Parallel Track Letterbox Blaxlands Ridge, New South Wales, Australia
By phlphotos on 18-Jun-17. Waypoint GC77FMT

this was a targeted cache for this weekend. finally got to it on Sunday Morning. glad we did it early. nice bush walk, then bush bash, a bit of rock clambouring, cliff hugging, caveing. nice combination. had a few ideas about the code, and one worked. TFTC. Stamp is working well. fav from me.

Walked along the fire trail then headed bush once parallel to the down coords. Filled previous instructions.Walked along ledge up and down iver rocks to GZ. Beautiful rock formations. Enjoyed this cache. A fav from me. TFTC

Found It!The access WP didn't seem to be of any use, so after reading some of the previous logs, I went about 80m to the north and found a way down to the right level. Then soon found the cache once I got to GZ. Impressive caves and an awesome spot for a cache!TFTC

What a little bobby dazzler! Dog loves walking in this area, so back to grab only cache left here. Quickly got to cliff edge, and found easier way down about 80m north of gz. Once down it was a quick walk into cave. Read logs previously meaning it was quickly opened and signed. Replaced everything and knew way back. Great cache. Fav. Tftc

This was a great cache to do parallel to our efforts on the Yin-Yang series today. Really enjoyed clambering around the cliff ledges. An FP from me. OCW It;s_Dozzie. TFTC phlphotos

#14577 10:46A day of caching with Everest High in the northwest corner of Sydney.Main purpose was to find some of the YY puzzle series and the challenge caches of ilook4geo.It took a while to find the best access to GZ. After we PAF we retraced out steps for a smooth descent.TFTC phlphotos

I can see why this got GCOTM and why it has D4.5. Finding a way down was difficult and the waypoint didn’t help at all, it could have been in Africa and it would have helped the same amount. Lots of zigzagging but we eventually found the right cave and cache. Lock code was tricky but got it. The honeycombs are great and this is an I found DT combo for us so happy to get it. TFTC Fav for adventure!

I was out and about with the geo-family picking up some Ying Yang caches after completing the solving process on all of them.
We arrived close to GZ but after looking for a way down, we decided to leave this one for another day as we were getting a bit on the tired side. We think fresh legs might be a good idea. We've since had some intel as to the best way to scramble to GZ. Next time.
On the way out, we passed a couple with a young toddler in tow. We stopped and chatted briefly before parting ways. Now we were all wearing Geocaching NSW hoodies and hats today. It turns out they were the team, lela_lala, who posted a "defeated" log. I'm sure they would have seen what we were wearing but didn't say anything.

Defeated

Awesome work thanks for the adventure! Used to cut firewood out that track with my old man 35 years ago kids loved this one definitely worth the difficulty cheers lee

Under beautiful skies I made the most of my day off work to bag a plethora of caches in the Windsor / Colo area. It was one of those days where I drove past more caches than I found, but I went with specific mindset of finding caches that helped improve my D/T rating.

Thanks to all the CO's for your hides, I had a great day either in the bush or by the river.
This was one of specific targeted caches for the day

TFTC

Out caching with Martin Cousins. This one was not too far away from another cache. Found our way slowly to GZ. What a beaut location. This cache was the highlight of the day. Would love to give it more than one FP - it deserves it. Thanks phlphotos. How did you find this place?

Found today on the way down to Katoomba to do our 5000th, had an amazing time doing this one with a bunch of friends. After doing some of the nearby caches, we decided to head to the cache. It was about to start raining and cold, so everyone but me, dad (lee737), Banj5150, barefootjeff and the Mighty Minions started the crash through the brush. Once we got to the waypoint, we looked down to see the potential human sized hidey hole. But the problem was it was a bit lower than us, and a 8m drop isn't the easiest thing to conquer.

After a bit of walking along, we found a rock to slide down which we then followed the level along until we finally got to the cache. After a lot of mucking around opening the cache before finally cracking the code, it started raining. Bit of a problem when you got down on a smooth slippery rock. Once we got to the slippery ascent. The Mighty Minions climbed up holding the wall, so did I, but the rest had a bit of trouble. So we deployed the handline and everyone climbed up quite easily after that!

TFTC phlphotos, FP well deserved

Caching around the area with some friend from the Hunter and the Central Coast on the way to the Blue Mountains area.
An awesome climb down to an amazing cave. A bit trickier climbing back up with the rain.
A great stroll to some great caches with some interesting terrain. TFTC

#4991
This letterbox has intrigued me for years, we've always thought about going for it, but the terrain was a little daunting, especially if it were just myself and the boys when they were younger. Now I'm glad we didn't attempt it back then.
Today we left the younger ones at the track, checked we had UHF comms, and headed to the waypoint - I'm still unsure why, as it didn't help us get down in the slightest?
We explored up and down, and BFJ and Samuel spotted what looked like a likely spot, and Banj investigated - looks good - this was about 100m north of the cache.
Once found, the descent was OK, some mildly concerning spots, but safe enough, and eventually we were at the impressive cave. We spent a while trying to open it to check the mail, before I sourced some info from Cachly that sorted us out.
After posing for some photos, we reversed our steps (in quite heavy rain now) to climb out. One part, not actually that steep, had become so slick in the rain, we used a handline to pull ourselves up.
Thanks for a great letterbox - one I'm glad we saved to do in a group....

