Find A Free Hiking Stick!

HU Geocaching - Find A Free Hiking Stick!

Over the years we have received many emails regarding the hiking sticks we use and were to get them. Hand crafted and personalized by a couple in Missouri they market them under the name "Wilderness Walker", you can purchase them on eBay. They will last a lifetime with proper care.

To have some fun we are 'planting' brand new personalized 'Hiking Upward' sassafras sticks on some of our longer hikes. Find one and keep it for free! Here is an example of what a planted stick looks like.

Note: Only the hikes with 'Find A Free Hiking Stick On This Hike!' log/lat information located on them still have, to the best of our knowledge, hiking sticks. Sometimes a hiking stick has already been found and the person forgot or hasn't been able to email us yet so we could remove the info from the page ... sorry we can't guarantee they're still there.

Hikes we believe still have hiking sticks on them:

Trout Pond Hike Long Mountain Ridge Hike Little Schloss

How To Participate:

Anyone can participate! Plot the hiking stick grid coordinates located on the hike page into your GPS. If you are using a map only and not a GPS make sure the map uses the WGS84 Datum.
Format: Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd Example: N38.68478 W78.55727
The hiking sticks are 'planted' in an upright position (example) no more than 100 yards off the hike trails. However, they are not visible from the trail itself, you need to be within 10-15 feet to be able to spot them.
One per person please. If you've found and claimed one already please don't remove any others, we would like as many people as possible to be able to participate. It's obviously the honor system.

Note: Use caution when leaving the trail as Timber Rattlesnakes are hard to spot it the brush and if you are not comfortable leaving the trail and finding your way back please use common sense and don't participate.

If you locate one of the hiking sticks:

Take it, it's your to keep for free! Then please drop us an to let us know you located one so we can remove the hiking stick info from that hike. We will then plant another hiking stick somewhere else on the same hike.
It's important that you let us know you found one so someone else isn't wandering around looking for a stick that has already been located.
Also you can a photo of you and your new hiking stick and we'll post it on the web site.

If you get to the GPS location and can't find the hiking stick:

Make sure you have the correct and complete log/lat setting in your GPS with the Datum of WGS84. The log/lat should be in the format N38 36.771 W78 17.439 (example only)
If you are sure you entered the information into your GPS correctly and you were at the exact location most likely someone has already found that hiking stick and forgotten or hasn't been able to email us yet so we could remove the info ... sorry we can't guarantee they're still there.
Also, please send us an so we can remove the information from the hike page until we confirm it's gone and plant a new one at a different location on the hike.

2007 Claimed Sticks:
Hike: Duncan Knob Found: April 21, 2007 Jack located one of our hiking sticks that we planted on March 24th this year.		Hike: Buzzard Rock, GWNF Found: June 3rd, 2007 Tim found this stick on the Buzzard Rock Hike in the GWNF the first time using a GPS and Geocaching. Tim also said it was a rainy soggy day on June 3rd, but he still had a great hike, and enjoyed the geocaching.
2006 Claimed Sticks:
Hike: Trout Pond, GWNF Found: April 30, 2006 Herb was out enjoying the the great day with the family on the Trout Pond Hike and located the first stick we had planted in 2006, on March 11. It looks like Cruizer, Herb's dog, was ready for a rest at the Lina Constable Overlook. The ascent from the lake to this point is the steepest part of the hike.		Hike: Halfmoon Mountain, GWNF Found: July 16, 2006 Woodstock hikers Grace & Tim found a hiking stick we planted April, 5 2006. This hiking stick had been out for a while in a lot of rainy & snowy weather since being planted. Hope it was still in decent shape guys!
2005 Claimed Sticks:
Hike: Halfmoon Mountain, GWNF Found: July 2, 2005 Kyle found this stick we had planted on April 6, 2005 on one of the first GWNF hikes we did this year. Here is Kyle's review of the hike: This is a good hike with several sections that will elevate your heart rate a bit. It starts off rather quietly as you meander down a service road. The grass is starting to get knee to waist high in many areas on the road so be sure to do a tick check periodically. I had a few but they were still moving north when I found them. The creeks were low but still wet. The German Wilson Trail sign has sustained some damage and is not of much use as there are no arrows on it anymore. Watch closely for the markings. The trail itself will make you rethink your physical condition for sure. It is like walking stairs that are a mile long. There are several areas where the ferns have grown over the trail and rocks making it hard to see where and what you might be steping on. Watch your step. The view on the top is wonderful and the trail after the summit is nice and uneventful. It is also downhill...... There is wildlife as I saw a number deer and several turkey. I would do this hike again. The only thing it is missing is a swimming hole.		Hike: Veach Gap, GWNF Found: July 16, 2005 Matthew found this stick we had planted early in 2004. Unfortunately, it was the last one out there that we hadn't protected with polycrylic as we do now. The moisture had got into the wood over the summer than obviously cracked when it froze last winter. Sorry Mathew! All the new hiking sticks should be in good shape!

Hike: Signal Knob, GWNF Found: May 7, 2005 Greg while hiking with Mike from midatlantichikes.com and the Howard County, MD chapter of the Sierra Club on Massanutten Mt found this Sassafras walking stick placed there by us last summer.		Hike: Falls Ridge, GWNF Found: May 28, 2005 Steve found a stick while doing the long loop hike along Falls Ridge on the south portion of Great North Mountain Here is an excerpt from Steve's email of the hike: 'I located the stick at N38 52.959 W78 45.774 today. It’s was camouflaged by the leaves where I found it and really weathered but I’ll clean it up. I’m quite attached to it already after using it to descend the pipeline.'

Hike: Laurel Run , GWNF Found: April 9, 2005 Mike, a scout in Troop 1352 from Occoquan Virginia was on a practice hike for a trek later in the year in New Mexico and found a stick we had planted on March 26 this year.		Hike: Sugar Knob , GWNF Found: April 14, 2005 Abe & Melissa found a stick while doing a circuit 3 day hike of 30 miles. Here is an excerpt from Abe's email of the trip: '...I started at the Little Stony Creek Parking area, hiked to the cabin on Thursday. On Friday I started at the Cabin turned left to the Halfmoon trail (I passed right by your Halfmoon stick) then to the German Wilson Trail, Old Mine Trail, Wilson Cove (I knew I was getting close when I saw the wooden foot bridge) Then I found it!!!. Continued up the Old Mail trail, to Racer Camp Hollow and back to the cabin. I packed up on Friday and went back to the car via the Mill Mountain Trail to the Big Schloss cutoff. I logged just under 30 miles for the 3 days.'
2004 Claimed Sticks:
Hike: Mill Mountain, GWNF Found: May 29, 2004 Mark found one of our 'Hiking Upward' sassafras sticks while on a back packing trip in the Mill Mountain area of the George Washington National Forest over the Memorial Day weekend.		Hike: White Rocks, GWNF Found: May 2004 Steven hiking with a group of friends found this 'Hiking Upward' stick on the White Rocks hike on Little Sluice Mountain in the George Washington National Forest. It was planted about half way along the Old Mail Trail.