The 11 Oldest Delaware Caches
The 11 Oldest Delaware Caches
by cache-ninja, Al Waller, johnandjessica, big jaws, The jays, and hostanut
Photos from www.geocaching.com and by drrichardh and Programmer64
Geocaching began as a sport on May 3, 2000 when Dave Ulmer hid a 5 gallon bucket in the Oregon woods, published the coordinates on the internet and challenged people to try to find it. Mike Teague answered this challenge and became the first geocacher.
Seven months later, in December of 2000, the legendary cache-ninja visited Delaware and placed the first Delaware geocache on the 30th. This cache, dElAWare 7 {1} was reviewed in our October edition. We will cover this cache again this month but we're expanding our focus to include the first 11 caches placed in Delaware.
Five of the eleven can be found in New Castle County, one in Kent County, and the other five are in Sussex County.
This review will focus on each of the caches in the order in which they were placed. For those wishing to hop directly to a specific cache, just click its name in the listing that follows. There is a "return to top" link at the end of each review that will bring you back here.
New Castle County
iBnub
Lum Skull
Rittenhouse Cache 1
The Trove at Brandywine
ValleyGardens Park Part 1
Kent County
Killen Me Softly
Sussex County
Cyprus Point
dElAWare 7 {1}
Delaware A1
Mason-Dixon A3
The Adams Family
dElAWare 7 {1} (GC10A)
by cache_ninja/owner miuwu(12/30/2000)
rating 1.5/1.5
Container size 3
The photo above shows the cache container as modified by miuwu to commemorate its importance in the history of Delaware Geocaching. It is hidden in Trap Pond State Park. This means that those searching for it during the months of May 1st through October 31st will have to pay an entrance fee.
Those who know this park know that it includes a lot of trails and a huge pond. As can be seen in the photo at the left, the hide is not all that near the pond. This group, which included the dinobalz team, programmer 64, tackelmom, rachelhead, and horn229, successfully searched for the cache in mid November. Curiously this same day the teams of drrichardh and maxiam also were in the area, but at a different time. They too were successful.
A check of the on-line log for dElAWare 7 {1} shows that 94 entries. Most of these record finds.
We won't spoil the fun and give any clues about how this cache is hidden but you should know that it is hidden in the same spot where it was placed almost 6 years ago.
You should also know that if you use your gps to compute a "follow road" route to this cache, it will probably take you out of your way. Earlier it was mentioned that this park is full of trails. There are also a number of paved roads that wind through and around the park. Your gps may well take you down one of those roads then expect you to find a trail to get back to the hiding place. Depending on where you begin your search you could be hiking almost a mile or could be there in less than .3 of a mile. Either way you'll enjoy good trails and a beautiful park. For those who don't feel like they've really done a cache unless they encounter brambles, you'll find a few. Mostly, however, you'll find good trails and light underbrush for the bushwhacking part of your adventure.
When you pull the container from its hiding place and see that plaque on its side, take a moment before opening the container. Look around. Trying to imagine cache-ninja coming here on December 30 all those years past. He was probably alone while he looked for an appropriate hiding place. He found one. And now you have found it too.
It took one month and 6 days for the 1st find. On February 3, 2001 Steiss, who was visiting his sister and her family who lived in Seaford, talked them into joining him, his wife and two children to become the first to find. Now its your turn.
Delaware A1 (GC229)
by Al Waller/owner miuwu (2/6/2001)
rating 1.5/1.5
Container size 3
This cache became the 2nd hidden in Delaware Al Waller found Delaware 7 one day after Steiss making Al the first Delaware Geocacher. It appears that making that first find inspired Al to make one also. For his hide he chose another Sussex county location. This time is was a swamp
The original finder, Barscum, called this spot "The Swamp of No Hope". Granted that Sussex county is Southern Delaware, it still gets cold there in February and things so freeze. So one wonders what the conditioner were like when Al Waller placed this cache and just 14 days later Barscum entered the swamp to make the first to find.
Al Waller lets you know in the description of the site that it is near the Nanticoke River and that the hide is 1.5 miles from the nearest paved area. He also warns geocachers that this area is open to hunters from September through December. What he doesn't tell you is that at some point in your search you will need to be very careful where you walk. Some areas are quite soggy, even if they look dry. Here Horn229 discovers that for himself.
The log for this site shows 53 entries. Some of them also mention such surprises.
But, with the placement of this cache, Delaware now had 2 caches waiting to be found.
We have no word on how many people in Delaware considered themselves as being Delaware geocachers at this time.
iBnub (GC233)
by cache_ninja/adopted by MikeOtt(2/7/2001)
rating 2/1.5
Container size 3
It took one month and 7 days for Delaware to go from one cache to two but it took only 1 day to go from two to three. (Statisticians note: that's a 33% gain - over night!) The placer is again Cache-Ninja.
