FTF Geocacher Magazine

Transcription

FTF
$5.99 US · Vol.2 Issue 6 · November - December 2011
GEOCACHER
The Magazine For Geocachers
When Ground
Zero is Really
“Ground Zero”
Reaching
for the Stars
11.11.11@11:11:11
FlashElevent
Eating on the
(Cache) Run
A Crappy Cache
Plus:
•Trail Tales
•Puzzle Primer
•My Geek Odyssey
• Cacher Family Album
• Caching with nanncyan
• Cache Conundrums
PodCacher Sound Bytes
1
2
J Welcome
Our Two-Year 12-Issue Milestone
It’s hard to believe this is the 12th issue of FTF Geocacher Magazine. Time
really does fly when you are having fun. I have plans to continue improving
the content, design, and layout of the magazine in 2012. As always, I welcome
any feedback and/or ideas for new features. I really couldn’t make this
magazine happen without you. Thanks for subscribing! – Keith Petrus
In Memoriam
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Schillinger (Team
Luvbassn) who died in October. His wife Elaine writes, “Steve was one of your
original subscribers and looked forward to each new issue.”
FTF Geocacher
The Magazine for Geocachers
··································
www.ftfgeocacher.com
FTF Geocacher is published bimonthly (6 issues per year)
by Icon Creative Services
PO Box 556 · Skidmore, TX 78389
For more information, email
info@ftfgeocacher.com
For advertising rate information,
email ads@ftfgeocacher.com
Subscriptions
Sign up for a One-Year
subscription (6 bi-monthly
issues) to FTF Geocacher
magazine, and we’ll ship
you one of our new
FTF “Fire” Pathtags
(while supplies
last). Subscribe
via Paypal or major
credit card online at:
www.ftfgeocacher.com
When does my subscription expire?
Check the code on your address label. FTFV2-5
indicates that Vol. 2, Issue 5 (or the SeptemberOctober issue of 2011) will be your last issue
under your current subscription. You can check
the front cover to see the current volume and
issue number.
Cover Photo: The Lagoon
(GC29RY6) – Calaveras, Texas
§
Get Published
We need your stories and
photos for the next issue of
FTF Geocacher. No topic is
off-limits as long as it relates
to geocaching. Show us your
most creative cache ideas, or
nominate others. Share hints,
tips, and the latest gadget
reviews. Submit stories and
photos for publication to:
stories@ftfgeocacher.com
or via the forms on our website
at www.ftfgeocacher.com
In This Issue
Upcoming Mega Events
2
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News Briefs
2
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Our Readers Speak
3
·················································
Additional Listing Guidelines
Groundspeak Help Center
4
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When Ground Zero is Really
“Ground Zero” by dcmcveigh
6
·················································
Reaching for the Stars
by Jerry Martin (Martin 5)
7
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PodCacher Sound Bytes
by Sonny & Sandy
8
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11.11.11@11:11:11 FlashElevent
by Jørn R. Andersen (Jarun)
10
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Eating on the (Cache) Run
by Kelly Glazner (Rysten)
11
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SWYMM?
by Debbie Neff (SmilingBee)
12
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A Crappy Cache
Submitted by Tsmola
13
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Discovered While Geocaching 14
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Puzzle Primer - Omniglot
16
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My Geek Odyssey
16
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Cacher Family Album
19
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All for One
by Patty Fatsie
20
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Trail Tales
22
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The Lois and Clark Expedition
Caching with nanncyan
30
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Blue Blaze Irregulars ALPHA ALERT
Custom Cache Conundrums
32
1
Events
OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA
April 5, 2012 · Australia
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
MOGA 2012
April 28, 2012 · Iowa, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Allegany State Park
GeoBash VII
May 19, 2012 · New York, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
GeoWoodstock X
May 26, 2012 · Indiana, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
COG Spring Fling 8
June. 16, 2012 · Ontario, Canada
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Island Spirit 2012 (WestCan2)
July 7, 2012 · BC, Canada
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
PIRATEMANIA V (GC365FT)
July 21, 2012 · West Midlands, UK
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Midwest Geobash 2012
July 26, 2012 · Ohio, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
GeocoinFest Europe
Aug. 5, 2012 · Lisboa, Portugal
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
North West England 2012 The 5th Annual UK Mega
Aug. 11, 2012 · United Kingdom
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
West Bend $1000 Cache
Ba$h 2012
Aug. 11, 2012 · Wisconsin, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Geocoinfest U.S. 2012
Oct. 6, 2012 · Colorado, USA
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
8th Annual Florida Finders Fest
Oct. 27, 2012 · Florida, USA
2
+ News Briefs
Groundspeak Renames
Knowledge Books
The Groundspeak “Knowledge
Books” are now referenced with
the more user-friendly term “Help
Center.” Groundspeak explains,
“We renamed it because we hope
that more cachers will find the
help that they are looking for
with a more intuitive name than
‘Knowledge Books.” The Help Center
may be found at: http://support.
groundspeak.com//index.php
2011: A Banner Year
The sport of geocaching exploded
in 2011 with the addition of almost
half a million new geocaches.
Groundspeak continued to improve
the user experience with major
upgrades to their website including
zoom-able maps and automatically
generated user statistics.
The option to award Favorite
Points was introduced as an
incentive to those who go the extra
mile to place quality hides.
Geocaching Challenges were
introduced for those interested
in expanding the game beyond
physical containers.
And finally, Groundspeak
announced the first International
Geocaching Day!
Check out Groundspeak’s fun
2011 Geocaching Year in Review
video at: http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=tGBkOpKF_KM
Let Them Eat Cake
Cake from A Cache-Mas Party,
Year 3 (GC35E3T), Hazleton, PA.
FTF Mag Android App?
Those of you waiting for an “android”
version of the FTF Magazine iPad
app will have to wait a while longer.
The necessary software upgrades
have been purchased but the
android emulator is not cooperating
with my Macintosh. Stay tuned...
Cake from the Tri-States
Treasures Summer Picnic – Barry
Sullivan (Gilwell1)
_ Our Readers Speak
Dear Sir/Madam
I have had GPS devices since 2000.
Although I knew about Geocaching,
and thought it would be fun, I have
never tried it.
Well, yesterday I received a load
of the normal Christmas catalogs
and fliers, which I dumped on the
kitchen table. While eating lunch,
I started looking through the pile
Newbie Tip
Leave Your Mark
······················
Often you will come across
an item in a cache that has
been “signed” by its owner. It
might be a poker chip with a
custom sticker or a bottle cap
with a label shellacked inside.
Signature, or “SIG Items”
as they are known, are
the calling cards of the
geocaching community.
Unlike geocoins or travel
bugs, SIG items are generally
yours to keep and collect.
