Both Reuters and API reported that, somewhere around the end of
May, 2006, the Geocaching world was infected with a hideous virus.
The ground zero for this infection was reported to be somewhere in
southeast Texas. Details are sketchy, as the New World Order and
their CIA/NSA toadies are attempting to limit the dissemination of
information, in their continuing effort to hide THE TRUTH.
This virus took the form of roughly three hundred cheap, thin,
plastic coffee tubs, containing literally thousands and thousands
of film canisters, which were spewed out into the world, wreaking
havoc on the Purists, whilst giving a feeling of perfect bliss to
the Numbers Ho's.
Sadly, this virus does not appear to be a natural phenomenon.
Rather, it was allegedly created by an insanely diabolical, (or
would that be diabolically insane?), cacher, who the Government
incidentally still refuses to identify. Rumor has it that, during a
late night session in his Laboratory of Evil, this cacher was
visited by a group of Snoogs, (trans-dimensional beings from the
planet Odious), who spread an insidious tale: According to the
Snoogs, every time a cacher on our plane of existence submits a
lengthy "Found It" log, a log of similar length gets deleted on
their plane of existence. On the planet Odious, Geocaching is far
more than just a recreational activity. In fact, it more closely
resembles a state sanctioned religion, making the loss of logs over
there more of an issue than even the most ardent Human cacher could
possibly imagine.
The NEFGA Institute of Science, (Ocala Campus), thinks this may
be due to some quirky aftereffect of trans-dimensional physics, or
possibly something to do with anti-matter, as our planes are
forever linked by a semi stable worm hole. (Officially, the Snoogs
blame this odd effect on their Supreme Deity, The Great Flying
Spaghetti Monster, turning the whole thing into some kind of ugly
religious war. I'll let you decide who to believe.) It is not clear
why this most foul harbinger of caching evil felt so much empathy
for the plight of the Snoogs, but it is reported that he instantly
implemented a terrible plan, (code word "Odious), that he believed
would ultimately lead to the salvation of the Snoogs logs, by
subconsciously causing otherwise innocent cachers to submit six
letter acronyms such as "TNLNSL" as their found it logs.
E.G.A.D.S. members have been working furiously, trying to
establish a definitive link between the Snoogs visit to Texas and
the propagation of film canisters across the globe, however, little
real world data has been discovered. Spokesperson Joe Merchant
reported that, once they positively identify the link, they will
post it here, so the whole world will know THE TRUTH. In a rare
media appearance, Joe stated, "I've got several really nice caches
out there which have been receiving gobs of "TNLNSL" logs. This
virus has got to be stopped, or Geocaching as we know it is
doomed!"
In a recent trip to the Osceola National Forest, I came across
one of these O.D.S. caches. I drained off the water inside the
coffee tub and took home a soggy log film canister, which I've
placed in this cache as a log storage device. Since this film
canister has been secured inside a quality container, rather than
being spit out in some banal location, this branch of the virus has
been stopped in its tracks. As such, I've opted to name it "T.D.S."
(Tedious?), for Two Degrees of Separation". If you happen across a
seed cache full of woefully inadequate containers, feel free to
follow suit, placing the carpy container inside a good container as
either a log holder or just a souvenir, labeling your new hide
"T.D.S. (insert your caching name)". Together, we can act as an
antibiotic to this hideous virus!
The D/T rating was established by way of our route, paddling
from the privately owned marina at N29* 20.981 / W81* 43.811. There
is a parking fee involved, along with other services which might
help you get to the cache. For info, call them at (352) 685-2255.
An optional launch site would be at Salt Springs State Park, which
is right across the river, but they don't always let folks who are
not camping there use their boat ramp. We landed on the south bank
of the river at N29* 19.293 / W81* 41.397. The total paddling
distance was about 3.5 miles, one way. The current from Salt
Springs is very slow, making the return paddle upstream fairly
pleasant. For the landlubbers out there, you can access this cache
by driving down a few sandy Jeep trails, then making a short hike.
For y'all, I would rate this a fairly easy 2/2.
Good luck!
-Sean
Post script: For my puzzle solving friends
from New Jersey, all I can say is, Muahaahaaahardyharhar =
0449447W2919493N BillyBobNosePicker is a good for
nuthin...