Cache_Ninja placed caches throughout the east coast during the first years of geocaching. So it is no surprise that he would have placed caches in both Sussex and New Castle Counties. As noted in our review of his dElAWare 7 {1} midway into 2005 Cache Ninja moved overseas. He left behind a legacy of being the person who started geocaching in Delaware, New Jersey, and much of New York. While miuwu took over the Southern Delaware caches, Mike Ott took over all of his caches in Northern Delaware.
The picture at the left gives you an idea of the kind of terrain you'll find as you seek this cache. Look carefully at the picture and you may see something that you might also find as you seek the hiding place.
Now, about that name. It is our belief that cache-ninja was having fun with words. After all, look at the way he named his first cache. The strange assortment of letters making up the name of this cache could be read as "I Be Newbie". Perhaps this is cache-ninja's commentary on the newness of Delaware geocaching. Our state count was now at 3.
Mason-Dixon-A3 (GC2DC)
by Al Waller/owner miuwm (2/18/2001)
rating 1/1.5
Container size 2
Just 11 days after iBnub was placed Al Waller created Delaware's 4th cache. Again the location is Sussex county but this time Al went about as far south as you can go and still remain in Delaware. He chose the square southwest corner of the state. There's no hike through the woods here, no swamp, very little in the way of stickers but there is something else to divert your attention. - An unusual building.
Note the the cache is not in this building nor on the building. Still cachers do spend a lot of time looking at what's in there.
At the right is the same caching team that was on a quest to find as many of these 10 oldest as possible. They have already seen what's inside and are pleased with what they found.
Here the two Marys (from the drrichardh team and the maxiam team) check their gpsrs near this unusual building.
Inside you can see a large white stone and if you look closely you can also see another smaller and darker stone.
A close up of the larger stone reveals a royal crest. Whose? That's for you to discover. There are no signs on this building to help you with this.
Here we see that there are actually several other stones inside the building. Unfortunately shadows make it difficult to read the faint writing one these stones.
The name of the this cache gives a clue. Mason and Dixon were two surveyors who were hired to map territory that was in dispute. The Mason-Dixon "Line" has attained legendary status since is supposedly divides the North from the South. So what is it doing here in the SouthWest corner of Delaware. And, which or these stones is the Mason-Dixon marker? Or are any of them really the marker.
An old story tells that Mason and Dixon worked their way down the Western edge of the territory until the got to about Dover. There they were told that the natives further to the south were cannibalistic. That was enough for them. They laid a straight edge on their map, drew the line, and called it quits. If this story is accurate - whose stones are these? It's enough to cause a dedicated geocacher to get distracted.
While you can't call this cache an urban cache, this 4th Delaware cache was the first to be placed outside of a park or park-like setting. The logs show 193 entries. Come on down here and look at the stones. Oh yes, and don't forget to find the cache that is nearby.
Cyprus Point (GC3B8)
by Al Waller/owner miuwu (3/3/2001)
rating 1.5/1.5
Container size 2
Less than two after placing Mason Dixon, Al Waller placed the 5th Delaware geocache. This time he chose a location very nearby the original Delaware Geocache - Trap Pond State Park.
He calls this one an "easy .5 mile on a flat trail"
A check of the maps shows that this one is rather close to Delaware 7 so it is possible to make one visit to Trap Pond and find two of the oldest caches in Delaware. At the same time you'll see some well kept trails, possibly a boardwalk, and that pond.
As seen here the pond is not in a flood stage. Those trees are Cyprus and grow in standing water. Those large bumps at the bottom are called Cyprus "Knees" Trap Pond is about as far North as these trees grow. All those white spots in the picture are birds.
The logs for this site show 92 entries over the almost 6 years this cache has been in place.
The Adams Family (GC233)
by johnandjessica(6/24/2001)
rating 1/1
Container size 3
After the flurry of activity that resulted in 5 caches placed in just 3 months (note the irony in that statement) Delaware Geocachers had to wait three months before anything new was out there to find. When it was placed the surprise was that a new team of cachers did the hiding. johnandjessica stayed within Sussex County but moved up into the Laurel/Bethel area.
johnandjessica warn geocachers that the site is in an area were hunting is allowed but they also entice visitors with the promise that blackberries are near the hide making it possible to make a find and get a snack.
The image at the left shows why this cache is named the Adams family. You are seeking a family grave site. With this cache, geocachers experienced another kind of hide location.
Mason-Dixon took geocachers to an historical site marking a well known event, this cache takes geocachers to an equally historic site but one that is far from well known.
This is the first Delaware Geocacher Site to feature a mixture of local history and geocaching.
The logs for this site show 68 entries of the almost 6 years of its existence.