Signature items can be
made from virtually any
inexpensive item, and often
reflect the personality of their
owner. An avid fisherman,
for example, might write
his caching name on a
small bobber. Some choose
seashells, wooden nickels, or
even custom pathtags.
If you have yet to create
your own SIG item, you
should give the idea some
thought. For adult cachers,
finding a new SIG item
evokes much the same
emotion a child experiences
finding that shiny matchbox
car. Spread the joy!
when to my wondering surprise I
spied FTF GEOCACHER magazine!
Now why would I get that
magazine? OOPS... it was delivered
to the wrong address. Not only the
wrong address, but it wasn’t even
the same (or even close) street.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you
know that I thoroughly enjoyed
reading the stories and now
I have a LOT of questions
(mostly acronyms – like “What
is FTF?,” procedures, etc.) I’ll
have to read up on the hobby
and see what it has become.
Sounds like it has really taken off!
The errant magazine is back in the
mail, to be delivered (hopefully) to
the correct address. Meanwhile, all I
can say is, “Great magazine!” – Rodger
K. Strickler, Mechanicsville, MD
Love It
I love this magazine. It’s great to learn
about caching in areas that I have not
visited, yet. I get tips and hints and
ideas for caches in the areas I do get
to visit. – diverrn
Where’s Sparticus?
We’re always looking for fun
new ideas for the magazine,
so when Sparticus06 joked
about somehow getting
himself into every issue,
we took him up on the
challenge. Every issue
will now include an
image of Sparticus06
hidden somewhere
within. Find and report
the page number and
location of Sparticus06 to
ifs@ftfgeocacher.com, and
your name will be entered
into a drawing for one
of our cool new “I Found
Sparticus” pathags.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Where WAS Sparticus?
In the September-October
2011 issue, Sparticus06
appeared on page 28 in
the lower left corner of the
“GPS: The Movie” poster.
Reader Wish List
N I would love to see some articles
about how to get started with
puzzle caches. They keep popping
up around my area, and frankly, I
have no clue on where to begin
solving some of them, even the
easier ones. I love puzzles though,
which is why I am a bit frustrated.
Also, I just recently upgraded
to an Android phone with GPS
capabilities. An article or several
dedicated to using Android apps for
caching for Android noobs like me
would be very helpful. I have the
Geocaching app installed... just need
help on how to use it, and what
other apps I may wish to try on my
adventures. – TinaFraser
Submit stories and photos to
mail@ftfgeocacher.com
3
¨ Geocaching 101
Additional Listing Guidelines that Apply
to Specific Geocache Types
Practical Advice Straight from the Groundspeak Help Center
The Listing Guidelines apply to
all geocache types. Additional
requirements specific to certain
cache types follow. To learn more
about different geocache types,
read the cache type definitions. If
you are still unsure how to list your
geocache, ask your reviewer.
Multi-Caches
Provide the coordinates of all stages of
the multi-cache by using the Additional
Waypoints feature. The posted
coordinates are for the first stage. If
you don’t want the coordinates for
the rest of the stages displayed to the
public, mark them as “hidden.” Only
the cache owner and reviewers are
permitted to view hidden coordinates.
Puzzle Caches
The information needed to solve a
puzzle cache (sometimes called a
mystery cache) must be available to
the general community and the puzzle
should be solvable from the information
provided on the cache page.
For many caches of this type,
mystery or puzzle element, but cannot
the coordinates listed are not of
be designed to be found by only
the actual cache location but a
using clues. To seek a letterbox hybrid,
general reference point, such as
you will not need your own personal
a nearby parking location. The
stamp and letterboxing logbook.
posted coordinates should be no
more than 1-2 miles (2-3 km) away
from the true cache location. This
allows the cache to show up on the
The cartridges must reside at
appropriate vicinity searches and
wherigo.com. If a cartridge is used
keeps the mileage of
as a requirement to
Trackables that pass
find a geocache, it is
Event caches are
through the cache
considered a Wherigo
gatherings that
reasonably accurate.
cache, regardless of
are organized by
Give as detailed
whether it also has
geocachers and
information as possible
a puzzle or multiare open to other
to the reviewer when you
cache element. Cache
geocachers. They are
submit the cache. Report
saturation applies
submitted at least
the coordinates for the
only to physical
two weeks prior to
actual cache location
containers and not
the event so that
and use the “Additional
virtual elements.
potential attendees
Waypoints” feature to
A device that can
will have sufficient
input any other relevant
play Wherigo is not
notice to make plans.
stages or clues.
considered special
A challenge cache is
equipment.
a variation of a puzzle
cache. This will typically require
the cacher to meet a reasonable
Geocaching-, Waymarking- or WherigoEvent caches are gatherings that are
related qualification. An example
organized by geocachers and are
is finding a cache in each county
open to other geocachers. They are
of your state. If you are thinking of
submitted at least two weeks prior to
creating such a cache, be sure to do
the event so that potential attendees
your research first.
will have sufficient notice to make
plans. Events are published no more
than three months prior. Some events
are published six months prior if an
This cache type pays homage to
overnight stay is expected or if the
an older form of scavenger hunt.
event is designed to attract a regional
Letterbox hybrids must contain a
or international group of geocachers.
signature stamp that stays with the
For geocaching events with
box. A letterbox hybrid may have a
several elements, multiple event
Wherigo™ Caches
Event Caches
Letterbox Hybrid
4
¨ Geocaching 101
listings may be submitted if each
element stands on its own merits
as an event, and meets the listing
guidelines. After an event has
passed, the listing is archived by the
cache owner.
An event cache should not be set
up for the sole purpose of drawing
together geocachers for an organized
geocache search. Such group hunts
are best organized using a discussion
forum or an email distribution list.
While a music concert, a garage
sale, an organized sporting event,
a ham radio field day or a town’s
fireworks display might be of interest
to a large percentage of geocachers,
such events are not suitable for
submission as event caches because
the organizers and the primary
attendees are not geocachers.
Mega-Event Caches
could easily be developed to meet
our CITO guidelines by specifying
a section of the larger event to be
by geocachers for geocachers. To
determine if your event qualifies as a
CITO event, write it up and discuss it
with your reviewer.
EarthCaches™
Groundspeak partners with the
Geological Society of America to
administer this educational cache
type in which cachers visit a unique
and specific geoscience feature.
Additional guidelines and rules are
listed at EarthCache.org. We provide
guidance for creating an EarthCache.
Virtual and Webcam
Caches have been
grandfathered.
Mega-Events are large-scale,
Virtual caches and webcam caches
often annual events. In the first
are no longer available as options
iteration of the event, it is listed
for new listings on Geocaching.com.
as a regular Event Cache. Once an
Caches of these types that existed
event of this type has documented
prior to November 2005, often
attendance exceeding 500 people,
referred to as grandfathered caches,
it may be awarded
are exceptions to this
Mega-Event status
rule and may still be
Virtual caches and
by Groundspeak. This
active. New listings
webcam caches
occurs at Groundspeak’s
similar to these cache
are no longer
discretion.
types can be created
available as options
If you are thinking
as waymarks at
for new listings on
of creating such a
waymarking.com.
