2008-12-30 31 -94

About

After discovering xkcd and geohashing back in August 2008, I had several "close call" geohashes but was never successful. During the 2008 winter holidays, I was visiting my brother in Nacogdoches, Texas and on the day before we left, the 2008-12-30 geohash turned out to be close... very close - too close, in fact, to be missed. My first successful geohash was to be in a Virgin for me and the graticule - but not my home graticule. Thankfully, my second geohash came close on this one's heels and this time in my home graticule.

Expedition

Between my brother and I, we have 7 kids. Toss in another cousin and a labrador and you've got quite a Geohashing Expedition Crew! We decided to give our wives a break by taking the kids out of their hair for a while - besides, it was only about 1.5 miles as-the-crow-flies. The problem, however, was that while the point lay in the middle of an old-growth piney wood forest, which would be fairly easy to reach, the most direct route to it led through a recently-harvested pine forest that had grown back with tons of undergrowth and short pine trees. Not passable, in other words. The route around this area made the one-way trip more like 3 miles. Good thing we brought along water and energy snacks. The drug-along young geohashers were all full of complaints before we were even half-way there.

A couple of ravines, stream-crossings, barbed-wire fences, miles of wild hog-torn-up leaf-litter and dozens of questions like "What will we see when we get there?" "Why are going there?" "Why does it have to be so far?" later, we finally arrived at my first successful Geohash! Whoo-hoo!!

We built a teepee out of fallen limbs and small trees to mark the spot and gathered around for the picture. We didn't bring a tripod so my brother took the picture and does not appear in the group shot but there are 10 of us who made the trip (not counting Harley the dog). Since the #5 "Largest Geohash" achievement is currently 8, we are claiming that achievement along with the Virgin Geohash for Nacogdoches, the drag-along achievement and a land geohash.

The trip back, while just as long, was mercifully devoid of complaints. Interesting how the distance seems shorter when you're on your way home.