LA Citylights by Eino Mustonen

I grew up in an endless city. Going outside to play meant going into the backyard which was half concrete and riding my bike in small circles or climbing up the lone tree that was in the center of the yard. Going beyond the confines of our yard was just not safe. We would go to the park or the beach, but even then we were never out of Mom’s earshot or eyesight. Never we were we left alone or to our own resources anywhere. This attitude carried over into my adult life and my outdoor excursions consisted mostly of walking to the local restaurants or corner store. Air-conditioning and flouresant lighting filled my days and evenings were spent infront of the tv or computer.

Then came geocaching. My world changed quickly! I began to discover new places in my hometown that I didn’t know existed. I found wonderful parks filled with sunshine and laughter in the mornings and afternoons with street musicians and hot-dog vendors. There was a whole other world going on out there and I had been so busy doing my life, that I had forgotten how to live it. Geocaching gave me a measure of reassurance that other people had been to these strange locations and had survived unscathed. This gave me the courage to venture in their footsteps and go see what could be found there. That was three years ago. Now it is not uncommon to find me darting out for parts unknown in the middle of the night, seeking that elusive first to find. I’ve traveled more slowly down roads I’ve known, learning to see them in a whole new way and explored new cities. Heartened by these little adventures I’ve begun to stretch and take bigger ones. Exploring city parks led to exploring state parks and state parks have led to National Parks. The beauty of this land is overwhelming. I am thankful every day for it. There really is so much to be thankful for. I am eternally grateful for the series of synchronous events that lead me to geocaching. You can read the short version of how I became a geocacher here. If you would like to read more stories about how other people have started geocaching and how it has changed their lives read,The Joy of Geocaching: How to Find Health, Happiness and Creative Energy Through a Worldwide Treasure Hunt.

Hippocrates said, “Walking is a man’s best medicine.” I certainly have to agree. I am now walking my way through a whole different life. Thanks to geocaching.

In May of 2007 my Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) adventures began when PJ accidentally discovered a copy of “Geocaching for Dummies”, while perusing the shelves at the Barns & Noble bookstore. She had heard about geocaching while living in Washington but hadn’t learned much about it. She bought the book and by the end of the evening, we were both hooked. We checked out geocaching.com and found a slew of caches in our immediate area in Long Beach, California. That was all the additional incentive we needed to purchase a handheld GPS unit from REI and when they arrived, the adventures began!

It is rare in life to find an endeavor that fundamentally changes the way you look at the world and how you live your life.

Geocaching changed everything for me. Suddenly, I was out of the house, exploring areas in cities I had been in my entire life, and just driven through, and began really “seeing” things for the first time. Many caches commemorate historical events or monuments and some are like a locals guide to the best of the area restaurants and shops, or out of the way getaway spots. Seeing where you live through someone else’s perspective or learning the history of this or that odd thing makes it much easier to really appreciate their significance. Here is a prime example. I have passed this flag pole probably hundreds of times since I was a child. The first time I remember seeing it, was from the backseat of my Dad’s ‘64 Chevy Impala, on the way to my favorite art store, Lyon Art Supply, in Long Beach, California. I was probably about nine or ten and it was the biggest, absolutely biggest, flag I had ever seen!! Now, at 43, I finally know all about it and Lyon’s is still where I buy most of my art supplies! View Polish Pole Cache!

So there is my basic story. How did you come to be a geocacher?

N 33° 46.314 W 118° 11.017

Geocaching days are some of my favorite days. I am constantly amazed at all the places I get to visit pursuing this hobby of mine. It has been a great way to become familiar with a new city and its local hangouts.

Today, we saw a very “artistic” piece of art. Spent time at the mall, but no money. Played in a canoe. We found the stairway to heaven/nowhere in a cemetery. Discovered an unexpected little treasure and bushwhacked our way around a lake. All in all, a very enjoyable day!!

RoGo and I managed to find eight geocaches today before we ran out of daylight. There were two that standout in memory. One involves my head in a canoe, the other stinging nettles and mosquitos.  At the backpackers supply I looked right over the top of the cache and didn’t see it several times. On the second trip to the location RoGo put her hand where I only put my eyes and came up with the cache. Yep I felt like a dummy. Somedays are just like that.

One of the next caches we did is called Genesis:Chapter 1. It’s a puzzle cache, meaning that the latitude and longitude coordinates are not directly given to you. Instead, there is some sort of puzzle for you to work out to obtain the coordinates. God knows I love puzzles and I’ve finally found a hobby that is often mentally more stimulating than it is physically challenging. Then again, sometimes caches are both.

Genesis was one of those puzzles that I couldn’t put down and couldn’t solve right away either. When I finally saw the answer staring back at me from the page, I literally slapped my forehead and said, “Duh! What a dummy!!!!” That was back in January. I put this cache down that day and didn’t think about it again until yesterday. The “dummy” thing seems to become the theme for the day, but I digress…

Found treasure.

Trail around Waughop lake...and duckies!!!

Waughop Lake at sunset.

Bushwhacking near Genesis: Chapter 1

Now, to find the cache. Finding a 4″ x 6″ camouflaged container in the half light caused by tree cover and dense undergrowth, is not as easy as you might think. You have to walk into stuff that is thigh high and feel around. I’m searching in one area and Rose another when I hear, “God d@m$!!” (Expletive, expletive,expletive…) I turn around and see RoGo jumping up and down with this look of extreme pain. I run over there as fast as I can scramble through the brush! I look her over and I can’t see any blood. She is moving too much for anything to be twisted or broken. I ask her what is wrong and she says, through gritted teeth the words: “Stinging Nettles.” I look at her blankly. She is still writhing in pain and I am still looking at her blankly when she says it again, “Stinging nettles, stinging nettles!!! She is looking at me like I am an alien, which technically I guess I am, I’m a Southern California city kid. All I can do is raise my hands shrug and say, “I don’t know what that means?!?!?” She bust out laughing and grimacing at the same time and said, “I forgot how much this hurts!!”

After a little awhile she shows me what stinging nettles look like which is a good thing to know around here. Then she said, ”I’m the dummy that wore shorts caching in the woods!! I should know better!” Just about this time we hear the sound of two men talking and bicycles. We just look at each other. We walk about 25 feet in the opposite direction from which we had come, and walk out onto a well used bike path about 10 feet wide. (Yes, this is another Dummy moment with a capital D!) This is when I started to itch all along my left arm. I already felt like a huge dummy for not looking closer at a map to find this trail, when I realized that it was dusk and the mosquitos were out, hungry and I was dinner. I also realized that I didn’t have any mosquito repellant! We hightailed it back to the Jeep. By the time we got home, welts had begun to rise on my back and arms and RoGo’s ankles and calves were stinging like crazy. I hit the caladryl and she hit the showers and that is the end of our “Cache Test Dummies” caching day!

Perhaps we should have read “Geocaching for Dummies” a bit closer.