4WD&SU's Most Recent GeoStash Winners
The GeoStash winner for September '07 is Tyler Albers, who found the marker with his girlfriend, Kristen McConnell.
"Let me start out by saying this was one of the greatest contests we have ever participated in. My girlfriend and I received the magazine the afternoon of July 3. I instantly directed all my focus to finding the coordinates for the GeoStash contest. It took me about 45 minutes to find them, and once I did I jumped onto the computer to find the location. Salida, Colorado! We had a family gathering to attend on July 4 in Pagosa Springs, which is about 130 miles from Salida. We frantically packed our gear and left the night of July 3 to get to Salida. We drove all night and got within 1,000 yards of the marker at 3:30 a.m. on July 4.
"We got to the location of the coordinates and searched and searched for the marker with no luck. We decided to go back to the truck to get water and then drive it in closer to the location. We looked in every tree and under every rock for about 15 minutes. We had two GPS units dialed in and placed on the ground for reference.
"Finally, my girlfriend screams, 'Babe, I got it!'
"She found it 1 foot away from one of the GPS units, under a large bush and a rock. I rushed up the hill to see the marker in her hand. What an amazing feeling to drive 300 miles at night and be rewarded with the 4WD&SU marker."
Tyler Albers & Kristen McConnell
Albuquerque, NM
The August '07 GeoStash winner is Jeromey Bowers.
"I grabbed the August issue of 4WD&SU out of the mailbox and immediately sat down to find the coordinates. Once I found them and figured out that the marker was only 77 miles from my home in Eugene, Oregon, I called one of my closest friends, J.C., to see if he was available to go with me. I raced to throw everything in the Jeep and go pick him up from his work.
"I called my wife a couple of times to check the website and make sure the GeoStash hadn't been found yet.
"Just south of Roseburg, we exited the freeway at Boomer Hill Road and began climbing the hill toward the marker's location.
"Once at the coordinates, we began searching high and low. We covered what seemed to be the logical hiding spots three or four times and spent more than an hour looking. In the trees it was pretty dark, so I told J.C. I would head to the Jeep for our flashlights. I heard him say that he was going to take a break and that he needed a drink of water. He walked past me up the hill, and as I began to follow him thinking that we were probably out of luck, he spun around and surprised me with the stainless marker! It had been partially buried in the ground under a log not 10 feet from where the GPS had been showing us to look!
"Thank you!"
Jeromey Bowers
Eugene, OR