2016-05-29: Geocaching Through Texas History, Cemeteries, and Ghost Towns

Hello again and welcome back to our Geocaching Adventures Blog. My work has started to slow down and we are able to venture out on the weekends to go exploring and geocaching around West Texas again. Although it is getting hotter, plus being exhausted, and finding the time to sit and write this blog too! Today's edition actually took place a few weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to tell you about it. So let me get to it...

On this Sunday morning, we picked up Candy's co-worker you might remember from hiking a few weeks ago. A few blocks away from her place was our first cache at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. In reality, I was here a few days earlier to grab this Geocache as a "First to Find" since it had gone a couple of days since it was hidden without a find. Because of its location, I brought them here again to view the reason for the cache. Called "Unhenged" (GC6J85H), this cache was placed to bring you to a replica of the Stonehenge monument over in England. Saved us a flight overseas!

Out on the corner of the campus in Odessa near the street was this statue of a cattle rancher and a few of his herd. While waiting for the traffic light to turn green I snapped a photo. Then off to Starbucks for some coffee before the 84 miles to our next Geocache.

Our next few caches were in the Ghost Town area of Texon, Texas. (GC1Z34W GC113H9 GC1Z34Q) Early travelers along many historic trails in this area found the region arid and inhospitable. Given (1876) to the University of Texas, the lands around this area were leased to cattlemen. The Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad built its line here in 1911, but did little local hauling.

Development came after Frank Pickrell and Haymon Krupp of Texon Oil and Land Company drilled for oil. Their driller, Carl Cromwell, brought in Santa Rita No. 1 named after the Saint of the Impossible and became the first gusher in the Permian Basin on May 28, 1923. The original tower was taken down and erected at the University of Texas and this replica was later erected in place.
Shortly thereafter Pittsburgh wildcatters M. L. Benedum and Joe Trees purchased some of the Texon Company's leases and formed the Big Lake Oil Company to develop the field. From 1924 to 1926 the BLOC president, Levi Smith, planned and built Texon for employees and their families south of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway tracks. At a time when oil towns denoted wildness, Texon was considered a model oil community. In addition to houses, BLOC provided a grade school, a church, a hospital, a theater, a golf course, tennis courts, and a swimming pool for its residents, who numbered 1,200 in 1933. Smith, an avid baseball fan, sponsored the Texon Oilers, a semiprofessional team composed of company employees. Privately owned businesses housed in company buildings included a drug store, a cafe, a boarding house, a tailor-shop, dry-goods and grocery stores, barber and beauty shops, a service station, a dairy, an ice house, and a bowling alley.

By World War II oil production was declining, and with no new wells, fewer employees were needed. By 1952 the population had fallen to 480. In 1956 Plymouth Oil Company, another Benedum-Trees property, took over BLOC, and in 1962 ownership passed to Ohio Oil, now Marathon Oil, which chose not to maintain the town of less than 100 residents. In 1986 the post office was closed, and in 1996 less than ten people lived in Texon. The population was twelve in 2000.

Our next Geocache (GC113H6) was another Texas Ghost Town. Reagan County, West Texas Highway 67 Between Big Lake and Rankin Named for an Englishman who was a shareholder in the railroad, Best was nothing but a switching point on the Orient Railroad. When oil was discovered in 1923, Best mushroomed as the regional supply center. The population grew to an estimated 3,500 in just two years. Best gained an instant reputation for being a wild town. Perhaps added by the irony of its name and a novel (The Big Fist) written in 1946 - set its bad reputation in stone. The town's unofficial slogan was "the town with the Best name in the world and the Worst reputation." After the boom fizzled, only 300 people were left in the 1940s. A service station / post office was still in operation in the 80s and by the 1990 Census - only 25 people were left. It is now listed as 0001. Best was located at Hwy 67 and Best Lane, between the highway and the train tracks located about a block south. Best Lane turns north off of 67, and is called Lone Wolf Lane south of the highway. Santa Rita Road runs parallel with and between the highway and tracks, and goes to the Santa Rita No. 1 well. Nothing left but a few foundations along the Santa Rita Road.

