Local “geocaching” enthusiast Keith Lane of Taylor has organized the 5th Annual Baker County Moonshine Run, an historical treasure hunt of sorts with prizes and an “animal on the grill” barbecue on Saturday, March 9 beginning at 9 am.
Geocaching is a recreational activity in which GPS devices and coordinates are used to hide and find caches with just about anything from coins to messages to other items inside. Mr. Lane estimates there are some 2000 caches in Baker County today.
The moonshine run begins and ends at Mr. Lane’s Taylor residence on CR 125 just north of O.C. Horne Rd. Anyone with a digital camera, GPS device and vehicle can participate, he said.
Teams of cachers will be tasked with finding nine caches in and around Baker County that correspond to historical moonshining locales.
Each cache will contain coordinates that together will lead to the final run point, “the Master Still,” where some “shine” will be located. The team to return the shine to the starting point in the least amount of time and miles driven will be named Moonshine Runner Kings (or Queens). Coordinates and their historical information will be supplied the day of the run.
“I researched the moonshine spots, the people, even the law enforcement officers involved,” said Mr. Lane. “People really enjoy the stories.”
The event drew 170-plus participants last year and 20 teams from as far away as South Caroline and Alabama have already signed up.
Mr. Lane expects the event to be the biggest geocaching get together ever in the region. For more information about geocaching and the moonshine run, click here. You can also reach Mr. Lane, aka horseshoechamp, at krlane@nefcom.net.