Geocaching.com.
cache, be sure to do
If you currently
your research first.
own a virtual or
Groundspeak will decide each case
webcam cache, you must maintain
on its own merits. A Mega-Event
the cache page and respond to
Cache may be published up to one
inquiries. You must also check the
year prior to the event date.
physical location periodically and
should return to the Geocaching.
com web site at least once a
month to show you are still active.
Abandoned caches will likely
Cache In Trash Out events are
be archived by Groundspeak.
organized by geocachers for
Grandfathered caches will likely not
geocachers. Other organizations also
be unarchived. l
sponsor similar activities. These events
CITO Event Caches
5
© Editorial
Hints@& Tips
Things on a cache page we
don’t look at enough.
······················
• Cache Name – The name of a
cache often gives a clue to the
hide-type or location.
• The Cache Hider – Knowing
who hid the cache can be useful
if there is a pattern to their hides.
• Hide Date – How old is the
cache? Coordinates on older
caches may be less accurate.
• Difficulty Rating – If it is rated
a 1, and you’re not finding it,
maybe it isn’t there. If it is rated
a 5 and you’re not finding it,
maybe it really is a tough hide.
• Terrain Rating – If it’s a 1, you
should be able to get to the
cache in a wheel chair. If it’s a 5,
some special equipment and/or
training is most likely needed.
• Related Web Page – It is not
just for puzzles. No telling what
you might find there.
• The Attributes – They are not
just for sorting caches. Is this
cache available 24/7? Am I going
to go on a long hike?
• Personal Cache Notes – Great
place to put puzzle coordinates
and other useful information.
• Inventory – Unless the cache
size has changed or someone
miss-logged, if there has been
an inventory in a cache it is not
likely to be smaller than a film
canister or pill bottle.
• Maps – The satellite view is a
very useful tool.
• Logged Visits – If there
are a lot of DNFs, either the
cache gets muggled a lot, the
coordinates are off, or it really
is tough to find.
– Electric Water Boy –
6
When Ground Zero is Really
“Ground Zero”
by
dcmcveigh
Cache
Target
LOG NOTE: Didn’t actually find
the cache and log, but came
pretty close... hehehehe.
I’ve been out here for three
weeks bombing this target
in my aircraft and finally
took some photos.
– dcmcveigh
T
his is a photo taken during a
practice bombing run very
near Bomb Yard (GC1ANBJ) just
west of El Centro, CA. The cache
itself is located just off Loom Lobby
Bombing Range Complex but still
in R-2510 (FAA restricted airspace).
Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force
aircraft use this bombing range on a
regular basis throughout the entire
year. It can handle aircraft strafing
runs and inert bombs.
As T-45 instructor pilots, we
come out here four times a year, for
three weeks at a time, and teach
the young Navy
and Marine Corps
flight students how
to properly drop
bombs. The dive
photo (with me in
the backseat) shows
my student in the
front seat of the T-45 during one of his
dive deliveries, and was taken around
6,000’ up, about 400 knots (460 mph),
a little over 1.5 nautical miles from
the target, and a 30-degree dive
down towards the target. You are
able to see the target between the
detonating cord zig-zag and the
cache location on the left side.
One warning for those wanting to
place or hunt caches on live bombing
ranges – don’t do it. Cachers can be
seriously injured or killed. About
a year ago I had to write the CA
reviewer and cache owner a note
about a cache that was
placed 800’ from the
center of a live bombing
target. The cache was
quickly archived. If
searching for a cache
and you see an aircraft
in the area get away. l
Z
Astro-Caching
Reaching for the Stars
by Jerry Martin (Martin 5)
B
etween June 25th and 30th of
this year, I set out to complete
all seven of Trekly & Psychly’s
space shuttle series of puzzle
caches. Starting with Space Shuttle
Columbia (GC2Q002) and working
my way through Space Shuttle
Discovery (GC2R6BR),
Space Shuttle Endeavor
(GC2R6BP), Space
Shuttle Enterprise
(GC2R4C3), Space
Shuttle Challenger
(GC2R6BQ), Space
Shuttle Atlantis
(GC2R6BN) and a final
bonus of NASA’s now
current travel method,
Space Shuttle Buran
(Bonus) (GC2R6BD).
The timing of my completion of
these seven puzzles coincided with
news coverage of NASA’s upcoming
final space shuttle flight and the end
of the space shuttle program in July
2011. All of this set me to thinking
about the cache I had heard was
actually located on the International
Space Station itself, which was the
destination of the final space shuttle
flight crew. “Hmmm, I wonder if I
can get one of the astronauts to join
Martin 5 by finding the cache while
they are up there?”
So I set about to write a letter
to each of the four astronauts
scheduled to be on Space Shuttle
Atlantis for the final flight to the
International Space Station as
STS-135. Included with my letter
was a picture of the five members
of Martin 5 on our 2000th cache
find and one of our geo-business
cards. I gave a brief explanation
of geocaching and of the cache/
travel bug said to be on the ISS. I
also pointed out my military service
since three of the four astronauts
had also served in our armed forces.
Chris Ferguson, the commander,
served in the Navy; Doug Hurley, the
pilot, served in the
Marine Corps; and Rex
Walheim, a mission
specialist, served
in the Air Force. My
letters went out just
in time to reach each
of the STS-135 crew
members prior to their
July 8, 2011, launch
into space.
The shuttle
returned to Earth on
July 21, 2011, and three months
passed with no word back on
my efforts. Finally, a large manila
envelope arrived on our front porch
on October 29, 2011 with a return
address of the Lyndon B. Johnson
Space Center in Houston Texas.
If you are thinking we received
confirmation that we could log a
find for the ISS cache – no, that we
did not receive. We did however
receive a hand written note from
Rex Walheim. The note read; Gerald,
sorry we couldn’t look for the ISS
geo-cach. It would have been fun,
but there wasn’t enough time. It was
so busy we couldn’t even get enough
sleep! Have fun with more geocaching in the future! Best wishes,
Rex Walheim.
Included with the note was an
autographed 8x10 photo of Rex
Walheim in which he had hand
written, “To the Martin family best
wishes! Rex Walheim STS-110,
122, 135” Finally there was an
autographed picture of the four
crew members of STS-135, each
personally signed. So while we
cannot say Martin 5 was able to log
the ISS, what we did receive in the
end is still pretty awesome!