Further down the road was the Ghost Town of Stiles, TX and our next five Geocaches, including two virtual caches. The first three were located near the historical marker and the old courthouse. (GCXBWP, GC9891, GC113HD) Stiles is near the intersection of Farm Road 1800 and Centralia Draw, eighteen miles north of Big Lake in north central Reagan County. Areas of massive limestone are found in and near Stiles. The area was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route in 1859-61 and was settled by sheep and goat ranchers in the 1890's. The town was named for Gordon Stiles, who donated land for the townsite. William G. Stiles applied for a post office, which was established in 1894, and a store was operated nearby. Because it was the only town in the county Stiles was chosen county seat of Reagan County when the county was organized in 1903. In 1907 John Marvin Hunter began publication of the Stiles Journal, the first newspaper in Reagan County. By 1910 Stiles had a population of 191 and a frame courthouse.

The following year William Martin, of Comanche, built a new courthouse with stone quarried from a hillside near the town. In 1911 the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad bypassed Stiles in favor of a route through Big Lake. The original survey for the railroad included Stiles, but the right-of-way was changed to the southern part of the county when a rancher refused to grant permission for the road to cross his land. After the discovery of oil at the Santa Rita oil well near Big Lake in 1923, Stiles began to decline. Following an election on May 28, 1925, Big Lake became the county seat. By 1925 the population of Stiles had fallen to seventy-five, and by 1939 the post office had been discontinued. From 1966 to 1990 the population was estimated at sixteen.

The first floor interior plan of the courthouse was a Greek cross with intersecting center hallways and four corner rooms measuring 16' square. The stairway is located in the west hallway. The courtroom and two other offices are located on the second floor. Interior detailing includes plaster walls, simple door/window trim and baseboard, transoms over doorways and a wooden chair rail in the courtroom. The ceiling on both floors is pressed tin and the floors are wooden. A small raised platform is the only distinguishing feature in the courtroom. A limestone records vault is located to the east of the main structure. It was originally built to provide fireproof storage for the earlier frame courthouse that occupied the site. It has a stone barrel vault, but was originally roofed over with a shingle roof. The steel vault doors are still in possession of the owner. Christmas of 1999 an arsonist set fire to the structure and gutted the place.

Outside the courthouse and sitting on top of the cache container, we spotted our first scorpion since arriving in West Texas. While this one was just a baby at maybe an inch long, you gotta be careful and watch for the poisonous critters while caching out here. Between those and the deadly rattlesnakes, you can't just reach for the cache as soon as you spot it!

South of the courthouse was the Stiles Cemetery which is still used to this day and the other two caches. (GC113HJ GC9EFB) The cemetery opened in 1903. Three of the earliest graves are three siblings who died within 10 days of each other. The historical marker says that the people buried here in the early days were cowboys who were accidentally killed, victims of shootings and rattlesnake bites, and citizens who fell to dysentery epidemics. There is also a grave of a Spanish-American soldier.

Continuing east on US67 in Reagan County, we arrived in the county seat of Big Lake, TX. The town of Big Lake took it's name from the lake created by rain which gathers in a natural land depression near this cache (GCZF09). Once filled by spring-fed water, it is now the largest dry lake in Texas. In pioneer days it was the only fresh water between the Concho river and springs at Ft. Stockton and was a campsite for Indians, Mexican traders and cattle drivers. When there is enough rain in the area this lake still fills with water and when it does, there are live fish in it. In the photos below, you can see where the spring was in the first and the dry lake in the distance of the second photo.

The other two caches in Big Lake were at the Glenrest Cemetery (GC1Z348) with graves dating back to 1913, and at the Reagan County Airport for the Florene Miller Watson Memorial (GC17W89). During World War II, a hand-picked group of young women pilots became pioneers, national heroes, role models.. called Women’s Air Force Service Pilots. These ladies flew their way into the annals of women’s history as the first women in U.S. history trained to fly American military aircraft.