Out today with Mighty Minions, Banj5150 and Team737, doing a few of our solved Yin Yangs before heading up to the Blue Mountains. Using the waypoint, we made our way down off the Parallel Track to the top of the cliff from where we could see a likely hiding place for the cache, but finding a way down to it proved a bit more challenging. MM made an attempt through a gap in the rocks but reached an impasse, but while she was doing that Samuel737 and I studied the lie of the land further to the north and saw what looked to be a good way down.

Once MM was back up, we headed that way and, apart from one rather steep and slippery descent of a couple of metres, the going was fairly easy. Upon entering the cave, the cache was quickly found but then came the task of opening it, not helped by some misleading intel we'd been given. Eventually lee737 spotted the clue we needed and that gained us access.

Just as we were about to leave, the rain started again. We waited it out for a bit but by the time we got to the steep section, it had become even slipperier. Samuel737 made it up and looped the hand line his dad had thankfully brought around a tree, which made the ascent a lot easier and safer.

Many thanks for this enjoyable hide and field puzzle.

Wow! An actual letterbox! Automatic favourite point, but this was thoroughly worth it. Walked in along the fire trail on quite a hot day. The bush seemed incredibly dry even after all the recent rain. Once leaving the trail, like others before me, I had to head further north to find a safer way down. All the leaf litter underfoot was incredibly slippery even with good shoes on. After making my way down, I still had to be careful making my way across as the drop kept going a lot further down towards Putty Road. Reaching GZ, I was extremely thankful to have a decent amount of shade while trying to figure out how to open the container. I tried a few different combinations which weren't working. I then thought of a slightly more obscure one and thought surely that can't be it, but it worked and I was able to add my name to the log. The only thing left to do was to walk back along and find that safe space to climb back up and follow the fire trail back to the car.

Thanks for the awesome adventure. TFTC.

Came by for a wander on the fire trail and to collect this missing D/T combination from my grid. I was travelling with my little companion and a T4 is not normally a problem however when we reached the waypoint the indicated access to the correct level there was no way would have been able to make that without the ropes in the car. After a short traverse we were able to find a simple and safe path down, and the traverse back towards the cache wasn't beyond our abilities either.

Cache was found and opened in one. We signed the log and the little one stamped her hands before replacing.

Great view at GZ, an enjoyable visit to the area. No doubt I'll be back after solving some of the numerous puzzles in the area.

Brought some TBs but failed to drop one of them as they were wiped up safe in my pocket and I forgot I had them.

Walked along a familiar track to get to this one. TFTC.

WOOOHOOO FIND #12,000

My finds were quickly creeping up to 12,000 right before I tackled this series. I spotted this letterbox cache amongst the bunch, with a pretty epic D/T rating! I have also never got a letterbox milestone before, usually the ones around me are very average and quick finds.

So I decided to start in this section of bush so that this letterbox cache lined up with my find count perfectly!

After eventually working out how to safely get to the correct level, I soon saw the impressive sandstone feature at GZ and knew I was at the right spot! I found the letterbox and had already written down some notes on how to open it, which I am thankful for the younger version of me for doing

Had it open in no time and celebrated! Took a photo for memories which I have attached to this log.

Thanks phlphoto's for hiding an epic cache worthy of a big milestone, and for being the first letterbox cache in my milestone statistics too! It also fills an empty spot in my Letterbox D/T grid, even better! Oh and it's also won Geocache of the Month in NSW!? Excellent, couldn't have chosen a better miletsone find! Favourite point from me!

It took us a little while to find a way o to the correct level, but once there we quickly spotted where the cache was living. After retrieval we made quick work of the final obstacle and the log was signed. Thanks for the fun!!

Find 722 at 1:35 pm.
This is what geocaching is about! Are you sure the bad man didn’t place the letterbox here though?
Took longer than it should have to pick the lock, made sense as soon as I got it though.
Favourite point for sure.
Thanks phlphotos for the cache!

Got to the initial GZ, couldn't find a safe way down. Decided that it was not going to happen.

We approached GZ and surveyed the situation - bloody big cliffs with no apparent way down! We walked North till we found a safe way down. Then, very carefully, made our back to GZ, hoping that we were on the right level. We were, as we found a very scenic overhang and uncovered the cache. We soon had the right combination and were able to SL. The way back was a little quicker and easier. A great cache and a bit of a challenge for us seniors. TFTC phlphotos

TFTC phlphotos I feel like I should log this twice. Upon reaching entry point I found what I thought was an easy way in. Reached GZ found and opened cache. SL and return cache to where it was found. When leaving GZ found the really easy exit point. Once back at the fire trail I found that I had lost my reading glasses. So back to GZ where I found my glasses within 5 m if the cache. Fav from me.

