Finding the John D. MacArthur Beach cache #1 was an enjoyable way to start out the New Year but it proved to be a very difficult find. The encrypted additional hint provided at geocaching.com turned out not to be true. This cache was in a pink square tupperware container, about 6 X 6 inches. The park is on an island which you reach by walking across a nicely constructed bridge that crosses the mud flats. John MacArthur donated the land in the 1970’s, and facilities opened in 1989. The park encompasses 174 acres of uplands and another 151 acres of submerged lands. It is a stretch to call it a "hike" — the round trip to and from the island is about 3/4 of a mile. Finding the geocache took much longer and unfortunately there was no exercise involved.

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