Fugads Geocaching Blog: Caching in on Maine

We were in Maine for a family trip, that is a trip where you visit family with your family, and I really wanted to find a geocache while we were there. Finding a geocache in a new state is just something long-time geocachers want to do. There isn’t a really good reason. Each time you find a geocache in a new state (or country in some instances) that region turns a different color on your “stats map”. And somehow, this little change in the pixel representation of a map on this one obscure little page brings a sense of accomplishment to geocachers. It is rather remarkable. I dunno, maybe not all geocachers feel that way. But based on my conversations with geocachers, I’m pretty sure this is a common occurrence. Anyhow, the point is I was in Maine and everyone knew I wanted to find a geocache. And yet despite driving all over on Memorial day, I didn’t get a cache. This isn’t from lack of opportunity. We visited several towns on our tour, seeing the Alewives running the fish ladders of Damariscotta, tidepooling beneath Pemaquid point lighthouse, eating lunch at a wonderful restaurant in Newport, stopping at the Oxbow Brewery. All locations with geocaches nearby, almost within my reach. But every time I tried to get my family to come over with me, away from whatever fun thing we were doing, to go find a geocache, they were all utterly un-interested. Icould have just nipped off on my ow, but we were really having too much fun. So I went all day without getting my Maine geocache.

Lucky for me we were in Maine for more than one day. And also lucky for me, I was getting up at the crack of daylight, which for Maine this time of year, was 5am. So up I got, while everyone slept snuggled in their beds, and went for a walk around Gardiner, where I got my first Maine geocache, GC4YGWM! Actually a pretty good geocache, in a large cemetery. I proceeded to find a couple more geocaches on my walk, and got back to my sister’s house a 6:30, and the kids were up and already having breakfast.

But the geocaching didn’t stop there! Since my sister and her family had work and school the day after Memorial day, we all took off for the beach, and went to Popham beach where the whole family helped me find GC1WPQ1, a really cool multi cache that involves walking out on a sandbar that is only present at low tide to reach an island. Actually it was mostly just my son who helped me, my daughter and wife fell asleep on our beach blanket. Playing at the beach is tiring!

Near GC1WPQ1

Got it!

I was able to grab a few more caches in Portland also by getting up super early. We stayed at my brother-in-laws girlfriends, AirB&B, which is actually just her apartment. A very cute place right in downtown Portland. I got up at 5am again and wandered the streets of Portland finding some micro caches and also a virtual.

Portland at 5am

But the best geocache came when we decided to visit just one last place in Maine before heading back to my dad’s house in New Hampshire, Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. My brother-in-law told us we had to visit this spot before leaving, and when I went to check out the geocaches there, I saw that there was one cache with hundreds of favorite points. It was the oldest geocache in Maine, GC128. Just my luck we happened to be there. This time, when I plead my case to the family to find this geocache, they agreed, so off we went. It was actually rather easy to get to, with a well worn geo-trail. The cache was very well hidden. We searched for a while in the likely spots and were not finding it. It wasn’t until I started digging through some leaf litter that I uncovered the cache and we shouted out triumphantly! As it turns out, some geocachers DNF’d the cache recently and contacted me about where it was. They must have been rather disappointed to DNF Maine’s oldest geocache.