On the Fourth Day of Christmas, mrGreen317 hid for me, a large red bucket under a rock near an evergreen tree!
Welcome to the Twelve Buckets of Christmas (12 BoC). Each cache is an on-coordinates letterbox-hybrid cache in a festive-colored 5 gallon bucket, all placed in one of our fine PA state game lands (SGL).
NOTE: Always be on the lookout for forest critters in SGL (including snakes). This cache is tucked under a rock, so please use extra caution when retrieving and re-hiding the container.
On May 3, 2000, a GPS enthusiast named Dave Ulmer "placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beavercreek, Oregon, near Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various prize items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He shared the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav..." (text from geocaching.com) Well, you know the rest of the story, and here we are twenty years later!
Since this year, 2020, is the twentieth anniversary year of the origin of geocaching, 12 buckets are to be placed as a Merry Christmas to all our friends in JAGA-land at the close of the year. As has been stated for the past three years of the various 12 ?oC series, the traditional Christmas season actually runs from December 25 through January 5, the "Twelve Days of Christmas". So here is another year-end series of caches hidden for the "Twelve Buckets of Christmas" to grab this Christmas season or any other time of the year when geocaching is on the day's agenda.
For this cache series, be sure to note the specific Christmas-themed letterbox stamp in each of the bucket caches. These notes about the stamp designs may come in handy for a future cache to be published (series final).
This cache location is designed to provide a moderate hike along a gravel (or snowy) SGL road, going a bit uphill, beyond a gate. Parking is suggested at the 2017 12 Gates of Christmas, Day 11, GC7GE49 cache. Please be sure not to block the gate or the SGL road with your vehicle (there should be ample parking to the right of the area in front of the gate). The gravel surface from paved public road to outside-the-gate parking is short, but even so, generally speaking, during winter road conditions, please know the capabilities of your vehicle and use all necessary caution when parking within SGL.
Vegetation Note: This cache may be particularly susceptible to late spring and summertime growth as more of the trees have been recently cut around the SGL roads leading past this cache. Your best approach is from hiking around the cache, coming in from the side SGL road just above it. Since these caches are hidden in SGL in the non-growing months, it is always possible that access may get more challenging during late spring and summer growth seasons. When considering hide locations, an attempt was made to minimize this potential issue as much as possible, but when searching in the late spring or summer, just keep this in mind. Good, sturdy hiking footwear and possibly long pants (not shorts) are a good suggestion. Always be on the lookout for wild animals and ticks in the game lands.
This cache is located in state game lands, so PLEASE observe all state game land rules and wear orange during hunting seasons. During the primary hunting season, finding this cache is recommended on Sunday only.
Series Information for the Buckets of Christmas
- Each of the Twelve Buckets should have a letterbox stamp in a plastic latching container inside the bucket. Each stamp is different, and the designs will be related to a later series final (aka bonus) cache. PLEASE leave the stamp and inkpad with the latching box in the cache container, either with the log book or somewhere in the cache that is easily accessible. The inkpad/stamp are NOT swag items.
- In the case of a missing stamp, each log book is stamped on the inside cover with the corresponding stamp design for use with the final/bonus cache.
- These caches may be found simply at the published coordinates, like traditional caches, or if preferred, some letterbox-style instructions are provided below, starting from the parking waypoint.
- FTF on each series cache: There is a nice FTF prize with each cache, either in a cloth bag or a cover-stock paper gift box (and labeled accordingly). There will be no additional "FTF Games" at the close of this series as in past years, so all FTF gifts will be collected from each of the caches themselves by the FTF geocacher. An "FTF Leaderboard" for the series may still be used, just for informational purposes. Any additional prizes awarded after the series will be at the discretion of mrGreen317, but these will not look like the online "FTF Games" of past series.
Optional letterbox instructions from parking: From the SGL parking, walk the gravel (or snowy) road past the gate. This road seems recently upgraded from the previous grassy surface to the wider large gravel surface that is there now. Some logging and tree marking may also be evident along the road as you pass into the woods of the state game land. You will pass the Unicorn Forest cache (GC7T875), which is located at the 'T' intersection of this gravel SGL road and a smaller side SGL road. Continue onward uphill about 2200 feet farther past Unicorn Forest, hiking along the main gravel SGL road. You will encounter a slight S-bend just before another intersection of SGL roads. Where the other side SGL road goes off to the left, this cache bucket is hidden just into the woods at the 'corner' of these SGL roads, under a large rock, with two large log/stump pieces of wood covering the cache on the open side of the rock and some other smaller logs and sticks for geocover. This bucket fits in sideways under the rock.
A congratulations on FTF goes to ??? . Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Merry Christmas from the 3 "E"s!
(mrGreen317, Sage-Hippo, and littleEEE)