Stopped by here with Martin Cousins on the way to grab a couple grandfather caches. Took a bit the get the letterbox open but did some research and soon had ink to paper. TFTCM
Cheers
dkmacca

Early start this morning with DKMacca, for two grandfather hides in “Down by the river” and also “Delicate sound of thunder”.
Walk and talk along the trail and descended approx 35m north along the ridge to the correct level. Interesting way to grab the code as we were stumped for a while, thanks phlphotos

We are here to finalise the Yin Yang GeoArt but also to pick up this important letterbox cache. On our first visit in October of last year it started drizzling rain which it made this one to dangerous to access. So today while we still had enough light we made our way here first before picking up any of the other series nearby. A good torch might have been lost in the process but thats life!!
Thanks phlphotos for guiding us here to the Parallel Track.

Whew what a spot, your house was quite nice but a little challenging to get to and quite a bit of noise from the road. Reasonably warm day for a walk but let our bush instincts take over and lead us in to the GZ. The lock gave us a few troubles but eventually when changing the description from web to text saw the extra clue at the bottom and snap we were in. Nice to get out and find some of these bigger rural caches for a change. HappyTakahe and I live out this way and have been meaning to get in here for a while. Thanks very much for the extra effort on this one. Favourite point from me

I’ve been driving past this for the past 3 years now.... today was the day and what a day for it!
A reasonably pleasant walk along the fire trail then the rock climber in me wanted to just get there but a much more pleasant route was taken thanks to my geocacheing buddy outdoornut22.
Part 2 had us a bit stumped but we got there in the end. Logs signed and arms stamped

Headed over after the CITO today. To be honest, I was in two minds, after seeing all the things I cant't do here, No snowmobiles? What a party pooper! I did get some leafrocking in though. It's just like snowboarding, but without the snow, or the board. The trick is to get of the accelerating rock before it careers into the abyss.
I had some access instructions but they proved to be a bit optimistic and getting to GZ took a little more effort than I was prepared for.
I arrived at one side of GZ and immediately saw a really tricky hiding place, one that Chudles wouldn't be able to resist. Fortunately, I checked the other side first. For a change, I made the right guess and got in was in first go, without "feeling" my way in. I signed and added an artist's impression of the stamp I don't have.
Thanks phlphotos, more good fun.

Awesome spot! Took a little while to work a safe path down. Then a little while to work the numbers. Signed and returned on a hot day with mouse90 and Chudles. Fav for the location.

Had a break from the excellent Yin Yang series to make a detour to visit this cache with Mouse90 and Asbestiform.

Explored various levels, before uncovering the treasure. Mouse90 was unsure of her footing in somewhat slippery joggers (apparently much more appropriate for running a half-marathon than sliding down a slope), so decided to stay above.

But whilst we were taking care of Part 2, who should turn up bare foot - wow that's dedication to get one more smiley!?!

P.S I've been brutal of late trying to accumulate favourites for the puzzles, but this was just too good too skip

Found it, really nice spot to take 5 and appreciate the view. TFTC

This letterbox has been on my radar for a looong time. Several times I have been on Putty Road, driving past looking forlornly up at the ridge, wishing I had more time to get out here. Today I had the day to myself. My little boy was supposed to join me for the CITO, be he overslept and it seemed like he was going to be practising being a bit of a zombie during the morning. Thus, I was free to tackle longer walks and some higher terrain caches.

I parked in a familiar spot and made my way towards the first waypoint where I would have to leave the main trail and head on over to GZ. Nothing looked like a proper path, but at least the vegetation in this area at the waypoint looked less dense than in other places, so this was where I left the main track.

Before long I was at the cliffs, looking at the distance between me and the cache dropping. Alas, the ground ran out before my GPSr said I was at the cache. A bit of an inspection along the ridge line ensued, but based on the T-rating, it was kind of obvious that I would have to descend somehow and somewhere. I was thinking that now would have been a great time to have some abseiling equipment with me to shorten the process of getting to the right level.

One or two false starts on trying to find a suitable place to get down had me rethinking my strategy and looking a bit further along the ridge for a better place. Fortunately, I found a good and safe way to get much lower down the cliffs, and then it was plain sailing.

Found the lovely overhang which I thought would be a great place to rest up (even for a few days if one were running from the law), and there was also the letterbox, a bit closer than I had even expected.

I quickly figured out what the code should be, but then botched something with the last digit and had to scratch my head and wonder why I was wrong. Ahhh, just a simple counting problem, methinks! A quick adjustment, and the lock sprang open so that I could get to the actual cache container and the log book.

I had a quick look through the record of those who had come before and made their mark. I also noted that one of the infamous cachers in the area has logged a find online, but they seem to have forgotten to write their name in the logbook or stamp the other log. How unfortunate ...

I left one of my signature small wire dogs in the cache before packing up everything and returning all the bits as found. Then it was really time to get back to the main track and chase down some of the other caches on my list. I certainly enjoyed sitting in the cool shade here, but it seems some mosquitoes have also figured out that this is a great spot.

Thanks for an awesome cache, Phil. Nice to discover these amazing places.

Log to follow

Team effort today! Had an awesome morning out with frazelle, Snoopy1976 and Dave8153. Beautiful spot tftc

Wow what an adventure. Joint group effort with Ash.Kate, snoopy76 and Dave1853. This took a bit of working out on how to get there but persistance paid off. Very much enjoyed this one TFTC

Cache find No. 2536
Streak Day: 941

Headed out here today with Snoopy1976, frazelle and Ash_kate. Took some time to find a way down to the correct level. Once down on the right level, we made our way across and found the cache. TFTC

An enormous day out with the whole gang - M95, GD__, B7, 154C, MCMD.
Admittedly I did not and could not solve most of these puzzles. I was tagging along for the drive and physical manpower. Thanks For The Caches!

