I don’t think I’ve been stung by nettles since I was 10. I’d forgotten that they actually hurt as soon as you touch them, almost like a little shock; I had some crazed, incorrect recollection that they only stung a few hours later when the bumps came up, but it turns out that’s not right.
Anyhow, I headed out geocaching. It’s about three weeks since I last went hunting for treasure, and I was keen to make the most of the fantastic hot day we’ve just had, so I scooted off after lunch and parked up in a small lane in the middle of nowhere and set off with the GPS, following a series of cryptic clues through countryside packed with wildlife.
The first check-point was a style, for which I already had the coordinates, but from there things got much more tricky. The person who had hidden the treasure hadn’t given an easy route to find in. Instead, they’d referenced the coordinates with features of the landscape. So, getting to the style and counting the arrows on either side gave the next location as follows:
a = number of arrows on the front
b = number of arrows on the back
c = a + b
d = c / b
e = c + d
f = d - b
g = b + f + d
And that gives you the coordinates of checkpoint two which, after you’d substituted the letters for the numbers they represented, was N 51.ab.bbf E 00.bd.ega
There were six check points in total, the fifth being a small box hidden inside a tree stump, inside which were the coordinates for the treasure, coded up just like the ones above. In all it took about an hour and a half of walking and working things out to find the treasure, hidden under an old log in an ammunition box. It was obvious nobody had been there in weeks, as it was covered in cob webs.
It was a fantastic long walk. I didn’t see anyone for the whole time I was out, but I was absolutely surrounded by wildlife. Apart from the pheasants, hares and squirrels, the most common animal I saw was deer. I was counting them to start with, but once I got beyond 40 I gave up. They were quite timid, but they were still running across the paths in the woods just in front of me, just a few metres away.
The treasure itself was well worth the hunt, despite being stung so many times by the nettles (serves me right for geocaching in shorts). The ammo box (above) was quite large, so could hold some good stuff, and people had filled it with books and pens and puzzles. I almost took The Bookseller of Kabul, as it’s something I had been intending to read, but I then found a strange wooden board game below it that I’d never seen before and, realising I could buy Bookseller anywhere but might never see this game again, took that instead. I don’t know what it’s called, or how you play it, so hopefully some Googling will turn up a clue.
In all, a fantastic day out in the countryside, and I may even have got a little bit tanned.
Related posts:
- An old stool
We went geocaching today for the first time in ages. It’s been a hot weekend, filled with breakfasts and lunches on the patio, bike... - Caching in
We picked up a travel bug on Saturday, under a gravestone in a little park by St Paul’s. I already knew where the cache was... - Jon’s birthday
Weather-wise, a fantastic weekend. I spent this afternoon out walking. And walking and walking. There is so much wildlife. Countless rabbits. Foxes. Even a couple...
