So yesterday after I got off work (@ 6AM) I wasn’t tired and didn’t want to just bum around the house so I decided to carpe diem (seize the day). Before I embarked I decided to not adopt as my motto aut vincere aut mori (either conquer or die) nor an ad eundum quo nemo ante iit (to boldly go where no man has gone before) attitude but rather a sine cura (without a care) just-enjoy-the-day approach. So I grabbed my snowshoes and tossed a few supplies in a backpack and off I went to snowshoe and search for a geocache or two while out. The caches I wanted to hunt are called VENI, VIDI, VICI.
The caches I thought I’d hunt for were too far away to snowshoe in with the boys (although the website says the cache is located 150M from parking area, currently it’s about a 1km hike due to snow) and even in the summer I didn’t plan on taking them along because of the difficulting in hiking or scrambling up to to second cache. So, in principio (in the beginning), after a 2 minute drive to the parking area, I was off on my hike (started out around 8:15). It took almost an hour to get to the first cache, then I had to dig for it (mental note: buy avalanche shovel). After finding the first cache (P.S. thanks Derek for the help with the puzzle) I was off to the second cache.
With a 800m hike and a 270M elevation gain I knew it was going to be a decent haul up to VIDI. I decided right away to try gain as much elevation as possible and so I headed up a ridge as I hiked north. After about 500 meters, while keeping an eye on my GPS, I realized that I wasn’t really closing distance on the cache anymore… it was staying close to the same distance away even while I hiked at least 50M. Then it dawned on me, I was hiking parallel to the cache. Unfortunately, there was a tall cliff between me and the cache. I’d picked the wrong ridge, hey errare humanum est (to err is human). But while checking on distance to the second cache I noticed I was still getting closer to the final cache (VICI), so I decided to go for it first and then get the second (VIDI) on the way back down. So up I went sub dio (under the open sky). It got cooler the higher I climbed and some areas were truly tough but I pushed on by reminding myself fortitudine vincimus (by endurance we conquer). But this time I was careful to make sure I was on course, it helped that I could occasionally see the high point. I pressed on excelsior (ever upward) until I reached the top where I could truly say, “O diem praeclarum” (Oh, what a beautiful day)! I had reached my destination but I had yet to accomplish my goal, to find (and be the first to find) the VICI cache. Shovelling out the cache proved to be arduum sane munus (a truly arduous task) since I had to use my snowshoe as a shovel, hey mater artium necessitas (necessity is the mother of invention), and the cache was well buried (under snow) and well hidden. But after much perseverance I prevailed, yahoo! After finding the cache I took a moment to enjoy the view and take some pictures (used camera on cell phone) then it was off to find VIDI.
Refreshed and invigorated, I decided to ventis secundis, tene cursum (go with the flow) in hopes of finishing all three caches ante meridiem (before midday). But alas I once again was “off”. Well not so much “off” as much as I overcompensated in my approach to the cache since I didn’t want to have to climb up to get to it. So after a traverse across and down a slope, I made my way to the cache site where I once again had to shovel a lot of snow in order to uncover that quod erat in veniendum (which was to be found). But I eventually prevailed and declared, “consummatum est (it is completed) factum est (it is done)”. Now all I had left was to find a way down a 150m tall cliff.
For the journey down I adopted as my motto aut viam inveniam aut faciam (I will either find a way or make one). I hiked down the gentle slope parallel to the cliff searching for a path down other than the distant ravine that would have me backtracking a long way in order to make my way down safely. Auxilio ab alto (By help from on high) I spied a steep but do-able line that had fresh cat tracks (probably bobcat – not cougar) going down it. By hiking, traversing, sliding, and snowshoe skiing (mental note: buy trekking poles), I made my way down to the main path from which it was a 1km hike back to the parking area, I arrived at the truck at 1:30.
Dei gratia (By the grace of God) I accomplished my goal and thoroughly enjoyed my day.
While it may be true that post proelia praemia (after the battles come the rewards), somedays, like today, the reward comes both at the end and during the journey.
Now I can truly say, “Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered. [Julius Caesar])”.