Of the four crew members of STS135, if anyone had asked me, I would
have probably said Rex Walheim
would be the one most likely to
respond, as I too serve in the Air
Force through the Washington Air
National Guard. l
N
Spotted in a Cache
Deepwater Horizon Challenge
coin commemorating the
BP oil spill cleanup.
– margaretandjerry –
7
Geo"Snippet
· On With The Show!
Sound Bytes
by Sonny & Sandy
GPS News
On May 14,2010 I went to the
Lima, OH with a some friends
to the 4 wheel Jamboree. One
of my friends had previously
started geocaching and she
said that she thought it would
be something that I would like
to do with my three kids. We
went to a little park and I was
the one that found the cache. It
was the first cache I had found,
and let’s just say I was definitely
hooked! I love geocaching
now. It has taken me to some
very interesting and beautiful
places that I would probably
not have seen. On May 14, 2011
we found our 1,000th cache,
one year to the date of starting
to geocache! DynamicD’s is
a family of five, consisting of
mom, dad, and three kids. Our
friend SledtheUP came up with
our name. I think we have lived
up to it too! – DynamicD’s
8
Our son Sean was thrilled to hear that
Bert and Ernie can finally tell you “how
to get to Sesame Street” with the new
GPS VoiceSkin from Garmin, developed
by Locutio Voice Technologies. The
Garmin site also hints that Cookie
monster and Oscar the grouch are
coming soon. If Sesame Street is not
your thing, the original voice of Wallace,
and his sidekick Gromit, are also an
option to guide your GPS, which they
call the Gromit Positioning System.
Check out all the voice options at
http://www8.garmin.com/vehicles
Tips and Tricks
While in Los Angeles recently, we did
some urban caching and recorded
a show where we shared Urban
Caching Tips from some of our smart,
good-looking PodCacher listeners.
Here are a few things to keep in mind
when caching in an urban setting.
• Always check all screws and bolts
as well as anything else that looks like
it could remotely be magnetic.
• Cache in pairs – one is on muggle
watch, the other does the looking.
Trade off as necessary. A hand mirror
is very helpful for looking places
without seeming to.
• Wear an orange vest and hardhat or uniform; carry a clipboard; say
you are inspecting something.
• Pretend you lost your keys or phone
• Blend in and be confident; act like
you belong there; own the area
• Be patient. Do a walk-by to assess
the situation.
Stories from
Around the World
We’ve mentioned a lot of different
Geo-Art on the show (including a
series in Germany spelling out the
word MARATHON) – and they seem
to be getting more and more intricate
and sophisticated! There have been
geometric shapes, alien heads, words,
and more. Now there is a cachedrawing of a Thunderbird fighter jet
south of Boise ID – and they used
different cache types to put color in
the “art” when viewing it through the
geocaching.com maps page. Check it
out here: http://coord.info/GC35AXD
The PodCacher Podcast is a
free weekly audio show all
about Geocaching, hosted by
Sonny and Sandy from sunny
San Diego California. You
can find all the geocaching
goodness at podcacher.com.
PodCacher is a family-friendly
variety show featuring news,
tips & tricks, tools of the trade,
interviews, caching events and
stories from around the world.
· On With The Show!
There are 200 caches involved in
the drawing and the caches are
maintained by the League of Idaho
Geocachers. Part of the description
reads, “The Mountain Home Air Force
Base is home to the 366th Fighter
Wing. This geo-art of the F-16 is a
fitting symbol for them.”
Questions and Answers
We often feature listener questions
on our show. Here’s one we talked
about recently:
NoodlePeople wrote, “We
have a question about challenges,
particularly worldwide ones. Is it all
right to log a challenge as completed
using a picture taken from before the
challenge was posted? For instance,
the worldwide challenge, Be a Kid
Again. If you have a photo of yourself
climbing a tree, but it was taken
a year ago, could you still log the
challenge as completed?”
We contacted Eric at Groundspeak, and he sent this reply:
“Good question. The thinking on
Challenges is that you’re being given
an opportunity (i.e. Challenged) to
go somewhere and do something.
If someone challenged you to
run a 100-yard dash (I’m forever a
second grader)... you most likely
wouldn’t say, “I ran a 100-yard dash
last year, I’m good.” Challenges, like
geocaching, are designed to inspire
outdoor adventure. It’s definitely
tempting to use past images, but the
intent is for people to complete the
Challenge after it has been issued.”
Interviews
We have chatted with many fascinating
geocachers through the years. Our
most recent interview was with
geoaware of EarthCaching fame.
He told us how he hid the very first
earthcache (GCHFT2) and helped
launch this new type of geocache back
in January 2004. He also shared a few
tips for earthcache hunters or hiders:
• Be sure to read (and possibly print)
the earthcache notes before you leave
home – and understand the logging
requirements. You might need to take
along a specific tool like a ruler.
• Hiders: go out and visit a
number of published earthcaches,
don’t just read about them online.
Be sure to read the guidelines and
requirements.
We invite you to come and join
the international geocaching
community at podcacher.com!
CachersUp Close
Daffy71
Finds:
2723 Hides: 63
Meaning of your
caching name?
It was given to me by a fellow
motorcycle rider who thought it
was funny that Duck Hunting came
before anything else... so it stuck.
Guess what year I was born.
···············································
I enjoy geocaching because?
It keeps me going to someplace
new. I enjoy the outdoors
tremendously and will always
combine my love of geocaching
with running, kayaking, mountain
biking and hiking. I also enjoy
meeting new people and seeing
friends all over Texas that I have
met through the sport.
···············································
Most memorable cache?
My favorite moment Geocaching
is from the 2009 8th Annual Texas
Challenge. I was on my bike with
Haliades and BananaPoo racing
Nin a Cache
Spotted
Found this travel bug while
Caching in Waterville Maine,
on (not in) Waterfall Cache
(GC1QKMR). We didn’t bring a
fork truck with us so we had to
leave it behind. – Rcwhit
G E O C AC H I N G S I N C E :
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
around San Angelo
State Park as hard as we
could going after the hard
terrain caches. After riding 13
miles, coming face to face within
inches of a rattlesnake, and dealing
with the worst heat cramps since
basic training, I was awarded with
the highest individual score. That
was the day I solidified my love for
Extreme Geocaching!
···············································
Other Comments?
I use geocaching to help teach
my Soldiers land navigation and
how to spot small discrepancies in
objects to find IEDs
···············································
Favorite Quote?
Central Texas Extreme Geocachers
- We would rather go 10 miles for 1
cache than 1 mile for 10 PnG’s
···············································
Cache-Type Icons ©2010 Groundspeak Inc.
9
Geo"Snippet
%
···················
11.11.11@11:11:11
FlashElevent
Caching since July 2004, popop
retired from the Forest Service
in Oregon on Nov. 30, 2011
after 32 years of employment.