Florene Watson was born on December 7, 1920 in San Angelo, Texas. She grew up in Big Lake, Texas, where her father, T.L. Miller owned a jewelry store. In 1937, Florene graduated from Reagan County High School. Her first flight at 8 years old was in Big Lake in a World War I barnstormer plane. By age 19 she had finished two years of college and had also obtained a pilot’s license. Mrs. Watson earned her flight and ground school instructors’ ratings and was teaching men to fly in the War Training Program in Odessa and Lubbock, Texas, when World War II began.

Florene Watson was one of the elite group of only 25 experienced women civilian pilots who met the military requirements in 1942 and volunteered to fly for the Ferrying Command. They were called the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Almost a year later in 1943, their name was changed to Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) to include women pilots as they graduated from their military training schools in 1943 and 1944. Some of the 1078 graduates flew for the Ferrying Command, but most were assigned varied flying duties in the Training Command. Thirty-eight WASPS lost their lives during their service to the war. Mrs. Watson was the first commanding officer of the WAFS-WASP stationed at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. She flew all the basic Arny Air Corps trainers, fighters, and cargo planes, including twin and four-engine bombers, transporting them all over the United States for the Ferrying Command. In addition to her ferrying duties, Mrs. Watson tested radar equipment and served as a military airline pilot in 1944. Her favorite airplane was the North American Mustang p-51.

The next cache was located at the remains an old building in Barnhart, TX (GC17W1M). Barnhart, located off U.S. Highway 67 and State Highway 163 in southwestern Irion County, was established in 1910 at the building of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway and was named for William F. Barnhart, agent for the railroad. In 1912 a post office was acquired with C. C. Luther as postmaster, and the first school was established with Mrs. Maude Branch as the teacher. The Barnhart Independent School District was established on February 27, 1917; the school operated until 1969. By 1920 the town also had the Barnhart State Bank, which was moved to Rankin in 1927, and a newspaper, the Barnhart Range, published by Ed Downing. In the 1920s and 1930s Barnhart became a large-volume shipping point, due to its location between major railroad lines. The population was reported as fifty in 1915. In 1947 Barnhart had 250 residents and six businesses and in 1980 seventy-four residents, a business, and a post office. In 1990 the population was 135. By 2000 the population was 160. There's also the Barnhart Cemetery cache located east of town (GC1Z33B).

One of the favorite things we like about Geocaching are the odd things the caches bring you to see. This next Geocache (GC1Z355) was located along the roadside of this rock painted up like the American flag. If you were not caching and passing by at the posted 75 MPH, you might have missed this. 

Our last cache of the day (GC1Z35E) was located at the Mertzon Cemetery which serves the community of Mertzon and dates back to 1912.

So another great Geocaching day in West Texas and picking up a few more counties to boot! Thanks for following along and we hope to be off on another adventure soon.

2016-04-03: A Presidential Geocaching Adventure, History and More Cemeteries

Today's Geocaching Adventure took us on a Presidential drive to a historical home. After a busy 6-day work week, it was good to get out and do some exploring. We decided to relax this time out instead of our recent hikes. Taking time for a good home cooked breakfast, we headed east on I-20 into Midland, Texas. Our first stop was a Starbucks since we haven't had one in a long while!

Our first Geocache was a Presidential Virtual! (GC89D4) The home of TWO Presidents! From the historical sign out front:

"George Herbert Walker Bush and wife Barbara came to Texas in 1948, moving to Midland with their young son George Walker Bush in 1950. They bought this house in 1951 and while here faced the loss of their daughter Robin and celebrated the birth of two sons. The years spent here were vital for young George, who attended Sam Houston Elementary, made lifelong friends and played baseball. The family moved to a larger home in 1955 and then later moved to Houston.

