2018-08-05 53 9

Location

This Geohash is located on an apple plantation near Stade.

Participants

Fippe

Expedition

I took the train to Stade, and walked the rest of the distance, around 4 kilometers.

Almost the entire way I walked next to the river Schwinge, which flows into the Elbe. There is a dike right next to it which I walked on. There were cows on the other side of the river, and I also saw multiple people fishing on the shore. There were lots of nice boats, most of them docked on the shore.

I stopped to find Geocache GC79966 but could not find it. What I like about Geohashing is that one just needs to get to the coordinates. But I took the break to eat some of my rice cakes and drink some water.

There were blackberry bushes on the Schwinge's shore, and to my surprise, lots of blackberries on them. Usually all of them are eaten by birds or fellow humans, but these bushes still had some for me, so I picked and ate a few.

But blackberries is not what the Old Land (German: Altes Land), the region south of the Elbe that the hash lies in, is famous for. That would be apples - and apples I saw. They grow them in plantations, where the individual trees are relatively small, but together cover a large area. It turns out that the region is the largest producer of apples in central Europe.

When I got closer to the hash, I thought I had to enter a plantation to get to the geohash, which was unfortunate since this plantation had a "private property - do not enter" sign at the entrance.

However, I read the map wrongly and the geohash was located in another plantation. This one did not have a "keep out" sign, so I cautiously proceeded. The geohash was easy to find there, it was between two rows of apple trees.

After recording proof and writing a hashcard to Isopekka which I purchased earlier on my way, I walked out of the plantation the opposite end. The farm was on that end and I had to cross in front of the house to get to the street. I realized that I probably should not be walking there but nobody but a staring horse saw me. And it's not like I broke anything or stole some apples, so my worries were limited.

The reason I walked out on the other side was to find Geocache GCDCBE which was nearby. I thought it would perhaps qualify as a hash collision, and had the geohash not been surrounded by trees it might have.

I encountered a woman walking her dog, which I was allowed to pet. After they continued their way, I found the Geocache and signed the log. It was located at the foot of a bascule bridge.

It turns out that the woman was not really gone, and I think she saw me with the Geocache, since she continued our conversation by saying that sonewhere around here there is an Internet meetup location, so I tell her about and show her the cache. She figured that I was one of those guys. I mention that it is a nice hobby since you get to see nice landscapes because of it. She tells me that she sees some people just going there by car, and I tell her that I prefer to walk, and have walked here from the train station.

She tells me that on my way back I can take the way through the plantation, pointing at the one with the geohash. She lives on the farm I passed. I thank her and confess that I have already taken the way on my way here. She tells me to not worry, she is okay with people just walking through there, as long as they don't break anything. Apparently other people try to go through there by car, which is not okay for her, and others arrive with a few boxes and fill them up with stolen apples. I had no idea that people do that.

So, with her okay I take the way back that I came from, and catch my train back home. There is a postbox at the train station, which I use to send the hashcard.