2012-08-28 28 -81

Tue 28 Aug 2012 in 28,-81: 28.6627753, -81.5923353 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

About 85 feet off the path, along the shore of Lake Apopka.

Participants

Justmatt

Plans

Plans? Who makes plans?

Expedition

I just discovered hashing a few days ago, and after watching a couple locations be a couple miles out in the middle of a pasture, or in the middle of a lake, I saw this one. It looked like it'd be a good excuse to get back on my bike, so I threw it in the car and drove the 20 miles to Magnolia Park. It was a spur of the moment trip, and I didn't get to the park 'til about 1745. It was a little over 3.5 miles from where I parked to the CPA to the hash. Sadly, I couldn't actually reach the spot as it was about 85 feet off the path, on the other side of a canal and into the swamp, and my toes look like food to alligators. The attached picture is one of four gators I saw with certainty, and there were two or three more possibles, or quick divers. The certain ones maxed out at about 4 feet, but I did see one set of eyes and a nose way out in the lake that were probably a solid 10" apart, so that'd be a 10 footer.

Saw some other less dangerous wildlife, including several large egrets and even larger cranes, and several hundred little darting birds that were making a feast out of the mosquitoes.

I was about a mile and a half from getting back to my car when I rode into a downpour. From dry to soaked to the skin in about 3 seconds. So much for stopping for dinner on the way home!

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for other out of the way locations like this as an excuse to get some more saddle time in.

Photos

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  First hash! 83 feet behind me, but alligators! @28.6627,-81.5926

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  Alligators!

Achievements

Justmatt earned the There might be alligators! consolation prize by being prevented from reaching the (28, -81) geohash on 2012-08-28 by an impassable and unforeseen canal (and probably lurking alligators).