was like back when this corner of the national park was a bustling logging town.

Hazel Creek Virtual Cache

The reward in this cache was not the container, but the effort it took to reach the location. This is easily one of the craziest places I've ever taken a rental car. Not dissuaded by signs warning even 4WD vehicles to avoid the route in wet weather (it was dry today), we left US 89 and set out on Cottonwood Canyon Road. 45 Miles of dirt road and several hours later, we reached Bryce Canyon. On the way, we passed through some of the most unforgiving, desolate, and absolutely beautiful land I've ever visited.

The road is not to be taken lightly. Although easily passable in a car, we were forced to cross several fords that would have been impossible had it rained in the last month. We also had a chance to visit Pariah, a ghost town that was at one point rebuilt for a movie set.

Kodachrome Overlook

It's finds like these that are the reason I cache. A tour of this fascinating but forgotten ares would have been a reward in itself, but the fact that more than just a physical challenge was involved added a whole new element to this hunt. 

o|_3 rUsTY

This is my northernmost Canadian cache. In October 2006, I took some much-needed vacation time and flew up to Manitoba for a long weekend. This cache wasn't as much of a challenge to get to as it was a challenge to find the trailhead, and I almost gave up more than once. It serves as the perfect example of how persistence can be rewarding. When I arrived at the cache site, I was treated to a view of a magnificent sunset over a river gorge that I didn't even know existed.

Pine River Escarpment   aka "Lovers Leap"

I moved to Mississippi two weeks before Katrina. Having moved to the north part of the state, I wasn't heavily impacted, although over the following months I would come to know countless people who had suffered great personal loss. Despite the hardships, people have been very welcoming to me as an outsider and have made me feel welcome over the last 14 months.

I list this cache as one of my favorites because of the way the visit moved me, and for how this cache symbolizes the determination of the people of the Mississippi Coast. Our visit, 6 months after the storm, was my first trip to the area. This virtual sits right in the middle of a city block that was essentially destroyed, but that was bustling with activity from volunteers assisting with recovery. Nearly every building along the waterfront had either been leveled or heavily damaged, yet right in the middle of the devastation, this statue stood nearly undamaged, standing tall and proud looking right out over the ocean.

Tercentenary

This cache demonstrates one of my favorite things about the mountains of East Tennessee- it can be warm, sunny, and dry in the valley, but the mountaintops can boast nearly two feet of snow. This is one that I probably should have put off until a warmer day (most sane people would have at least waited until the roads had been plowed), but after taking the time to locate the correct road to the summit, I wasn't giving up easily. When the ruts your SUV leaves as it plows it's way through the snow get deeper than it's ground clearance, it gets a little hard to continue. Somehow, I was able to get to within a half a mile of the cache before this stopped me, at which point I parked and walked. The views alone made the journey well worth the effort, and the added challenge of snow made the reward that much better.

The Viking's Stash

The name says it all. These are my favorite caching experiences of all time. The hardest part was narrowing it down to 10, but this is a selection of finds that I feel represents a range of my best caching experiences, including everything from physical challenges to caches that invite one to pause and reflect on life.

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Top 10 Caching Experiences of All TimePublic