Difference between revisions of "2009-01-25 30 -81"

Latest revision as of 01:32, 8 August 2019

Expeditions

Geohashers in Attendance

The Chase

For the second consecutive weekend Woodveil and Mr. Bow Tie are attempting a hash. This week's hash was mysteriously close to last week's. Coincidence? Probably. Anyway, we thought we would have a relatively easy hash so long as there were not any "No Trespassing" signs. The hash itself was in a wooded area between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. We set off around 10am from Orange Park hoping to get there for an 11am meet-up.

We intended to use google-maps to get us to within walking distance and according to google we would be able to get within 600m of the point with the car. Alas, technology is not perfect and northeast Florida is booming as far as construction and new development is concerned. Simply put, the map lied. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four times we encountered roadblocks on our way to the hash. Roads that for one reason or another someone did not want us to traverse. On our fifth attempt, we got as close as could (1.23km) and set out on foot.

We used an existing path to get us to about 878m from the point. The trail continued on, but in the wrong direction, so we set off into the wilderness. The dense brush made progress slow. Progress was also hampered by our constant looking for dangerous animal and plant life, which included, but was not limited to: poison ivy, poison oak, poisonous snakes and spiders, raccoons, bears, and velociraptors.

Just when we thought there was a chance of reaching the point we came upon one of the few things that would stop us in our tracks; a swamp. After an hour and a half of circumnavigating the hashpoint looking for roads that would get us close to it, and hiking trails both thick and thin, our adventure came to a disappointing end with 828m remaining.

Gallery

Photo Gallery
Mr. Bow Tie without his bow tie.
Roadblock #1
Dirt road that looked promising.
Block #2
The blocking continues...
Really?!? 4 roadblocks.
The nice trail.
The dense woods.
Some deer tracks along the way.
Pseudoswamp.
Real swamp.
Our closest point.

Achievements

Mr. Bow Tie and Woodveil earned the There might be alligators! consolation prize

by being prevented from reaching the (30, -81) geohash on 2009-01-25 by an impassable and unforeseen Classic Florida Swamp (and probably lurking alligators).

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 * [[user:Woodveil|Woodveil]]
 * [[user:Mr. Bow Tie|Mr. Bow Tie]]
-* Easy
 === The Chase ===
-Home for the weekend and armed with a brand-new Garmin GPS unit, [[user:Woodveil|Woodveil]] was finally equipped to do some more heavy-duty geohashing. I.E., we were excited about our newfound ability to simply walk into the woods and find a hashpoint. Which made this hashpoint ideal; it was located just off of I95, which would allow quick access, but would also require the use of dirt roads and a final hike into some woods to reach the hashpoint. Yay.
+For the second consecutive weekend [[user:Woodveil|Woodveil]] and [[user:Mr. Bow Tie|Mr. Bow Tie]] are attempting a hash. This week's hash was mysteriously close to [[2009-01-18 30 -81|last week's]]. Coincidence? Probably. Anyway, we thought we would have a relatively easy hash so long as there were not any "No Trespassing" signs. The hash itself was in a wooded area between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. We set off around 10am from Orange Park hoping to get there for an 11am meet-up.
-Meanwhile, [[user:Mr. Bow Tie|Mr. Bow Tie]] was also looking for his first successful hash, and so he and Woodveil decided to attempt the hash together. He was also pleasantly surprised when Woodveil, always a wildcard, made a brief detour on the way to the hash in order to make a small [[Drag-Along_Geohash|kidnapping]]. So now with a Nick, Chris, Mr. Bow Tie, and a captive, the party was finally headed towards the hash. A quick drive down some interstate went by swiftly and uneventfully, and some more geoSquishies were acquired at the exit, just in case.
+We intended to use google-maps to get us to within walking distance and according to google we would be able to get within 600m of the point with the car. Alas, technology is not perfect and northeast Florida is booming as far as construction and new development is concerned. Simply put, the map lied. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four times we encountered roadblocks on our way to the hash. Roads that for one reason or another someone did not want us to traverse. On our fifth attempt, we got as close as could (1.23km) and set out on foot.
-The final stretch was the part we were still sketchy about. Dirt roads and forests. Or not…? Of course not. The whole party was pleased to find a paved road leading us towards the hash. Apparently much of a subdivision had been built since Google Maps' satellite image was taken. This ultimately proved to be an insurmountable obstacle, as that made the land private property. We were stopped in our tracks less than half a mile from our goal by <s>one</s> two no-tresspassing signs. Foiled again. No matter; we still had squishees.
+We used an existing path to get us to about 878m from the point. The trail continued on, but in the wrong direction, so we set off into the wilderness. The dense brush made progress slow. Progress was also hampered by our constant looking for dangerous animal and plant life, which included, but was not limited to: poison ivy, poison oak, poisonous snakes and spiders, raccoons, bears, and velociraptors.
+Just when we thought there was a chance of reaching the point we came upon one of the few things that would stop us in our tracks; a swamp. After an hour and a half of circumnavigating the hashpoint looking for roads that would get us close to it, and hiking trails both thick and thin, our adventure came to a disappointing end with 828m remaining.
 == Gallery ==
 <gallery caption="Photo Gallery" widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="3">
-Image:2009-01-18 kidnap.jpg|Our hostage. His name was Easy, and he turned out to be a really cool guy.
+Image:2009-01-25 ant.jpg|Mr. Bow Tie without his bow tie.
-Image:2009-01-18 gps.jpg|That's how close we got.
+Image:2009-01-25 block1.jpg|Roadblock #1
-Image:2009-01-18 everyone.jpg|There we are, geoSquishees and all.
+Image:2009-01-25 block2b.jpg|Dirt road that looked promising.
-Image:2009-01-18 sign3.jpg| There's one sign. Note the menacing-looking barbed-wire, lock and chains.
+Image:2009-01-25 block2.jpg‎‎|Block #2
-Image:2009-01-18 sign2.jpg| There's ''another'' sign. We figured they must be serious, and they must like signs.
+Image:2009-01-25 block3.jpg‎|The blocking continues...
-Image:2009-01-18 our sign.jpg| So we added a third sign.
+Image:2009-01-25 block4.jpg|Really?!? 4 roadblocks.
+Image:2009-01-25 trail.jpg‎|The nice trail.
+Image:2009-01-25 woods.jpg‎|The dense woods.
+Image:2009-01-25 tracks.jpg‎|Some deer tracks along the way.
+Image:2009-01-25 swamp1.jpg‎|Pseudoswamp.
+Image:2009-01-25 swamp2.jpg|Real swamp.
+Image:2009-01-25 gps.jpg‎|Our closest point.
 </gallery>
 == Achievements ==
-{{No trespassing geohash | latitude = 30 | longitude = -81 | date = 2009-01-18| name = [[user:Woodveil|Woodveil]] and [[user:Mr. Bow Tie|Mr. Bow Tie]] }}
+{{There might be alligators!
+| latitude = 30
+| longitude = -81
+| date = 2009-01-25
+| name = [[user:Mr. Bow Tie|Mr. Bow Tie]] and [[user:Woodveil|Woodveil]]
+| hazard = Classic Florida Swamp
+| image = 2009-01-25_swamp2.jpg
+}}
 [[Category:Expeditions]]
 [[Category:Expeditions with photos]]
 [[Category:Coordinates not reached]]
-[[Category:Failed - No public access]]
+[[Category:Not reached - Mother Nature]]
+{{location|US|FL|SJ}}


Sun 25 Jan 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida: 30.0374503, -81.4350494 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox