A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

outdoors

Back to geocaching

This past weekend I went to New Hampshire to visit some friends.

And the extra-cool part is they both cache, so I finally got to get some geocaching in (as well as a baseball game).

Finding caches!

Finding caches!

This isn’t going to be an uber-long post, but it felt good just to be out and make some finds. For the weekend, I nabbed 30 (in New Hampshire and Maine), so that was nice. But one thing I noticed — I’m not that good at this game anymore.

There were some “easier” ones that we DNFd and there were others that took way longer than they should have. Further, I realized how self-conscious I am with the game anymore. I have a hard time looking for things for too long as I don’t want people looking and thinking I am up to no good.

I have a baseball road trip coming up in a few days and I hope to grab a new state while I am out and about, but it’s not as fun to go by myself.

That being said, it was a nice thing this past weekend and I really enjoyed getting out and about a little and exploring some.

Geocaching isn’t as fun as it once was for me, but I still enjoy getting out with friends, finding a few, and just being outside.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

When bad things go good in geocaching

Sometimes, when things go bad — they can go good, especially in geocaching.

That turns out to be the story of this past weekend.

The find!

The find!

On a glorious day to be out geocaching (outside of that whole tick thing), a couple of us tackled a trail that neither of us knew. At one spot on it was a several-part multi cache that hadn’t been found in nearly two years.

In that cache was also a geocoin that was put in the cache by the last finders of this cache. The goal was to find this cache and then rescue that coin and get it moving again.

So this is the tale about that day.

Honestly, it’s probably best just to copy my log and put it here (note: the cache had “kitty” in its name).

A funny thing happened on the way to find a kitty.

You see, this seemed to be a lonely cache. It has been SOOOO long since it was found. We figured we may as well tackle it. Heck, others had found the other new caches up here but no logs on the kitty? We must remedy that!

Stage one was found without issue. We got the coords and set off for the second stage. Looking back, we could have made the trip shorter. But that’s OK, it all worked out in the end. We spent a bunch of time looking for the second part. Finally, we looked at past logs. I called people asking about it. Nobody remembered much.

Remember, this cache hadn’t been found in almost two years.

Anyway, some people had thoughts. We looked. I tried to contact the CO. No luck. We finally gave up, especially knowing nobody had logged a find in a while. We started walking back via another path, looking to see if we maybe saw another stage. But not knowing how many stages there were, we didn’t know.

Then… what? Monahmat happened to look up at one spot and something caught his eye.

It’s pretty easy to see an ammo can sitting out in the open, after all.

Score!

We found the kitty in an non-traditional way. This almost got a victory dance. It did get a “whew” because it’s nice to know that we found it.

The owner should probably come out at some point and check the stages though as we’re pretty sure the second one was gone.

Signed the log, grabbed the geocoin that had been in there for a long time, and replaced it and covered it up. Thanks for the challenging and interesting multi!

I’m extremely happy we found the cache, that’s for sure. I wasn’t going to be happy to go back out to continue it. It also made for a fun story when all said and done.

There was also a funny and interesting log in the cache, which I am going to guess was done by a non-cacher. It still made me laugh and I had to put it below:

#Hella

#Hella

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

A way to tick me off

A few years ago, at one of the geocaching mega events, I purchased a tick key. I figured it was a good investment, in case one of those little buggers hooked into me.

Thankfully, I never really needed it. So somewhere along the line, I have lost where I put it. I thought I knew where it was, but I guess not.

Then when it’s needed…

See, on Saturday, I went on a little cache excursion. We hit two spots – a nice walking trail near a lake, and then some trails in a more heavily wooded area.

Somewhere along the line, apparently a tick found me likable.

Expensive tick twister!

Expensive tick twister!

Sunday morning, as I was getting ready to shower, I felt something on my hip. I looked down and … son of a bitch.

You guessed it.

I couldn’t find that tick key. It wasn’t awful big, either. Tweezers were attempted and only part of the little bugger came off. So, I decided it was best I head to the ER. See, part of this is because it’s the first one I know I’ve ever had on me. Well, the first one that actually latched on. Second, being a diabetic, I thought it might be best to go – at least this time.

In the end, they removed as much as they could (turns out the CDC tells them not to dig it out as the body will take care of it – though the ER did an excellent job and you can’t really see anything in there), cleaned it up, told me what I needed to do from this point forward, and then gave me a one-shot antibiotic.

They also gave me a tick removal tool.

Now, I have pretty good insurance where I work. In fact, it’s rare for me to have to pay for too many things. But an ER visit is $50.

That’s one expensive tick removal tool!

Consider this post a bit of a PSA. This summer has the possibility of being worse when it comes to ticks, the ER people told me. The mild winter likely makes it that way. They said they’ve seen plenty more people than usual for this time of year already.

Yikes.

