Lucky 13? Or Vice Versa by Hostanut and Lady H

Lucky 13? Or Vice Versa (GC3741)
Placed February 2, 2002 by Hostanut and Lady H
rating 2/1.5
container size 3 (regular)
photos: as posted on www.geocaching.com

This cache, placed by that prolific geocache creation team Hostanut and Lady H, was the first Delaware geocache placed in the year 2002.

The setting is in Sussex County, near Seaford, but Hostanut and Lady H didn't just place the typical cache. They brought innovation to their cache. This is the first Multi-cache placed in Delaware.

The image on the right shows the kind of terrain you will encounter as you seek the final hide. Hostanut has provided a suggested parking area and notes that, as seen here, there are several benches distributed throughout the area.

This is a well planned cache that takes the seeker through a beautiful area. Strangely the log for this cache shows only 84 entries over this cache's 6 year existence. It deserves much more attention. Hostanut has provided a unique first stage find. And, finding this cache will allow you to claim that you've found Delaware first multi.

Just don't expect that you can stroll right to it. A sampling of the log entries confirms this.

The first geocacher to find it was dww9. This geocacher found it on the day it was placed but in their log they mention that they had "helped out" with this one. About a month later the first geocacher who had only the coordinates and clues as a way for finding it came seeking it. In the log entry by cbiv a kind of theme is established that runs through the rest of the 80+ entries: "GREAT name for this cache. Found this one on my second try. VERY good hiding places. I had to really think this one through."

Why are folks having such a tough time finding this one? It might have something to do with the capabilities of the GPS devices available in 2002. The hide area is a rather dense forest. It has only been in the last year or so that GPS devices evolved to the point where they can now lock onto the needed satellites while under dense foliage. The logs for the cache show very little activity here during the summer months when the foliage is most dense.

Checking Google and MapQuest Maps there is no label for this forest but it is near Woodland Road a bit to the Southwest of Seaford. The Nanticoke River runs nearby also but this river does not run through the forest. Instead a tributary of the Nanticoke is in there - Chapel Branch. A visit to this cache will give you a good opportunity to view this river.

In March of 2002 the master geocaching team - The Dam Trolls - visited. Their log seems to indicate that after finding the first stage they took the "take the straight line approach. It worked just fine!" Some of us might call this bushwacking but why quibble when the result was a find. The Trolls also did a little cache maintenance. Apparently the coordinates one discovered at stage one had faded. The Trolls made them more readable. They also had an adventure they had not planned on: "As we were entering the #'s in, we were questioned as to what we were doing. We were being quizzed by the cache owners. Very nice to meet the owners still roaming the woods."

This review of the logs would not be complete with mention of two more.

On October 1, 2005 amcercena (1 found) made this their first try at finding a geocache. They leave some interesting advice for cachers who might follow. By the way, they were successful but since geocaching.com updates a geocacher's find count even on previously logged entries, it is curious that amcercena made this one their one and only find.

Skipping ahead to 2007 MikeOtt tried for this cache in October with a group of geocachers who were headed to an event. Time was a factor here. Mike and his team were trying to find this cache BEFORE heading to the event - and it was getting late. Here's how he explained it: " This is still the first multi-cache in Delaware. Having found all the other oldest caches, this one was my must do cache on a trip to the GGG event. I was with Evanspack, Millennium Mom, and Programmer 64, who had already found this cache. It was getting real close to the event time so P 64 helped us by telling us where to look for the first stage. We looked and looked and couldn't find the hide we were looking for. Its getting late so a quick call to the cache owner. Turns out P64 remembered wrong. About 20 seconds later Millennium Mom (right at our ground zero) yells out "I got It" If we had been just looking instead of looking for a special something it would have been easy. It was now off to the final stage which was a nice walk through the woods and got the cache with only a very short bushwhack. the cache made a nice loop walk through the woods on nice trails. We made it to the event but about 20 minutes late."

So our recommendation is for you to put this one on your "must do" list. There are also four other geocaches within a mile or so of this one. But be sure to leave yourself plenty of time. This is one of those geocaches that was planned with a lot of thought going into its creation. Hostanut and Lady H did more than just leave something in the woods for you to find. They created a woodland adventure. Enjoy finding the cache but also enjoy the spot where they have taken you.