GC2X3K6 The Dead Marshes
Type: Traditional | Size: Small | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: K Trackers @ | Hide Date: 05/28/2011 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N38° 57.523 W104° 43.149 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
           

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"Dreary and wearisome. Cold, clammy winter still held sway in this forsaken country. The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of the sullen waters. Dead grasses and rotting reeds loomed up in the mists like ragged shadows of long forgotten summers."
–Passage of the Marshes, The Two Towers

Note: Geocachers continue to break or fail to properly close the container for this cache. If you are not willing to take a few minutes to properly handle (retrieve, repack and return to orginal configuration) and return the container the way you found it, then please pass on this cache. Thanks - K Trackers


In the Lord of the Rings, to destroy the One Ring, Frodo and Sam are led through the Dead Marshes by Gollum on their way to Mordor. Several battles were fought here, most notably the Battle of Dagorlad at the end of the Second Age when the Last Alliance met the forces of Mordor with many casualties on both sides amongst Elves, Men, and Orcs. Through the years, the marshland began to encroach upon parts of the battlefield, and engulfed the dead that lay there.

The bodies seen resting in the pools of the Marshes are perhaps incorporeal, merely the images of those who have fallen - as Gollum says, "Only shapes to see, perhaps, not to touch." Frodo is mesmerized by the candle-like lights that appear to float over the Marshes; those who are hypnotised by these lights, and who therefore try to touch the bodies, are likely to drown in the waters and join the dead. In the book, Gollum reveals the dangers to Sam, who calls to the stiff and lifeless Frodo and breaks his trance before he can touch the waters.

Find the Dead Marshes cache, but don't be like Frodo, who fell into the water in the movie. You don't have to go walking thru the reeds to find the cache. The cache is not in a location that will require you to disturb the ecosystem. Please take care to return the cache the way you found it. If you are recovering the cache at night (not recommended), please use a light to recover the cache so that you don't accidently break it again. The cache is very well hidden.

Geocachers have reported difficulty in the Dead Marshes during the winter and periods of snow. While the cache is still findable, the difficulty is increased.

Congratulations to Wolfpack01 for FTF! Congratulations also to Explorertk who was FTF on the new, much more difficult hide.

02/28/2019 By K Trackers
Despite changes to the GZ, I've been able to rehide to in line with the original concept. Hopefully, you will continue to find this a challenging and highly enjoyable hide.

I'm not sure why the review placed the previous entry...I was pretty clear what the replacement plan was.

02/05/2019 By Heartland Cacher
Greetings I'm Heartland Cacher, one of the volunteer reviewers for caches submitted to Geocaching.com.

We are doing a check of caches that have been disabled for an extended period. Please maintain this cache and post an appropriate note to the cache page.

As stated in the cache listing guidelines https://www.geocaching.com/play/guidelines#listingmaintenance Disable a cache page when the cache is not available or you need time to fix reported problems. A cache page can stay disabled for a reasonable amount of time - generally up to four weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Today's notice is a friendly reminder only. Do not reply to me directly. Rather, please go to "Log geocache" (upper right hand of the cache page) and choose "WRITE A NOTE" from the drop down menu. Please do not use the "OWNER MAINTENANCE" log until you do the maintenance and the cache is ready to be found again with a status update and any intention to revive the cache. Several reviewers participate in cache maintenance tasks so a log posted in this manner is the best way to get your message seen. Without a log posted you risk having the cache archived.

If you have disabled this cache for the winter or a season, please consider this a reminder to post a notice for when you expect the area to re-open. Re-activate the cache if the area is actually open again.

After you have checked on it and it's ready for seeking again, great! You can re-enable the cache page http://support.groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=235 by clicking the link under the cache name or by checking the box that says the cache is active. If, however, you discover that the cache is missing and/or you decide not to replace it, then please remove any remaining pieces of it and archive it. This will open up the area for other geocachers to hide their own geocaches. You may also need to digitally relocate any trackable items still listed here. If a "Needs Maintenance" log was posted, you will also need to log an "Owner Maintenance" log to clear the "Needs Maintenance" icon from the geocache page. http://support.groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=404

I want to thank you for the time that you have taken to contribute to geocaching in the past and I am looking forward to seeing your cache up and running in the future. If the cache is not maintained or the status is not updated, it will be archived. Thank you for understanding.

If this sounds like an automated email template, that's because it is. I apologize for that but the volume of messages we get is such that templates like this make the process much more efficient. Thanks for your understanding.

I look forward to hearing from you. Do not reply to this email. It is sent by a no-reply mailbot so I won't get it. To respond, please do NOT send me an e-mail or a message center conversation as they lack needed functionality for reviewing. Leave a new "Reviewer Note" log here on your cache page. If you're not familiar with this process, see the instructions https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=97&pgid=74. I have your cache on my watchlist, and I will receive a notification when you write your note. All reviewer notes are deleted when your cache is published.

"If a geocache is archived by a reviewer or staff for lack of maintenance *it will not be unarchived."*

Additionally, please note that if I've not heard from you in 4 weeks, I may be forced to archive this cache. Don't let your cache get archived for non-communication

Heartland Cacher
Your friendly Geocaching.com Reviewer

11/13/2018 By K Trackers
There has been some construction here and the cache has been stolen.

The cache will be replaced no later than 31 January 2019.

11/10/2018 By wall1623
Looks like recent construction atgeo coords. Unable to find.

07/07/2018 By HeffalumpHunters
Tricky - we found but could not retrieve it.

05/30/2018 By Bwntw
Hard! It was stuck. We untangled it.

04/11/2018 By JCs Girl
Found with my pooch, JC, who is almost getting too old to come with me on my caching adventures. Waa. I looked for this one a few years ago and could never find it, so I’m very happy I got a smiley today. TFTC.

03/26/2018 By LostinDenver
Stood there wuth my thibking cap on until i found it. Secured and returned after signing the log. Found with @WindAtMyBack. Tftc!

03/26/2018 By WindAtMyBack
Found with@LostinDenver TFTC