By the time this cache was created Geocaching had achieved its first anniversary. The Sport was showing signs of "catching on" and Delaware had 6 caches for geocacher to find.
Killen Me Softly (GC1013)
by choxnpinz /adopted by MikeOtt (7/11/2001)
rating 1.5/1.5
Container size 3
As of this writing there are a lot of sevens associate with this geocache. It was Delaware's 7th geocache. It was placed in the 7th month (July). It has been in place for 7 years.
Well, to be truly accurate that last statement is a bit of a stretch.
Geocacher choxnpinz placed in one of Kent County Parks - making it the first Kent County geocache. Choxnpinz was an member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Dover Air Base so he was familiar with Kent County and this nice park. But in the days when he placed this cache geocaching was so new that park officials were not aware of it. Also the current system of getting park approval for caches in State Parks had not yet been implemented.
Choxnpinz added several others caches to Killen's Pond State Park. Geocaching became better known. People started coming to the park to find all of Choxnpinz's caches. This increased activity caught the attention of park officials. On April 15,2004 Choxpinz was asked by a park official to remove all of his geocaches. His log entry for that date shows his frustration.
Skip ahead to December of 2006. Much has changed in the world of Delaware Geocaching. The Delaware Geocaching Group was well established and conducting periodic events typically held in Delaware State Parks. The State Park System had begun to call on Mike Ott to conduct gps training sessions. The State Park Geocaching Approval Process was in place and Delaware now had more than 450 geocaches hidden throughout the state. Mike contacted geocacher choxnpinz and an adoption process was put into place. Thanks to Delaware geocache approver gpsfun it was possible to "un" archive this cache and return it to active status!
A look at the site description shows that Mike honored choxnpinz creation by leaving his original description intact. You will also notice that this description is a bit different from any other description posted to date. It is a poem. So here's another Delaware first -The first poet/geocacher. But choxnpinz was not finished with his innovations. This is the first Delaware geocache to include a visual hint. Choxnpinz created a web site and placed an image of the actual hide spot on this site. Then he included a link within his site description.
As Mike has noted a new nature center at Killen's pond has made it necessary to close part of the trail that had led to the hide zone. The good news is that this does not effect anyone's ability to get to the hiding place.
Even with the "break" in service, Killen Me Softly has attracted 184 visitors. Be sure to add this Kent County Pioneer to your list of must do caches.
Lum Skull (GC1013)
by bigjaws /adopted by MikeOtt 7/29/2001)
rating 2.5/2.5
Container size 3
A bit more than a month after The Adams Family was placed big jaws placed Delaware's 7th cache in New Castle County. The location was Lum's Pond. At that time there was no official policy about placing geocaches in Delaware Parks - indeed geocaches was just approaching its first anniversary - very few people even knew this sport existed.
Following this successful placement at Lum Pond, several other caches were placed here. Eventually this caused problems. Park officials, not truly understanding what geocaching was all about, became distrustful of geocachers and banned geocaches from the park.
Through the work of Mike Ott and others this misunderstanding eventually was resolved. Geocaching is now welcomed in Lum's Pond and all the other State Parks. But as Mike Ott explains getting Lum Skull reactivated required solving a different level of problem.
Delaware State Parks are well maintained. Part of the maintenance includes development. Lum's Pond is no exception. New parking areas have been created as well as new trails. Old trails, such as the one in the picture at the left, we cleared of multi-flora rose and made more passable.
Unfortunately for Lum Skull, these changes made the original hiding place inappropriate. Mike moved it slightly from where it had been originally placed. Still it is in the same area as chosen by big jaws.
Today there are several caches throughout Lum's Pond State Park so it is possible to visit this park and find several cache, one of which is Delaware 7th oldest.
The logs for this cache show 116 entries.
Rittenhouse Cache 1(GC177B)
by dww9 (8/19/2001)
rating 2/2
Container size 3
The name of Delaware Geocacher dww9 shows up in the logs of all the geocaches listed above. (After all at this point there were only 8 other caches in the whole state to try to find). In August of 2001 he became the creator of this 9th hide which is also the 3rd to be hidden in New Castle County. (If you've read the rest of the review closely YOU know the names of the other other two!)
For this hide dww9 chose a local park in the Newark area. It proved to be quite popular quite quickly. More than 150 visitors logged finds up through June 21, 2006. Then the DNFs started. One sad story appears in the log at this point.
A geocacher who was trying to make this his first find logs a DNF stating that he was sure he had found the hiding spot but it was an empty rectangular depression in the ground. The sad part is that since geocaching.com update the find count retroactively this geocacher is still showing 0 finds almost 2 years later. Fortunately this story does get better.
On June 10 dww9 logs his intention to archive this cache and create version 2. Almost a year later during April and May of 2007 a series of posts documents the revival of this pioneer geocache. And as the old cliche' says "The crowds went wild" Since being reactivated in May of 2007 the number of logs has increased to over 300.
