Injuries/accidents/other memorable caching happenings

[Ray]

I have shared in similar mis-adventures as well. I even have a few scars to show for it. But, if one is to speak of a “favorite,” it would have to be the time we returned to the car; Trudy said “hold still” and then she pulled a 2-inch thorn out of the middle of my forehead.

[Sparse Grey Hackle]

This is about our first off-road geo experience out West in some high country. A memorable caching trip in July 2007.

We had a rental car out in the desert of Utah and Nevada going after GCVFRT and GCMZHF along with GCGEZF.

They are by an old WW II Army Air Corps base. The “tracks” were rutted jeep trails. Which would have been ok but at the time the rental company did not offer SUV 4×4’s.

We got the car (a Toyota sedan I think) hung up a couple of times. And, on one “Volcano Peak View” GCGEZF the incline was too steep to drive up (we tried but that car could not) so we had to dismount the rental a hoof it up with a herd of mountain sheep watching. The temps were 90 – 100 that day. (So I know I smelled like a moutain goat after that cache).

We were warned not to drive on the Bonneville Salt flats (which we didn’t) but the vehicle did have to go through a car wash before it went back and it did have some trim parts that fell off that we put in the trunk.

They had told us when we rented it they told us this vehicle was going to be pulled out of service after us because of it was high mileage. The A/C worked great that day!

[jerrys dad]

My worst? I was caching in a little park in North Prairie, WI. As I am looking for the container, a police officer drives up and asks what am I doing poking around in his trees. After explaining what geocaching was to him, he pulled away. As I was in the middle of a large pine tree, he pulled back up, and called me over by name. Now I had not told him my name, but I went over by him thinking this can’t be good. It wasn’t. Come to find out after my wife was in an accident, we didn’t pay her fine on time and unbeknown to us got our licenses suspended, ALL of them, drivers and vehicles! I had to get somebody to come pick me up and drive me home. The officer sat there waiting at the entrance to the park, with a county sheriff, waiting for somebody to get me. It ended up being a crummy $10 late fee that got me. But did that suck having to call someone to get me. At least I got the find!

[RSplash40]

I left work a little early to go to house hunting, had a few minutes to spare so ran to a park somewhat close, sort of a rural park with a multi.

One lane road so parking was on the grass, when I parked I saw the stump there and said no biggie, I’ll remember to go around it.

Well the cache took longer to get to than I thought and I was going to be late so I got it in quick, started it up and drove straight… up the stump *BANG* down on to the stump…up the stump goes the back wheel.

Thankfully just landed on the running board, so it now has a nice upward dent in it.

[uws22]

this link was just sent to me from a caching friend down in AZ…
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=2ca2c0c4-07cc-40d9-83ca-e0d5dbe898a8&IID=84492a67-4c63-4e7d-bac2-17e40cafb6d2

check out the pics with the log. evidently this trail even kept a few people on atvs at bay.

and the terrain is only at 3.5!!!

[sandlanders]

I think that one takes the prize!

[The Happy Hodag!]

Well, I have fallen through ice once – http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=d2501037-383c-4ea3-b4f7-92f086c11a9a&IID=c85e8c1d-c732-4db6-b317-94a70b363b4c

And then there’s this – http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=52fbdbd6-5c2e-49e6-868c-b07c82bbd237

-The Happy Hodag!

The buck stops here. . .and gets entered into Where's George.

Where's George? Stimulating the economy one EMS'ed dollar at a time.

[Crockett3663]

This injury didn’t actually happen to me, but rather my son, Drew, and I felt horrible about it afterwards.

It was during 4th of July week last year (2008). I had taken the whole week off of work, and decided to spend one whole day with each of my kids. On Drew’s day, we decided to go caching. We were still relatively new to the hobby, so I gues we were a bit unprepared for certain “events”.

Well, we decided to go after one cache “Slinger Water Tower” (GCYHYJ). It was/is a coffee can hidden in a small group of trees at the edge of a dead end road, and right near a subdivision. You should know that this dead end road actually used to cross US Highway 41, so the highway is clearly visble from the dead end and vice versa.

When we got to the site, Drew volunteered to go in after the container since it was in a tight area and he knew that I (being a rather large guy) would have difficulty getting in and out of there. BIG mistake!! As he was retrieving the container, he was attacked by a small swarm of biting flies!! Normally for most folks that might have just been irritating, but to a 9 year old boy, who’s definitely a “city kid” and not used to roughing it, the bites hurt like hell!! He had several of them, including a few that got up into his shorts and bit him around the groin area.

