When Liz and I plan our travels we always look for ways to discover the local flair through the treasure hunting game of Geocaching. The first thing we do is pull up the most favored caches in the area, at Geocaching.com. On a recent trip to Idaho, we were excited to see that Idaho’s most favored cache, Davy Jones’s Locker (GC230JX) was located in state capital of Boise, where we would be traveling to visit Liz’s family. So we had to see why this specific cache was so highly favored. Once we got into the cache descriptions and started out our hunt we could see why this cache was so highly favored.
Geocaching in Boise, Idaho
We have discovered that the most highly favored caches may just be a cleverly hidden cache that gets favorite points for creativity. But this specific cache in Idaho had creativity and then some. It was a different style cache that we have not seen before. You actually had to discover 3 totally different caches to be able to find the final cache, Davy Jones Locker.
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The cache was based around a pirate theme, which is always fun. You had to discover 3 separate caches, and read the log book for the clue to be able to unlock the main cache at the end to sign the log. Clever indeed.
We set off to go Treasure Hunting around Boise
We loaded up our Garmin 650T with all the coordinates and headed out to the caches. A great feature that we love about that GPS unit is that we can easily switch from driving mode to geocaching mode. It will guide us to the caches in driving mode turn by turn, then allow us to navigate to the cache upon arrival. Pretty sweet!
So we were off to find the first cache in the series. If you have never been to Boise or anywhere in Idaho, it is beautiful. Boise sits in a valley so everywhere you turn you can get great views of the mountains. On this recent trip we had come in right before a big snow drop, so all the mountains were covered white, which makes driving around discovering caches that much more scenic.
Stage 1: To Your Request GC23BT3
While heading to the first stage geocache, we found ourselves on a country road just outside of Boise. Once we were near the cache location we parked the car and started our search. We made the find & pulled out the log book to sign. On the first page of the log was an explanation that this cache was part of series leading to the main cache. There was a letter that we needed to write down so we could unlock the final cache. Once we wrote that letter down, we headed out to the next geocache that we needed.
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Stage 2: I’m disinclined to acquiesce GC23BQW
So we made our way back into the Boise (near downtown) for the second cache we needed. It’s amazing the scenic transition from rolling farm lands, to mountains, to an urban downtown area in just a matter of minutes! Truly a beautiful sight to see. For the second stage of the geocache we ourselves in a small park. Not really knowing what we were looking for, this stage took a little bit of time to find.
We were initially thinking it could be a similar container as the first, but after looking around for a bit, we realized it couldn’t be too big. We looked for quite some time and were getting frustrated. Had it been any other cache we may have given up, but we needed this to continue to the final! Luckily, Liz finally made the discovery. This cache was definitely smaller than the first, but we were able to find the log and the clue we needed, signed the log and replaced the cache.
Stage 3: Parlay GC23BRN
As we were in the car again heading over to the other side of town for the third and final stage, we were talking about how much we love caches like these. This is a great way to explore a city that you may be unfamiliar with, or even a place where you grew up (like Liz). We arrived near the 3rd geocache location and were ready to find that final clue to unlock the Davy Jones’s Locker cache (the final stage). This 3rd cache had us stumped pretty good. We knew that they had recently moved the cache, but the coordinates were said to be accurate. The muggle traffic was also very high, so we had to use our Geo-Stealth for this one.
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Eventually, we were able to make the find based on an elimination process, it ended up being even smaller that the all the other caches! So we happily unrolled the log and got our final clue needed to unlock the “locker” and we immediately set off to make the final find at Davy Jones’s Locker.
Davy Jones Locker GC230JX (87 Favored Points)
We Found It!!!
The most favored cache in Idaho was a little different that what we have seen before. Not only did you have discover 3 separate caches to get clues to unlock the chest, the final destination was located on private property. A little uneasy for us at first, but after reading the description and past logs, we knew that it was placed with permission of the owner.
So with our clues in hand we headed over to the final location, found the chest and unlocked it. We discovered the treasure, and boy was there a lot of it! This was a cool cache filled with coins and had a separate chest for trackables. The logbook was a beautifully crafted leather journal filled with notes from travelers all around the world. After reading some of the stories from previous cachers, we signed the logbook and left a special note for the person behind us. Then we dropped off a couple trackables and left with big smiles on our faces.
Worth a Favorite Point? YES
This was a fun cache that took us on a journey around the city of Boise. We got to experience a little bit of everything the city has to offer. Each of the caches that we needed to find were all separate little adventures that made finding the combination to the big cache so much fun. We left understanding why this geocache was the most favored in the state. Lots of fun!
