Easter Sunday return to caching

It has been a long, extremely cold, very snowy winter! And we are really done with it! I know we will probably get a few more snow flurries before I can consider getting started on garden work but today it was warm enough to get out as a family and enjoy some suburban hiking.

We started with a cache that has been nagging at my mind for a while. The Hunger Games cache (GC35K4Z) is a puzzle cache that requires you to have read the first Hunger Games book in order to solve the puzzle. I had some issues with the idea behind the book and was resistant to reading it, but I thought I should at least read the first one so that I knew more about it. Well, that was the plan.

Turns out I really liked the books. Yes, books. Had to go to the library and find the other two because I wanted to read more!
 
You only need to read the first book to solve this puzzle cache though, and the solution is pretty easy.
The littlest goat was not keen on going caching today but I gave her a bit of a guilt trip and she came around. As it was, she was the leader walking through the woods and was the one to pull the cache out of hiding!

Then it was on to the next cache called Dig It! (GC4KEAC) that was placed for the Fall Cache and Release event of 2013. It has a Thanksgiving theme but Easter is also a time of being thankful so today was a good day to look for it! The littlest goat was at GZ before the old goat and I had even cleared the woods and she had the cache in hand before I even saw where she pulled it from. We loved the inner container. Some thought and creativity has gone into this one and it is worth a visit.

We took a short drive to our next target area. There is a new area called Nolan Hill in the Northwest of Calgary that is just starting to be built up. There are still lots of fields and undeveloped but cleared land with a couple of ponds and a creek running through it. Perfect when someone has seen fit to hide a few caches in the area!

Our first target was Nolan Hill Scramble (GC52D8G) and scramble we did! We went down into the creek area and then had to go back up to the trees when we realized where the compass was pointing. Saw out first crocus of the season and felt a rush of relief that spring may actually be here!

Took a bit of searching as the container is well-camouflaged, but we were successful in the end. Littlest goat went for a walk around the pond while we searched and she came back excited about seeing a Bufflehead and a Goldeneye diving for their lunch.

We headed over to the walking path to look for Nolan Hill Stroll (GC52D8X) next. Couldn't get Little Goat out of the creek so the Old goat and I had to search on our own. The container was a bit trickier than the last one as it is smaller but the coordinates were better, and after some pricks and pokes in the hands, we found the cache.

At this point we called it a day. I still had a turkey to roast and the others were planning on heading to the pool for a swim. A very pleasant day out in the fresh air with the family now that spring is peeking through!

Geocaching in the Valley Ridge area of Calgary

I know I promised stories of the rest of our summer trip but I am interrupting the summer stories for a more current geocache adventure we recently went on.
As newish Calgarians, transplanted here 5 years ago from Vancouver, we are still getting to know Calgary and the surrounding area. We are always surprised and delighted to find a new hiking or walking park and finding the Valley Ridge trails was just that sort of place. Only about a 10 minute drive from our house, there is a small gravel parking lot with walking trails leading first to a play park and then to the woods.

 We skipped the play park on the way in as our dog was too excited and wanted to get on the trails. So we headed first for Creepy Ol' Tree cache (GCY1PG) in a southerly direction on a narrow trail with a steep slope down to a creek on our right and an uphill rise to our left. Scooby Doo was thrilled to be along on this adventure and was barreling up and down the hills and into the creek and back to us again. We were enjoying the walk, the trees, the birds and the lure of a new cache.



The littlest goat was holding the Garmin GPS and kept her eye on the compass, letting us know when it was time to veer off the trail and up the hill. It was a quick find to grab the cache and sign the log. Then we left a travel coin to continue its journey.

 

The next cache in this direction was going to be across the creek so we decided to head back toward the beginning of the trail and take the other trail paralleling the river to look for another cache. (GC1XYK1) For Brinleigh, kiddie cache #3 the cache hiding spot was marked quite well for kids to spot it and our little goat did just that. She was happy to make the find on her own and hide it well after. Since she was still in a good caching mood we decided to go for one more. (GC103TB) Howler was next down this trail and we were enjoying the fall colours and the river views so much that we were at it before we knew it. A little scrambling around just off the trail and we had this one in hand too.

There are several more caches in this area and we are definitely planning to return for more. But for today this was just the right amount of caching. Now it was time to stop at the park and let the littlest goat check out the playground equipment.