He plans to devote more time
to geocaching, travel and his
family. Our Wednesday morning
Geo-Coffee turned into a
retirement party when his wife
Pat brought out the cake.
– Steve ‘n’ Nancy –
by Jørn R. Andersen (Jarun) Skien, Norway
A
Hints@& Tips
· · · Creative Log Sheets · · ·
What unusual items have you
seen used as a Logsheet at an
Event. At GeoWoodstock VIII
we signed a surfboard which
later became a Travel Bug and
was seen at GeoWoodstock
IX. This photo is what we used
at our Fire House B.B.Q. Event
(GC33VTZ) and now has become
A Memorial TB for Firefighters
who have lost their lives in the
line of duty. – Steve ‘n’ Nancy
10
You Had to Be There
lready, at 11 o’clock at the 11th
diploma, and one attendee won a
of 11 in the year 2011, the
official jacket from the local football
roundabout surrounding N 59°
team, OddGrenland (11 letters!) with
11.111, E 009° 35.811 was packed
number 11 (Frode Johnsen) on the
with eager geocachers. They had
back. We all managed to line up for the
to wait another 11 minutes and
photo seen here, taken by Reodor, with
11 seconds for the
various “11” artifacts,
countdown to begin.
like the 11 wall-clocks,
Backed by the
The 3-times-11 adult
and the 11 yellow
soundtrack of “Time”
geocachers, and 4 small
bananas! Concluding
by Pink Floyd and
children, came from
with a joint count-up
“Come Together”
all parts of the county
to 11, all parted and
by The Beatles, the
Telemark in Norway to
returned for work, or
FlashElevent lasted
gather for this magic
whatever, with a big
the length of those
moment in time, and
smile on their face!
two suitable songs,
the 11.11.11@11:11:11
Geocaching is
11 minutes and
FlashElevent (GC368KP)
increasingly popular
11 seconds.
held in Skien, the
in Norway. There are
birthplace of famous
close to 14,000 active
author Henrik Ibsen.
geocachers looking for around
At 11:11, at the sound of bells,
20,000 caches hidden in the country,
the event was declared open by
and in the county of Telemark alone,
organizer Jarun. Backed by the
there were at 11.11.11, no less than
soundtrack of Time by Pink Floyd and
2,300 well hidden caches, making
Come Together by The Beatles, the
Skien and its surrounding cities like
FlashElevent lasted the length of those
an unofficial geocaching capital of
two suitable songs, 11 minutes and 11
Norway. So, visitors will have more
seconds. In that time, all logged, ate
than enough to keep their hands,
chocolate cake, and drank Coca Cola
and GPS, busy for a while. You are
or coffee. They all got their participant
all welcome! l
P
On the Road Again
Eating On the Run
(Cache)
Geo"Snippet
by Kelly Glazner (Rysten)
O
ne thing about geocaching: it
part of the country. We have met
sure changes our eating habits.
some interesting people and seen
While our normal meals consist
some interesting bar and grills
of things like coffee for breakfast,
while out geocaching. There was a
a small sandwich for lunch, and a
saloon in Nevada with the same old
small dinner of meat and vegetables
tin pressed walls it had in the early
when we’re at home, a
1900’s, complete with
day geocaching means
bullet holes. A small,
When we are
coffee and a muffin
local band played
geocaching we end
for breakfast, because
oldies rock. Then
up in little bitty towns
we don’t know how
there was a bar and
with mom and pop
long it will be until we
grill that has been
cafés. It’s just the way
find lunch. Then we
a movie set several
geocaching is in our
geocache until we get
times over where we
part of the country.
hungry, but when we
had to wind our way
get hungry we are a
through Harleys just
mile between caches and ten miles
to get to the door. There’s one near
from the nearest town. So, out comes
our city that looks like an airplane
the beef jerky. Three pieces of beef
crashed into it.
jerky and four caches later the next
After we fill up, we geocache until
town is becoming more important.
the light dims. Then the sun sets.
Do we pass up caches in favor of
We are not night cachers. We have
food? Tough choice! We have tried
enough trouble finding the elusive
packing water and sandwiches on
little boxes during the day. As the
geocaching days. It meets
our physical requirements,
but that’s about all. On
a real geocaching day
warm water just doesn’t
hack it. Warm water is
what we keep on hand
in case we get stuck. It is
NOT a beverage. We need
something cold, fizzy, and
preferably bad for us.
The next town calls to
us more insistently. An
ice cold soda and a half
pound burger are calling
our names – not salad, not
sandwiches. When we are
geocaching we end up in
little bitty towns with mom
and pop cafés. It’s just the
way geocaching is in our
Almost stepped on this very
young fawn earlier this year
while heading to a cache in
Newport News City Park.
– South Texas –
sun sets we point the geomobile
toward home, but then it’s dinner
time. If we strayed too far afield it
means another stop at another little
café in another town.
During baseball season it means
driving home with the radio playing
the Dodgers game until we find
a town with a restaurant that has
TVs. We stop, have another burger,
or maybe just nachos, because the
first burger was about
a quarter pound too
much. We watch the
game, check the GPS
for any caches lurking in
the parking lot. Usually
we decide that if there’s
a game on and we’re in
a place with lots of TVs it
automatically means the
place it too muggly to
geocache, so we make a
note of the caches and
keep going.
We arrive home hot,
tired, and with over 1000
calories too many. We only
hope that climbing around
those boulder strewn
hillsides worked off at least
half of what we ate. l
11
Z Happy Endings
“SWYMM?”
by Debbie Neff (SmilingBee)
I
t was getting late in the evening
last summer. batman17 says,
“Let’s go caching. I have a cache I
want to place.” I had on shorts – not
my caching in the woods clothes of
long pants. “We’re not going where
there’s poison ivy or ticks are we?” I
asked. “No,” he replied.
We took off driving down a dusty
gravel road as far as we were able to
drive, then took off hiking through
the woods. What’s wrong with this
picture? I thought we weren’t going
where there are ticks and poison ivy.
I hadn’t changed into pants. – didn’t
have any tick spray on either. We
were going down well-worn paths
so I wasn’t worried too much.
We get down near the river not
far from where we’ve got some
other caches placed. After watching
the river for a few minutes, we
head back into the woods with him
talking about placing this canister
he’s brought along to hide. He veers
off the path about 20 feet into the
tall grass by some small trees. I’m
not going in there. He asks what I
think about the place for hiding a
cache. I’m thinking to myself that
§
Caching
Commandment
······················
Thou shalt not log thine
own hides.
12
it doesn’t look like those trees are
big enough to hide the size of
container he’s holding but I don’t
say what I’m thinking.
He’s doing his best to get me
to come over to where he’s at. He
makes a remark that someone else
has already placed a cache there.
“What?” That sounds fishy. Since the
sun is going down and we still have
a trek back through the woods, I
decide to go over to him and get it
over with.
