There is no log I hate receiving more than when someone writes “EZ” or some variant thereof. Very few of my hidden caches are meant to be truly challenging, so telling me it was easy just annoys me. Of course it was easyish! It wasn’t meant to be hard! That said, some caches are truly easy, usually so much so that I can spot them from yards away. But every now and then (about half a dozen in as many years) I run across a cache so easy and properly placed that I don’t even have to get out of the car to get it! Yesterday, I popped over to a recreation center in Elgin and found exactly that! There was a plate on the side of a light pole, and I appreciated being able to roll down my window and pluck it off, bringing it into the air-conditioned comfort of my car. Unfortunately, it was missing a log. Fortunately, I had some on hand to replace it. A fresh log and a baggie later, I had a cache for the day, and I didn’t have to venture into the hundred-degree weather to get it. Oddly enough, this cache turned out to be unnecessary for me because I forgot that a friend was holding an Event not far from home later that evening. I usually go for one a day, but I guess I got two instead. Whatever it takes to get our alien friends back home faster.
My cache the day before was just about as easy. I was running an errand and thinking about my cache for the day. I pulled up a map and found one in the parking lot for where I was going. I pulled in, pulled up to it, and then read the description (something I’m trying to do more often). It was a challenge I had never bothered with before because its task seemed unlikely and insurmountable. Now, though? All I had to do was find the oldest cache in ten states. Well, heck! I’ve long since done that! It was easy enough to unscrew the bison, sign it, and then log it as done. I usually prefer to save challenges for future days when I might need them, but it was right there, staring me in the face. And I needed a cache. Why not? A cache is a cache is a cache.
There are some people who don’t consider a cache legitimate if it’s in an urban area or isn’t a certain size or doesn’t require a hike or a tool to get to. But some days, you’re just not in the mood for a five-mile hike. I may not have enough tool to get the job done (thirty-foot pole? really?!?). I may not have time to drive out to a back road between civilized or uncivilized locales. Some days, I have to cherchez la easy, and I feel no shame about that. Now, I’m not completely blameless. I feel that just getting one Adventure Lab location might be a little too easy, but who am I to judge anyone? Don’t listen to me! Go do what you gotta do!
Geocaching While Black 