He was in so much pain and started crying. I asked him where he got bit, and he pointed “down there” I asked him to lower his shorts so that I could see them. Suddenly I realized where we were!! In this day and age, if someone driving by on HWY 41 had seen a grown man on a side road kneeling in front of a young boy with his shorts down, you can see how they’d get the WRONG idea!!

Quickly I suggested that we move around to the other side of the truck to shield us from any passing motorists. He lowered his shorts and allowed me to examine the bites, all the while crying in pain. I grabbed for the first aid kit and applied some bite ointment, not knowing if the stuff would even work. Surrpisngly, after all this was over, we still had to go through the cache container and complete the task, and he STILL volunteered to put the container BACK!! Talk about a brave kid!!

After we were finished, we sat in my truck and just collected our thoughts for a minute. Honestly I didn’t know if he’d want to venture on to the next cache , and I wouldn’t have blamed him one bit if he’d have told me he “never wanted to do this again”. But after a few minutes of catching our breath, I asked him if he wanted to continue and he said “yes”. By the time we completed the next cache (which ironically was immediately on the OTHER side of HWY 41 from where we were), his pain level had dropped dramatically and he was fine the rest of the day. Let’s just say it was a painful initiation into the world of geocaching for a father and son from “the city”, but it hasn’t driven us from the sport. We’ll just be more ready the next time!!

[amita17]

So I was trying to make GC1NF6X (The Amazing Geo-Race: Geneva Lk Area-Final Dest.) my milestone cache. It is the end of four multis and a final in Lake Geneva. I was still in the race with the final coordinates.

I am not familiar with the area, but I had maps and the arrow pointing the way. I also had a friend along who loves the Amazing Race, but is not a cacher. We parked the car, and made our approach. Started heading out into a marshy corn field, but I backed out saying I did not feel safe there. Corn above my head and muck who knows how deep below. Did I just drop something? I look down. No, GPSr and pen still in my hand. We find an actual trail in the woods. Go about .6 miles most of it bent at the waist it is so overgrown. Turn into the rough woods, and go a bit further, coming upon a marsh that isn’t crossable there. It is about 1/2 hour until dark.

Again, not feeling safe, like, we won’t make it out of there before dark, we decide to give up, and make our way out. I was smart enough to mark my entry off the trail, so we got back there ok. Started back out the trail. Got almost out and something made me think to check to my pockets. Where is my car key??

We go back to the corn field where we started to enter (where I thought I dropped something), and search about the 10 feet in that we got. No luck. Go back to the car. It is not there either. I have a spare lock key on me, and we search the car. Nope. Check the corn again. A couple arrives to walk their dog, and they help us look. We don’t find the key, so they give us a ride to the police station, where we report the vehicle, and attempt to get a ride home. Three calls later, I find someone willing to drive almost 3 hours to pick us up, and then back of course. This was a Saturday, so I can’t get a key made until Monday. It is not a computer chip key so it is not expensive. We go back Monday afternoon. Look once more for the key but don’t find it. Get the car.

And after contacting the cache owner, I realize I have the right coordinates, and the actual entry to the cache site, so I attempt to find it as long as I am down that way anyway. Sadly, it is near dark again, and the flashlight is dying, and although I was right there, I can’t see well enough to make the find.

Grateful for the kindness of family, friends, and strangers. Wiser to have another key made right away. Blessed with safe travel and warm places to wait for rides. Alls well that ends well, right? Except for not finding the final, which can wait until my next journey south.

Who started this thread, anyway? 😳 😛

[Todd300]

Just had mine yesterday.

More info on this blog post –

http://deafcacher.blogspot.com/2009/10/020-caching-recap.html

[Babokooks]

I was met a college friend at our 20th reunion. He enjoys caching as well. On the Friday night we arrived in Dubuque Iowa, we decided to grab a nearby cache at night. It was about 12:30 am and our friend we stayed with drove us to GZ. There was a little fog but otherwise a beautiful night. As we grabbed the cache, our friend heard some crying. We then heard it too. I shined the flashlight ahead of my friend and soon discovered there was a car upside down in the ditch about 100 feet from where we parked. The accident must have happened minutes before we got there because the 17 yo girl was getting out of her window and was quite shaken but happy to see people. She was lucky to be alive. The cops came and her family as well. A quick grab ended up being one of my most memorable caches.

[JimandLinda]

We hear so much about cachers being in the wrong place. Glad you were in the “right place at the right time”! 😀

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