NoVA’s Most Wanted Geocaches

After our trip to the DC area got off to a rough start due to problems on the Red Line (and everyone who has ever lived in DC has just shook their heads in agreement), we returned to Reston and gathered our bearings. Instead of the virtual geocache crawl we had planned for the District of Columbia, over a comforting bowl of pho, we crafted a new plan: to “free cache” the best caches in Northern Virginia, in the area we were in. Spoiler: I think it turned out better this way, anyway.

To alleviate the frustrations our first stop was to chow down. We found a non-described pho place near the Metro station. Chris had never tried pho and I had never met a bowl of pho that I didn’t like so we took this perfect opportunity to try it out. Besides, you can’t get pho in Morgantown. Things like this are exactly why we love to visit “the big city.” The restaurant was quiet and the staff was attentive, it was the respite needed after the frazzling experience of Metro. After our bellies were full we started hopping between the nearest highly rated caches.

Despite our new outlook on the day, we didn’t get off to a great start. Mart of Many Nations managed to stump us. We’re normally old pros at parking lot geocaches but from the previous logs we thought we might be in for a little more of a challenge. So if you’ve found this one before, hints are appreciated. Normally failing to find the first cache of the day is a bad omen, but we decided to try a second.

There seem to be some standard “unique” caches, these are caches that you’ll maybe find one of in a region, but if you’ve cached in multiple regions you’ll see them again. This was the case 2 foot cache, we had seen one just like it in Airway Heights, Washington. But given that I was going to very crankily give up caching for the day otherwise, it was a happy and comforting find in front of the Home Depot. I love it when cache owners go to such great lengths to repurpose basic items as geocaches.

Next, we headed out the Manassas National Battlefield to “Rally behind the Virginians.” Firstly, we’re used to the Civil War sites in West Virginia, which are very often very close to as they were during the conflict. In fact, one site, Camp Allegheny is truly so close to how it was that it is difficult to reach by passenger car (you need the ground clearance!) and there was staunch opposition when a wind power generation facility was to be put up within the view-shed. Other sites, like Laurel Mountain (site of the Battle of Laurel Hill) and Cheat Summit Fort retain most of their Civil War-era characteristics with only a few suggestions of modern times here and there. But in Manassas, there are piles of non-descript homes and businesses that really encroach into the area of the battlefield. It’s a very different feeling than you get when you visit the sites in West Virginia. Though there is no question, if you visit Manassas, that Stonewall Jackson was ripped. That is not something you get a sense of when you visit his boyhood home, in what is new Lewis County, West Virginia.

Stonewall Jackson riding on at the Manassas National Battlefield Park

Very close to Manassas we also found The Iron Goose. Compared to the rippling muscles of Stonewall Jackson and the fact we had found a very similar, though now archived, cache in Huntington, West Virginia this sneaky find didn’t really seem terribly remarkable. But when you’re seeking out the very best, it’s all shades of awesome.

We went driving around to seek out the next cache, a virtual cache at a modest memorial to those who lost their lives in 911, 911 Memorial. It’d been threatening to rain most of the day. We thought we would be able to avoid it, but as we pulled up the memorial to log the cache and pay our respect the rain came pouring down. It added some interesting perspective to the location and, once dried off, was almost appreciated. This cache truly provided us with a five-sense experience.

A five-sense experience at this somber 911 Memorial

The final find of the day, also in the rain, was one of the cornerstones of the District of Columbia. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting to find the DC Cornerstone this in a sleepy neighborhood a few blocks away from the old downtown of Falls Church, Virginia. Originally, the District of Columbia was a ten-mile by ten-mile allocation that looks like a cube tipped on one point, incorporating lands belonging both to Maryland and Virginia. However, during the Civil War, Virginia took its part of the DC allocation back and it is now Arlington.

We logged five finds, which is pretty good given the quality of the geocaches and the delay in getting to the geocaching part of the day. Northern Virginia is a wonderful place that has a unique combination of fascinating history, delicious restaurants, and just enough southern hospitality that you know you’re not in Maryland anymore. We look forward, as always, to our next trip!

Riding to the Playground

Our Saturday goal: the Pocahontas County Mad Gab geocache challenge. Secondary goals included some cooler weather and breathing in a lot of fresh air, helping bitmapped place two geocaches, and picking up a few other caches.

We set out from Morgantown just before 8:00am. We took I-79 for speed and for breakfast, Tudor’s Biscuit World in Bridgeport is a favorite because of the irresistible biscuits and all the benefits of a full service gas station. This route also enabled us to pick up the WV Civil War Trail cache in Clarksburg, commemorating the birthplace of Stonewall Jackson. In the process of getting that cache we got off to a rough start when Chris closed the car door on my fingers, but we recovered! This was the right time of day to snap this one up as it is located in a historic cemetery next to a popular local park.

To mix it up, we took WV Route 20 down to Buckhannon (the fewer daylight hours on the Interstate the better, in my opinion—though sometimes you just really need to get there!) and hopped on Corridor H into Elkins where we picked up U.S. Route 219. In Huttonsville we all kind of agreed that it felt like the last vestige of North Central West Virginia.

Near Cheat Bridge we took Forest Road 209 along Shaver’s Fork to help bitmapped place a geocache. This gravel forest road was in excellent shape and seemed to attract a lot of campers. Very few of the campsites along the approximately 3-mile long road were vacant. But the cooler weather at the higher elevation plus the stunning scenery of Shavers Fork makes it a wonderful summer camping spot.

