Caching on the Tracks

This weekend Sandy and I went after a geocache called Slaughterhouse Curve. It is on the abandoned train tracks that first connected Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC. Climbing the Saluda Grade at a 5% incline made it the steepest section of track in the Eastern US. The history is fascinating and the scenery in the area is magnificent if you like rugged and mountainous. Finding areas like this and seeing the beauty of nature are the biggest reason I geocache but sometimes things just go awry.

Right off the bat, I lost my cell phone but didn't realize it until the next morning. This is the second time this has happened while caching and the reason I now have insurance on my phone. Searching for it seemed futile since the ringer was off and we had covered way too much territory to retrace it all.

This morning we went back to find the last clue which involved a trestle. When I found what I needed and tried to get my glasses and pen from my pocket, yep----I dropped them and my flashlight to the rocks about 50 feet below. Seems nothing was going right for me on this adventure. Fortunately, I was able to retrieve my glasses intact. The case flew open on impact and is dinged pretty badly but the glasses are OK and I stand ready to do a commercial for Mini Maglites. It's dented around the lens but still works like a champ.

Did I mention the area is very picturesque? There won't be any pictures attached to this posting though because the battery died on the very first one I tried to take.

We did sign the little piece of paper in the ammo can in the woods so all is not lost!