Secluded Sanctuary Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
POTENTIALLY DIFFICULT CACHE AHEAD. Please don't go alone. Secluded Sanctuary was a clearing I liked to visit with friends when we were younger. It was a nice place back then. We skipped stones in the pond, climbed trees, wandered through trails and sledded on the little hill in winter. We even decided where we would build our homes and I found an apple tree in the northwest corner that can produce good apples in the fall assuming the bugs and wildlife don't get to it first.
Some cachers may notice a bit of the wildlife on their way in. Most notably the flocks of turkeys that tend to visit my next door neighbor every morning.
I DON'T RECOMMENDED SUMMER FOR THIS CACHE. There can be A LOT of bushwhacking, thorns, bugs, etc... Ever since people came and tore down a lot of the trees, the weeds grow extremely fast and seem to get bigger each year, especially in Summer. Shame though, it used to be a great place. Be prepared for weeds and thorny plants and Argiope aurantia spiders the size of silver dollars that just randomly appear in the center of their two or three foot wide webs right in front of you about waist high as you are walking without knowing until it is almost too late. That is how kid22 found out, and that is how I later experienced his surprise.
Time line...
--------
September 1, 2008 - Wine Bottle with log attached to cork and several small items inside was placed in the water. Cache was named "A Message in a bottle."
October 18, 2008 - Cache was reported missing by THEQUEENSREPLY and RANGER21 and replaced with an emergency micro in a "wine colored" scrub tree near the same coordinates. Cache was eventually renamed "A little too much for a micro."
August 09, 2010 - Finally went in for the first time since I placed the cache. I was regretting it but now I am home and happy. Should have waited because it is ridiculously overgrown with weeds. I am covered in bug bites and scratches from way too many thorns. My shirt and pants are stained from giant blackberries, and the apple tree didn't seem to produce anything good this year. Did see a hawk flying above and screeching a lot. I couldn't find the micro, BUT I did find the original cache. It was still in its original spot but it was smashed. Couldn't find the cork, but I think I found the dowel that was connected to it and used to hold the log around it. I'm guessing a rock slipped right on top of the cache and broke it or maybe it didn't survive the frost. Placed a larger cache to tempt more cachers with lots of party favors and a few more pieces of swag I had lying around and updated coordinates. I am raising the ratings from1.5/2.5 to 2/4 and I highly recommend a less weedy time of year to look for this one. Cache renamed once again to "Secluded Sanctuary." And now I need a shower... "Itchy-ouchy...*groan*...ow..."
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Guvf pnpur EBPXF!