Scenic Shavers Fork and railroad tracks for the Cheat Mountain Salamander across the riverAfter driving all the way down the road, we returned to the one area we all agreed would be geocache suitable. The criteria we considered in this placement:

• Access to scenic views
• Likelihood of being washed away during periods of high water
• Likelihood of being discovered by accident, which could make it go missing
• Ability of the site to support the container size selected

Once we were satisfied with the location, bitmapped took coordinates and has submitted that cache for approval on Geocaching.com. We then headed over to Cheat Summit Fort to find the WV Civil War Trail cache there. While Cheat Summit Fort is a wonderfully curated civil war site (plus the really neat Confederate cemetery), prior series of WV state geocaching challenges had brought us up here so it lacked the awe from the first visit. As individuals who enjoy doing curated geotrails or geocache challenges, it does get rote to constantly be returning to the same sites to log repetitive caches (sometimes they’re even the same container as before but with a new geocaching ID code).

We continued on to Gaudineer Knob. There had previously been a geocache in this area but it was known to have sloppy coordinates so I had always overlooked it in lieu of scenic areas with a view (or sometimes you just want to get to where you’re going). The old cache was recently archived and bitmapped was eager to get a new, hopefully better, cache placed. At the top, there is a half-mile loop hike to the overlook. It is breathtaking. If you’ve ever in the area and have 30-45 minutes to spare, take the access road and walk to the overlook. I had surgery 5 days prior to this trip and had no trouble with the walk. Besides, the parking area had a clean pit toilet so there’s always that.

The breathtaking view from Gaudineer Knob

Once crossing Gaudineer Knob off the list (and placing the geocache!), we headed toward Camp Allegheny to pick up one of the oldest geocaches in West Virginia as well as the WV Civil War geocache. The drive out to Camp Allegheny can be challenging in a passenger car, either WVDOT or the Forest Service need to get out there with some gravel. It is nothing short of a shame how tricky it is to make the drive. Camp Allegheny is a wonderful Civil War site to visit because the view-shed is unchanged from the past 150 years (Cheat Summit Fort isn’t bad, but there’s a big power line that runs through it). And where the road is now is where the road was then.

The view from Camp Allegheny

From Camp Allegheny, we sought to venture to Green Bank to begin the Pocahontas County geo trail. We made it after a harrowing trip on County Road 5 (Buffalo Mountain Road). I spent virtually the whole drive into Green Bank hugging a pillow against my abdomen, where my well-healing surgical incisions are. The next entry here will describe and evaluate the Pocahontas County geocaching program this year.

Seeking the Civil War in the Potomac Highlands

Returning to the Morgantown area from our geocaching blitz on the Eastern Panhandle, we wanted to take the scenic route and maximize the number of WV Civil War Trail caches we picked up, so we devised a route that would enable us to pick up seven of the geocaches. The route is pictured below:

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Wardensville VC (287-327 W Virginia 259): this cache is located at the local historical society. Wardensville, today, is a picturesque small town that is reminiscent of Mayberry (though strongly reminds me of my mother’s hometown of Merritt, British Columbia). Wardensville, in addition to its role in the civil war (there is a marker at this location), was also the population center of the United States in 1820, the first of four times it would be in what would become West Virginia.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Olivet Cemetery (Olivet Dr): It is not uncommon in West Virginia to discover links to the Civil War in cemeteries and indeed in this series many cemeteries are visited. In this case, overlooking part of Moorefield, this cemetery is the final resting place of many of those who fought but is also saw action. It was so difficult to imagine, standing on a silent, Sunday morning young men firing on each other in what is a place intended to be peaceful. Moorefield is also home to a new Sheetz which came in handy at this point.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Taggart Hall (91 S High Street): The first stage of this cache is at a local museum and the second just a short drive away, requiring the dime tour of Romney. The continued existence of the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Romney is currently threatened, its campus is breathtaking and its history is inspiring.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Ft. Mill Ridge (Unnamed Rd): This fort was built to control the Northwestern Turnpike, modern day U.S. Route 50, and is well-preserved in part of a wildlife management area. The interpretive markers also hold nothing back in describing how challenging the winter of 1863 was, one of the coldest on record. Even on a warm day, this ridge is breezy, imagining freezing temperatures in May seems unimaginably miserable. I can’t help but wonder what was on the minds of the troops up here at that time.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Larenim Park (Patterson Creek Rd): Frankly, I couldn’t figure out the significance of this site in the Civil War. The location seemed a little strange. We had to drive back into a park that had a small reservoir, walk across the dam, and then do a little bit of bushwhacking.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 3 – Claysville UMC (U.S. 50): The little spec of a church here stood and held services for both Union and Confederate soldiers and different parts of war. While the differences between the two sides are so often focused on, here is one similarity that has been preserved.

WV Civil War Trail Zone 2 – Battle of Rowlesburg (656 Cannon Hill Rd): Having never been to Rowlesburg previously, this was a treat. We never realized how significant the railroad or the river was and is in Rowlesburg. Indeed, control over the railroad is what drew attention to Rowlesburg from both sides in the war. The tracks still run through town, and there are some old bridges and infrastructure that certainly ignited a spark in Chris’s railfan heart.

From here, we carried on to Morgantown. Due to our efforts this day, we had found enough Zone 3 caches to be eligible for the coin and were only two caches away from being eligible for the Zone 2 cache. Thus really only leaving Zone 1 needing sizable work to conquer.