After talking about hiking the USMC geo-art for more than two years, f0t0m0m and I finally put boots on the ground in February. Five hikes over three weekends later, we have completed the emblem.
This cache is to serve as a thank you to all of the people involved in creating this geo-art!
The details of our journey are below with the hope they will assist others in their planning.
Day 1: We parked roadside near USMC-046-VMTB-341 and headed around the globe counterclockwise adding the shank of the anchor and claws of the eagle along the way. We logged 82 smileys over 16+ miles in just under seven hours, breaking down as:
09:09-10:08 – 14 (045-032)
10:09-11:08 – 14 (031-018)
11:09-12:08 – 12 (017-006)
12:09-13:08 – 10 (005-001, 062-065, 126)
13:09-14:08 – 10 (127, 061-054, 311)
14:09-15:08 – 13 (312-317, 310, 053-048)
15:09-15:50 – 9 (419-413, 047-046)
Day 2: We parked roadside just west of USMC-318-Argentine Marines Corps and headed around the eagle counterclockwise. We logged 96 smileys over 18+ miles in just under seven hours, breaking down as:
08:45-09:44 – 14 (318-331)
09:45-10:44 – 14 (332-335, 420, 336-344)
10:45-11:44 – 16 (345-360)
11:45-12:44 – 17 (361-377)
12:45-13:44 – 14 (378-391)
13:45-14:44 – 13 (392-404)
14:45-15:35 – 8 (405-412)
Day 3: We parked roadside near USMC-197-GWTEM to do the lower fluke of the anchor before repositioning the Jeep near USMC-088-M16 to do the ring and stock of the anchor. We logged 87 smileys over 18 miles in just under six hours, breaking down as:
08:55-09:54 – 14 (197-210)
09:55-10:38 – 12 (211-222)
11:15-12:14 – 16 (088-098, 113-117)
12:15-13:14 – 14 (118-125, 066-071)
13:15-14:14 – 14 (072-078, 99, 112-107)
14:15-15:12 – 16 (106-100, 079-087)
Day 4: We parked roadside next to USMC-196-ONTOS to complete the crown and remaining fluke of the anchor. We logged 80 smileys over 15 miles in just under six hours, breaking down as:
09:00-09:59 – 12 (223-233, 128)
10:00-10:59 – 15 (129-138, 159, 139-142)
11:00-11:59 – 14 (143-152, 163-160)
12:00-12:59 – 14 (164, 153-158, 165-171)
13:00-13:59 – 14 (172-185)
14:00-14:42 – 11 (186-196)
Day 5: We parked along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica (USMC-293-Chosin) and headed around the Americas in a figure-eight. We hiked South America clockwise in under two hours, returning to the car to eat lunch in the shade before hiking North America counterclockwise in under three hours. We logged 77 smileys over 13 miles in just under five hours, breaking down as:
09:17-10:16 – 18 (253-236)
10:17-11:08 – 15 (235-234, 264-254, 292-293)
11:20-12:19 – 16 (302-305, 421, 306-309, 265-271)
12:20-13:19 – 18 (272-289)
13:20-14:05 – 10 (290-291, 294-301)
No lions, tigers, or bears, but lots of jackrabbits, horned lizards, and even a Mojave green rattlesnake.
A challenge worth the effort!