Whilst on the trail we stopped to look at this Hybrid cache,a short search later we spotted the cache,after a few misses we found the way in.
A fun cache to find
TFTC

Easy grab for me. I let everybody else do the hard work

We were in the area for the Yin Yang series and collected this on our way past. A challenging scramble. TFTC.

Oof! While we were here along this trail, we decided to have a crack at this Letterbox.
We arrived at the top and had a quick look around. I had manoeuvred down a level or so, but came up empty handed (although I found an awesome spot that was likely).

We then moved around to the right spot in order to get on the right level. Eventually we got there and located an interesting container. After a bit of tinkering we hit the nail on the head and completed the signing duties.

What a good bit of fun while we were out on the trail! Thanks for a neat Letterbox cache!

Reperio at 1420. Found in the company of the_garbageman.

TG and I headed down from Newcastle with the aim to knock off some of the Yin/Yang series, and as we happened to be in the vicinity of this one, I couldn't pass up the chance to pay it a visit as well. As we arrived at the GZ coords, TG informed me that we had to head to a lower level. We back tracked until the right access point, and worked our way down without too much trouble. Having found it previously, TG stayed back while I headed into the very cool location where the container was sitting there in full view. After the first attempt at opening it up failed, the second one was a winner. Loved this cache!

Gratias phlphotos.

Following the CITO and meet and greet event today, we were out hunting with PTH, who was acting as tour leader for this one. Thankfully he knew at what level this one was located. When it was plain where GZ was, Mrs GP2 backed out, realising it was not safe for her to attempt this one. PTH and Mr GP2 continued and after some scrambling found the container. The correct log was signed and all was put back in place for the next very brave explorer. All three met up back on the track and went on with the program for the day.
Thanks go to phlphotos for a very challenging cache which gets a favourite point.

Out and about with geo hubby and thought we would get some letterboxes before I headed to work - luckily I had geo hubby with me today as this one was a bit out of my comfort zone however it was lucky I was there as I was needed to decode the cache, poor geo hubby had to come back up and down twice - favourite points for us TFTC phlphotos, We really enjoyed it!

I headed off this morning, not knowing what to expect. The stories of great cliff climbs, risk taking and general dare devil stunts had me worried. I arrived at ground zero pretty uneventfully, wondering what the fuss was about. Okay, I had only arrived on top of ground zero, I’ll be honest! A bit of a look around and I soon found a rather sedate way down. Down I went. Hmm. A padlock. What now? Hmmmm I figured it out in the end I think signs requesting no advertising material are very good. In fact, I’m going to go get one for the house! Great cache, a favourite from me! TFTC phlphotos

Stopped here on the way back collecting the dog from the kennels, and picking up some caches on the way on the more than a little bit warm 42 degree christmas eve.
We had the dog, and we'd done a few caches in the heat already, but we decided to give this one a go, hoping for a quick easy find with a bit of a walk. What a shame we looked at everything but the terrain and difficulty ratings. Both should have been 5/5 when we did it, in the sunny 42 degree heat, with a dog!

Got to what we thought was GZ after a very hot walk and a bit of a bush bash. No luck there, geomum looked at the logs and concluded, as most others seemed to have, that the cache was on a different level. After a bit of bush bashing and lot of scrambling (still with the geohound in tow), I finally reached the real GZ. Finally, for once something was easy, and the cache was easilly found.

Took it back to geomum and hound for decryption, done fairly quickly. Signed log and replaced to do everything again in reverse; a scramble, spikier than before bush bash and a walk in the baking sun and hot sand that felt much longer than before. After reaching the car we made a beeline to Windsor for cold drinks (with a cache or two along the way).

TFTC and the journey!!!

Out caching with Webby and he'd already done this one so I went down solo. It was a bit slippery in the rain but I found a way down that wasn't too dangerous. Well, let's just say I've done a lot worse! TFTC!
Cheers,
The Hancock Clan

They aren't kidding about the terrain and difficulty rating on this cache!

A real team effort, the three of us made our way to the dot, couldn't see a way down, so then back tracked to a better spot (Still pretty difficult) and made our way towards GZ.

Lots of spiky bushes, rocks and terrain challenges, but eventually made it to what is a very cool cache. When it came to actually opening the cache, which was fortunately easy to physically find, we found the phone apps lacking, and the Garmin that RIS768 had very handy indeed.

The way back out was equally tough with some spiky bush bashing required.

Great spot though.

Thanks for the cache!