This c. 1939 traditional style house reflects transition from Tudor to Ranch detailing. Unique in history, it was home to two Presidents: George H. W. and George W. Bush; two Governors: George W. Bush (TX) and Jeb Bush (FL); and First Lady Barbara Bush."

However, while we were there it hadn't opened yet for the day. It was Sunday around 11:00 AM and we weren't up for waiting a couple of hours for an inside tour. Maybe next time we're in the area.

Leaving the downtown presidential home, we continued east several miles outside the city of Midland to another of Texas' historical marker caches. This one was located near Midland County's first producing oil well (GC2A3Q4). There wasn't much to actually SEE at this spot, but here's what the historical marker reads:

The discovery of oil in the Permian Basin during the 1920's helped sustain the area economy during The Great Depression, and many oil and gas companies established headquarters in Midland. Not until the 1940's, though, did Midland County begin seeing its own productive wells. Geologist H. L. Beckman worked with the Rowan Drilling Company to stake out Humble Oil and Refining Company's No.1 Mrs. O.P. Buchanan oil well at this site. They spudded the well on September 14, 1944 and completed it on November 6, 1945 at a total depth of 12,574 feet. The well produced 332 barrels of oil in 29 hours and became Midland County's first producing oil well. It was plugged on August 1, 1947.

On the way to our next cache, we arrived in Garden City and the Glasscock County Courthouse and Jail. On May 9, 1893, a little over one month from the date of Glasscock County's formal organization, the first county commissioner's court issued bonds to erect a combination courthouse / jail buildings. The small 2-story structure was completed on February 12, 1894. Originally, the ground floor was used for court session and the 2nd story for the jail. On August 27, 1910, a larger building was completed and has been in continual use since 1910. The smaller building was then used entirely as the jail until a new one replaced it in 1980.

A few blocks away was the Garden City Cemetery and our next Geocache (GC30CB1). We couldn't get the cache located in the cemetery as there was a gardener mowing right near the cache location. The one we did find was located outside the cemetery near the entrance.

The next cache on the agenda was for another Texas ghost town (GC14VV1). Not much to see here except for the historical marker:

The pioneer settlement of Cummins developed at this site about 1890 around the saddle and harness shop of the earliest permanent settler, Mississippi native Robert Benjamin Cummins (b. 1848). A post office the following year the nearby town of Sterling City (1.9 miles east) was founded. The two towns became rivals for the designation of county seat when the Texas Legislature created Sterling County from Tom Green County on March 4, 1891. An intense publicity campaign developed, aided by the writings of the respective town newspaper editors: W. L. Thurman of the Cummins paper, the "North Concho News", and S. R. Ezzell of the "Sterling Courier". An election, conducted May 20, 1891, appeared to be a victory for Cummins until several voting boxes were dismissed for technical reasons, resulting in a tie. A second election on July 7 gave Sterling City a 13-vote margin and it was named the county seat. Most Cummins businesses and residents had moved to Sterling City by the end of 1891. Nothing remains of the early townsite, which once included a school, saloon, meat market, mercantile, blacksmith shop, and grocery stores.

Now that you know the story of the rivalry between Cummins and Sterling City, let's drive over to see what all the fuss was about. Arriving at the newer Sterling County Court House, you can still see the original 1912 County Jail building to the right of it. Like most of the old west jails we've seen, the lower level included living quarters for the sheriff and this one had seven jail cells on the upper floor.

Across the street from the courthouse was this restored 1910 Hotel. Although I think the upper floors are still used as guest rooms or apartments, the lower floor appears to be an antique store.

A few blocks away was an old train depot. There wasn't a cache placed there, but I noticed the historical sign pointing the way to it and had to check it out. Attracted by the area's livestock production, nearby shipping points, and the financial support of the town, the Concho, San Saba & Llano Valley Railroad began building a line to Sterling City in 1909. A boxcar served as the depot until this mission revival building was completed. Highway and pipeline construction caused a decline in rail traffic and the line closed in 1958. Only this restored depot remains as a reminder of the early rail service that helped develop the area, and is now used as a community center.

