Kayaking Pattison Lake and Two Caches

I wanted to go kayaking at least one more time before the hot weather went away.  I've been looking through the geocaching map to find out if I qualified for some of the paddle caches since they've been sitting for a while because I've been ignoring them for one reason or another. Over the past couple years, I've been reading the qualifications for some of Ohjoy's caches and going through my finds to see if I indeed qualified for them.  I had a couple Word documents and screen shots of lists I put together. I found out that I qualified for most of them, so I compiled a list of the paddle caches and the bodies of water they were hidden at. 

I was very apprehensive with some of the caches because some of them hadn't been found recently or very often.  I didn't want to go to all the trouble of packing up the kayaks, paddling out to them just to find out they weren't there.  So last summer, I got a hold of Ohjoy to find out if it was okay to replace them if I went out to them and they were missing.  She went out of her way to pack up a Ziplock bag of replacement caches to give to me and she appreciated that I was willing to do it.  From there on, I always brought that bag of caches whenever I did a paddle cache.

I had to wait until Ben came home from work.  I tried to get as much stuff put together as I could so we could just hop in the truck and go.  I was going to have him help me put the kayaks in the truck just because they are awkward.  When he did get home, we loaded the kayaks into the bed of the truck, made sure we had our Discover Pass and headed to the public boat launch at Pattison Lake.  Kat's Grandpa, Ivan, used to live on this lake, but other than that, I've never been on the lake before.

There were two caches on my list, one in the parking lot and Ohjoy's paddle cache, that I wasn't sure was there.  The last time it was found was on July 3, 2020, and the last time it was looked for and wasn't found was July 20, 2020.  Luckily, I remembered to bring my bag of extra caches with me.  We unloaded the kayaks and prepared to get in and paddle to the trestle.  It was hot that evening, about 93 degrees, so it was really nice to be on the lake. 

When we got to Eeyore's Train Challenge - a Paddling Cache (GC4RCJ9), we scoured the bottom of the trestle for about ten minutes.  Ben finally saw it--you really had to be at the correct angle to see it.  No wonder the last cacher didn't find it.  We signed it, took some pictures and put it back exactly where we found it.

We paddled back to the shore and got a glimpse of Mount Rainier in the distance.  The tree line was too high to see all of it. It was still hot outside but nice to get out on the lake during a weeknight before dinner.  

We got back on shore and there was a guy fishing off to the side.  We pulled both kayaks off to the side and looked to see if Lake View Spot (GC9F692) was there.  People have reported it missing.  We looked and looked and didn't find anything.  I pulled out my bag of replacements and hid it where I thought it wouldn't get bothered and would stay dry. 

I messaged the cache owner to let him know what we did and that we were going to log it as a find.  We were hoping he would appreciate that we replaced it for him or temporarily replaced it until he could get out and do it himself.  

I grabbed the truck and Ben, and I loaded up the kayaks into the truck and went home.  We got home, rinsed off the kayaks and put them in the side yard with the oars. Dinner was leftover pulled pork from the day before.  I am definitely going to miss summer. 

Next Adventure:  Labor Day Weekend