Out on a caching run today with Jimmyluxury & RIS768 + the Geodogs. we had a great time picking our way to the cache on a warm day. both the Geodogs made it to the cache and were happy to relax in the shade while we did the signing duties. cache was found in good order & returned as found. Thanks phlphotos for bringing us here & for placing & maintaining this cache

Log 1208 Streak Day 330

Deep_99 invited me to do a nearby cache today with him and JimmyLuxury and as I didn't want to attempt this cache again on my own, I suggested we give this one a go so I can turn my frown upside down. I brought 2 of my geodogs along for the adventure, however this time Periscope wasn't as adventurous as last time as it took a bit of coaxing to get her to follow us. We all enjoyed the coolness of GZ while doing the signing duties. SL #3371 on streak day #1970 TFTC giving a fav as it fills in a hole in my 81 grid and the views were pretty awesome.

Too dangerous for me on my own with 2 geodogs. When one went missing (thankfully she went exploring lower levels and didn’t fall off the edge) I decided to call it quits. Not sure when I’ll be back for this one.

Great day caching with some of the challenging terrain caches in the area. We caught up with fellow geocacher Noodles22 and made our mark on this one. We walked in from above and backtracked a bit to find our way down to the correct level. Great spot for a letterbox, pitty the postman.

All in all a fun day and this cache was icing on the cake. Thanks phiphotos SLTN TFTC

Found on the 30/09/2017 at 1:31:00 PM.

I met up with J+J today after finding their name on a log book, signed just before I got there.
We had just walked along a track that crossed the one to this cache before returning to our cars. After finding a couple of other caches we returned to find this one.
My favourite landscape! multiple levels!
Jim managed to find his way down to the right level first.

Thanks for the cache.

Re-found with BillHill531 and the_garbageman on a trip down to these parts.
Such a good climb it was worth a revisit. Saw a TB this time.
Thanks for climb again!

Found with TOMBI! and The_Garbageman. Got a late start with all the traffic delays, making this the 9th cache today. We only managed to do a fraction of the puzzles in this area. This one was in the area, so a quick detour, and backtracking we made our way down the steep track to the lovely overhang. TFTC phlphotos

# 973

A great day out with TOMBI! and Billhill, at events and catching up on collecting some solved puzzles. There's definitely going to need to be some more trips back to the area though - so many puzzles left!

This was our sixth cache for the afternoon. Tombi! had been here before but Billhill and I forced him to take a diversion from our hiking to climb the cliffs with us. I like to think he loved it. I almost tried to climb a suicidal spot but fortunately common sense kicked in and we found an easier way.

Had seen in previous logs that there was a bit of a twist here and sure enough we were caught by surprise for a few moments- I think after half a dozen random guesses we had an 'aha' moment and we were in. TNLN TFTC

Funny. TFTC!

Decided to catch up on a couple of caches out this way. We knew this track well so headed over. The waypoint threw us a little and we should have looked at the hint picture but soon worked out the likely spot and headed to a different waypoint to make our way to GZ. The find was soon make and a bit of thought to get to the log but dialed up what was required and completed the signing duties. TFTC

Out here today from the central coast to specifically nab GC78437 *Multiplication* of the yin-yang series to complete our D/T grid ...and while I'm here I just CAN'T RESIST A LBH, especially one with this kind of D/T rating!

I first noticed this when it was published a few months back whilst in the middle of some of the yin-yang caches and thought THAT IS DEFFO GOING ON THE LIST once I'm in the area as I've been enjoying high-T caches lately. Checked on it last night before today's journey and was surprised to see it had already gained ~20 finds. On the way out to this one I got to about 130m from GZ and noticed the geotrail straight away. It was a little tricky navigating out to it but I didn't have to backtrack anywhere. Once my iGPS said 32m from GZ I rounded a corner and spotted the cache from afar. On retrieving it though I was completely stumped on how to open it for a while as before now I hadn't pick up on the fact it has a field puzzle of sorts -like beyond that of the average LBH. Fortunately my single bar of service was able to get me looking over the cache page once again to spot the required info to assist with the final step ...which still had me going for another 10 mins or so until it clicked in my head... and then with the lock . TFTLBH, phlphotos. This is our 21st LBH cache. I stamped mine in yours, yours in mine, and dipped a few TBs, and re-hid exactly as found. Shame about the racket down below with the dump trucks and diggers. I wasn't quite able to get the full experience of this awesome spot but that's no fault of yours!
#499

I made that more difficult then it needed to be. Driving past on putty road gps said 60m to gz. Got to worth a shot. Parked in someone's driveway and looked at the menacing rock face and thought this is worth a shot. Headed up the very steep and slippery slope which was more 1 step forward 2 steps side ways. Got to the rock face . 8m to go. Are you serious? Looked around no cache here. Slid back down the hill complete with a rock trying to wedge t self in between my cheeks.
Drove the km to the suggested parking area and walked back to find it was a double faced cliff not unlike that 2 faced cliff who is always back stabbing everyone.

At the suggested spot it was very narrow but thought I would investigate it anyway. No cache found but down further I could see a larger ledge. Now how do I get down there. Tried a few different spots but they where all too dangerous.
Where about to give up and climbed back to the top and remembered that a previous finder had mentioned about leaving the track early so I started meandering the cliff edge. A couple of glimpses of hope led nowhere. Soon I started seeing a trail of broken branches. Ah a heard of geocachers have been here before. I followed this. It wasn't too treacherous only had one tricky spot where the distance between where I could get to without jumping was about a foot and managed to negotiate that with quite a lot of difficulty. Down to the main ledge I made it, then it was an easy walk to the cache and soon I was messing up the record book. And returning to where I came from. Nice ledges and nice bush around here.
Tftc tnln

Saturday morning Sackville cache blitz.
Found a hard way and an easy way in to the cache. Didn't read the cache page so spent a long time working through the solution to opening the post box. Great spot and a fun cache.

