2013-07-28 40 -111

Location

Inside Camp Williams in Riverton, UT.

Participants

Haberdasher (plus aunt)

Plans

Going to attempt this one in the afternoon; not entirely sure where it is, or whether it's accessible.

Expedition

Our first attempt to reach this hashpoint took us to the main entrance of Camp Williams. Entry here was as simple as showing my aunt's ID, as her husband is retired military, but figuring out where the hashpoint was and whether it could be accessed from this entrance was more difficult. The roads kept leading to dead ends, and we hesitated to ask for directions out of fear that we'd have to explain why we wanted to go to this point in the middle of nowhere. Finally, we found a tunnel that led to the west end of Camp Williams, where the hashpoint was- but while the gates were open, there was a sign filled with acronyms explaining who was and wasn't permitted to enter, which left us unclear as to whether we were authorized to proceed. Still fearful of getting in trouble for going in the wrong areas or for geohashing in the first place, we left to find an entrance with a more direct route.

A short drive later, we were sitting at a unmanned gated entrance on the west end of Camp Williams, with yet another unclear but foreboding sign in front of us. However, this sign gave a number to call for assistance, and after some discussion, my aunt called them up. During this call, I was asked to explain geohashing, and I quickly but nervously noted that it didn't entail leaving anything physically on the property, a confusion which I believe had cost me a hashpoint before. However, the official on the phone was fairly understanding, and even seemed to grasp the basic concept of geohashing and that it differed from geocaching; still, we were denied access, as this end of base was more heavily restricted than the other end. While the hashpoint remained unhashed, I feel good about the attempt nonetheless.