Romeo - Ham Radio Power Trail Traditional Cache

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CaneMaster: Archiving to make room for a new trail

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Hidden : 11/21/2011
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:


INTRODUCING THE HAM RADIO POWER TRAIL SERIES

This cache is the eighteenth (18th) of over twenty six (26) caches hidden approximately one tenth of a mile (or so) apart along an 11 mile paved jogging/cycling trail.

PURPOSE:

In hiding and maintaining this series of geocaches we have the following purposes in mind:

1. Health & Fitness: To help folks get fit and healthy by giving them a fun reason to get out hiking, walking, jogging, or cycling on a wonderful 11 mile paved fitness trail which goes around the Pelahatchie Bay portion of the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

2. HAM Radio: To help folks learn about another fun hobby which many Mississippi Geocachers, including the CaneMaster Family, are into, called Amateur Radio or HAM Radio. Each cache page in this series will introduce a different aspect of Ham Radio.

3. Power Trail Challenge: To give geocachers a new Challenge to complete. Once you have found all of the HAM Radio Power Trail caches you qualify to receive the coordinates to the HAM Radio Power Trail Challenge cache, which contains a congratulatory certificate suitable for framing.

5. Alphanumerical Challenge Assistance: To give assistance to geocachers who need fresh letters and/or numbers to complete the various Alphabet and Number Challenges in Mississippi.

THE CACHES:

The Plan:

To hide a large number of the caches in this series with-in a tenth of a mile of each other all the way around the entire trail. Due to logistic problems (a few other caches nearby, poor hiding spots, high water, etc) some of the caches in this series will be up to a third of a mile apart.

We are hoping that you will park your car at the small parking spot near the first cache in this series (Alpha - HAM Radio Power Trail) and hunt for each cache in its alphanumeric order. We are also hoping that you will use this series to get in shape by cycling, jogging, hiking, or simply walking through the entire series or as much of it as your current level of health and fitness allows.

The first 26 geocaches in this series are named using the standard Phonetic Alphabet used by Amateur Radio operators: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, and Zulu. The rest are named after special types of Ham Radio usage, or the call signs of Mississippi geocachers who are also licensed Amateur Radio Operators (HAMs).

Each cache page will introduce a different aspect of HAM Radio.

Locations:

Some of these caches are hidden very close to the trail and even right on the small bridges which take the trail over various small streams. Some are also hidden a short distance inside the tree line and others are a little deeper into the woods. We have attempted to place all of these above the reservoir flood plain, but in a few places you might want to wear rubber boots during the rainy season. A few are also hidden on the railing of the larger street bridges.

Containers:

Primarily we used bison tubes, magnetic key safes, and plastic match safes, all very well camoflauged. However, we also made good use of a few fake utility plates and a few of those infinitesimally small magnetic nanos. You will need to bring your own pen for all of the caches in this series.

Tip:

The hardest part of bison tubes is putting the small rolled up log back in them after signing. If you place the rolled up log inside the tube first then the cap wont fit! This is because the inside of the tube is a bit wider than the inside of the cap. When you put the log in the tube it unrolls slightly and the cap wont fit. The SECRET to making it fit is to roll the log up tightly and place one end of it inside the cap first. That holds it tight enough for you to slip the tube over the other end of the log and then screw the two parts together.

Additionally, most our bison tubes’ caps are permanently strapped to a tree or tree limb which means that you will have to unscrew the tube from cap and not the other way around.

LOGISTICS:

The Trail:

The entire trail is paved and is used by a good many people for cycling, jogging, hiking, walking, and now Geocaching! A very small part of it runs along side of a few businesses and nice neighborhoods.. However, most of it runs along side a scenic woodland area and a good portion provides a scenic view of the Ross Barnet Reservoir.

This paved trail forms a complete 11 mile circle (more like a square) around the Pelahatchie Bay portion of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The trail runs in a generally eastward direction along side of Spillway Rd (from Old Fannin Rd/Northshore Parkway to Hwy 471), then it turns left and runs in a generally northern direction along side of Hwy 471 (from Spillway Rd to Northshore Parkway), then it turns left and runs in a generally westward direction along Northshore Parkway (from 471 to the Northshore Parkway bridge), then it curves toward the left and runs in a generally southwestern direction as it crosses over the Northshore Parkway bridge and eventually reaches the starting point back at the intersection of Old Fannin Rd/Northshore Parkway and Spillway Rd (near McDonalds).

Parking:

The following coordinates give the location of the parking spot closest to the first cache in this series (Alpha - HAM Radio) N 32°22.7479 ' W089°58.8211 '

There are only a few legal parking locations along this trail! This forces you to cycle, jog, hike, or walk along the trail from one cache to the next (and thus get in shape, which is one of the main purposes of this series). Do not park in front of any houses, or along the side of the roads, or along the side of the trail (except in the designated trail parking locations). If you do your car will get towed off fairly quickly in this area. Only use the Trail’s Parking locations and nearby recreational or business parking lots near the trail.

ETIQUETTE:

As always please put everything back exactly as you found it.

Please pick up and take out any trash you find during your hunt so that we can give back to the community and earn their respect for our hobby.

Since this trail gets a good bit of use by cyclists, joggers, and walkers, please use the utmost stealth to insure that muggles don’t discover our caches. Its always a bummer hunting for a cache for a long time only to discover its been muggled. So please do your part to insure that this series remains fun for those who come hunting after you.

SUGGESTIONS:

As always when hiking, jogging, cycling, or walking long distances, dress appropriately for the weather, activity and length of time you will be spending on the activity.

If you plan to hunt for a large number of these all in one hike/jog/cycle session then you might want to bring a cell phone (or HAM Radio) with you in case you need to contact someone in the event of an emergency.

During hot weather you might want to bring along with you adequate water, sunscreen, and mosquito repellant.

During the rainy season you might want to wear rubber boots for some of these caches.

You might want to bring a camera for some of the more scenic portions of the trail.

Don’t forget to bring a pen to sign the logs with.

There are several other older caches located either along this trail or in close proximity to it. While you are in the area you might want to give them a try too.

THIS CACHE:

Romeo - Ham Radio Power Trail

Whenever Amateur Radio Operators make contact with each other, they exchange their QSL cards to commemorate the contact. Some QSL cards are very unique.
(visit link)

Check out the next cache in this series for more information about Ham Radio.

Sierra - Ham Radio Power Trail

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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