He shows me the cache he found
hanging in the tree. It’s a tiny ammo
can. We have this understanding,
rule, whatever between us that
whomever is the first to find the
cache is the first to sign the log. He
takes it down, opens it and hands
me the log to sign. He starts fiddling
with something. I hand the log,
unsigned, back to him. I said, “You
found it first, you sign it first.” He
hands it back to me. All the while
I’m checking my legs for crawling
ticks. He asks me to read what it says
on the log. It said something about
trading the ammo can I was holding
for the one batman17 had in his
pocket. I finally take a closer look
at the log and see the cache name,
SWYMM?, printed at the top of it.
I’m starting to have this feeling in
the pit of my stomach – butterflies,
I think. I figure out all but the first
letter. He pulls another tiny ammo
can out of his pocket and trades
with me. I open it up and there’s
a diamond ring nestled amongst
some black velvet. batman17 gets
down on one knee and asks me to
marry him. I look at him because
I’m kind of waiting to hear those
three little words in addition to
the question but he is silent so I
said, “Why?” He gave me some nice
answers and even though it wasn’t
the three little words I decided to
give him an answer so we could
get out of the tick and mosquito
infested woods. I said, “Yes!”
batman17 and I married on
September 18th, 2010, at SWYMM?
Results (GC2DP66).
By the way, I didn’t get any ticks
while in the woods and SWYMM?
stands for “SmilingBee Will You Marry
Me?” Well that’s my story. I’m sure his
side of it would be slightly different if
he were to tell it. Happy caching! l
% Kudos for Creativity
Cacher&Milestones
2000 Finds
A Crappy Cache
Submitted by Tsmola
I
n the southwest
finally began in
Michigan area, Team
November. Brian
Geochef is known
and Michelle finally
as one of the most
revealed their creation
obsessed and dedicated
to a crowd of nearly
caching teams around.
30 in an unofficial
Brian and Michelle have
“ammo can retirement”
managed to rack up
ceremony where
over 12,000 finds since
the ammo can was
they started caching in
archived after a meet
Team Geochef with
2007. Their passion for
and greet event in
some “essential
the game is contagious,
December.
reading material.”
and everyone knows
The new cache
that there is seldom a
was appropriately
dull moment when they are around.
named A Crappy Cache (GC35T4T).
In October 2008, they rolled out
The huge “two-holer” (one for travel
their signature cache Vicksburg’s First
bus and one for swag) is large
Ammo Can (GC1HPK0). The “ammo
enough to hold multiple cachers
can” was a very large plywood
at once. A small shelf inside holds
creation that Brian built in his garage
the logbook with a reminder,
and placed in the front yard of their
“Don’t forget the paperwork!”
house. The large cache quickly
With the exception of the hinges,
became very popular. It racked up
door handle and latch, the entire
33 favorites and became a travel bug
structure is made from recycled
hot spot. But, about a year ago, Brian
materials giving it a real, rustic feel.
started talking about replacing the
If not for the name and GC number
ammo can. Brian often told anyone
above the door, one might mistake
who would listen about his grand
it for the real deal! Needless to say,
plans for a full-size outhouse cache.
this cache provided everyone with
He spoke with the excitement of a kid
a lot of laughs
at Christmas as
and photo
he described how
opportunities.
cachers would lift
If you ever visit
the lid to get at
Vicksburg, MI,
the contents of
stop in and
the cache.
visit Brian,
After talking
Michelle, and
about it for such
the outhouse.
a long time,
You’ll be glad
construction
you did! l
p.boy
Buhrstone Cache (GCVTBN)
Sunday, November 20: GeoJudt
and I headed north to southeast
South Dakota. It starts out as 11°F
and never gets above freezing.
We found five FTFs along the way.
Toward the end of the day, we
tried a four-stage multi-cache,
Buhrstone Cache (GCVTBN). First
stage was fine. There’s supposed
to be a statue at stage 2, but
that was moved. We did find the
needed number at the original
location, however. Stage 3 was
given in the description because
the physical place is dismantled.
The fourth and final stage required
some math. I’m an advanced
math student, but somehow
both GeoJudt and I forgot about
the number 10. Once we figured
that out, we started searching the
final location. According to recent
logs, the container needed some
maintenance. It’s supposed to be
a dry-erase marker attached to a
string. After at least 10 minutes
I found the lone string, so we
started searching the ground for
the marker. A few minutes later, I
spotted the marker a bit higher.
This was my 2000th find, but
only my 23rd multi-cache.
····················
Let us know when you reach a
milestone and we’ll publish it
here along with a photo.
13
µ Discovered While Geocaching
We found some amazing little
fungi near a cache in Wales and
later identified them as Fluted
Birds Nest (cyathus striatus). The
little “eggs” are actually spore
sacs. – thebuttonmushroom
Spotted this strange “monster”
near a historic-tour virtual in
Louisville, KY with City Slicker
OH and Thurston House. I only
wish we could have seen it in
action! It sprays tons of bubbles
while driving – I looked it up
at thebubbletruck.com
– Visiting Vet Tech –
A real shipwreck! Sunken Ship, Pirate Treasure (GC2YHGF)
Ahoy! – PEARLWIND
14
On an early morning cache run
to find Preston’s Spring Cave Park
(GC371N8) I noticed many frost
ribbons on certain plant stalks. As
an avid outdoorsman I had never
seen such a sight. – kathysgeek
I was in Gatlinburg, TN at the
Pepper Palace when I stumbled
across this interesting find.
Could it be a hot sauce for
cachers? It comes with a small
bison tube. – Visiting Vet Tech
µ Discovered While Geocaching
Found near the apparently
misnamed Beaver Surprise
(GCRTA5) cache. – PEARLWIND
While looking for a nearby Cache in Kissimmee, Florida I found this really
amazing mural that I just fell in love with! – npyskater
Discovered while logging the
TPWD Challenge cache at Goose
Island State Park, TX – ckpetrus
The owner of The Nebraska
Virtual Challenge (GC21E1Y),
James Bridger, is a traveling
nurse. We figure that’s why this
was in the ammo can. – p.boy
Saw this moose at Rail Trail Falls (GC208ZD) while out collecting
the 15 caches I needed to hit 500 caches. – vinsonbar
15
@ Hints & Tips
Puzzle Primer - Omniglot
While vacationing
in Corpus Christi,
Texas, you decide
to check out a
nearby puzzle cache,
Bender’s Cache
(GC10BTH), and are
immediately stymied
by the cryptic code
pictured to the right.
How in the heck
are you supposed
to make sense of
this gibberish? Oh well, you gave
it a shot and know better than to
try another puzzle cache any time
soon! But wait – don’t be too quick
16
Mystery Dog?
