Snow, Tunnels, and Sage Brush! Great Combination!

Cynthia and Mike have made several visits down our way so it was time to drive up to Reno. We took our time and geocached along the way. We didn’t encounter any spectacular caches that you would write home about, but we did trek through the snow to one. (We were wishing we had snowshoes, but we made it to the cache). We also found a multi that Team Alamo (the California cacher with the most finds) did not find. That made us feel good!

Once we arrived in Reno, we picked up a few more caches before heading to Cynthia and Mike’s house and then on to dinner. Dinner was at the Claim Jumper and, as usual, was good. After dinner we had plenty of time to relax and figure out the plan for today.

We left later than usual Saturday morning because it is COLD up here in the morning. It was in the twenties but I had my squall pants and boots and lots of layers on the top so I survived. We headed into the Virginia Highlands behind their house to find a couple of caches and to watch Geo-Jeeper hide a cache in honor of their dog Brandy. I won’t describe it as I don’t want to give it away, but it is a very appropriate cache. We did take lots of pictures with their camera and I’m sure they will tell you about it if you ask. The views from that entire area were incredible and were worth the “hike” up and down the rocks and across the snow.

In the afternoon we decided to do some caches in the Reno area. We ended up on the northwest side of town and bounced our way over some of the back roads. We had forgotten how much bounce you get in the Golden Retriever (jeep) on the Reno back roads.

Our most challenging cache was “FTF-Tag You’re It! #6”. It was a two stage multi-cache. The first stage was easy. It was right there at the original coordinates. The second stage wasn’t so easy. After entering the new coordinates, we figured out we had to be on the other side of the freeway and there is no access unless you walk through a tunnel (culvert) under the freeway. We had two choices. Mike and I started down the hill to check out the two tunnels. Cynthia and Larry stayed at the top incase they had to go for help.

We surveyed the two tunnels. One had fast flowing water going through it. The other appeared to be dry. We naturally picked the drier tunnel. That turned out to be an error. Shortly after entering the tunnel, we encountered a solid sheet of ice right down the center of the tunnel. We stayed to one side and picked our way along very very slowly. Ice skates would have been great but we had to settle for trying to stay upright with our hiking boots. There were occasional slides. I likened it to the sensation I imagine the kids get with their shoes with wheels--just stay upright and glide! Once we got to the other end of the tunnel, scaled the “wall” and got through the barbed wire fence, finding the cache was easy.

Now we had to make our way back. We decided to go through the tunnel with the running water. The water was not deep, nor was it wide. We could straddle it in parts and walk along the wall in parts. Imagine ducks waddling. I think that pretty much sums it up. Of course, whenever we slipped, we were walking in the water. Fortunately, our boots kept us dry. We were grateful to get back to the original side. One hurdle remained, though. We had to get back up the hill! Determination paid off. I huffed and puffed my way to the top (Mike just strolled) and we shared our story with Cynthia & Larry. We even managed to get a few pictures to prove we were really there!

We found a few more caches before heading home to our glass of wine and fine dining at the Rambo House.

Sunday we headed for Carson City. We headed first to Starbucks and then out the Mt. Rose highway to a cache in Galena Park. The snow was thick and the ice had the roads in the park closed. We had to hike in to the cache and then spend our time on our hands and knees in the snow until we spotted it. Always a good way to start the day.

From then on, it was a pretty unusual day. We spent time among the sage brush looking for different size caches. For some reason, the micro cache is catching on in Reno. Trying to find a micro in the desert in the sage brush is almost impossible. One cache was a shot gun shell in the ground at the base of a large bush. We searched for quite a while before Cynthia finally spotted it. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I would love to find more ammo cans in rocks and bushes again!

Late afternoon we headed home to Roseville. The four of us had one more cache to find in Verde so Cynthia and Mike led the way. It was hidden along a trail in Del Webs Somerset community (A Reno Sun City). The cache was easy to find but we were amazed that active adults (55+) would want to live here. It is out in the middle of nowhere with only two points of entrance. No matter which way you go, you have a long way before you can get to medical facilities or shopping.

Once we were back on the road again, we were pleased with the light traffic. The Super Bowl was on TV and obviously a lot of people were watching it. We did encounter a little traffic just past the Tahoe entrance back on to the freeway. There were a few other people ignoring the football game and taking advantage of the lighter than usual Sunday homeward bound traffic.

We arrived home safely, put our feet up, logged our caches, and relaxed the rest of the evening. Tomorrow will be a day to unpack and regroup. Another great geocaching weekend.