>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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