A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

geocache

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

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Geocaching season is picking up

This past weekend, I got out on a sunny but cool Sunday afternoon. The goal was simple, to find some spots to place a few geocaches in a local state park.

Several of the spots are for a geocaching challenge the parks in this region are doing this summer (launching Memorial Day weekend). Others are for me to place as there are some good spots.

trail

It’s always nice to get out and spend a day in a park, hiking around and geocaching.

I did this solo, which I don’t always do when it comes to caching. But it was nice, nobody was around, and I needed to get this done.

And it was nice.

But it also made me realize that I want to do some caching soon and take advantage of the expected good weather. So off I went.

For the day, I hiked around the park and logged a bit more than four miles, according to my FitBit. I explored parts of the park I had never really been to, finding good spots for geocaches in each of those spots.

It really is a cool park. It’s great for walking, the elevation changes aren’t bad, and it’s scenic.

Spoiler alert for some local cachers – I also found what I thought would be a good spot for an event and contacted the park today. Though there is a nice picnic area at the parking lot, my idea for this event is to get people out to walk some and see some other parts of the park. We’ll see how it goes.

But it also made me realize I need to cache more. I miss getting out to places like this and finding caches. I am not a massive fan of caching solo, as I think I’ve mentioned here before. It’s just not as fun. Of course, much of that is based on urban-style caching. If there are caches out in the woods, or on a trail and I feel like I can do it without being watched, I’m OK with it. That can actually be fun in a solo capacity.

I’ve been peeking around for some upcoming summer trips. I think I’m going to get the Empire Pass this year (free admission into state parks) and see if I can investigate some, even if it’s a solo trip somewhere. It should make for some good photography and hopeful geocaching. I need to push myself a bit more to hit up more than the quickies. After all, it’s about the journey, right?

How about you? Any spring/summer geocaching plans?

(Note: For those who like certain aspects in geocaching, there should be a couple of “surprises” in the featured photo at the top!)

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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!

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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!

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Geocaching history and going back to where it all started

It started with a flick of a switch, figuratively speaking.

In early May 2000, selective availability for 24 satellites around the world became open to everyday people, thus making GPS receivers that much more accurate. The government removed the selective availability, giving people the chance to pinpoint their location.

Just one day later, Dave Ulmer went out and placed the first geocache, calling the idea the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt.” His idea was to hide something in the woods, note the coordinates and get people to come find it. The rules? “Take some stuff, leave some stuff.”

The original stash plaque.

The original stash plaque.

Within three days, two people found it and told about their experiences. People then started hiding “stashes” of their own.

The game of geocaching has since grown. There are more than 2.7 million active geocaches hidden around the world as well as more than 6 million people playing this game.

That’s growth.

Unfortunately, the original “geocache” is no longer with us. It was swept up in some cleaning. One of the original items – a can of beans – was recovered and it currently appears at some Mega events and such for people to see. The history of the game – in a can form.

On top of that, an historical marker was placed at the first site to show the beginning of geocaching. It’s also a geocache, allowing people to come from all over the world to see where it started. It’s not like the baseball Hall of Fame or anything, but in the short history (15 years) of the game, it’s still pretty cool. People flock to this spot to see this marker and to nab the cache.

This cache has 2,665 favorite points and more than 9,500 finds. That’s pretty impressive and makes it one of the most found caches in the world.

The cache that goes with the plaque.

The cache that goes with the plaque.

There’s some history to this cache, for sure, so it was neat to find and see. There were some others close by that were fun to do as well.

It’s right on the side of the road, though. A small pull-off area was next to it, so people could park. When we were there, a few others were also there so it was nice to meet up with some people and such. The photos of the plaque are out there so I had seen if before, but it was still cool to check it out in person.

This is definitely something that should be on a geocacher’s list to do, even if just for the historical ramifications. Everything had to start somewhere, right? This is where geocaching began, so it’s nice to look back at the spot.

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