Globalhash in Augusta, Georgia on Tuesday 12th January 2010

Location

In the Augusta, GA graticule, (Columbia, SC metro area).

This hashpoint was in the front yard/driveway of a home in a rural area of South Carolina.

Participants

NWoodruff

Coordinates Reached! I left for Wagener SC about 10:30 AM in the morning. I arrived at the hash spot to find nobody home. I walked the last 100 feet to the Global Hash coordinates and found them with 1.25 feet to go.

I went into work this morning knowing that I was going to be leaving early sometime before lunch to get on my way. I finished what I needed to do and left. I stopped at the gas station for a fill up and a picture of my eTrex. I was feeling real good about the trip and made sure that every thing was in working order.

I cruised up on Atlanta with a smile on my face ready to face this long trip. Even early in the morning I did run up on some traffic merging onto I-20. I knew it wasn't going to last all the way through Atlanta. I merged onto I-20 and in a few miles the traffic cleared up and I was on my way. I saw my first sign for Augusta and took a picture of it.

I turned up the radio and settled into what I knew was going to be a very long drive. 50 miles outside of Atlanta, I get a message that my step-father since 1987 has had a heart attack and is being rushed to the hospital. I had pulled off the interstate to a pay phone and started calling. I called my brother, my sister and then my mom. I couldn't reach anyone.

My delima, do I turn around and scrap the trip even if I have no idea where he is being rushed to, in what condition? This will probably be my only chance to ever make a Global Geohash. What do I do?

I decided to keep driving on to Augusta until I heard more information. I had a long time to think about this. Relet had emailed me yesterday about hours of pointless driving. I had lots of time to think about that especially not knowing the condition of my step-father.

Being the first group to reach a Global geohash was weighing heavily on my mind and what is the actual point. I've always enjoyed getting out at a moments notice and driving 30 miles to a place I've never been before even with many people complaining that I am pointlessly burning petrol and not using a bicycle.

I've had a long time to think that there isn't any possible way to reach a Global Geohash with a bicycle. The odds are too astronomical for that to happen. Especially with the planet being 75% water. Here I am driving well over 200 miles with the condition of a family member in doubt.

100 miles out of Atlanta, I get another message that he is fine and recovering. This is when I pull into the rest area just outside of Augusta for a pit stop, and more, so to speak. The message is that I can show up when ever I return home and that most of the family, mine and my step-fathers, won't be there until about 8 or 9pm. I'm glad that I continued on.

I was never ever so happy to see Augusta. I looked at my eTrex and it said that I still had 30 miles to go to Wagener. The last 30 miles drug on like there was going to be no tomorrow. Finally, the turn off of the interstate was before me.

I continued on to the two lane road and found the center of Wagener. A very small town. I stopped and got out of my truck for a picture of the water tower. I assumed that would be enough proof that I was in Wagener.

I continued on to the Global Hash. I found the final road with about a mile to go. As the eTrex ticked off the 100ths of a mile I keep looking for the drive way from the picture of the Google map. I wanted to take a duplicate picture in a re-enactment of google maps.

I found it. I hopped out of the truck and took several pictures of it trying to exactly duplicate the picture. After several tries, I finally decided close enough.

I pulled into the driveway and got out and walked up to the residence. I was trying to decide if I was going to give the speech about Geohashing or a speech explaining the much larger Global Hashing. I made sure to have the Google map with me that had seemed to work wonders in the past.

I knocked on the door and waited. I knocked on the door again and waited. I opened the screen door and knocked on the actual wood door. Nobody answered. Although there were a few cars in the yard, I assumed that nobody was home.

From where I parked my truck there was only 100 feet to go. I decided to just walk over and take the pictures. There were no fences or signs or anything preventing me. With out permission, I didn't feel comfortable about taking pictures of the residence.

I walked over to the spot and did the GPS dance around the tires and the woods. The eTrex finally settled on top of the tires with 1.25 feet to go. The Global Geohash is no longer Virgin! I did. I made it.