SL TFTC

A great little adventure that was different from what I expected. Luckily Toriaz had done her research and it was an easy unlock.

TFTC.

Toriaz and I had been in this area a few weeks ago when we found two nearby caches. However, our primary goal that day had been to attend an event, but with time slipping away, we bypassed the higher terrain caches at that time. Today we were out here again with Canary with the intention of attending to the higher terrain caches. After finding Patience we headed towards this one. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't too hard at all. We must have found an easy way to the cache - perhaps caching in the mountains helps too - and we were all soon staring at the cache container, thankful that Toriaz had done her homework and was certain she knew how to open it. Her confidence proved justified and we were soon signing the log.

So we had a pretty easy time of it. There was no need for upper body strength, as I read in one of the previous logs, and we also didn't have some narky cache cop (it seems there was one in the previous group, based on the logs) whinging about who made the most effort, because Canary and I would have taken a serve for not having read how to open the lock. Besides, as always, we were all there, as shown by the photo, just in case we're falsely arrested. Thanks phlphotos for an excellent cache.

#5,054

Bikerbuddy & I considered this one & another high terrain puzzle a few weeks back, but decided we didn't have the time that day. Having done the caches today, we know we made the right decision to head to the event when we did.

Today however we had time available, and set off after these caches. I've read the earlier logs & think we must have found a much easier way down. At no point did I feel unsafe, or that the slightest slip would see me plunge down a cliff. Of course you need to take care, those dry leaves are slippery and can trip you easily. We left the track early, found a way down through the levels, then made our way along to GZ more at the cache level.

Once at GZ the cache was easily spotted. I'd read the cache notes THOROUGHLY and knew how to open the container, so I did the honours for our team.

This one filled a D/T gap for me & bikerbuddy, something we hadn't realised until we looked at the cache page when we got home. Very happy about that

Thanks

On a great day out caching with Tombi to get the answers to the EG-Q final we stopped at the cache because we were close by and it looked like fun. we parked at a good spot and walked down a nice trail. then we got to near GZ and saw it was down,so we tried going down a level but couldn't go further that way. after searching for a while for a way down. I stopped and read some previous logs for inspiration while Tombi kept looking and found a good way down. Tombi opened the cache and stamped the log will I signed the other book. Thanks for the great cache phlphotos tnln sl

Found with Mighty Minions on a trip to the area. We targeted the EG-Q series as well as a certain trackable out here. We found pretty much all the caches we tried for. Though we started to skip some as the day went on, but got all the answers needed for the final. A great day and we will return when the final is solved...
I love letterbox caches, so when we were so close neither of us could say no. Parked as recommended (even though we did not know it at the time). A nice easy down hill walk most of the way to the cache, then the fun began. Went to the first waypoint, but there was not obvious way down (it seemed pretty far from the cliff actually). So we went to GZ, at least to six (or two) meters from GZ. found some cool spots and got down a half level, but kept returning to the top as down seemed to mean death. Going further away I found a questionable spot, with broken rocks, so others had been this way, and got down. Found the cache, but returned to find an easier way back up and led the Minions back down to the cache. While the Minions looked up the description for hints on how to open, I quickly opened the cache. I got out my stamp and stamped my book (first to bring a stamp!), while the minions signed their book. Also got this stamp in my book! Then it was another climb and uphill walk back to the car. This combo saves me solving a puzzle down at Wodonga, so very welcome. Left Iron Man.
Thanks for the walk, climbs, views, formations, stamp and cache!

Thanks for the great hide

Such an amazingly beautiful day for caching today. Not a cloud in the sky. Found this cache with Fox in Jox and TikvaNZ. One of fourteen that we collected on a day in which we found nine different cache types.
We found a terrain 4.5 way to GZ but a terrain 4.0 way back out again. At GZ I found the cache and then we wondered how to open it. Fox in Jox made a suggestion and we got the cache open pretty quickly. The canny fox had a sharp mind! Either that or he picked up a wee hint from somewhere.
I don't find many letterbox caches, and when I do they are usually terrain 1.0 or 1.5. So I was very happy to pick up such a challenging letterbox cache - easily the most challenging yet for me. I have a few favourite points up my sleeve, and I can't not award one for this.
XN SL. TFTC, phlphotos, and great to meet you at the event at the winery!

#8078 @1140
A day trip from Canberra with ZQX and Fox in Jox to collect some specific D/T caches. It also turned into a mission to collect 9 cache types in a day. By this stage we had six finds and 6 cache type. We had some time before the next event, so took the opportunity to grab this letterbox, as it looked interesting and the D/T was attractive. We parked where suggested and headed for the entry point. It was warm enough to build up a sweat (a contrast from the -7 degrees we started out with in Canberra). We managed to find our way to GZ for a quick find, then found an easier way back up. TFTC.

