It would seem that geocachers have enough to keep them busy just cleaning up the caches in their local areas. But nooo! They travel far and wide hoping to fulfill Delorme, ADC, all county, fizzy and geotrail challenges. They make pilgrimages to Oregon to visit Groundspeak and meet Lackeys. They journey to Nevada, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma and Delaware to amass power trail numbers. So why not one more thing to occupy idle moments when wandering hither and yon? Presenting: "The Twelve Labors of Geohkashaw."
Hercules was unquestionably the greatest hero of Greek mythology. His prodigious strength gave him the confidence and penuche to challenge even the gods to wrestling matches. Unfortunately, his dim mind and quick temper got him into a lot of trouble. After killing his beloved wife and sons in a fey moment, he was assigned twelve seemingly impossible labors, each more difficult than the last, as atonement for this rash act. Geohkashaw (you) must also complete twelve labors, but these are just for fun.
~~ A cache qualifies for the challenge if it was published at least a year before the present date.
~~ All cache types count, including those which have been archived, even if you are the cache owner
......(simply indicate that in your log).
~~ If a cache satisfies more than one labor, it may be used multiple times.
~~ When a labor has been completed, use a "note" to log on this page the ten qualifying caches
......by date found and cache code GC____. Or create a bookmark list including the cache code,
......cache name and the date it was found. Remember to include this cache in the list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE LABORS
01. Find 10 caches for which the final is EXACTLY ON or INTENDED TO BE ON a state or international boundary.
02. Find 10 caches which require the finder to completely enter a tunnel, culvert, drainpipe or cave as the only way to recover the cache container.
03. Find 10 caches which require a tree climb in order to recover at least one part. The container must be out of reach from the ground and not attached by a pulley.
04. Find 10 caches that are hidden in, on, under or in the immediate proximity of an AUTHENTIC covered bridge. Bridges which have been relocated count, but scale models such as those built for certain parks or mini-golf courses do not.
05. Find 10 caches for which the final is INSIDE a real library, not a Mini-Free library. Events held inside a library count.
06. Find 10 caches for which at least one of the parts is ON or IN a military weapon. Tanks, artillery, machine guns, jets, rockets, historic field pieces, piles of shells or cannon balls, rifles, sabers, etc. all count.
07. Find 10 caches placed on river or lake islands that have no bridges to them and require swimming or water craft to reach. Pylons count as long as there is no bridge. Islands with airports do not count.
08. Find 1 cache located along each of 10 DIFFERENT rail trails. The trail only counts if it is a converted rail bed. Examples: York Heritage Rail Trail; Western Maryland Rail Trail; Hanover Trolley Trail; Cumberland Valley Rail Trail.
09. Find 10 caches IN or ON THE PROPERTY OF an abandoned homestead. This might be a house, barn, springhouse or just foundation. Posted properties, historic preservations and buildings maintained on historic sites do not count. A cache placed across a road in a guardrail would only count if the property was posted and the intent of the cache was to call attention to the homestead.
10. Complete any "Challenge" cache. ~~ see my note log dated 4/22/19
Grandfathered Labor 10. Find 10 USGS benchmarks, each of which has a DIFFERENT PID. For benchmark JV2025, JV is the prefix. ~~~ It is understood that when you log the benchmark on the benchmark page, you will upload a photo of the mark as proof of the find. A rubbing may be used in lieu of a photo. You do not have to upload a photo to this cache page. ~~~ Log here the date you found each mark and the PID code instead of the cache find date and GC___ code.
11. The key word for the cache lock is DECATHLETE. Use it to determine the three digit combination. (The letters are still hidden on the cache page if you care to find them).
12. Go get that smiley!
A hearty congratulations to Sue Cat for a very motivated FTF!