Our last cache here was at the Sterling City Cemetery (GC47QPH). Still in use today and well maintained. But a few miles down the road was another of the Texas ghost towns and the only thing that remains is the Montvale Cemetery (GC14PMK).

The community of Montvale was established in 1884 when the pioneer settlement of St. Elmo was relocated here. Then a part of Tom Green County, Montvale was located on the Shafter Military Trail, an early road from Fort Concho. A community school, the earliest in the area, was in operation by 1886. Three years later the town was platted by H. B. Tarver, the surveyor for Tom Green County. It is believed the settlement was named for a nearby hill referred to in Tarver's field notes as Mt. Vale. Early businesses in Montvale included the saddle and harness shop of R. B. Cummins and the general store and blacksmith shop of B. Z. Cooper. The town was also the site of a Methodist church, a hotel, a post office and a variety of stores. About 1889 R. B. Cummins started the town of Cummins (5.4 miles northwest) upriver from Montvale. Both settlements began to decline in 1891 with the establishment of Sterling City (3.5 miles northwest) as the seat of government for the newly created Sterling County. A community cemetery is all that remains of the townsite of Montvale, a pioneer settlement that played an important role in the area's development.

Just south of the cemetery was our next cache at the Sherwood Lane Bridge (GC14VW4). It hadn't been found in two years and sad to say we hadn't find it either. It is an old single lane bridge still used when the small river flows too deep over the gravel road. And from the looks of the debris under and around the bridge, the water appears to have risen 3-4 feet above its current height! Probably why we couldn't find the Geocache. Maybe swept down river some where...

Continuing down US87 south, we happened upon a roadside attraction and our next Geocache (GC1QBG9). I'm not sure who Minnie Brown is, but she must have a following here in this part of West Texas. There were many displays here to look at along the side of the road at this house, but I only posted a few. You'll have to go and check out the rest of them. It's FREE and all you'll need to do is pull safely off the highway onto the wide shoulder area.

Our final stop brought us to the historical marker for another Texas ghost town (GC14VTW). There wasn't much anything here to see and so I didn't take any photos. The town of Broome, on the North Concho River and U.S. Highway 87 ten miles southeast of Sterling City in east central Sterling County, was founded in 1924 as a station on the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway and was named for early rancher C. A. Broome. The community acquired a post office that was discontinued in 1939. In 1947 the settlement had a combination store and filling station and a population of twenty-five. Its population was eighteen in 1980, and by 1990 no population figures were reported for the community.

That was it for today. Sorry for the delay in writing this blog post. With me working 60+ hours a week now it has cut into our Geocaching time on the weekends. But stay in touch and check back soon. We hope to be able to get back to our weekend Geocaching Adventures shortly.

2016-03-26: More Hiking and Geocaching in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Hello again and welcome back to another one of our Geocaching adventures. After last weeks exhausting hike up Guadalupe Peak, today was supposed to be one of those driving from cache to cache days. However, one of Candy's co-workers heard about our hike and saw the photos and she wanted to go hiking with us. She is also in the Marine Reserves and was leaving soon, so a change of plans and back to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

This time we decided on hiking through the McKittrick Canyon trail. That trail had an earthcache (GC1WAPB) near the trailhead and visitors center, as well as two virtual Geocaches out on the trail. When we arrived at this visitors center, a few miles east of last weeks visitor center for the peak trail, we found that the restrooms were out of order. So we drove back to the main road and the nearby rest area. While there, we found the two quick LPC Geocaches also.

Now back at the visitors center, we gathered our backpacks and headed onto the trail. It was a little bit later a start than last week as it was now close to noon. I also came prepared this time for the "day use fee" and did not have to search for loose change.

