BUSHWHACKERS DELIGHT (REGULAR) Multi-Cache

The BUSWHACKERS DELIGHT caches are for those cachers, who like me, have to force themselves to stay on the trail. Our natural tendency is to "go in a straight line" (because it is the shortest distance, right?).

The cache is located in an area that was a playground for me and my friends when we were growing up in the 1950's. From Gowe Park (then known as the Gravel Pit) south was where we hunted, trapped, camped, ice-skated, hiked, fished and swam (yes, in the 1950’s the Des Plains River froze solid enough to skate on and we could also swim in the river in the summer.) Much of the area was farmland and as a result, the woods were not as dense as they are now - nor as wet.

SEEKING THE CACHE

Six waypoints make up this cache. Be prepared for bushwhacking – there are no trails once you leave the Des Plaines River Trail.

In addition to getting a chance to bushwhack, the cache offers the chance to do what I call “Orienteering: GPS style.” The reason for this is that all intermediate waypoint locations are given as a distance and bearing from another waypoint. Thus, there is also an opportunity to use your geocaching skills.

At each waypoint, you will be looking for a camouflaged tag about 1” x 2” (see picture). All tags are attached to trees (live or dead, standing or down) above the ground. On each tag, there will be three pieces of information:

• Part of the coordinates for the BUSHWACHKERS DELIGHT – (REGULAR) cache location; for example, North = 4n 2n.nn9. Another tag might be North = n7 n9.8nn. From these two tags, you would know the partial north coordinate was 47 29.8n9
• Two pointer numbers, R1, R2, etc., that will give the bearing and direction to two other waypoints. The values for R1 thru R12 are listed in the table below.

The Interstate construction required a change be made to the cache. Originally there was a tag at the cache coordinates, but the Interstate construction prevents the tag from continuing to be placed there. The information on the original tag was

So here is how it works. Go to the coordinates listed for the cache and using this information, proceed to the waypoint of your choice. At each waypoint you find, mark the coordinates in you GPSr and write down the information on the tag. Use the table below to determine where the two waypoints referenced on the tag are located with respect TO THE WAYPOINT YOU JUST FOUND. Chose the waypoint you want to find and off you go. You will do the same thing at each waypoint.

Pictures of each tag location are shown -- print them and take them with you. They show you the trees, but do not tell you which one of the waypoints they are associated. The pictures were taken before the tag was attached.

At any time you think you have enough information to look for the final cache, you may. Just substitute the values in the proper location as shown on the tags. You will be looking for a camo'ed water bottle located at:

The hide for the final is a typical geocaching hide, almost a 'walk-up'. The difficulty in this cache is finding the camouflaged tags.

Some things you will want to know.

• There are no pointers TO the initial location listed in the coordinates at the top of the page
• All other waypoints have at least two pointers to them
• The numbers were assigned to the tags randomly. When I made the tag for the starting point, I drew a number out of a hat. I did the same for all waypoints. Therefore there isn't any logical order to look for the tags.
• 0.01 mi. equals 53 ft.

Values for pointers:

You can do this cache using projections. If your GPSr does not have a projection feature, you can still do the cache with any GPSr that has a GOTO function. If you need help in how to do this, see Hints.

When the starting coordinates for this cache appear on a map, it will look like it is accessible from the Interstate 94. IT IS NOT ACCESSIBLE FROM THE INTERESTATE, SO PLEASE DO NOT TRY. You must access this point from the Des Plaines River Trail and it is not necessary to leave the Des Plaines River Trail in order to find the initial waypoint. Do not attempt to find this cache if the Des Plaines River Trail is closed because of flooding of the I-94 underpass.

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Do BUSHWHACKERS DELIGHT (LITE) first. The waypoints are easier to find and it will give you an opportunity to find points using bearings and direction.
• Print the pictures and take them with you. The waypoints will be very hard to find without them. If you find them without using the pictures, my hat is off to you -- you are a super geocacher.

When logging your find on the website, please indicate how many of the waypoints you found before successfully seeking the cache and if you found without using the pictures. Enjoy! and happy bushwhacking. Also in the area is the cache Sewer Plant Woods (GCTYQM).

HOW THE CACHE WAS DEVELOPED

Finding the tags will not be easy. If you encounter problems, knowing how the values were developed may help you find the tags. The waypoint coordinates are the average of four readings. The first was made the day the cache was laid out and the remaining three were taken a few days later when the cache was walked and verified. Three different Garmin GPSs were used (an eTrex, a GPS 12 and a C60sx). The GPSr were set on the ground by the tree and allowed to stabilize for at least 5 minutes before the readings were recorded. The readings were made in late December when there were not any leaves on the trees. However, even then the readings were not as consistent as for BUSHWHACKERS DELIGHT (LITE) which is more out in the open. These averaged coordinates were then plotted using DeLorme TOPO USA to get the distances and bearings. This was done to eliminate the fluctuations encountered with a GPS when trying to get a constant distance measurement in feet (the feet readings fluctuate more than the degree readings as you would expect).

PARKING

Access to the Des Plaines River Trail is limited. You can park at Gowe Park at the far north end of the area (N 42 22.118 W 87 55.050). This is the best place if you are on a bike as there is ample parking in a public area. You can also park in the Providence Village subdivision at N 42 21.331 W 87 55.368 which is a residential area. While you access the Trail from Wm Koepsel Drive by bike, you cannot park on that street. If you find some other place to park, be sure you follow all local parking restrictions.

NOTE: 3/21/08. The original ammo can cache was muggled. A new camo'ed water bottle container has replace the it at a new location calculated using the added offset to the north coordinate.

NOTE: 11/16/08. The Interstate construction required changing the instructions on what to do at the coodinates listed for the cache. No other changes were made.