Floods washed up and destroyed this geocache

[grantbarrett]

I'm not a geocacher but I've a general awareness of them.

 

Today 12/25/2010 we found the remnants of a geocache in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California. The GPS on my phone reported our location as 32.818693,-117.053897, which is here: http://is.gd/jteZR.

 

Severe floods poured through the park for days last week, so I believe it is this cache http://is.gd/jteQP but I can't verify the page without paying for the site, which I will not do.

 

All of the pieces of the cache were lying on the ground as if someone had been there previously. There was a small torn plastic bag there, a Hollywood Video keychain member card, a gold medallion, a green plastic soldier, a member card for yogurt shop in La Mesa, a stub of crayon, a small waterlogged compass, some kind of wrist band (not sure), and the sodden cache logs.

 

The logs were limp and falling apart. I tried to separate them but they mostly tore. I took photos of everything I could see and recovered the following information. It's all visible in the photos, too. I've tried to retain the style of writing here.

 

If you have any information about this cache, I'd love to know more.

 

The photos:

 

 

My transcription of the logs:

 

IF YOU FOUND THIS CONTAINER BY ACCIDENT, GREAT

You are

 

vandalize the container. The real

treasure is just finding the container

and sharing your thoughts with

everyone else who finds it

let us know that you

 

2/5/10 Bugfamily

S.K.G. A.W.S

 

4?/10 UCSB?

 

4.4.10Jacs51

 

5/8/10 TA?

 

31-DEC-09 Alden

 

5-29-07 Hammon ?J?

Geobabes

 

5/29/07 goblin girl

 

LosTboy!

Lok The T?5/27/07

11/19

 

wewilldo Bill & Laurie

5:45 PM

Thx!

T - FTF coin

L - pewter charm

Woohio!

 

The baby 24 club

 

(end logs)

 

...

 

Grant Barrett

 

grantbarrett@gmail.com

4421 Campus Avenue

San Diego, CA 92116

(646) 286-2260

Edited December 26, 2010 by grantbarrett

[+Wadcutter]

There appears to have been 5 caches hidden in the general vicinity.

One hasn't been found since Aug 19 and shows several DNF (did not find). It's also listed as a micro which usually means it's something the size of a 35 mm film can or smaller.

2 others in the area are also micros.

1 is listed as being a small in a container with a screw top.

That leaves GCMB7X. GCMB7X is listed as a small and was hidden about 500 ft SE of where the map indicates you found the items. From the topo map it appears GCMB7X would have been uphill from where you found the remains which would be likely to have washed down to where you found the items. This cache was last found on Nov 27. At the time the finder indicated the contents were in a zip lock bag. Sounds like and from your pictures that GCMB7X is the cache you found.

Thanks for reporting your find. The cache owner appears to be rather active so I'm sure they will be glad to know someone found their cache.

[grantbarrett]

Not sure that is the cache, Wadcutter. I can read some of the names on the logs (in the photos) and they don't jibe with what has been reported. Of course, people could visit more than once, but I think it more likely that GCMB7X is near the one I found, but isn't that cache itself.

 

Jacs51 gave date of 4/3/10 on this site but 4/4/10 on the log

LostBoy gave date of 10/6/2009 on this site but 11/19 on the log

Goblin Girl 5/15/07 but 5/29/07 on the log

Geobabes 1/5/2005 but 5/29/07 on the log

 

This one is right:

Tackelmen 5/8/10 in both places

[grantbarrett]

By the way, the slideshow that the forums automatically creates doesn't display these photos well. if you click through to Flickr you can view hi-res, more readable versions.

[+Wadcutter]

Not sure that is the cache, Wadcutter. I can read some of the names on the logs (in the photos) and they don't jibe with what has been reported. Of course, people could visit more than once, but I think it more likely that GCMB7X is near the one I found, but isn't that cache itself.

Jacs51 gave date of 4/3/10 on this site but 4/4/10 on the log

LostBoy gave date of 10/6/2009 on this site but 11/19 on the log

Goblin Girl 5/15/07 but 5/29/07 on the log

Geobabes 1/5/2005 but 5/29/07 on the log

 

This one is right:

Tackelmen 5/8/10 in both places

 

Can't be GC17Y6A which is the premium cache you refer to. Several reasons:

The log dates are before CG17Y6A ever existed. It was hidden 12/14/2007.

The cache I believe you found (GCMB7X) was hidden 12/26/2004.

The premium cache you linked to (GC17Y6A) wasn't hidden until 12/14/2007 therefore it couldn't be the cache you located given the log dates you have on the log sheet. The logs pre-date the date the GC17Y6A was hidden. Geobabes couldn't sign the log 2 years prior to a log existing.

Additionally, GC17Y6A was hidden by Goblin Girl. Cache owners rarely sign their own logs as a find and there is nothing in the log listing on that cache page indicating that Goblin Girl "found" her own cache. Another reason it's not likely that GC17Y6A is the cache you located.

There is no log entry showing LostBoy found GC17Y6A.

It's not unusual for log dates to be a few days later than the date signed on the log. People often don't make their log entries until days after making the find and they fail to correct the computer date when the make their entry. Or they log the wrong date when they make their computer entry.

[+gpicard]

Grant, I think it is awesome that you would take the time to point out the problem with this cache! Perhaps you should join the addiction?

 

guy

[+rockhoundbmw]

I searched the profile for the FTFers, wewilldo7, and they had two FTFs on 5/28/07 mentioned in their profile. The log for the cache remains that you found matches perfectly with their log for this cache: http://coord.info/GC1380Y (other than they must have forgotten it was the 28th instead of the 29th when they wrote in the physical log). The other log entries on that date match the ones online, too. It seems that the cache was archived, but then found by other cachers 2 years later and moved. It was re-hidden by Unknown_2_You as: http://coord.info/GC1RW7D, but then that listing got archived too! The logs from the second cache listing match those of UCSBrandon and Jacs51 (again, the date is off by one day, but that is common when logging the find on the computer the day after finding the cache and forgetting to change the date). This second cache listing also is very near the spot that you were at when you found the cache remains.

 

I think the case is closed!

[grantbarrett]

rockhoujndbmw, I agree -- you nailed it! Thanks to everyone who helped me out on this.

[grantbarrett]

gpicard, I'd definitely join if I only had more time.