GPS Geocaching Louisiana, Wilson, the first La, cache. Treasure Hunt, GPS Global Positioning System satellite

The First Louisiana GPS Geocache 2-11-01

The Search For: "Wilson"

---- UPDATE ----

The Wilson geocache was located by National Park Service staff and confiscated on August 22, 2002.

This was the first cache in Louisiana and was in place before the NPS had any GPS cache policy. They have possession of your property and our property and I have asked that it be returned. We all know caches are not lost or abondoned property. The NPS played this game to log it and take it.

We requested that Wilson be returned and the NPS has returned the cache intact with a "warning ticket". We will relocate Wilson soon. : )

Bob & Bobby

We have found Wilson and it has been relocated back to its original position waypoints.

The second camera set of images are below!

We have put in a dry log book, a new camera, 3 more lures, (6 have been traded and are gone), a 4 pack of alkaline AA batteries and a new container. We removed melted candy mints and gum, the heat and humidity melted them. We carried out the now empty deep woods off spray container. We saw no gators, snakes or deer . There were very few mosquitoes at dusk because so much of the area is dried up. We did see an Armadillo, 2 Squirrels, Marsh Grasshoppers and some Banana Spiders this evening. The trail is bone dry and hard. If you hold your GPS unit at head height (been there with 2 Magellan 315's, an Etrex Venture and standard Etrex. They will lock in on satellites even under the dense summer canopy.

TIP: Read the heading on your GPS toward the cache and record your waypoint at the trailside. Follow your GPS unit heading AND distance in to the cache with a hand held compass, and use the reciprocal compass bearing to walk back to the trail waypoint. A compass works perfectly under the dense canopy when you get close to the cache.

Area images from our recent camera swap trip:

9-01-01 Update Click Here!

Summer heat and drought has dried the trail out.

We found Wilson right on the side of the trail, at the base of the tree on the right by the blue bandana 300 feet from the original waypoints. (above image)

Many fine people left lots of great items in this cache to trade! We left four AA batteries, 3 fishing lures, a new camera, a dry log book and a new container today.

Near dark, Wilson is back in his original home. 7-23-02

Marsh grasshoppers at the floodwall, there is a clue here.

End of July 23. 2002 update until I get the second cache camera images processed soon:

These are the only images that were salvagable from the 2nd camera we swapped out: Wilson Cam #2. The closeups of the ones that look OK in the proof sheet at the top have everyones faces and skin covered with many jagged white water mark lines in the imulsion of the negatives. It appears the camera and cache got submerged every rain the last 52 days when Wilson was moved and left just below ground level where we found it at the base of a tree. We had it at 6ft + above the ground for 16 months so this changing water level in the area would not be a problem. I do not want to post closeups of anyones face and image covered with the fine white lines.

The log book is drying out nicely and was in an additional plastic bag so we will have those page images online very soon.

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The first set of Log book entries and visitor images are at the bottom of this page!

Louisiana has in its first GPS cache the following items:

A logbook to sign

4 ink pens

a camera for the finders photos

an introductory GPS cache letter

a hot wheels toy

a toy skateboard

4 of our LaFishMag.com RangaTang fishing lures

The cache is in a black plastic container with a white screw on cap.

Here it is in its perfect resting place with live grass cover a few feet off the ground.

This is my son and adventure partner, Bobby Jr. and the first time we started calling the stash site in the tree "Wilson", from the Tom Hanks movie we saw: "Castaway" a couple days before!

Here it is waiting for you with its Palmetto frond "Wilson" hairdo concealing its location!

Tip: Get your waypoint when you park, and when you leave the main trail, leaving the target area may be confusing.

The Location Is:

29° 48.116 N

090° 06.934 W

Please visit www.geocaching.com

**** UPDATE **** Sunday April 22, 2001 ****

We visited the cache and swapped the camera, took photos of the log book entries, left more fishing lures, 2 pencils, and some LaFishMag.com business cards! The current drought has dried the area up some, and the mosquitoes are not as bad, but we left a can of deep woods off next to the cache container in the tree anyway!

**** UPDATE Saturday September 01, 2001 ****

More log book entries and Wilson visitor images below!