Huntington, West Virginia is a hardworking town. It is a town of practicality and the struggle for the American dream, as marked by rails, the coal barges on the Ohio River, and the manufacturing facilities of today and times past. In its heart is Marshall University, a university founded for practical reasons: to educate teachers in this land that was once truly the American frontier. Huntington is not a place tourists fantasize about visiting on vacation, but it has a true and genuine history that has something to appeal to everyone. On March 15, 2014 the Cache N Cabell (CNC) Geotrail was launched to bring people to these historical and interesting sights.
The kickoff event for the trail was a smashing success. Over 500 individuals attended from all over West Virginia, nearby states, and even states a little further away like Tennessee. Most impressive at the kickoff was the presence of the Huntington mayor, Steve Williams. Mr. Williams cared so much that each and every person enjoyed their visit to Huntington he offered his cell phone number to the crowd.
The CNC trail is composed of 15 geocaches, of which seekers must find 12 to earn a geocoin. The 15 caches are divided into four categories. Category 1 had three geocaches in it, of which each was mandatory to earn the coin. The other categories had four geocaches each, of which the seeker had to find three in each to earn the coin. Though I’ll give you a spoiler, there were 250 coins available, of which 238 were awarded on the 15th. Don’t let the lack of remaining swag scare you, this set of 15 caches is still very worthy of your time and can easily be completed in an afternoon with a little bit of strategy. We completed the challenge in 4 hours and were part of the three-way tie for the first group to get a coin.
Let’s talk about these caches (a star denotes our favorites):
Category 1: Must Finds
C-N-C #1: WE ARE MARSHALL
This multicache takes seekers around Huntington to take in different sites of significance to Marshall University. It highlights the efforts undertaken by the university to improve the health of the region, the effects of the tragic plane crash (that inspired the movie of the same title), and the university athletics that pull much of the region together.
C-N-C #2: Downtown
This multicache is where we started. It was probably the longest and most challenging for us as we began by attempting it on foot but then finished in the car. Despite the slow start, we were the very first to complete this multicache. Being first to find was the perfect finish to completing this whirlwind tour of downtown Huntington’s must-see sights.
C-N-C #3: Hillbilly*
There is one dining establishment in Huntington that has made a name for itself on the Travel Channel: Hillbilly Hot Dogs. That is where this unknown cache type begins. Where it ends is a gadget cache worthy of possibly the most famous gadget cacher, WVTim.
Category 2: City of Huntington
C-N-C #4: THE STATION
This unknown cache is at Heritage Station, where the kickoff event occurred. As a result, there was an hour delay before this cache specifically could be found. To place this cache, the existing incarnation of WOO HOO CHOO CHOO had to be archived. As a finder of the original WOO HOO CHOO CHOO cache, a “you’re welcome” is probably in order for local cachers. It was a doozy. This one is far less frustrating and the final container is exceptionally awesome!
C-N-C #5: Showtime
This could’ve been in several places because Huntington has several theaters and the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. While the cache was only at one of these locales, it’s an important tribute to the fact Huntington is a regional hub for entertainment and culture.
C-N-C #6: Old Central City*
This cache was a major standout. The container is very unique, which makes sense given Old Central City is effectively Huntington’s antique district.
C-N-C #7: Park ‘N Ride
This traditional cache is the only one in the series outside of Cabell County, but it is situated across from West Virginia’s only amusement park. The group of us that cached together unanimously agreed that this was the weakest of the series. However, given the level so many of the caches in this series are at, it’s more likely just a shade of greatness.
Category 3: Parks and Culture
C-N-C #8: Ritter Park
Huntington’s city parks are a treasure. In all of West Virginia, you will not find better parks than in Huntington and Cabell County. It was so perfect that this traditional cache was placed here. It was also fun to find this one on kickoff day because there were already cachers at the site. One of the greatest parts of searching on this day was meeting so many cachers from so many places.
C-N-C #9: Art in the Hills*
This was one of the three real standouts for us in the series. The hint made us think we were in for something normal, but the truth was that we were seeking a true work of art. This was probably the most strenuous of the caches in the series to find, but taking your time and starting from the right trailhead makes all the difference. The Huntington Museum of Art is also worth a visit, a favorite place of mine to visit when I lived in Huntington.
C-N-C #10: Beech Fork
This traditional cache has a twist to it, a twist not everyone was expecting. When we approached this cache two other groups were as well. One came prepared and one did not. When we too the steps to reveal the cache, it inspired the novice cachers. Part of what made this day amazing, was meeting and showing the awesomeness of caching to more novice cachers.
C-N-C #11: Appalachian Heritage
This traditional cache sits across from Heritage Farms, a popular locale for conferences and weddings, which illustrates what live was like in the area 100 to 150 years ago. My favorite thing about Heritage Farms: the transportation building. The geocache was placed with permission and does not require accessing Heritage Farms, but it makes a good diversion if you’re already out there.
Category 4: Eastern Cabell County
C-N-C #12: Barboursville Park
The City of Huntington has a number of outstanding parks, but probably the largest developed park is Barboursville Park, which has become a geocaching destination. Over 40 caches exist within the park’s boundaries, ranging from the easy to the devilishly challenging.
C-N-C #13: Huntington Mall
Cabell County is home to the largest or only of many things in West Virginia: art galleries and amusement parks, for example. Shopping malls also fall into this category. No argument, the Huntington Mall is the best in the state. Though this unique cache is actually not located at the mall, it is located at a nearby hotel.
C-N-C #14: RACECAR
This is the only letterbox hybrid cache type in the series. Frankly, the letterbox hybrid type seems to be waning in popularity, yet they pack an extra surprise: a stamp! The stamp isn’t for trade but rather for collecting the impression. Letterboxers love to collect stamp impressions. It even inspired us to get our own stamp that we often use on geocache logs.
C-N-C #15: Milton Highlights
This multicache shows off the two jewels of Milton: Blenko Glass and the Pumpkin Park. These attractions sit next to each other. The former is probably my mother’s favorite attraction in Cabell County (she can’t wait to visit again when she comes out from Canada) and the latter is where the county fair is held each summer.
What we loved about the series:
- The variety of geocache types, it was a breeze to pick up six cache types, which enabled us to be eligible to seek a challenge cache near our home in Morgantown: A Busy Day in West Virginia
- The variety of containers used, even seasoned geocachers were sure to find something unique or a little different. For us, it was the Art in the Hills cache!
- Thought was given to placements, parking was either very close or appropriate parking coordinates were given.
- That in most of the categories, you needed to find three of four caches to satisfy the requirements of the challenge. Caches sometimes go missing or break, it’s good to have a backup or alternative choice.
- It brought us back to a place we love, Chris is from Huntington and I lived in Huntington for a few years. It also made Chris really proud of his hometown as this cache series showed off the very, very best of the place.
