Welcome KCNEL

Yesterday, Saturday Feb.7, we took Casey and Nellie caching for the very first time in their life. They had been really looking forward to it during the last couple of weeks and especially Nellie kept asking about what to take and what she could expect. There isn't a whole lot one needs to tell a new cacher, so I basically limited it to 'good shoes' and 'warm clothes' in case it looked like the weather would be cold. When she kept asking if that was really all I told her to also bring her hipwaders so as to be ready for crossing a stream or two.


She did not react positively to that, either because she doesn't have any and didn't want to get them, or because she couldn't visualize herself in a pair. She said she would cross barefeet and pants up instead. If you know how Nellie would sometimes walk through the barn rounding up the cows you will have no trouble believing that she would actually do that.

We had a wonderful day with them. It was not warm but the sun was out and we went to the Chilliwack River area where we went last year for my birthday. We took them to some caches that we had done already as well as some new ones (for us). Casey got the hang of it quite quickly until irlpguy threw us, almost, for a loop with one of his specialties which I cannot divulge here in the interest of other cachers who read this blog and may want to do this cache one day. They wouldn't want to know what the cache is like until they have tried it or found it, of course.


As we traveled east we found more and more snow on the trails, and then we came to a cache where we could have used a blowtorch to get it out of its frozen hidey-hole. That's when we decided to call it a day, fearing that further up it would be worse. So those have to wait for my birthday this year. You can join us if you like...

When we got back to the road we found that we were actually quite close to another cache so we walked up yet another trail to have a look for one more find. That's when we found a garbage bag with three young trees in it on the trail, and a short way up a couple with a shovel. Quite incredible in this time of 'green' awareness people ransacking the forest for their garden, at least we assume that's what they were doing. They denied all knowledge of the garbage bag and had some kind of sob story to explain the shovel. We should have taken their picture and their licence plate number but that would probably not have gone anywhere so we didn't bother.

To make us feel better, Nellie found a cache, her first one, so we all rejoiced and headed home. Casey is determined to get himself a GPS so he can take his grandsons out; Nellie is not so sure she wants to do anymore slipsliding in the woods (of course, in spite of all her questions, she came woefully unprepared as far as footwear is concerned).

It was a fun day. It always is fun to go with other people instead of just the two of us. But not many people are available, so it remains a rarity. But again, if you feel an urge...You can ride in the Jeep which worked like a charm on the snowy and icy forest roads...