I know it’s not going to keep me away from geocaching or being out in the woods. I like it too much. But I think I will be much more diligent about checking myself over for these little pests whenever I’ve been out in the woods. I’m going to keep a good look on the spot where this one bit me to watch for any bad things (hopefully, it will be fine), but there’s no need in taking a chance when it can be watched.

If you go out in the woods and such, do yourself the favor and check yourself when done. Could make for all the difference in the world!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Changing GPS … why do it if you don’t need to?

Geocaching to me started in 2008. Of course that’s several years after the actual start of the game, but for me it was in February 2008.

That’s when a friend first told me about it.

We went out to find our first few geocaches on March 1, 2008 on a snow-covered day. We ended up with five finds that day, and I remember grabbing my first geocoin to move.

For the first few weeks, I used one of said friend’s GPS units to cache some. I knew, though, I needed to buy my own.

Remember, too, that this was before the boom of smart phones. This was a time when paperless geocaching was just starting (I used a Dell Axim for paperless caching – anybody remember those? Google it if not!), and some people printed out all the caches they were searching for etc. I did that for a while. I think a lot of paper was wasted.

I still remember when you would decode the hint in the field.

I still love my original GPS... still going after all these years!

I still love my original GPS… still going after all these years!

Now, life is easier. Smart phone apps make Geocaching an easily accessed game. So much so that people don’t even need to go back and log online anymore – they can do it from their phones. (For the record: I still log each find of mine via my computer, not my phone).

Recently, I saw in a geocaching group on Facebook about a GPS somebody was selling – the Garmin 60 CSX. The reason wasn’t that it was broke or anything, rather they were looking to get a new GPS with all the bells and whistles.

If you talk to some geocachers, the 60CSX is the best GPS ever made for caching. Its reception in the woods is excellent. It’s durable and can withstand a beating. I know all of this because I own the 60CSX and I dread the day it stops working as they don’t make it anymore.

It’s the first and only GPS that I’ve owned in eight years of playing the game.

I don’t need all the bells and whistles. I don’t have all these different maps on there, either. I use it to point the way. It’s not a GPS I use for navigation, and that’s why I love it so much.

Now, I do have another Garmin that can do things like Whereigos etc. It was a gift to me and, one day, it might be needed to be my main one. But for now, the 60CSX is still the boss.

I read through comments on this thread and there were people who fully agreed on how good this GPS is and questioned as to why somebody wanted to sell it. By the photos, it was in mint shape.

Sometimes, the upgrades aren’t always better.

As it is with many things in life, the “next best thing” is always coming out. But is it worth the money? The 60CSX, when I bought it, was a $300+ GPS. I’ve looked out of curiousness, and some of these new ones are anywhere from $400-$600! Some are higher, some lower. But if you are upgrading from the one that is like the granddaddy of them all to something else – you aren’t finding it cheaper, that’s for sure.

Smart phones can do a lot of the things that the newer GPS units do. That allows you to keep a great old GPS for use when geocaching – at least that’s the way I look at it.

This is just me rambling, of course. It’s not money being spent. But if you have something that works well, then stick with it. The grass isn’t always greener, so utilize what you know and what has been faithful to you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Geocaching: Feeling good to get outside

This weather has made it much easier to want to get outside.

Recently, I’ve even had the chance to get out and do some geocaching. That’s something I haven’t done in a few months, so it’s good to get back at it. This week has already seen an 18-cache day, and then a day of going after work to find just a handful.

One of the four FTFs a couple of us have recently nabbed.

One of the four FTFs a couple of us have recently nabbed.

It’s been nice in that regard.

Even better? Two of us have snagged four first-to-finds (FTFs), which is nice. I haven’t had many of those over the past two years, so kind of cool to grab those. Two of them even came at night, which is something I don’t always do!

Anyway, what I’m realizing is how relaxing geocaching can be and how much I’ve missed getting out and doing it. Whether easy finds, or hikes, or whatever else — it’s been nice. As the weather gets a tad better, there are some longer hikes and multi-caches that I want to hit, so I’m definitely excited to get back in it.

Like many hobbies I am involved in, geocaching goes in spurts for me. The past few years have been lower-number years, but that’s also because of less time and fewer people around who cache and share a schedule like I do. That matters because I am not a fan of solo caching.

With spring coming up, two of us are also planning a day or two of maintenance. Basically, we plan on hitting all caches the two of us own and doing any needed maintenance. It should be a good day and the plan is to place several more caches our there for people to find.

I know it’s a long shot, but I’d love to find a way to get 800 more finds this year and get to 5,000 finds. I’m not sure I can do it without a couple of big trips, but it’s something that could happen if all aligned well.

If you’re a geocacher, how’s your year so far? Do you get the up and down feelings as well? If so, hopefully you snap out of it quickly and get back to finding those caches as quick as possible!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!