Checking on the Cache

The first vehicle went by at 4:30 AM. I was awake, but didn’t want to get up that early! I went back to sleep and Linda stirred about 5:30 AM. We got up and checked the thermometer, it read 34 degrees. I clicked on the heater and started water for tea and coffee. Our plan was to get up early and drive over the pass to Jordan Camp. Once there we would hike the mile and a half up the North Fork of the Cd’A River to where I had hid a geocache back in 2002.

We got dressed and were about to brush our teeth when I noticed that the flame on the burner had gone out. We finally ran out of propane on the first tank of the summer and all I had to do was go out and turn the empty off and the full front tank on. Out of the camper I charged, I turned the valve off on the empty one and then opened the full tank. Inside Linda was trying to start the burner but it wouldn’t ignite. I returned to the tank compartment and switched the lines; my thought was that if the back tank was working a minute ago then hooking the front tank to the line from the rear tank would do the trick. Nope, nothing, nada, the gas was just not getting into the camper. Then I pulled the front tank out of the compartment and tested it to see if gas came out when I opened the valve. No gas, the tank was heavy, but no gas escaped the tank. All I could figure was the valve was bad on the full tank and we were up a creek.

No time to goof around with the tanks so we loaded the Jeep up and took off; I would deal with the tank problem when we returned. We wanted to get on the road early in hopes of seeing some game. The road to Jordan Camp was very good, as dirt roads go. It was a little rough at the very end, about a mile before you get to the North Fork.

We drove up past the camp to an area that over looked the valley. There were about four established camps in the grounds, but no one was around. It is the opening weekend of bow hunting season and the first open day of bear and grouse season. Most of the campers were probably out searching for that allusive kill. We drove into the camp area and used the restroom and then drove back across the bridge and parked.

The object of the hike was to check on my geocache so we hit the trail. Within 45 minutes we had crossed three small streams, passed by two camps located across the river, and almost stepped in numerous piles of bear scat. Huckleberries were still available on the bushes surrounding the trail and it looked like the bears had been taking full advantage of the ease of picking. We walked and talked loudly as we moved along the trail. We put Kobi on the leash because we still don’t know how he would react to us coming across some game.

We approached the location of the cache and I spotted a coyote watching us from across the river. He was on the bank, ears up, looking at us. Linda made a comment about how nice his coat looked and how healthy he seemed. It stood there for a minute and disappeared into the brush. I climbed up to the cash and checked it out. It was fun reading the comments, but it was especially nice to read my notes. I had checked on the cache before and each time wrote a brief snippet about the visit. Baka had been present on each prior check up and when I made my note this time I explained that Kobi was our new dog and Baka would be missed. When I climbed down from the hiding place, Linda asked about it and questioned me about what I had written. I told her and we hugged and cried a bit. Strange how a dog like Baka can hang in your heart. We talked about that we will most likely feel the same way about Kobi someday. We just have to give him a chance to grow up and prove himself. We love the little oddball, but Baka is still “Our Dog.”

The hike back was quick and uneventful. We drove over the pass, I let Linda out of the Jeep to run back to camp when we were six miles out. I gathered wood for the camp fire as we drove back, checking on Bug about every fifteen minutes. She was happy I was checking, I would not have it any other way.

As soon as I got back to camp I split the wood and when Linda arrived I took off and drove to Prichard to get the gas bottle filled. I was only gone about an hour so it didn’t hurt my day. At the store I was able to catch up on all the hunting news. Only one deer shot and hung in the Prichard freezer on the opening day, usually there are two elk hanging. A small bear was hit by a car out in front of the fire station, it made a mess and the birds are having a hay day. Let’s see, two wolfs have been spotted just up on the ridge north of town, one is brown the other is black. I talked and listened to the local hunting chat. You could feel their excitement; this is probably the season they look forward to the most.

Back at camp we built a fire and fixed dinner. I fixed pasta with red sauce and then added Italian turkey sausage. We ate and then took Kobi for a walk when we returned we sat by the fire till bed time. We both took showers and went to bed and read, I fell asleep in about five minutes.

Early Sunday Linda got up and ran and then built a big morning fire. I think this is one of her favorite things. She reads and drinks her tea while I sleep. After a bit I got up and made breakfast for both of us. We ate, packed up and drove home. Everything that we had planned for the weekend had been accomplished, I’ll post that my cache is in good condition wen we get home, Linda will start Monday off prepared for the week.