31-40
The End. (kinda) [pictures later]
Oct 26th
Hey Team,
I’m done.
That’s the first time I’ve ever had the chance to START a post with that line. Yesterday was completely surreal. Driving up to my house my stomach was filled with butterflies and I was even shaking with anticipation. As we pulled up to the gate of the two acre parcel my folks live on in Middle-Of-Nowhere, CA Ron Fairbanks walked up and blocked my entry.
Apparently, in my absence a vote was taken and I wasn’t even going to be allowed on the property where the homecoming party was being held until I found the final geocache. Eventually a horde of people gathered around and suddenly I was practically onstage wandering around in circles following a GPS I had never used before…poorly. I thought, “Geez, all these people are here just to watch me find a geocache…this is pretty intimidating. I guess I should at least make a show of it.”
Near ground zero according to the GPS was a small DSL box with the wiring running down a post. I figured I might as well look in a few places it was OBVIOUSLY never going to be hidden just to keep things interesting. I opened the DSL box and…Ka-KOW! More >
Ore-GONE!
Aug 16th
Hey Team,
Lots of news…how to make it all interesting…? Oh well, I guess I’ll just use the same approach I use in life. Jump in headfirst and hope for the best.
This week was the week I finally killed Oregon’s status as one of the few remaining states on the list I need to geocache in thanks to a little help from Superfriend Katy and a spontaneous roadtrip to Crater Lake National Park. What a beautiful place, the water is SO crystal clear and pure. I don’t care how many amazing Caribbean beaches or out of the way lagoons you’ve been to, you’ve never seen anything like this. (My camera is out of commission for the duration of the trip but Katy took plenty of pictures that I’ll be able to share in the near future.)
Making it down to the water isn’t the nature walk I expected it to be though. It was actually very similar to the first 1.5 miles from the top of the Grand Canyon. It was steep, dry, dusty and hot…and MUCH more crowded. In fact it’s probably a pretty good barometer for hiking the GC. If you manage Crater Lake and think you can do More >
Geocaching Attack!
Jul 22nd
Hey Team,
It’s been a pretty exhausting week. I can’t imagine a worse way to clean up all these geocaches that I’ve missed in my multiple trips across the country than via a series of long bus rides where no one wants to talk unless they’re already talking to themselves followed but stints of wandering through strange cities long enough to get tired but not long enough to make new friends.
But in the positive column it’s nice to see the map fill in with states I don’t have to continue to worry about. The geocaches are definitely coming along and more importantly I’m on my way to Michigan and Indiana now not just to geocache but to head up to the second most photographed lighthouse in America which ALSO happens to be coming up on its 150th anniversary. You can imagine how excited I am just to sleep somewhere where I’m not sitting upright in a disturbingly undersized and uncomfortable seat so it’s doubly awesome that I get to cross another one off the list at the same time in such an epic place!
I better go jump on yet another bus with a painfully few (i.e. no) outlets at my disposal. More >
The Day the Universe Decided to Punish Me
Jul 21st
Hey Team,
Today started out pretty typical. I had a clear-cut goal I wanted to accomplish. I had the means and the wherewithal to make it happen. And I was well rested. Then the universe decided that today was the day I got my comeuppance.
Someone, somewhere, decided now was the time to punish me for some unknown but obviously terrible transgressions that I’ve made in my past.
The plan was to swing through Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware (at least) to clean up some missed geocaches before heading westward for a couple bigger list items. I had laid things out pretty well. (Not to pat myself on the back it’s just that you guys know it’s kind of a big deal when I manage to plan anything at all. So, yeah. I was a little proud.) First stop was Hartford, CT and there was a cache that was less than half a mile from the bus station AND another bus leaving for New Jersey 45 minutes later. Plenty of time to hop off, grab the cache and make it back to head out for the next one.
But my batteries died. And as it turns out there’s no such thing as an open More >
#31 River Kayaking! [podcast] (*video problems fixed*)
May 30th
Hey Team,
Here’s this week’s video starring your friendly neighborhood Amtrekker.
“Amtrekker travels to the Chattooga River in South Carolina to river kayak, get soaked and try not to die.
…that’s pretty much what happened.
(Scenes from Deliverance were roundly avoided.)”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT1_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D12", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT1", name : "WT1"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT1_1", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT1_1.start();And here’s the YouTube link.
Thanks everyone!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you enjoy the podcasts…why not donate?
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "311,";
My Deliverance from #31
May 25th
Hey Team,
I managed to avoid not only banjo music but also any opportunities to see if I’m half the actor Ned Beatty is in what was easily one of the coolest experiences of Amtrekker so far.
Here’s the quick back-story: About a month and a half ago I got an email from Carolyn at www.wildwaterrafting.com saying they wanted to help me out with #31 on the list. Wild Water Ltd. operates on five rivers but the one I couldn’t wait to get out on was the Chattooga River near Long Creek, SC.
“But why the Chattooga, Brett? Kind of a silly name don’t you think?”
Well, welcome back, Disembodied Voice. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. But thanks for asking! (And, you’re right, kind of a silly name.)
The Chattooga is the same river that James Dickey was writing about in his book “Deliverance” AND, it’s the same river they used to film large portions of the movie, (you guessed it…) “Deliverance!”
So as soon as I got the message I called dibs on Burt Reynolds’s character and set things up for the next time I was near South Carolina, a.k.a. now.
(My thoughts always get kind of disjointed when I get excited so you may have to bear More >
#36 Ride the Fastest Roller Coaster in the Country! [podcast]
Apr 16th
Hey Team,
Here’s the podcast you’ve all been waiting for! Sorry about last week. Won’t happen again. Scout’s honor.
“Amtrekker travels to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ to redeem himself after last October’s failure! Watch as even the weather fails to stops him from reaching his goal!
Precipitation ensues.”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT2_2 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D17", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT2", name : "WT2"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT2_2", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT2_2.start();I’ll have to post the youtube version later tonight.
Thanks everyone.
I’m done.
Brett.
How much do you love those podcasts? Enough to click on that little donation button?!
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "279,";
Emotional Roller Coaster [completed objective]
Apr 13th
Hey Team,
Another one gone. Another one gone. Another one bites the dust.
After taking a red eye from San Jose to New York, shunning sleep for almost 48 hours and panicking about missing out on the fastest roller coaster in the country AGAIN…yesterday turned out to be an incredible day.
For a little bit it looked like I was going to have just as much trouble getting to Six Flags Great Adventure as I did last October. I spent an hour wandering around Port Authority in New York (the main bus hub in the city) trying to get someone to acknowledge the existence of a bus route I was able to find online but that didn’t seem to have a place in our reality. Luckily, George and Jessica from Boston had decided to join me in the roller coastering and happened to be driving through New York around that same time.
We got to Six Flags unsure what to expect. All I knew was that I needed to get to the park sometime between 10:30am and 2:00pm and call Angel the PR Manager when I got there.
Angel not only greeted us at the gate with tickets but took us backstage (that’s what we’d call More >