Stage one is just coordinates. Stage two is a small plastic jar. No need to approach the railroad tracks or go on private property for any stage of any cache.
This is a series of caches along the Skokie Valley Bike Path. They are designed to be done while biking (or blading) the trail. Save yourself some extra riding by starting at either #1 or #12 in the series. You can pick up all of the stage-one's in one direction, then get all of the stage-two's in the other direction. Do be warned that while all the caches are very close to the trail, you will be searching in dense brush with thorns! Bike shorts may be a bad idea, though some have done the series in shorts and didn't mind.
Why the 3/3 difficulty/terrain rating? That's what was suggested when I filled out the form at clayjar.com when I first submitted the caches, so I thought I best follow that suggestion. Those ratings were probably due to the distances involved in the multi's. The individual finds are more like a 1.5/2.
Congrats to Geofogies for being the first to complete the series!
Soon to be More Trail
When I was scouting the path for cache sites, I ran into some people working at the north end. I stopped and chatted with one of them. He told me they were hired by Lake County to extend this bike path north to Route 176. The reason this path ends here now is that one of the railroad tracks curves to the northeast at this point. Now, after years of effort, Lake County has gotten the railroad's permission to tunnel under those tracks.
After the extension is completed, this bike path will connect directly with the North Shore Path. As it is now, you have to travel east to intersect with the North Shore Path before continuing northwest.
I've always thought of this bike path as a sort of bicycle expressway. It's limited access with a nice paved road and has few curves and almost no hills. It even has bridges over most of the busy roads. It makes a nice path for the real speed demons. So remember to always check behind you before crossing over the center line to look for a cache. Someone might be passing you! Not me, though. I bike it at a more leisurely pace.
