2009-02-13 40 -113
| Fri 13 Feb 2009 in 40,-113: 40.7386951, -113.1201339 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Pardey: This was an attempt both to reach the 2009-02-13 hashpoint for the Bonneville Salt Flats graticule and to gather information relevant to tomorrow's attempt at a Time-Traveller Geohash achievement. I did in fact gather useful information, but did so by not being able to reach the hashpoint for today.
This section of Utah is the bottom of an ancient lake called Lake Bonneville, and the ground is almost entirely made of soft sediment, which turns very easily to mud when there is water anywhere nearby (as there was today). Basically, I ended up trying to drive a 2wd truck through about an inch of slippery mud. This did not go well, and I was actually stuck for a few minutes, though I was able to get myself out without resorting to a shovel or a cellphone. When I got back to the road, I decided that since it was rapidly getting dark, I shouldn't risk another foray into the mud (either with the truck or on foot), and should instead scout the route for tomorrow's time-traveller attempt. As you can see (Map), the eastern hashpoint is almost directly west of a chemical-waste processing facility. The north-south road to the facility ends about 1.5 miles from the hash, so I'm going to be driving through the same mud tomorrow as I tried to today. Definitely bringing the 4wd truck along.
On the way back, I got an SMS from a friend reminding me that the unix clock was reaching the value of 1234567890 seconds since 1970-01-01, so I pulled over and took a picture right at the epic moment.
Not much more to tell - I'm looking forward to the attempt tomorrow. Google Maps Link
Awards
Pardey: This hashpoint earned me the MNB Geohash consolation prize, due to the mud.