One note for those seeking this geocacher - Rittenhouse Park is a spot where dense foliage develops in the summer. While this can create a great spot to beat the heat of summer it also causes some gps devices to have trouble locking onto satellite signals. So depending on how well your gps does when it doesn't have a clear view of the sky might determine which month you choose to make your attempt.
Valley Gardens Park - Part 1(GC1A2F)
by BigJaws/current owner Prof's Cache (9/1/2001)
rating 1/1
Container size 3
The 8th oldest cache in Delaware was also placed in New Castle County. Again it was placed in a park. But this time it was not a State Park. Instead the county park Valley Gardens was chosen by big jaws as the hiding site.
Valley Gardens is a beautiful area in Northern New Castle county that had once been private land belonging to a member of the DuPont family. The land was made available by the family as park land. Lush greenery, rolling hills, a meandering brook that runs the length of the park, paved walking trails, and several wooded areas are all available.
The big question for big jaws was where the hide should be located. He found a great spot. There's only one parking lot so before you make the find you'll have taken a hike that gives you a good view of all the areas in this park. And when you find the cache, you're in for a treat.
This 8th Delaware cache was the first to exhibit a sense of humor. Located in the cache container is a pair of outlandish glasses. They are not the kind with the big nose, eyebrows, and mustache but they will certainly alter your appearance. Finders are urged to take their picture wearing these glasses then post the picture with their log entry.
Big Jaws must have struck the right chord with this one. The log for this site shows 242 entries. The gallery for this site shows that a lot of visitors had fun with this find.
The Trove at Brandywine (GC2916)
by The Jay/adopted by MikeOtt (11/19/2001)
rating 1.5/2
Container size 3
The Trove became the northern most cache in Delaware. Its on-line description states that it is the 10th oldest cache in Delaware. That would be true if Rittenhouse Cache 1 was still active. But since it is not, The Trove moves into the number 9 position. It had been three months to the day since cache number 9 had been placed. During the years that Rittenhouse was still active and the Trove was number 10 Delaware found itself with 10 caches evenly divided 5 and 5 between New Castle and Sussex Counties.
The site description states the cache can be found in Brandywine Creek State Park. In the site description the Jays explain:"Established in 1965, the 850 acre Brandywine Creek State Park maintains 12 miles of hiking trails accentuated by gray stone walls built of local stone by Italian masons in the late 1800's when the property was a dairy farm owned by the du Pont's."
The image at the left shows the river and ample green space. Those seeking this cache will find slightly different terrain. Like a lot of the areas of Delaware that have been allowed to go back to their natural state the search area features a number of stickers. Fall and Winter are especially good times to seek this cache as the tree cover is gone and the stickers have died back a bit. And, if the weather cooperates you might even get to see some ice on the river.
With the placement of this cache Delaware now had 10 caches spanning the state almost from the Northern border to the Southern border. Any geocacher finding these 10 would have found all the caches placed in 2000 (1) and 2001 (the other 9).
The Trove also proved to be a popular cache. Its log shows 195 entries.
So, there they are. The 11 Oldest caches in Delaware. Each one is a pioneer. Each one brought something a little different to the spot. Still they all share something in common - the containers used are all what we now call Regular. Recall that the first geocache placed by Dave Ulmer out west had a 5 gallon bucket as its container. Most of these Delaware caches use ammo boxes as the container. There was no such thing as a micro and certainly no such thing as a nano. Those "innovations" would come with time.
Delaware Geocachers salutes the geocachers who created these pioneering Delaware Geocaches and the geocachers who stepped in an adopted them when their original creators could no longer support them. Our thanks for helping to keep the historical roots of our sport intact and for making it possible for today's geocachers to seek and find these important caches.
A Suggested Itinerary for Seeking the 11 Oldest Caches in Delaware
While you could seek out each of these geocaches in sequence, since they are distributed at opposite ends of the state, you'd find your self driving back and forth covering some of the same territory several times. In these days of high gas prices, let us suggest an alternative. If you live in New Castle County - start with the Southern most and work your way North. If you live in Sussex - start with the Northernmost and work you way South. Either way you'll have a bit of a drive before you begin your caching adventures for the day followed by a series of cache finds each one bringing you a bit closer to home. Should you or one of your team discover that trying to do all 11 in one day is just too much, next time you set out to complete this adventure you'll won't have to drive quite so far to get to your new starting spot.
To help you plan your approach here are the 10 caches listed geographically from South to North.
Mason-Dixon-A3
dElAWare 7 {1}
Cyprus Point
The Adams Family
Delaware A1
Killen Me Softly
Lum Skull
Rittenhouse Cache 1
Valley Gardens Park - Part 1
iBnub
The Trove at Brandywine
