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Welcome to THEY WENT ATA-WAY!
A few years back, geocacher Silly Gilley put out a series of Tribute caches to prolific Miami geocachers. While he is no longer here in Miami, the idea of tribute caches still appeals, and I think a geocache needed to be dedicated to Auyantepuy.
The first two times I met Ata (Auyantepuy) were both memorable. The first time, I was out seeking several of his Doral caches and he happened to be driving by on the way back to work. He pulled over and joined me, introduced himself, and gave helpful guidance to find a cache I had just begun to search for. He struck me as a particularly sociable, friendly person, enthusiastic about this new geocaching hobby of his and one who would fit in very nicely with the local geocaching community. The SECOND time we ran into each other was very soon afterward, when I was seeking a first-to-find cache wayyyyyy up high in a tree on the Florida International University campus. I had already been up and down that tree several times when he showed up, but there were some very precarious spots in that tree...wayyyyy too high and waayyyyyy too risky...into which I had not been willing to venture in my search. But, without regard to protecting his durn neck, Ata launched himself upward and began tightroping on branches that, I was certain, would break, causing both arboreal and corporeal limbs to shatter. Eventually, I spotted the cache from the ground...right behind his head...and he managed to make an impossible turn, sign the cache, toss things back and forth to and from me on the ground, and return the cache to its hidey-hole. The man was FEARLESS.
Since then, he's become quite a prolific finder AND hider of geocaches. While he does hide more traditional easy-to-grab caches, he's probably best recognized for some of the less-common terrain he makes people traverse on the way to his caches. Seeking Auyantepuy caches, I have had to...
* Climb diagonally-growing trees and balance on one foot while signing logs.
* Walk/bike/drive rocky dirt roads designed to kill the underside of a car.
* Trudge through swampy waters, risking gator or snake attacks.
* Hike along foresty paths and through the dense woods.
* Dig under straw-like grass.
* Discover many hidden lakes and "nature respite areas" nestled within otherwise-urban locales.
* Push through sawgrass while feeling every blade on my legs and arms.
* Squish through mud, ruining otherwise-good sneakers and creating that lovely mildew smell.
* Inadvertently expose myself to poisonwood, leading to weeks of itchy blotchy body parts, financial support of the calamine lotion industry, and treatment by others as a pariah as my physical appearance took a turn for the leaky.
Sometimes I've screamed out his name in frustration as I question my sanity during particularly difficult cache hunts, but I've also "favorited" several of his caches as they took me waaaaayyy out of my comfort zone and created some of my more memorable geocaching experiences. This week, as I made my way to one of his caches, "A hippie's hideout :)", I decided to "honor" him with a cache that was designed to go Ata's way. "They Went Ata-Way!" is that cache.
This is a two-stage multi-cache that will take you through many of the types of terrain experiences Auyantepuy is known for.
Stage 1 will require a hike through a forest, possible mud, and a climb into a tree (not as high as Ata would have placed it, but higher than you can reach without a short climb). It used to also involve a drive, hike or bike along a bumpy dirt road, but the dirt road is now barred, but the forest paths are still open. See the additional waypoints for recommended parking and for the entrance to the forest. You will be seeking a silver bison hanging overhead in a tree. It is not camoflaged and can be easily spotted from the ground once you are in the near vicinity. Since it's in the forest, coordinate reads may vary, but I consistently got the coordinates listed at the top of this page (the last three numbers in the coordinate readings fluctuated from .952 to .953 (North) and from .937 to .938 (West), so these are hopefully fairly accurate. The coordinates for stage 2 are rolled up within the silver bison...bring a tweezers and patience for fitting it back in).
Stage 2 will require a few minutes of wading through shallow water, some bushwhacking through overgrown grass, and some searching underfoot for a hidden hidey-hole. I planned to use an ammo can, one of Ata's favorites for the longer expeditions, but found that the one I had left was no longer even remotely waterproof, so I used a super-sized racquetball container.
Cache contents on the day of the hide include a US Marines camo baseball cap, an FTF trophy, a couple of balls, a toy mini-plane for young 'uns and an unused red bison tube that someone can use for his/her own geocache hide. Oh, and, of course, a log book and pen.
Hopefully you have as much fun seeking this cache as Gamer Son and I had hiding it! Please consider posting in your log your own favorite Auyantepuy caching story.
And when you ask yourself which way the Gamers may have gone in hiding things for this cache, just ask yourself, "Which way did they go? Which way did they go?" And then answer..."They went Ata-way!"
Cache on!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Svany: Qbja ybj, qverpgyl jrfg bs gur ynetrfg fgehpgher lbh frr nf lbh nccebnpu gur trareny nern bs gur pnpur.