PA Weekend with Jeffie – Sunday Edition (Morning Part II) – Ice Ridge

After frolicking in Stone Valley, Jeff decided we would do a few more park-and-grab type caches enroute to our final AM cache find.  Park-and-grabs are exactly like they sound.  A quick cache that typically takes more time to park, exit the vehicle, scratch your bum and grab your GPS than it does to make the find, sign the log and gratuitously scratch yourself some more - all before returning back to your vehicle.

I won’t go into the thrilling park-and-grabs we violated on our return trip from Stone Valley.  Partly because I didn’t log them (and therefore don’t remember what happened)…but mostly because I’m lazy, and you can only riff about the sweet majestic texture of a guardrail for so long before you choke on your own vomit and die.  I’m being dramatic.  Okay, no I’m not. 

Anyway, our return trip took us along Route 26 and to the top of a massive mountain ridge just above the town of Pine Grove Mills, PA.  This ridge contained several exceptional caches, including David's Vista by Diggles and Liggles (adopted by IV Warrior) and Cajeput by Jut, Mari and Beth.  Two old school caches I found in 2005 when I was as green as Pennsylvania is hilly.  They both stand as some of my all-time favorite cache finds.  We crested the hill, and about halfway down towards Pine Grove Mills, we took a left on Kepler Road – a dirt road that took us along an exceptionally scenic drive below the ridge.  Eventually the road turned into Pennsylvania Furnace Road, and made a crazy hairpin turn up to the top of the ridge.  There we parked – where I realized we’d once again be hiking the Mid State Trail.  I know I’ve beaten a dead horse into a fine sand-like powder over this, but I can’t help it.  I love this stinkin’ trail.  Its awesomeness borderlines on the unfathomably insane. 

Our plan was to hike a quarter mile along the ridge in search of a cache called Old Fire Tower by Biker1959.  Upon exiting the vehicle, we realized that the entire forest was coated in a thick layer of ice.  It was stunning.  Turns out, it was also extremely hazardous.  Haha.  With the sun gleaming off the frozen bows, it was just warm enough to occasionally cause shards of death to hail from the sky at our precious little melons.  Hmm…this was an unforeseen danger!

See - - ice!

Vista from 15 feet from the cache site...amazing.

We hiked in, enjoying the views from our frosty little hill.  When we arrived at the cache site, we noticed the old cement foundations from the fire tower.  In its glory, the overlook of the now deconstructed fire tower must have been one hell of a view.  As it was, we could look out from the ridge and see for miles.  It was superb – and to have all of this framed by the ice covered trees…made it even more sensational. 

For a little bit we poked around for the cache, mostly distracted by scenery…but eventually we laid eyes on it, and as Jeff signed us in, I scampered about the rocks on the hillside finding good vantage points to take more pictures.  Jeff rehid the cache, and we convened back at the top of the ridge along the MST to take a celebratory picture, commemorating our ‘guy love.’  From there, we returned to the truck, and headed back down off our mountain for some crazy afternoon adventures.

It's guyyyy looooveee!!!