On May 20th, 1962 President John F. Kennedy announced that "...this
nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this
decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him
safely to the earth." On July 20th at 10:56 PM EDT Neil Armstrong
became the first man to set foot on the Moon. He was followed by 11
others. See my other cache, Map Quest's Folly (GCMPC6) for more
information about that phase of our Space Program.
In 1977, NASA began flight testing of OV-101, the "Enterprise",
the first Space Shuttle orbiter and was used to perform test
flights in the atmosphere and paved the way for Columbia,
Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. On July 8th, 2011,
the Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center for a 12 day
mission. Its launch and return marked the end of the Space Shuttle
Era, and the end of American Manned Space program. No longer do we,
as a nation, have a man rated rocket to send humans into space.
It’s easy to find, but difficult to get to. Like those
brave men and women that strapped themselves to an explosion and
stabbed their way through the heavens, balanced upon a pillar of
fire and fury, getting to this cache will should push you out of
your comfort zone.
You will be called upon to do things that are out of your normal
caching comfort zone (unless of course you are an experienced
climber/rappeller, in which case this will be old hat for you). It
will tax you physically and challenge your agility and by doing so
will hopefully introduce you to and give you the confidence to do
something you don't regularly do.
To complete this cache you will need rappelling gear and
the knowledge to use them. If you don't currently have the
knowledge or gear, I will be more than happy to help supply
both...after the FTF.
This cache is on the side of cliff. I do not believe it possible
to climb up to the cache from below. Nor is it possible to climb
down to the cache from above. The cliff, though only 30 or 40 feet,
does not lend itself to climbing. You will need to rappel to the
cache, secure yourself, sign the log, grab your swag, finish the
rappel, and recover your ropes.
I recommend parking in the vicinity of Buckeye Elementary
school, grabbing CMP's Field of Dreams at CMP (GC18ND7), Cache at
the tracks #1 (GC21PV6), and Cache at the tracks #2 (GC2X29A) and
following the tracks to this cache. This results in a 4K round
trip, and there may other, shorter options out there.
To attempt this cache you will need:
- Time.
-
- Plan for at least 30 minutes at the cache location to get roped
in, set up, and find the cache.
- Plus hiking time.
- Water and snacks
- A Partner
-
- Company is always a good thing
- You need someone to belay you
- Or to call emergency services if things go bad on a
self-belay
- Climbing/Rappelling gear
-
- 50m of rope
- A climbing harness or rope for a Swiss Seat
- A SBG, ATX, stitch plate, figure 8, or other rappel device
- An ascender if you don't want to rappel your way out
- 18' of 6/7mm cords, 1" tubular/nylon webbing and carabineers to
create anchors and belay devices
- A sense of adventure and a willingness to step out of your
comfort zone
Do NOT park on the freeway. I know it’s
easy. Flip on the hazards, jump a fence and cache... Because of how
tempting it the idea is, I'll say it again, DO NOT park on the
freeway or Red Hawk casino exit. This is not a quick retrieval
cache and CHP will ticket and tow quicker than you expect. Trust me
on this one.
Currently the cache contains:
One $20 Gift Card to REI
One 40th Gemini Anniversary Coin
One STS-115 Mission Patch (First Space Shuttle Mission to the ISS
following the loss of the Columbia
) A log book and pencil.
The container is a small plastic jar.
A word about SWAG. This cache is more about doing the cache than it
is about trading items. If you see something in the cache you like,
please feel free to take it. Please do not place "junk" items in
the cache.
Enjoy the adventure, remember those brave men and women who climbed
a pillar of fire and advanced our understanding of the cosmos, sign
the log, and head out for your next cache.
You will need rappelling (or climbing) gear and the
knowledge to use them to retrieve this cache.
After the cache has been found, please do not hesitate to contact
me for help with this cache. I won't take you too it, but I'll help
you get to it. You will need to provide either a climbing harness,
20' of 7/8" rope, OR 20' of 1" nylon/tubular webbing and a
willingness to back over the edge.