I went on my first true Geocaching adventure the other day. It started on sunday night, when I got back from UMass. I had downloaded the Geocaching app for my iPhone before I returned home, my brother had told me about it months before and we went on a not-so-successful run (found one cache in edgartown and failed on 3 others). I decided to go out that evening but I neglected to bring a flashlight with me, so I found myself scouring the cache site in the dark, attempting to illuminate the location with the light of the phone and failing. I gave up on that site, but decided to reattempt a site my brother and I had failed at in the winter. After much digging behind rails and making myself look like a crazy person on the side of the road, I found it, deep in a bush by the bike path. My excitement was overwhelming, especially the feeling that I had done it myself, with no help. I was determined to do more.

The next day, I went to Vineyard Haven and found myself wandering into the middle of the Memorial Day picnic at the Waterworks, smiling and nodding while glancing down at my iPhone and looking for familiar landmarks based on the clues on the website. I found the cache excitedly, but realized I’d forgotten a pen. I wandered back to my car and found one. Another small cache, there was little room for anything but my signature. Another one was nearby, so I walked until I found it, up a hill on the overlook. A friend drove by, honking and waving as he passed, surely wondering “what the hell is he doing?” as I leaned over the guard rail to look behind it.

A huge log here, soaked but loaded with names and thanks, and a path tag, the same that my brother and I found months earlier but left in Edgartown. It was neat to see the same thing come back. I put a bugs bunny figurine inside and went on my way.

Now I was in a flow, and I decided to go back, quickly, as the sun began to set, to the location I’d attempted the night before. After much frustrated leaf kicking, I found it hidden next to a tree, further back than I’d thought it would be. An ammo box! I excitedly pulled it out and dug through it, finding all kinds of relics and a very comprehensive log book, dating back to 2003. I had no idea it had been going on so long. I filled out my piece, dropped in a bunch of goodies, and left, satisfied. I decided to give one more cache a shot, as the sun continued to set and the light was dimming, I lost myself in the woods of edgartown, down numerous dead end roads and avoiding private property signs. Finally, I found the right track, and then wandered along the beach until I found an alcove with a field, overhung by a canopy of trees. I entered and searched the area, consulting my GPS and tips all the while. Eventually, I found it buried next to a tree, another ammo box, this one filled with several tagged objects, tracker bugs, and so on. I snapped some photos and put a Metrocard inside. This little hobby was taking me to places I’d never seen on Martha’s Vineyard, and it was a very exciting prospect. The next day I purchased a Time Capsule at the thrift store to create my own in the near future. I took several photos, here are a few that highlight the experience, particularly the sunset on the beach. I only wish there were more on Martha’s Vineyard, but I’ll do my best to make that happen on my own.

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