Well, it certainly isn't very encouraging waking up to howling wind and rain smashing against your window, when you know there's a CacheWalker event to attend. The Twixmas event has become somewhat of an annual tradition, and we've braved the weather before (at least this time it's not a picnic!) - last year's event was memorable, and it was looking like this year's would be too - but for all the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, off we set; thankfully the rain wasn't so bad when we got to Adlestrop, but the forecast was telling us it'd be another 2 hours before the sun made an appearance.
A brillant turnout for the walk meet, considering the weather and the fact that it's a Monday! We all enjoyed a warm cup of tea whilst geochatting ahead of marching off in to the hills for the walk. By the time we had got to the first cache, some people were already drenched! The thing with these events is that, as much as I enjoy them, it's a rarity to actually witness the caches - therefore, I set myself the goal to try and see each cache in situ... so far, so good.
This first stretch of the walk was quite muddy, not a surprise walking through woodland in wet weather, however, I expect it would be fine during drier times (well, I have been here before). It was a pleasure chatting with everyone on the walk (all whilst trying to see each hide) which is what I love most about caching en-masse - with good company on a good walk, how can you go wrong?! Just a shame about the weather! Now near the top of Adlestrop Hill, we were fully exposed to the elements (it started hailing!) as we unearthed the second incarnation of Cotswold Motel, the finest TB hotel I knew, which was archived back in 2010 - good to see it back, and now I know where to come when I have accumulated trackables!
Suddenly, whilst crossing some very deep mud, a strip of blue became apparent in the sky above us. Minutes later, out came the sun. Well, it wouldn't be a CacheWalker event without the sun shining, would it! Perfect timing too, as we began our descent back down in to Adlestrop, meaning that we could enjoy the stunning panoramic views all around us - such a shame I can't quite say the same about the rest of the walk, but this last mile made up for all of that! 11 caches done (I saw each of them!) we defragmented as some of us set off to complete the new Church Micro whilst others wished to dry off in the venue. I tagged along with the former lot.
A good walk and series, despite the weather, with stunning views at the end. I know that there are more great views on the route, having walked some of the paths before, therefore I highly recommend the series - but save it for a nice day, it can get windy up there! Or not, like us, you won't be disappointed - it is a Wrighty series, after all.
~
Then, it was time for the event! I counted 36 heads on the walk, and I believe that this tally rose to over 40 as others turned up who didn't dare brave the weather. As we were in a village hall this time (due to the fact that there's not a pub in the village) everyone brought their own food, which was nice as it saved us, as the organisers, the hassle and, moreover, people didn't have to pay for their meal and could bring whatever drinks and food they sought.
Plenty more geochat was enjoyed, before we handed out Secret Santa presents, ran the raffle and issued the CacheWalker SuperBike Challenge 2013 prizes. This encouraged some others to sign up for next year, as the annual TB race transforms in to the CacheWalker Footballer's Challenge to coincide with the 2014 World Cup.
With that, everyone went their separate ways; another CacheWalker event wrapped up successfully, and enjoyed by all. I had a great time, and perhaps that's it for caching in 2013 - although I hope that I can get out tomorrow. If not, I've ended in true style with a brilliant day's caching.
Finally, sorry for the lack of photos: I didn't take any today :D But stay tuned as I may add some once others have uploaded them to the cache page(s).
Griff Grof
No comments:
Post a Comment