This hike was definitely easier than last week being mostly flat in the beginning. The McKittrick Canyon trail follows along the mostly dry stream bed, crossing through it several times as the trail and stream wind through the canyon. It was another clear blue sky day which made for some excellent views of the mountains on both sides of our hike. I'll let you enjoy a few pictures before I continue writing.

The next few pictures show the dry stream bed. For the first mile or so, there isn't any water flowing at all. From the looks of the erosion and the smoothness of some of the rock, it appears as though they get a whole lot of water flowing through here at times. But since we've been to West Texas, it hasn't rained that much.

After about a mile and a half down the trail we began to see a small clear stream flowing within the bed. It had a pretty decent flow rate going so it was a little puzzling. It seemed as though it may have been coming from a spring and then disappearing into the rock again. The way the trail weaved in and out, we never did see the beginning or the end of the water flow to know from where it came or where it went to. I figured on the way back, maybe we'll follow the stream bed instead of the trail to see how and where it originated.

About this time we encountered the park ranger hiking up the trail. I slowed a bit to let him catch up to me while the girls continued their pace. After a few minutes I asked him about the stream. He didn't really say it was a spring, but just that it began and ended.

He told me the story that the once land owner, Wallace Pratt (I'll get to him shortly), said the stream flowed constantly back in the 1920's and 30's through the canyon until it exited into the desert and dried up. Then in the late 30's and early 40's there were two floods. Mr. Pratt said that after the second flood, the stream just sank into the ground. And from then on it just flows on a few segments for a short distance.

So I still don't know how it originates or where it ends. But we will have to return again for another hike. Maybe we'll follow the stream bed then to find out.

So now for the next half mile or so, we're still hiking along with the park ranger and I notice on my GPS that we're getting closer to our first virtual Geocache (GC3A26). At about 300' away from the cache pointing to the right, the park ranger also says he has arrived at his destination. It seems we were going to the same place. Although he didn't know anything about Geocaching because I was explaining it to him along the way and that it was the main reason that had us hiking this trail.

We left the trail at these two stone pillars which led up to this old stone. The Wallace Pratt Lodge was the summer residence of Wallace Pratt (1885-1981), the principal donor of the lands that would become Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Pratt was a petroleum geologist employed by the Humble Oil Company, scouting for oilfield leases in west Texas. Pratt visited the Guadalupe Mountains in 1921, and taking a liking to the place, he bought a quarter share of the McCombs Ranch. There was at one time a road that led down into the canyon to the house. But the park service had it torn up and removed long ago.

In 1929 Pratt bought out his partners, ending up owning a large portion of the canyon, which featured waterfalls flowing over travertine dams, a lush, quiet place in the high desert. In the winter of 1931-1932 Pratt started construction of a house in the canyon, designed by Houston architect Joseph Staub. The cabin was built by Staub's former employee Vance Phenix and Vance's brother Dean, a carpenter, with stonemason Adolph May. The cabin was built of local limestone and heart pine. There was even a separate two car garage for their "his and hers" Mecedes-Benz's.The Pratt family spent summers at the cabin, which they called the Stone Cabin, and briefly lived at the cabin during Wallace Pratt's early retirement, while they built their final retirement home, the Ship On The Desert, outside of the canyon. The cabin accommodated the Ship on the Desert's architect during its construction. After the family moved to Tucson, Arizona, they donated the cabin, new house and surrounding lands of more than 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) to the National Park Service, the nucleus of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1975.

So after touring through the old house, we thanked him and continued further up the trail. Now here's where it gets really interesting...

About another mile down the trail we catch up to another couple who left the Pratt House just before us. They were at a fork in the trail. There was a sign there pointing to the "Grotto" to the left and continuing the McKittrick Trail to the right. They asked us if we had been on the trail before, but this was the first time for us all. They were looking for the trail that took them to higher elevation to view the canyon. We wanted the correct trail that led to the virtual cache! They remembered something the park ranger had told them about the Grotto, but didn't remember if that meant to follow that trail. Our GPS was leaning 3.4 miles slightly right. But that doesn't mean much winding around through the mountains. So they went left and we went right.