Another great day trip from Canberra with TikvaNZ and ZQX. Our objective was to collect a few prized D/T combinations around the Hawkesbury - Colo Rivers area, but with attendance at a CITO and Event, we added another objective - collecting 9 caches in a day. We achieved our objectives, met some great Sydney cachers and had a lot of fun.

This was the first letterbox cache that I looked at when I knew we were coming to the area. But the high D/T combo had us wondering what might be in store. At the CITO, I asked about it and got a thumbs up from a previous finder that it was worth the effort. I also got an ever-so-slight nudge as to thinking required once the letterbox was found.

We parked, walked, scaled down the rocks and arrived at GZ. I was thinking about squeezing myself into an interesting looking cavity, but thankfully ZQX yelled "Found it", which saved me the trouble...and possible embarrassment trying to extract myself. It then didn't take long to figure out the method for log book retrieval. Log was signed and stamped. Great spot phlphotos. TFTC

Almost a drive-by.

Heard about this one at the nearby event, only because I heard the combo being discussed and immediately my ears pricked up, something challenging perhaps?

Certainly not too challenging when you are used to caching in the Bluies, 3 of us found our way to the cache location easily, could be very bad if you slip, no stopping til you hit the tar below. Great find of a location.

Field puzzle solved, then the log signed, just managed to break a sweat doing this one. Climbed back up and then it was back to the car, I think the ratings are about right for this one.

1550
Came here after attending the nearby "In search fer th' lost loot o' Mary Hyde" event. I've never seen the car park so full. All up, seven of us headed towards GZ. Even though we had some good intel to approach from the north, we still ended up too high and had to backtrack to find a way to lower elevation. BisyGisy and I followed Team Webguy along a reasonably obvious path with a few skinny sections and plenty of lose leaf litter underfoot. Some nice rock formations and caves on this cliff line. Tried a few interpretations of the field puzzle before Team Webguy cracked the code and we added our names to the log. Enjoyed the scramble back up. Very enjoyable all round and happy to allocate a favourite.
TFTC phlphotos

#4201 (3 of 5 today)

A milestone coming up, and I haven't managed to get to an event at the winery on Tizzana Road as yet. I can make that the milestone but if I do I need to grab one more first.

After the event was part of a group looking to attack a letterbox cache - how hard can that be? Well, D4½T4 actually.
Then split up and I grabbed two more on the way home, including my first (Ying / Yang) cache - the WhereIGo.
###END OF CUT AND PASTE SECTION###
Arrived here with a number of cachers and we went down the track towards GZ. My standing above the cache you get a great view.
Problem was three cachers went off ahead and made the find. End result - I had to go down by myself. It's actually not too hard getting to the cache if you pick the right route. Only one spot I was worried about - and that was harder for me on the way back.

Note to the CO - I think the chance of advertising material here is low - except for Megas, etc. Nice touch though.
Opened the cache - added my mark to the log and replaced.

Took in the view - nice cave, and just as I was leaving I was rejoined by **crash2079**.
We made our way back, and while I'd have got there in the end his help in that tricky spot was much appreciated.
And that last climb - well the first bit of it is hard on an old body. Just glad I still have enough upper body strength to do it.

Great experience. Certainly deserved that T rating!

SLTNLN
TFTC

I felt like I was in the lower blue mountains. I love these challenging caches. At this cache I felt like I was really caching today. The fear as you face ledges with no where to hold yourself up. The exhilaration when you make it across the hairy sections. Team Webguy had come back for me as I didn't answer one of his calls. Two cachers were at the cache before I got there and had the cache open and I was able to log it. TFTC.

Lucky1955 & I had been working on some puzzles and he mentioned wanting to have a go at this one after the event. So a plan was hatched………..

Then at the pirate event several more cachers said they were going to try too – Bonus – people with experience in doing these high D/T finds, plenty of people to help if anyone gets into strife.

So we all set off along the trail, we got to where we thought we should leave the trail, but that’s where we all got split up.
Reaching the edge we decided that it was important that some of us should stay there in case help needed contacted. 2m to GZ (yeah right!). With us shouting encouragement the find was made and we all headed back to the path.

On meeting back up with the others, we found out where they had found an “easier” way & headed back there. Got part way down and knew my upper body strength wouldn’t get me back up that last bit. So back up top again provide back up for a mate.

We followed along the top while Gatherer Hade made the find back to the place where we could see him. Then back up to the path to meet him further along. After a while & no sign we started to shout, tried texting, no signal for him. So back down to the cliff to see if he was ok. Eventually got a shout in reply and crash2079 appeared, soon followed by Gatherer Hade, ……….. phew!

The walk back to car was much more civilised. Great team effort.

Celtical & I had been working on some puzzles and I mentioned wanting to have a go at this one after the event. So a plan was hatched………..

Alison a short time later advised several others at the event were also going to try the letterbox. The plan was to meet at the designated parking spot.

Having met we set off along the path but as we approached a spot to go bush the group split and lost contact with each other. A small number of us arrived just meters from GZ but not at the right height. We were in contact with the group at true GZ and as part of the group our names were added to the log. With the terrain as it was being above with phone coverage we could get support needed if an issue occurred.

