In 2012, zenkitty was laid low with pancreatic cancer. He gave me a container and some supplies and asked me to place a cache in his memory once he was gone. Happily he rallied. JacksonClan and I placed caches near his home for him to find during his recovery, and he was soon back to finding many caches and taking wonderful hikes.
He told us he had two dreams - to visit his native home, Scotland, with his family, and to see his daughter graduate. Both of those dreams came true, and he lived until April 27, 2015.
The day before he lost his life on earth, I visited him and was told by the Hospice nurse that he wasn't responsive. I just held his hand and talked about our memories. I said I would place the cache he had requested and hold a cachers' event honoring his life. He opened his eyes, smiled, and squeezed my hand. I will always treasure that memory.
zenkitty treasured his family and friends, and was proud of his Scottish ancestry. He hosted the Scottish Highland Fling Games at his home. He had a quirky sense of humor and an infectious smile.
He liked hiking, cycling, cooking, baking, canning, gardening, golfing, fishing, and playing the guitar. He enjoyed both finding and placing geocaches. His love of birds came out when he disabled a cache after I mentioned that a bird was building a nest right above the cache's hanging spot.
He shared my love of trains and built an extensive model train layout which he proudly showed to me. He even helped me get my dad's 1920 vintage Lionel trains running again.
Some things geocachers may remember are that he loved purple pens and using >^.^< as his signature.
I hope you remember and think about this gentle man as you wander the woods seeking out the container he camouflaged. It is a night cache, so follow the directions carefully.
Directions:
Glint meanings - you will find a variety of glint styles on this journey, each meaning something different.
- double white glints indicate the start and turn locations.
- orange glints indicate the trails.
- triple white glints indicate where to go off the path.
- silver-black glints are the fastest way back to the start point
Trails - other than the last 15', you will be walking on a variety of trails and roadways.
Tracking -
- use your strongest flashlight
- hold the flashlight at eye level so that the glint reflects back to your eyes.
- don't see a glint? Continue in the same direction on the path until you see the next one.
Ready? Set? Go!
- start at the stated coordinates. You will see double white glints on either side of a trail. Walk down that trail and look for orange glints as you go.
- you will next see two sets of double white glints to indicate the correct path. Go between them while looking for orange glints. - any time you see double white glints, stand near them and find the next brown glint so that you turn the right way.
- when you see the triple white glints on two trees, stand between them and begin looking for zenkitty - >^.^<
- while standing by zenkitty, look to the side of the tree for the cache container.
The Return Trip
- continue going in the same direction as your approach - don't backtrack
- follow the silver-black glints which will guide you back to the start point
Thanks to TRACYTOM and CrossedAnchors for their assistance in getting this cache placed.
>^.^<