About a 100' further and we began climbing. Now up to this point and for the last 3 miles to the visitors center, we ONLY had a 200' elevation increase! Now we were starting to climb. I think this was the way the other couple needed to go also.

Even though the elevation was increasing more dramatically, it was still a fairly easy trail for a moderate rating. Then we encounter the rocks!!! The trail went from a smooth incline to an extremely rocky, big boulder steep incline! This was more like rock climbing than a hiking trail. Even the severe rated trail for the peak wasn't this rough. But we're adventurers, so we continue on. Perhaps it's just a short rough section that gets back to normal just around the next boulder. And according to the GPS, we're still heading in the right direction.

Continuing to climb, up another 100', then another 100', just when you think that if you climb over this spot and around that corner, there we'd find the normal trail again. Somewhere around the 400'-500' mark, it looked like a split so I quickly went ahead to the left to see if there was a way through. Nope that was a dead end. So I yelled back to have them head the other way.

I went ahead quickly up that side as well and saw no end in sight. It was just more large rocks and steep climbing. Finally I suggested we call it quits and head back down. It looked like we were getting closer to the top, but I'd hate to have climbed another 200'-300' only to encounter and dead end cliff wall.

So we all agreed and headed back down the rocks. Finally we get back down to the normal looking trail when suddenly there's a fork in the trail. WHAT? We don't remember that! Where did THAT come from? I zoom in on the GPS and noticed that we had came from the left. NO WAY!!! The TRAIL actually switched back to continue up the other direction! We didn't even notice that. So in reality, we were NOT climbing up the trail but just a rock wash.

The two pictures above don't do justice, but kinda give you a sample of what we climbed. We didn't take many pictures in that area as we kept our phones in our pockets to keep our hands free for climbing! In the photo below, you see the thick trees at the bottom? Down in there is where we missed the switchback on the trail. Now from there follow the crevice up the left to that large shaded area. That's about where we climbed to before turning back down.

So while we were at the switchback, three hikers came through and we asked if they had been on this trail before. Nope, it was their first time as well on this trail but said they hiked a lot. It showed as they walked fairly quickly. After debating a brief moment, we decided to continue forward on the correct trail to see where if we could make it to the other virtual Geocache, still more than three miles away. But that was a straight line distance, not the actual trail distance.

We caught up with the three hikers after a couple of switchbacks as they were seated and grabbing a snack. One of them began asking us what our plan was and if we had a car parked at the visitors center. He informed us that the front gate would be locked at 6:00 pm and we should be back at the visitors center by 5:30 in order to make the drive out the gate in time. By now it was 2:30 and there was no way to make it to the virtual cache AND still have time to make it back. So we decided to turn around and head back.

Just about that time, the couple we met by the Pratt House and later at the fork to the Grotto came walking down the trail from further up. They were puzzled at how they had passed us when I explained about our misfortune of making the wrong turn and we hiked up the rocks. They said the Grotto wasn't that far down their trail which they took. After looking at it, they doubled back and followed the trail we took. They however made the switchback and passed us while we were rock climbing.

The walk back was brisk, yet seemed to take forever. Especially that last mile! I kept watch on the GPS and it wouldn't move for long stretches as we rounded the base of a mountain along the trail. It just kept pointing to the mountain as we had to round the base to the other side. Then the compass would point straight and we'd start closing in on the car. But the needle would start to veer off to the side again as we rounded another corner. Our total hiking distance according to the GPS was 9.19 miles.

It was another great Geocaching adventure and a fun hike. Not as sore this time as last week. Even with our wrong turn climbing up the rocks, we still had a good day. Candy's co-worker also enjoyed her day hiking and learning about Geocaching. It's too bad she's being transferred in a couple weeks. Maybe we'll be able to get one more hike in before that.

That's it for now. See you back again next time.