With whole group reunited on the path it was found that an easier way down had been found so Gatherer Hade, Celtical and myself head back to check out another option. Gatherer Hade made the decent down but again myself and Celtical remained at a higher level Speaking to him from above.

When he said he was on his way out our path back to the path was taken. After a delay in waiting for Gatherer Hade we ventured back to the edge calling out his name until a response was made. First to appear was crash2079 who had made a second trip back followed by Gatherer Hade.

Allowing Gatherer Hade to catch his breath before our small group made its way back along the path to our vehicle’s
With thanks for being part of a team effort.

Went for a team find today Crash sign on my behalf much to the consternation of some team members. Thanks phlphotos for placing a challenging cache and Crash for the extra meter required Cheers

Published

Joint *** {*FTF*} *** with JordsAU at 12:43pm 12/07/2017

With todays new cache releases we noticed a new letterbox cache whilst we were in a meeting in Windsor. Afterwards after doing an errand made our way up towards a very familiar spot and parked the car, immediately noticing two cars already in attendance. A short jog up the hill towards the main track and spotted JordsAU making his way to GZ. Joining forces we bush bashed off the main fire trail out towards the ridgeline and as I have become rather familiar with this ridgeline of late, I knew that the direct approach was not going to be an option, so tackled the approach from the north and we found a spot which led down. Following our way towards GZ we eventually spotted the hide and after completing the field puzzle, gained access to the logs within. With our signing duties performed, we replaced as found and also replaced the camo as found.

The following TBs came through for the mileage: Bob geoMinion, Dave geoMinion, Evil geoMinion, Jerry geoMinion, Larry geoMinion, Stuart geoMinion, teamMerlin's 7 Deadly Ducks Tag (Lust), The Hulk & Vanlith The Youngling.

TFTLBC phlphotos - great to see another Letter Box cache in the area. A favourite point awarded.

12/7/17 {FTF} joint with teamMerlin at 12:43 PM.

I was not planning on venturing out today but, when a bunch of new caches were published in the mid-morning, the temptation was too strong; especially when one was a Letterbox / Hybrid. This cache type does not come around very often, so I jumped in the car and headed west, towards the ‘Parallel Track Letterbox’ Hybrid Cache in Blaxlands Ridge. I bit the bullet and opted for the toll roads to try and speed up my hour (or so) long trip, but was slowed down by quite a bit of road construction, multiple police radars and catching just about every second set of traffic light. When I pulled up at the suggest parking spot, there was already a car sitting there, and I was worried I may have been beaten by the express delivery service. I quickened by step along the track and, about halfway, turned around to see someone hot on my heels. I eventually paused to let them catch up, suspecting they were there for the same reason, and it just so happened to be teamMerlin! Armed with some handy local knowledge, teamMerlin had a good idea about where to leave the track and climb down the cliff, which certainly seemed like the easier way down. A quick find once we were in the right spot and we managed to crack the code to reveal a clean log, logging a joint First To Find! My first Letterbox / Hybrid First To Find… yippee! Thanks For The Letterbox / Hybrid Cache phlphotos.

On the way out, teamMerlin suggested I take a look at their two newly published Mystery caches. The mobile reception was rather sketchy but I was able to get enough bars to work through the puzzles out in the field. I could not get enough signal to use the geo-checker but the numbers looked good, so I thought I would give them a shot. First up was the ‘Patience’ Mystery Cache, which was not an overly long walk to Ground Zero, but an interesting location nonetheless. Favourite point awarded for the cute puzzle.

The second puzzle, ‘Calcination’ Mystery Cache, happened to be a much longer walk than anticipated but not a difficult one. As I was making my way down the track, I received a message from bella at waggy, who was not far behind me and headed to the same cache. I slowed my pace, and soon enough was had company for the rest of the hunt. A nice view from Ground Zero, while we retrieved the cache and signed the log (confirming my third First To Find for the day). Now for the long return walk out. Thanks For The Mystery Caches teamMerlin.

While bella at waggy had to take off, I thought I would target a few more caches on the way back. There were a couple of Letterbox / Hybrids, as well as some Regular sized caches around, which would help me get just that bit closer towards completing the respective UGC challenges.

I noticed a corrugated horse art installation in East Kurrajong, on the way to the First To Finds, and was delighted to find the ‘Corrugated Horse Letterbox’ Hybrid Cache there. Thanks For The Cache Splitty Miller JJCC.

The ‘Bush Letterbox’ in Rouse Hill was next. I was worried the bush care work around Ground Zero may have compromised the security of the cache, but after a bit of searching I found it safely tucked away. ‘Paintball’ also looked like it would be a fairly straightforward Regular size cache, and it fortunately proved to be that way. Thanks For The Caches AussieCacher.

Back in Annangrove, I thought I would swing by another Regular sized Traditional, ’BB&B #2’. A bit further from the road than I was expecting, I walked through the scrub and scrambled down the rocks for an easy find. Thanks For The Cache Bourkebornandbred.

The last one on the radar for the day was another Regular sized Traditional, ’Not So Plain Jane’, in Dural. A nice Park & Grab and I could not resist driving up and down Jane Place to check out my future investment properties! Thanks for brining me here Calypso62 and Thanks For The Cache.