>I would much rather park the vehicle and walk
>in for these short, steep caches and get some exercise than to drive it up
>there.  I don't get any satisfaction or thrill writing something like
>"parked 60 feet away" in my log

For others though the 'accomplishment of being able to taka vehicle to 
within a few feet of a cache on a mountain top or on a rough 4x4 road is a 
sense of satisfaction. The thrill of being able to safely drive a vehicle 
into an off road cache and parking closer than the last guy (and of course 
get back out afterwards) is a big thrill to some.

I look at it both ways. I very much enjoy attempting to take my 2x4 full 
size truck into caches that the description states "4x4 and high clearance 
required". Most of the time this is someone who doesnt have a clue about 
what a real off road ride really is and a 2x4 with some clearance can do it 
easily. Other times, you really do need a beefed up truck or jeep to make 
it! I love driving off road. I wish I had a 4x4 truck. But, I dont. However, 
I do have a fairly beefy 2x4 truck (from the factory it is built pretty much 
the same as the 4x4 version, but it is only 2wd) and I enjoy trying to get 
it up a mountain road or off road route. But, I do know my limits and when I 
see something I dont feel confident I can get out of... I have no problem 
stopping and hiking the rest of the way. I only once have gotten myself 
stuck and could not get out. There are a few cachers out there that have 
driven with me that were suprised that I "take that truck into places like 
that". :) But, those same few cachers have also seen me stop my truck and 
hike the rest of the way.. cuz, it is easier to hike to the cache and drive 
home than to get stuck and have to work your ass off to get your truck out 
of a bad situation!!!!!! :)

On the other hand... I love to hike. I love to climb mountains. But, if I 
can drive closer to a cache.. I will always take the easiest route. That is 
why I so much enjoy wilderness/mountain caches that require you to hike, 
since there is no road (or sometimes no trail for that matter) to get you 
closer to the cache. That is why I hid my first two caches like that (RTW-1 
and 2). There is no road up there. If you want the cache.. you have to hike 
and climb!

So, I enjoy both sides of the coin on this subject. There are plenty of 
caches out there that require a hike to reach and on those, I get my 
excercise. Other times, I enjoy seeing how close I can get my truck. I take 
satisfaction in meeting the challenge whether it be thru hiking or driving 
and reachin that goal.

Yuban the Can 2 cache: I also tried to drive my truck up to this cache. It 
doesnt particularly look very difficult. I have driven up steeper trails 
before. But, it does have some loose sand and gravel on top of some old 
pavement and that can make it tricky to keep traction.. particularly in a 
2x4 truck. I did try to drive up it and had to stop at like 300' or so 
because I lost traction. I probably could have made it, but my front right 
tire caught a small rut and that caused me to loose any momentum and 
traction I had left. I was doing fine until then, just applying very light 
gas and keeping the back tires from spinning. Once I lost traction, I knew I 
wouldnt be able to get going again without starting over and picking a new 
line. Why bother? I was only 300' from the cache.. so, I just hiked it. 
Afterwards, I backed my truck down the trail to a turn around point at the 
bottom (I think backing up is much safer than trying to turn around 
sometimes). I told Regan when I was talking to him about this that he 
shouldnt have taken a Toyota cressida up there in the first place!!! That 
kind of vehicle was not built for roads like that, much less anything but a 
paved road! It took a situation like this to finally convince him of that! 
It really isnt a very long or tough hike from the bottom (or from the main 
paved road for that matter). I didnt make it in my truck and I think I put 
that in my log. I have no problem admitting it.

Lately, I have been even more cautious of where I take my truck (since I 
often use it for business as well). But again... I dont mind a good hike ;)

Scott
Team Ropingthewind

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