Table of Contents

Cover Page

A Tribute to UtahJean

Getting to Know UtahJean

UtahJean Statistics and Stuff

The January Snowshoe/Cross-Country Skiing Event

Regular Features

Updates and Notes

Chuckles

Credits

Submission Guidelines

My Impressions of UtahJean

My personal impression of UtahJean is that she is a fantastic lady. I've had the opportunity to meet her personally on a couple of occasions and was impressed by her natural humility and graciousness. She is not an imposing figure, physically. Nothing about her would suggest to a new acquaintance that she has been so very active in this sport. I believe that those who know her better will recognize an inate sense of self and an aura of self-confidence not often found in someone of her age.

Jean Solo on Olympus

The things mentioned and discussed in this article are only a small selection of the many facets and deeds of UtahJean. As you browse her cache logs or meet her on the trail or at an event (she does seem to be everywhere), I'm sure you'll begin to understand our collective awe of UtahJean.

Jean Outstanding in her Field

An example of her generous and gracious nature occured just recently when she invited all those who participated in the January Snow Shoe/XC Skiing Event into her home for some excellent soup and snacks. Everyone commented on her generosity and culinary skill. She played the hostess to everyone else even after participating in the day-long event, herself. Nothing seems to wear her down.

UtahJean, Geocacher Extraordinaire

Her geocaching exploits are legendary -- just read Cach-U-Nut's article "Getting to Know UtahJean" for a few of them. Then read her logs for practically any other cache in the state (she's visited and logged fully half of them). Some of them are truly inspiring.

Besides that, she doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. For one example (of many, I'm sure), here is a log she posted for "The Bridge Tin Tin Cache" on April 7, 2003: "Well....it was about to get dark, and I was on the wrong side of the freeway...so I decided to go for it from where I was. I sneaked under the freeway. Cool, except for the exhaust fumes. A bit spooky though. You know, sometimes it’s ok to only be 5’3. I didn’t have to duck at all. Good hide, except I was hoping nobody would stop to see if I was in trouble. They didn’t, and I wasn’t. Wouldn’t want to stay there very long." Now, I know about that walk UNDER THE FREEWAY because she was starting from one of my own caches nearby. There isn't a regular underpass there--it's a culvert meant to carry water in the American Fork creek under the freeway. It's just been dry lately. Anyway, it IS a bit spooky. You never know WHAT 8-legged critters you might literally run into in the dark.

Her signature items are also a thing to behold. Many may have seen her "Ringy Thingy" mentioned in a cache log. I'm not sure everyone realizes, though, that her "Ringy Thingy" and other similar signature items are little wooden objects that are personally hand-made by UtahJean. She is truly multi-talented.

UtahJean is very aware of her surroundings. Take, for example, the photo at the right that she took of some sky circles she noticed in the sky while out grabbing another cache. It was the subject of a UTAG Forums discussion. She also took the photo selected for the cover of this issue of the UTAG Magazine.

Sky Circles

A FEW of her cache logs over the years

Her very first "find" was the Duckwalk Cache (archived) on June 20, 2001.
Her Log: "Great location for our first try at locating a geocache! What a lovely park. Have lived in Davis County for 30 years and never knew this park existed. Thanks for taking us there. Lots of fun goodies in the cache...took nothing, left a tiny clothespin clasping a quarter...and plan to take family back for a picnic and to introduce our grandchildren to this fun activity by letting them find this cache on their own. Our Etrex Summit was right on until we were within the last few feet. Looking forward to finding #2.
UtahJean and MailboxMan"

Exactly a year later, June 20, 2002, she logged the Kid's Rock (active) cache.
Her Log: "LegoNut and I must have just missed marksalot. We came after the sun had set behind the mountain and hoards of mosquitos began dive-bombing us. Snapped hurried shots of each other with the camera and logged, but fled without exchanging anything. Had fun racing each other back down the path. Beautifully painted ammo box, good hide and on a great trail. Beautiful place up there. Thanks, UtahJean"

Exactly another year later, June 20, 2003, she logged the Christmas Box Angel (active) cache.
Her Log: "Decided to pick up this quickie on the way home from picking up a few SL valley caches. There was someone by the Angel with a familiar object in his hand--a GPS, so I introduced myself. I thought it was pretty neat that I would run into someone claiming his very first find and therefore at the very bottom of the count list for Utah while I was finding my 863rd cache to maintain my place at the top of the list. Really enjoyed chatting with Lamoni and watching the darling, frisky little kitten that he had brought with him. I warned him about the dangers of cache addiction, but I think it may already be too late. He sounded way too enthusiastic. Oh well, I tried. Nice statue and a really wonderful place, this cemetery. Thanks for bringing me here. UtahJean"

And her most recent log, as of this writing, was for the Going to a Giants Game Moving Cache (active).
Her Log: "Happened to see this cache listed, so headed up to Hooper and snatched it. Built a teepee of sticks by the Hooper hiding spot for those who might come after. It is a long way out there. I will be heading west (at least as far as Wendover) in the next week or two, so will at least get it back on the road to San Fran and a Giants game. I'm really surprised at the route it has taken so far, so I did a map of the coords just out of curiosity. At this rate it will never get there and back. Interesting. UtahJean"

These examples clearly reflect an active mind, a caring heart, and an undying love of nature and her fellow beings. You can also tell she commands an excellent grasp of the English language and its use. You'll have to look long and hard to find a UtahJean log that is terse and non-descriptive.

A Definition of "UtahJean"

DHobby1 "found" this definition of UtahJean in an old dictionary.

This is how I would describe UtahJean: UtahJean = "Super Woman", 1: Cunning (crafty in use of special resources), 2: Intelligent (solving problems and puzzles), 3: Hiker (has climbed high mountains abroad and stateside), 4-11: Mother, Homemaker, Figure Skater, Seamstress, Wood worker, Photographer, Skydiver, Fishing person, 12: Cacher Extraordinaire. Utah's number one cacher with 1063 found caches to her name as of this writing (1/29/04). Caches found in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Tahiti. 13: "Biggest Nut of All" two years running (2001-2002) in the Cach-U-Nut Game, 14: Conversationalist (one who converses a great deal); 15: Good hiking companion (makes a long hike enjoyable). Will go caching at the drop of a hat! Just a bit absent minded. To sum up all she has done in a lifetime, she would have to be around 102 years of age.

In Summary...

As you can see, there is much more to this lady than meets the eye. It seems impossible to really "define" UtahJean. There is just so MUCH to the Queen of Utah Geocaching. She is truly an asset to UTAG and a treasure to all who know her.

So, when you get a chance to meet her some day, at an event or on the trail to yet another cache, don't miss the opportunity to talk with her and get to know her better. I promise you won't regret it.