First! Traditional Cache

After finding nearly 600 geocaches, I felt it was time for me to hide my first one! This cache is a tribute to first times. Here, at the end of First Street, the pipeline trail begins. From here you can also catch a glimpse of the Glendale Country Club golf course. Maybe you'll  overhear someone get a hole in one? Start your geocaching career, or just your day with this one. Bring a pen.

I'll never forget my first time. It was a traditional cache at a park nearby. It looked like it should be an easy one, with plenty of finds logged. So I packed up the kids to go off on an adventure with me. I fired up the newly installed Geocaching app on my iPhone, and we followed the arrow closer and closer. I hadn't yet discovered that you can change the map to OpenCycleMap and see the trails. I had considered the map view useless here, as the default Hybrid view only showed the tops of the trees. When I arrived, I saw the needle pointing directly at a tree, surrounded by ferns. I was certain I knew exactly where it was. I told the kids that it must be right here, and to wait for me to get it. I clambered up the slight embankment, and gently looked around the ample foliage. Nothing. I checked my phone again, and it kept pointing me to this tree. After a few more minutes, I realized that the thing is either missing or we're in the wrong spot. Unfortunately, my impatient and overly-energetic kids prevented me from doing a more thorough search, and we retreated back to the park to play on the playground instead.

Over the next few days, this geocaching thing kept gnawing at me. I really wanted to find it! I decided to go back again, sans kids, and spend some more time on a broader search. This time I read the hint (didn't I read it before?), which described a moss covered log. So I walked further along the trail looking for something that matched. There, a mere 20 feet from where I was looking before, was a very obvious large log. It only took seconds to find the cache after that, and I felt a huge sense of relief and satisfaction. I didn't even sign the log that day. I decided to come back with my son and let him experience the fun of finding it.

My son was only 4 at the time, and I wanted to make it easy and fun for him. I wrote down a series of clues on a piece of paper, and I told him I needed his help to follow them. I think the clues were "Nature Trail Loop", "Past a Baseball Field", "At a Curve in the Trail", and "Behind a Mossy Log". The next Saturday, I took him back to the park, and he excitedly followed my clues towards the geocache. This time I was able to discretely steer him to the actual hide location. When he shouted to me that he found it, I could see a huge smile on his wide-eyed face, and I knew he couldn't wait to open it up. I don't even remember what little trinkets were inside, but he pulled out something that meant the world to him. He found treasure in the woods! What could be better than that! I signed the log and we replaced it the way we found it before heading back, triumphant.

This is my very first geocache hide, and I would be honored if this turned out to be someone's very first geocache find. In that spirit, I will share some geocaching tips, including some that I would have considered helpful as I began my journey.

1. Park safely and legally. Obey all parking and trespassing signs. If you're not sure, keep driving and take a longer walk.
2. As I learned from my first cache, do not blindly follow the GPS arrow. Look around for some interesting item that stands out. Not all caches follow this idea, but this one does! There's a significant object here that should be the focus of your search. 
3. Read the geocache entry carefully for any hints or descriptions about what you are looking for. The size and terrain ratings will also tell you what kind of container it could be, and how difficult it is to get to. In this case, it is a bison tube (a metallic pill container with a screw top) that you won't see until you pull it out of its hiding spot.
4. There is no need to destroy anything, physical or natural, when searching. You should leave the area in the same (or better) shape than when you arrived. However, I suspect this location will be at risk of being swallowed by blackberry bushes in the future. Feel free to help keep them trimmed away from the hide location!
5. To replace the log after you sign it, roll it up tight and stick it into the lid of the tube. Then slide it into the body of the tube and screw it back together. This keeps the log from getting torn up by the lid.
6. Put the cache back just like you found it, or a little better hidden if needed. In this case, it shouldn't need any additional cover.
7. Please send me a message if something doesn't seem right. Cache owners are committed to maintain the caches if they need to be fixed or replaced.
8. If you don't find it, please log a Didn't Find It. There's no shame in that. It's one way a cache owner can tell if something needs to be changed. Some will even send you a hint without you needing to ask for it.

When you post your Found It for this one, write something about your first find or first FTF!

Note for Geocaching guidelines watchdogs: Other than the cache container itself, nothing was altered by me when placing this cache.