Congratulations to Our New SLAGA Officers!

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Written by Denmother

Published: September 13 2011

Last Updated: August 25 2014

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Photo by *gln

SLAGA's new Board of Directors was installed at the SLAGA Fall Picnic on September 11, 2011. They are (left to right):

Jim Nelson (Quailman2), Treasurer

Nathan Rover (NateDawgCC), Vice President

Mike Henthorn (mikeinmo), Vice President

Mary Beth Gianoli (SLBC ladies), Secretary

Tom Wolpert (twolpert), President

Thanks to all the SLAGA members who voted! You've chosen a talented Board of Directors, and we're looking forward to a great year ahead!

"It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: February 22 2023

Last Updated: February 23 2023

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The Target:            Proffit Mountain Cache (GCA1A3)

The Stats:             D2/T4.5, ~16 mile distance, ~885 ft elevation change

The Time:             September 30 through October 2, 2022

The Adventurers: Spiritwolf922 and socibutte

After many months of excruciating training, hard-core research, and detailed planning, the adventurers conquered their long-time, bucket list goal of hiking some of the most rugged terrain in Missouri along the Ozark Trail (OT) and camping overnight atop a mountain with amazing scenery, to obtain a single geocache.

While it was on her long-time to-do list, Spiritwolf 922 (Patricia) never actually thought she'd accomplish this hike and cache, as it was in the middle of nowhere and on a previous OT hike, she found she was 'woefully unprepared' for the terrain and distance. Socibutte (Melissa) on the other hand, had been waiting for years in hopes of finding someone crazy enough to attempt this much-desired adventure of hers, after hearing about the trail from her son. (Needless to say, he is now a bit jealous that mom completed it first!)   So as luck and the world of geocaching would have it, these two discovered their common interest in casual passing and the rest is history.   But here's a recap in hopes it might entice future Proffit Mountain geocachers.

Although Melissa often hikes, runs, caches, and travels solo, she decided an overnight backpacking trip was not the best idea for a solo venture. So she was only too glad when Patricia welcomed the idea of this new experience that would undoubtedly be a bit challenging. And while Patricia still had some concerns over accomplishing their goal, it was more comforting to have just a single friend who would understand and not be disappointed if at any point they needed to turn back. This would also be a good 'test' to see if they both enjoyed this new type of exploration. So this dynamic duo made their decision and developed their well thought-out plan to conquer Proffit Mountain by Fall 2022, and began planning six months before their trip.

Read more: "It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Bike ‘Across America’ - PaulGracie’s Adventure

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: August 11 2023

Last Updated: August 11 2023

Hits: 2733

Many geocachers plan and take caching road trips, but those usually involve a car, at least for the majority of the journey...but not for PaulGracie!  Paul depends on his bike to get to and from college classes, work, social events, and geocaches, of course.  He loves a good FTF, as well as seeking out other geocaching adventures and events to broaden his caching experiences.  In the Fall of 2022, Paul started hatching a plan to bike and cache across part of America, having been introduced to the "Cache Across America" geocaches (a series of geocaches, one in every state with clues leading to a final cache in our nation's Capital), almost 5 years ago. He decided that summer of 2023 was the right time to start an epic adventure to find several of these, but do so by riding his bike.  His true challenge was not the geocaching, however, but instead was the experience of a solo biking trip for an extended distance and period of time.  His plan A was a roundtrip from St. Louis to the east coast and back, but he soon realized that Plan B, having his parents meet up with him on the east coast for the return trip, was the best option. 

With bike, tent, sleeping bag, extra clothes, water, food/snacks, phone and money, Paul left St. Louis on his bike on June 5, 2023.  He'd planned his safest biking routes/trails, several caches of interest, and places to stay along his route, which included 13 nights in  'Warm Showers' ($30 lifetime membership) and 'Couchsurfing' hosts' homes, three in hotels, one at his uncle's house, and eight at campsites, some planned and others impromptu. He travelled miles through changing weather.  He rode in beautiful sunny 75 to 90 degrees, through several rainshowers, in cooler dusk temperatures, and even some cold 40-degree mornings after waking in his tent. En route, he attended a Makers Magic-Coffee and (Gadget) Cache Event near Columbus, Ohio, and took a day off from riding once just to enjoy the day and take a water trike journey to a cache across the lake at North Bend State Park in West Virginia.

Read more: Bike ‘Across America’ - PaulGracie’s Adventure

The Legend. The Cache. The Architect.

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: February 09 2023

Last Updated: February 15 2023

Hits: 2295

In pitch black, with walls and low ceiling of cold, damp stone, and floor wet with inches of water flowing like a stream, they question what form of mass lunacy has possessed them to venture far underground, bent over with aches and pains. But then...they spot a metal tag with an imprinted code.

Up, up, up along rustic trails, over rocky terrain and through forest undergrowth, they wonder why they follow one another, each step bringing more muscle fatigue, huffing and puffing toward some unknown.  But then...they encounter a container with hidden clues.

This is the reality of what many have grown to love and 'hate' about the infamous, highly favored, D5/T5, St. Louis area, legendary geocaching adventure known as 'The Architect' (GC4CQ0V).

Published on August, 26, 2014, this Forest-Ghost (Ethan Rogers) and Curlycue109 (Julie Rogers) geocache was inspired by Ethan's love of adventure and finding hidden places. Indian Jones was another of his inspirations, but a Mississippi geocache he experienced, called '3 Degrees: BLACKOUT' (GC1KFAD), might have been the final catalyst. Upon his return, he knew he wanted to create a similar thrill in St. Louis. Ethan recalls spending the next couple years searching for tunnels around the area. "In 2014, Julie and I spent the good part of a year designing the cache (layout of stages, puzzles, story, containers, and finding the rest of the tunnels). The process was very difficult, but the final product achieved my goal of creating an epic adventure that would bring geocachers down in the tunnels of St. Louis."

Read more: The Legend. The Cache. The Architect.