In which our heroes are introduced; a geocache is found; a deer ponders.
Certain ancient civilizations believed that one could get guidance by listening to voices in the sky. Looking upwards they would beseech the lights and spirits above them for answers to timeless questions about why they exist here, what is their purpose for existing here, and where, exactly, is here anyway?
Little did they imagine that one day the skies would provide a very accurate answer. It would completely blow their minds to learn that their descendants would use this vital information from the sky to, among other things, find tupperware in the woods.
Rotating 20,000 kilometers above the earth flies a constellation of 24 magic sky birds known as satellites. Each of these satellites constantly broadcast their location, and the exact time from their internal atomic clocks, towards earth in a cacophony of invisible radiating waves that says “I am here! I am here! I am here!”
Many of these radiated waves can be detected at the same time anywhere on earth. Using equations and incantations derived from the very physics that control the universe, devices have been created to interpret these signals, and translate them into a series of numbers that indicate an exact terrestrial position.
Many such devices exist. One of which is currently moving down a trail running through the mountains of North Carolina, in the hands of an excited human named Billy.
Many of these radiated waves can be detected at the same time anywhere on earth. Using equations and incantations derived from the very physics that control the universe, devices have been created to interpret these signals, and translate them into a series of numbers that indicate an exact terrestrial position.
Many such devices exist. One of which is currently moving down a trail running through the mountains of North Carolina, in the hands of an excited human named Billy.
“I think it is over here!” Billy said excitedly, as he walked down the trail, and glancing down at the arrow on his sky device. “Looks like it’s 300 feet away. Likely in the next clearing.”
“Great!”, said his brother Ted, “I am getting 290 feet here. Lets keep going.”
Ted had his own device, identical to his brothers. He called it a GPS, but the ancients, should they ever travel through a hole in the space time continuum and arrive in our era, would worship it as the sky god known as Garmin.
“Great!”, said his brother Ted, “I am getting 290 feet here. Lets keep going.”
Ted had his own device, identical to his brothers. He called it a GPS, but the ancients, should they ever travel through a hole in the space time continuum and arrive in our era, would worship it as the sky god known as Garmin.
GPS technology is very accurate compared to say, paper maps, but it only has an accuracy of about 15 feet, so the difference in distance between the two GPS devices was not a surprise to either brother.
Ted, not thinking about the amazing technology he possesses, let the GPS dangle from the tether attached to the strap on his pack, pushes thru the undergrowth blocking the trail and steps into the clearing. Billy soon followed.
They pause for a moment and take in the scenery. They are in a large clearing full of knee high grasses and wild flowers. At the far end is a large maple tree, with huge sprawling branches. Just beyond the tree are hints of a view over the next valley. In the middle of the clearing is a log from a fallen giant oak. Surrounding the clearing is a forest of pine trees, rhododendrons, and the odd random deciduous tree.
The sun was shining, and the scene would be described by some as “breathtaking” and an example of “the beauty of Mother Nature.” Billy snapped a photo with his camera.
“What does the cache description say?” he asked. The boys were not here by chance. In fact they were on an adventure in search of a geocache.
Geocaching is a hobby by which people hide containers in interesting places around the world, and post information about it online, including the GPS coordinates of the hiding spot. Others can look up these descriptions, load the information into GPS devices, and head out into the world to find those containers. Once found, geocachers sign a piece of paper, or logbook, which is kept inside the cache, to mark that they were there. Sometimes they trade trinkets as well. Then place the container back in its hiding place for the next person to find. Finally, they log the adventure of finding the caches online, then hang out in virtual forums, Facebook groups, and Google Plus communities to assert and debate the deliciously ironic argument that despite geocaching not being about how many cache finds one has, geocachers first question when meeting a someone new is “how many cache finds do you have?”
It is a unique hobby. Some jocks consider it to be a rather geeky sort of sport, and write it off as a nerdy thing. Geocachers would like to remind those jock type folk that watching football is really just observing a bunch of grown men in tights struggling over a hunk of inflated pig skin for the express purpose of moving it over an arbitrary line drawn on a fake field, and ask that they get some perspective before passing judgement. Not to mention that it is not a sport. It is a hobby, if you don’t mind.
Geocachers use nicknames such as PluckyCat123, TrailMonkey, or Hyde’n’Sekr, to identify themselves to other geocachers (proving once and for all that geocaching is definitely a nerd hobby - but at least it is nerds that go outside and foster a sense of adventure).
Billy and Ted Bishop are brothers, 21 and 19 years old respectively. They go by the nicknames Preston.Esq, and Theo.Logan.
Ted reads the description off of his GPS (a Garmin eTrex 30, if you are curious). “This cache is called Friendly Giant. The description reads: On top of Turkey Peak lives a friendly giant. At its feet lies an ammo can. Find the ammo can to retrieve the code word - don’t forget to sign the log, and check out the views.”
The brothers followed the arrows on their GPS devices to the base of the large maple tree. They started looking around for the container. After a few minutes of circling the tree, Billy yelled “Found it!”, and pulled the ammo can out from a pile of branches at the base of the tree.
“Great!”, said Ted, rushing over to look inside the container. Billy yanked out the log book, then handed the container to Ted.
“Great!”, said Ted, rushing over to look inside the container. Billy yanked out the log book, then handed the container to Ted.
Billy examined the log book, which took the form of a spiral bound notepad. He discovered, tucked into the front cover, a laminated card with the following words in a bold red font: Codeword=MINERAL. “I got the codeword!”, he exclaimed, “It is mineral!”
“Great!” said Ted, busy examining the trinkets in the cache, “that’s all six code words we need - just one more puzzle to go!” He traded a small first aid kit for a yo-yo. Happy with his trade, Ted handed the container back to Billy. He then wandered a few feet farther into the brush, and soon stands at the edge of the ridge and gazes out over the valley below.
“Great!” said Ted, busy examining the trinkets in the cache, “that’s all six code words we need - just one more puzzle to go!” He traded a small first aid kit for a yo-yo. Happy with his trade, Ted handed the container back to Billy. He then wandered a few feet farther into the brush, and soon stands at the edge of the ridge and gazes out over the valley below.
“Check this out, dude”, he said, “This is an amazing view.”
Billy quickly signed the log, and slipped it back into the cache. He then replaced the cache back in its hiding place, covered it back up with branches, and headed off to join his brother at the ridge’s edge.
Billy quickly signed the log, and slipped it back into the cache. He then replaced the cache back in its hiding place, covered it back up with branches, and headed off to join his brother at the ridge’s edge.
“That is definitely one heck of a view, eh, bro?”, he replied softly as he takes in the scene, “one heck of a view.”
“Definitely one of the better benefits of caching”, Ted replied. Billy took some more photos.
“It is getting late, bro.” Ted observed after a few minutes. “What do you say we call it a day. Tomorrow we can get the puzzle from the cache at the library downtown, then we can finally solve The Legend Of Dawson’s Mine.”
“Sounds like a plan to me!” Billy agreed.
“Sounds like a plan to me!” Billy agreed.
They paused to take in the view for a few more minutes, then they reluctantly turned around, walked across the clearing and headed back down the trail.
From the edge of the clearing, unnoticed behind a grove of rhododendrons, a deer watched as the brothers left, and wondered what on earth made this place so interesting to the shaved apes all of a sudden.
From the opposite edge of a clearing, unnoticed in a grove of pine trees, a dark figure writes some notes on a notepad, then silently disappears into the dark of the forest.
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Copyright 2015 by Dave DeBaeremaeker. All Rights Reserved.
