GC: Gretna Walkabout Multi-Cache
OReviewer: As there has been no response by the cache owner to the previous note, I am forced to archive this listing.
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UPDATE!!!! The caches back in the area are okay to remain there
but it was recently asked if we could stop the night time caching.
Some nearby property owners got a little worried because they saw a
bunch of lights at night. Even though it is not their property, I
am asking for no nightime caching so that they do not have to worry
about lights at night. Thanks.
Gotcha
Challenge - Gretna Walkabout
You are seeking a cache which is part of the GOTCHA Mega-Multi
Challenge. To complete the challenge, you must log each cache
in the series and obtain the information needed to locate the final
puzzle cache. For more information on completing the challenge,
consult the GOTCHA Challenge - Success cache listing
(GC160ZF).
Walkabout refers to a rite of passage where male
Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence
and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months. In
this practice they would trace the paths, or "song lines", that
their people's ceremonials ancestors took, and imitate, in a
fashion, their heroic deeds. Others have referred to it as “a
short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian
Aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work".
Well, however you define it, you are about to experience a brief
Gretna, Pennsylvania walkabout and trace the path of a fellow
cacher who made a few wrong turns during his exploration. The
journey is based on a day that I decided to go for Take A Hike~
Kairnavoir’s (Konvoluted) Kairnage (GC1ME06) and wound up
taking the LONG way in!! It was suppose to only take about fifteen
to twenty minutes to get to ground zero but it ended up taking me a
couple of hours. I had a conversation a long time ago with a fellow
cacher and I thought I remembered him saying “stay on the
Horseshoe Trail; it will lead you to it”. Well, I took this
advice and never got off of it. Turns out he was referring to the
old version or another cache and was not talking about the present
day cache. I ended up missing the turn off and followed the
horseshoe trail which turned into a big “non-cache
finding” loop. I realized my mistake and had to walk a little
over a mile down Rt. 117 to get back to the beginning. There is no
shoulder on Rt. 117 and not many places to walk, so I don’t
recommend it nor is it apart of this cache’s stages. You will
stop just short of Rt. 117 and turn back. It was a great hike
though, as I got to see a lot of wild life, great fall foliage,
picked up one cache along the way, and ran into a woman who thought
I was a hunter. I was wearing orange since it was hunting season,
so she assumed I was a hunter and came after me with a vengeance.
Once she found out what I was doing, she apologized and oddly
enough gave me kind of a hug for respecting the boundaries and
being safe. It was a great and odd day to say the least. I ended up
finding the cache after others had a difficult time with it but I
was even happier just to have made it to ground zero.
”Scenery Along the Journey”
The stages reflect my journey along the way. Stage 1 is in the
parking lot where I began my journey. I would suggest parking and
leaving your vehicle here as this is the legal thing to do. Stage 2
is near the way that I “should have gone”. It
originally was an arrow but now the container is designed to
reflect the action that was done to my original stage 2, which was
that it was actually "logged" by the logging company back there.
The final is near the point where the trail starts to get into the
“No Hunting” area where I was greeted by the nice
woman. For the final, please make sure you hook it back on the
rope. Even after I found the right trail after all the walking, I
continued up a road that was the wrong road/trail. I have been back
to this area since then with another fellow cacher and we ended up
making a couple of wrong turns again going for Take A Hike ~
Tranquility Forest (GC14YA6) and Wabbit Season (Duck Season-Wabbit
Season) (GC74AE). Both my GPSr in my head as well as my GPSr
must be affected by this area. You will pass by all of these as
well as What’s She Doing Here….? ~2~ (GC15146)
along your journey. They are great caches but seem to get
overlooked judging by the gaps in time from them being found.
In total you will walk about 3.25 miles depending on how much you
stray from the path intended. There is some slight incline but not
much elevation change. This should be a mere warm up for the Gotcha
Final!!! Please take in the scenes and enjoy the nice tour of this
section of Gretna that the Horseshoe Trail cuts through. They have
started logging back in this area, so I had to change some of my
stages from their original locations. Stage 1 is still the same but
stage 2 is different as of 4/5/10. The final container rests at the
old stage 3 location. They have been keeping up the road for the
logging trucks, so you shouldn't have a problem on it unless there
was a recent rain. Just follow the road, which is apart of the
Horseshoe Trail marked by yellow blazes, until you get to the big
bend where there is a big turn around area. Not to far North of
here you will find where the trail goes off into the woods and
becomes a single track trail. All of the stages are just off of the
Horseshoe trail. I hope you enjoy the walk as much as I did.
Remember you don’t have to play Frogger like I did on Rt.
117. You can simply turn back and head in the same direction you
came from.
”So happy to have found you GZ!!!!”
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgntr 1: Ybbx rnegu jbez yriry.
Fgntr 2: Ybbxf yvxr n punvafnj jnf urer. Qb abg chyy. Vg bcraf.
Svany: Vs V ernpu va jvyy fbzrguvat ovgr zr?