Geocaching in First Landing State Park, VA
This must be what the Amazon feels like, I think to myself as I wipe a stream of sweat rolling down my cheek. A chorus of insects shrills constantly as I slowly make my way down a spur trail in First Landing State Park, in Virginia Beach.
I wouldn’t say I’m lost; misplaced might be better description. Maybe I’m just a tad delirious from the heat and three mosquito bites and counting. I chose to try my hand at Geo-caching on one of the hottest days of the year. For those who don’t know, Geocaching is treasure hunting activity where you use a GPS device to seek out hidden containers of trinkets and goodies. At this moment, I wish my GPS would point me in the direction of a told cold one and air conditioned comfort. But I’m a man on a mission and a little heat and — make that four mosquito bites and counting — won’t deter me from my quest.
So how did I end up in First Landing State Park armed with GPS? Thank the Department of Defense, the Internet and Santa Claus. Here is the abbreviated story: Back in the day, the DOD created a satellite navigation system for the military that was made up of a network of 24 satellites. In the 90’s, the government made the system available for civilian use, and a new hobby was born. Then along comes the Internet and increasing numbers of everyday folks like me with handheld GPS units. (I got mine as a stocking stuffer.) As a result, sites like geocaching.com were born; a web portal that hosts more than one million active caches, close to thirty of which are in First Landing State Park. Here’s a little history lesson: First Landing State Park got its name because it is the site where the English settlers “first landed” before sailing up upstream to Jamestown. Kudos to them for finding the new world, sans a GPS device.
Today, I’m in search of the Long Creek cache which is located at N 36° 54.641 W 076° 03.125. I plugged these coordinates into my GPS before venturing out, and now I find myself alone in the woods, peering down at the tiny screen of my Garmin E-Trex which is communicating with at least three satellites thousands of miles above my head. What will they think of next?
At the park’s parking lot off Shore Drive, I’m about .6 of a mile away from the Long Creek cache. A little black triangle on the GPS screen shows the direction in which I’m heading. A thick black line points to where I want to go. Occasionally, the triangle drifts from the line like a drunk attempting to pass a sobriety test. I crunch my way over dried leaves and baked dirt as I make my way down the aptly named Bald Cypress Trail. Grey beards of Spanish moss droop from towering trees wading in a swamp. Within a few minutes, I’m .47 miles away. The cache is somewhere off to my right, but I stay on the trail knowing that it circles back when I reach Long Creek. I’ve been at this for about 20 minutes and haven’t encountered a soul. That’s one of the great things about this park. Although it’s the most visited state park in the Commonwealth of Virginia, finding solitude is not hard to do among its 2,800 acres. Finding the Long Creek cache, however, is turning out to be quite the undertaking.
At around 400 feet way, I venture off the main trail into truly, uncharted territory. I’ve hiked and run in this park countless times, but I am being led into a section that I’ve never been to before. It’s really not much of a trail. Weeds, samplings and thorny things grab me, trying to make me one with nature. Alas, I find myself in a sandy clearing at the base of a hill. Ok, maybe it’s more like a wooded sand dune. I slowly make my way to the top and I’m greeted with a gentle breeze and a sweeping view of Long Creek. In the distance, two lone kayakers carve their way through water; a park version of an evening commute.
Before you know it, I’m 70 feet away, then 30. Now, it’s 7. No wait, now it’s 14 feet. Either the GPS is having trouble talking to the satellite or the cache is strapped to a squirrel. I walk gingerly, as if I’ve stumbled upon a mind field. Before you know it, I’m a mere five feet away.
Then– lo and behold– behind a tree and under a scattering on pine needles rests a small Tupperware container about the size you would use for leftover lasagna. Discovering it is a lot finding the last, overlooked Christmas present. I slowly pop open the lid, but there are no trinkets inside, just a small note book filled with page after page of handwritten notes from fellow geocachers who have been to N 36° 54.641 W 076° 03.125.
TKS writes: “I guess I took the long way, but it was fun.”
Lawsome 97 sends greetings from Buffalo.
Bob C. says “Good placement, great bushwack.”
And, the “punkinator was here again.”
A few of the notes are scrawled in illegible handwriting and some are just downright faded. On the inside cover, I see that the cache was first placed back in September of 2005, and a note references “Roaming Leon” who has the “ travel bug to go out west.” Unfortunately, I’ve wandered all this way without a pen, so I am unable to sign this unique and well- hidden guest book. However, I hope to return eventually and leave little words of wisdom like it’s a good idea to leave the “tracks” function of the GPS on and know the coordinates of where you parked your car. The sun is beginning to set, and now another adventure begins.