······················
to give up. There is a handy online
reference tool that can help you out
of this and many other languagerelated puzzle jams.
Omniglot.com is
a searchable online
encyclopedia of writing
systems and languages.
The site has detailed
information on over
180 writing systems,
including the one
referenced in Bender’s
Cache. With thought,
a little knowledge of
popular culture, and
Omniglot, you’ll soon
be on your way to
solving the puzzle.
I was recently involved in a
cool idea that a cacher by
the name of meandmydogs
had come up with. Her idea
was to make a collection of
dog related mystery caches
that combined would look
like Snoopy on the map of
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH.
I have attached a picture of
the progress thus far.
– vinsonbar –
It’s not just about trinkets,
tupperware, and smileys.
Submit your geocaching stories,
milestones, and photos to
stories@ftfgeocacher.com
17
18
µ Cacher Family Album
Ky Orphan and Ground Fox
encountered some aliens while
caching recently along the ET
Highway near Rachel, Nevada.
In June 2011 we went on a
Baltic Cruise. We added 7
Countries to our caching stats,
got a FTF in Russia and got to
meet lots of great geocachers!
This is a picture of Ms. TH with
a cache right at the cruise ship
dock in Helsinki, Finland with
the Holland America ship in the
background. – Tank Hounds
Captain Math and Gilwell 1 found a cache and got a BIG Smiley.
Baby Carter is the newest
member of Share the Adventure
caching team in Kentucky.
Carter has a lamb trackable tag,
and his mother’s name is Mary,
thus the familiar phrase “Mary
had a little lamb!” – Ground Fox
BLOCKER DAD comparing
coordinates with a local
geocacher in Roswell, New
Mexico – wanda (dionne) texas
19
J
Cacher Family Values
All for One
Cacher&Milestones
1000 Finds
by Patty Fatsie
I
Orangereverie
Raiders of the Lost Cache
(GC2HN2H)
In November of this year, I
finally reached my 1,000th find.
I originally was going to grab
this cache earlier in the summer,
but my basement flooded and
ruined my plans. I then moved
to Virginia in August, and I more
or less gave up on ever getting
a smiley for this hide. However,
as I approached find #999, I
had a (very narrow) window of
opportunity to return to central
PA to claim this cache for my
milestone. Clarinet310 and
Benchmonkey joined me for the
adventure on a beautiful fall day.
The cache was more than worth
the anticipation in getting to it; I
was so happy, that I did not realize
until afterwards that I cut my
hand during my approach to GZ.
Can’t wait for the next 1,000!
····················
20
f Christmas is a time of giving, of
active Geocachers since 2003. Earlier
caring for one’s fellow man, and
this fall, members of the geocaching
of doing for others, then what has
community began to notice that
happened today, Sunday December
a significant number of the 256 or
11, 2011 is certainly in the spirit of
so caches placed by Serenitynow
Christmas. Today was
were starting to
the culmination of
come up missing.
the efforts of sixty or
The frequency of the
The frequency of the
seventy members of the
disappearances and
disappearances and
Geocaching community
geographic diversity
geographic diversity
to honor one of their
of the missing caches
of the missing caches
members and right a
began to indicate
began to indicate
wrong that targeted
that someone was
that someone was
that member.
intentionally targeting
intentionally targeting
The Geocaching
Serenitynow’s hides.
Serenitynow’s hides.
community in Northeast
Whether part of a
Ohio is a strong and
practical joke or
active one, with thousands of
something more malicious, by
caches around the area and regular
the end of November, 50 to 60 of
meetings and gatherings of active
Serenitynow’s caches were stolen.
participants who use screen names
Serenitynow is a screen name,
online like Mattypuffy, SuzyJazz, and
but technology can frequently cause
RexC. Sharing bonds of friendship
begun over an interest in wandering
around looking for hidden surprises.
One of the hazards of Geocaching
is that from time to time, caches
···················
are found and removed by non-
Community
geocachers. These folks either don’t
recognize what the object is or they
don’t understand that the finders
are not to keep the object but to log
their find and replace the cache so
others can find it. It doesn’t happen
frequently but it does occur from
time to time. You can tell when your
cache is missing when you suddenly
start seeing cachers logging DNFs
(did not find).
Serenitynow is the screen name
of one Greater Cleveland area
caching couple who have been
When all was said and done,
over 50 people were involved
in placing 70-80 caches in 6-7
different counties. The troops
rallied all this together in 8 or 9
days – all because we wanted
to show this cache thief that
we as a community have had
enough! We also wanted to
show our love and support
for Serenitynow. This is what
geocaching is all about. Friends
and community! – SuzyJazz
J
people to overlook that there are
humans behind those pseudonyms.
In this case, Serenitynow is the
pseudonym for a couple from
Cuyahoga County who are highly
active in the geocaching community
and have made numerous friends
over their near decade-long
involvement in this growing hobby.
When you lose a cache or two,
you go out and replace it so other
Geocachers can continue to search
for and find the cache. Placing
caches is part of geocaching.
Like any participatory activity, if
there were only searchers and no
hiders, there wouldn’t be much to
search for. Replacing an occasional
damaged or missing cache isn’t
a problem, but replacing 60 of
them is another story. Add in time
constraints and the holiday season,
and it becomes understandable why
this family team was no longer able
to keep up.
Shortly after Thanksgiving,
a small number of members of
the geocaching community in
Northeast Ohio led by RexC, having
recognized what was happening,
put together a plan to go out and
replace those stolen caches. Even
with several members working at it,
they couldn’t hope to replace all the
stolen caches, but they wanted to
send two messages. One was that
the geocaching community was not
happy that someone was stealing
these caches. The other message
was that the community supported
and truly cared for the Serenitynow
team members. It was agreed that
the replacement caches would all
be posted on the international web
page on the same date, December
11, 2011.
No single raindrop is responsible
for the flood. The project, that
started off slowly to replace about
a dozen stolen caches and involved
Cacher Family Values
an equal number of geocachers,
suddenly revealed a growing
number of cachers who all had
recognized what was happening
and wanted to do their part.
Time was short, caches had to be
assembled, hidden, and logged on
the international web page. It was
no longer a single raindrop.
On the morning of December 11,
2011, the website Geocaching.com
published 80 caches paying tribute,
honoring and thanking Serenitynow
for their years of service to the
community and letting them know
that the community cares for and
appreciates them. The efforts of one
CachersUp Close
SouthTexas
Finds:
2792 Hides: 71
How did you choose
your caching name?
It’s were I was born. Bishop,TX.
···············································
It gets me to places that I never
been before. Being one with
nature. Grab the GPS, the smart
phone, and I’m off. It’s better than
sitting on the couch watching TV.
···············································
Gilligan’s Stash (GC29V53) Came
home last December to see Mom
and Dad for a couple of weeks.