On the thought that someone very close to me may not have survived this morning, I looked at this opportunity as a beginning for me and a beginning for the Global Geohash community for more successful Global hashes. I am very glad that I could be the first to achieve one. I very much wanted LuxMundi and I to do this as a group effort representing the Atlanta Graticule but schedules just didn't work out and it wasn't in the cards for it to happen like that.

I then found a big stick and drew a big XKCD in the sand for LuxMundi to find. There was no way to leave a chalk marker. It just wouldn't have worked. I knew that he was only a few hours behind me.

I had checked the local geohash spot for today before I left Atlanta and was amazed to find the local Geohash spot only 3 miles down the SAME road that the Global geohash spot was at.

So I hopped back in my truck and traveled the 3 miles down the same road to grab yet another Virgin Geohash award before making my way back to Atlanta.

The trip home seemed to only take half as long as the trip there.

NWoodruff Gallery

Start of trip. Zeroed out trip odo and time of morning.
Ahhh... Atlanta!
Turner Communications Worldwide headquarters.
Georgia Tech!
Downtown Atlanta.
Augusta Here I Come!
Opppsss! Police were out in force today.
I better keep my speed down.
Augusta 127 miles of pointless driving away.
Augusta, 99 miles away. Yea, I know. I need to clean my windshield(windscreen for the UK people).
Augusta, 73 miles away.
Hours of pointless driving on flat mundane stretches of highway.
Augusta, 33 miles to go.
Hmmm. Rest Area. I need to make a phone call.
Rest Area #62
Nature Called,,, It wanted the contents of that 16oz Coca Cola back.
You are Here!
Map of most of Georgia.
Finally! Augusta.
I need to head towards Columbia.
Welcome to South Carolina!
Wagener, I made it.
Wagener, to the right.
Downtown Wagener.
Almost there.
Picture from Google Maps.
Google reenactment.
The Money Shot. 1.25 feet to go. Close enough.
224 miles, 2:02 pm in the afternoon.
Date of the Global Meetup.
15 feet accuracy, I'm well within the 10 meter requirement.
Marker I left for LuxMundi who is only hours behind me.
Me with Stupid Grin™
Actual Global Hash spot is on the stack of tires in the back.
Savannah River on my return to Atlanta.
I've got Georgia on my mind, once again.
Atlanta 137 miles to go.
Finally back at home. 442 miles round trip at 5:58pm. I'm glad to be home.
I'm a speed demon too. I just don't have a big ol honking V8 in my truck.

LuxMundi

I was hoping to drive with NamGeunGen and Mrs.LM and kids, but for various reasons they all dropped out, so I hit the road solo.

Linked up with my sister, Michelle and her friend Edward in Pelion, just north of the hash area. I was thankful to see this area in the daylight, as the sun set. The Southern-US rural landscape is an interesting mix of beauty and decay. One notable feature of this area is the sandy nature of the soil. It was like walking on beach dunes. Edward told me they mine Silica here, and with him being a librarian of some stature, I believed it instantly.

As the sun set, we pulled into the sandy driveway, to find the hashpoint blocked by a large truck and stack of tires. The residents turned out to be some wonderful people, and we probably would have been invited to stay for dinner, but feeding several unnannounced, hungry hashers would be a strain on even the best Southern hospitality, so after a brief award presentation, we bid Jessica and kids adieu, and headed out.

Michelle and I met our Mum and Robert at a local bar-b-q restaurant, where I got my Robert's money's worth from their buffet. While Mum does not technically approve of Geo Hashing, she commented, "...at least it's better than them out doing drugs."

LuxMundi Gallery

Pointless driving takes alot of Petrol
...
Savannah River in Augusta
Welcome to South Carolina! version2
Interesting house
Sun sets near the hash
Pavement ends; fortunately, I have off-road skills, including patented 13 point turn-around.
Iphone: preferred tool of the geo-positionally-challenged hasher
We're here! Grin!
Brotherly/sisterly love
First ever GlobalHash plaque.
I would like to thank all those who made this hash possible....
Award presentation.
With this Light Staff, I frightened off several Raptors.
My street.
Hudson's BBQ
Hugging.
Feasting.
Proof that Robert paid for dinner. :-)
Hudson's mascot pig.
Group photo op.
I could only assume that this guy died of embarrasment for supporting USC.