Saw that this cache has been
sitting here on the water for
almost two months without a FTF.
I would have brought my kayak
but its a little hard to bring it on
the plane so I started looking for
somewhere that rented canoes or
kayaks. No luck here. I contacted
the CO for help and he told me
individual to take their enjoyment
from them were answered by a
community of geocachers who
together stood up and said,
“this will not be”. Eighty new
caches published in the same day
is certainly some kind of record
for North East Ohio and it will take
some time for active cachers to
find all of them. It will only take a
second on the web site however to
find the message that was being
sent. In a season of giving, of love
and of caring, dozens of community
members have sent those messages
loud and clear. Merry Christmas and
Godspeed Serenitynow. l
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
that it would be a
couple of days before he
could get out there. Time
was running short and that night
I found out that a close friend of
the family has a cabin on that very
same lake, and he has a boat. That
next day was the best day ever.
1,400 miles away from home with
a FTF and spending quality time
with Mom (TexasWildflower) and
Dad (8N328857)
···············································
Other Comments?
I have to say “Thanks” to
MadMcAdams for getting me
hooked on geocaching and to
Turnersrugs for being my caching
partner. Now lets go caching...
···············································
Favorite Quote?
“Everything is Bigger in TEXAS”
···············································
21
±Trail Tales
Syncing Up
It is because of Geocaching that
I met mmacgown back in March,
2007. I was on my way to a FTF
on her cache and she was in the
area that morning fixing a “bonus”
cache that was dependent on
the cache that I was seeking. She
explained to me what those “bonus”
coordinates were in that cache and
that the “bonus” cache would not be
CachersUp Close
Johnson Geo Seekers
Finds:
626 Hides: 6
How did you choose
your caching name?
We used to belong to a
bowling league, Brunswick Pin
Seekers. Its kind of a spin off from
that name.
···············································
It takes you to places that we
would never have gone to
otherwise. Its also something the
we can do together.
···············································
Berlin After Dark (GC1C7AM) – a
multi we did with the Dilberts
···············································
Other Comments?
The Geocache that started it all
was Box of Junk in Moreau State
22
published until she fixed a proximity
issue on one of the parts. Anyway,
we have officially been a couple
(both inside & outside of caching)
since October, 2007.
As we approached our 9K & 8K
milestone numbers, I realized that
I had to “even up” my numbers to
coincide with hers (albeit 1000
less). I spent the days before our
milestone day picking up a few
scattered caches. It certainly felt
weird being there alone since I had
become so used to caching with her
alongside me.
Once the numbers were synced,
we hit the area where Gossamer –
The Lost Woodland Fairy (GC1K76C)
by Sonoluminous was located. We
were joined that day by hallycat and
first enjoyed Sonoluminous’ other
series in the area – the Harry Potter
series (another definite MUST DO).
After that, we set about hunting
down Gossamer. The funny thing
is that we didn’t realize until that
hunt was done that we had passed
within 50’ of the final for this cache
about 1.5 hours before. The cache
owner, Sonoluminous, joined us
for the last 20 minutes of our hunt
and toasted our dual milestones
with champagne he had stowed
at the final. It was definitely a
memorable cache and memorable
milestone(s). Thanks Sonoluminous
& Geocaching.com! – Sakiman
CITO Milestones
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
Park. It was a Mystery
cache in which the first
part was an ammo can filled
with junk. You have to get the
coords for the final off the junk.
After running all over the park with
the Dilberts (Geocaching relatives
we were camping with)we got
a DNF and gave up. We were
hooked. Funny thing is the Dilberts
went back to finish box of junk and
we still have not. Maybe next year
we will finish it. Its the only one left
in the park we haven’t done, and
we camp there often.
···············································
Favorite Quote?
“What’s the date today?”
···············································
The Freedom Isn’t Free CITO on Nov.
13, 2011 resulted in milestones for
two Melbourne, Florida cachers
pictured above. Kerry Layman (Mr
Magic) achieved his 5000th find and
Jim Anderson (Dittocat) achieved
his 1100th. The CITO was hosted by
Seastar255 and over 4600 pounds
of trash was removed from a local
beach park.
Mr Magic is retired and has been
caching for 6 years. For his 60th
birthday, his daughter bought him a
GPS and travel bug coin to get him
started caching. He enjoys Geocaching
because “a bad day caching is better
than a good day at work.”
Dittocat has been caching for a
year and caught the caching bug from
his brother, Team Andies. He enjoys
caching because it’s a great family
±Trail Tales
activity that brings you to places you
never knew were there, and because it
brings you together with great people
like his new friend Mr Magic.
Remember the Alamo
My son, StAggie99, and I traveled
to San Antonio in late October on a
milestone quest. We drove the 3 hours
to San Antonio on Friday evening,
only stopping for 2 caches along the
way. On Saturday, we picked up a
few more caches on the Riverwalk,
then headed over to the Alamo to
complete the Webcam cache out front
and our first-ever Where I Go cache,
Wherigo - Alamo (GC2KHVF).
After the typical tourist activities,
we headed north toward the San
Antonio Botanical Gardens to pick up
the final four that I needed and then
headed next door for FIND 1000,
Don’t Take Any...(Wooden Nickels).
CachersUp Close
sagent139
Finds:
294 Hides: 7
Meaning of your
cacher name: It was a
nickname I got in junior high
school. I was always pretending
to be a “Secret AGENT” and 139
was my locker number. Therefore
s(ecret)agent139 was born.
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I enjoy geocaching because:
It is a great way to spend time
with family outdoors. It gets us
out of the house and away from
our duties for a while, and we learn
some awesome stuff along the way.
···············································
Most memorable cache: In
a dash to be FTF on a recently
published cache, we pulled
It is a virtual on Opencaching.US by
DudleyGrunt and was at the World’s
Biggest Wooden Nickel. We were
also FTF on this cache - bonus!
Next on the list, find 1001, was
Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Museum
(GCB6A8). Yes, a Toilet Seat Museum.
It’s all housed in Barney Smith’s
garage. This 90 year-old man has
a collection of 1000 toilet seat lids,
each with its own theme. He has
5 seats dedicated to Geocaching
with Pathtags and Trackables
permanently attached to them. We
made sure to sign our names as
well as leaving our own Pathtags,
SigMarx and Wooden Nickel. His
collection has been featured on
The View, Montel Williams, Texas
Country Reporter and other news
programs. If you’re ever in San
Antonio, I recommend both of these
as MUST DO caches. – Denise E.
Vajdak (NativTxn)
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
up and saw plenty
of cars parked along
the side of the road. I got
lucky because I am not premium
yet, and just happened to see
one within 5 miles of my house
that had no finds. I jumped out
of the chair and ran to the car
and beat my partner in crime,
carrotsnapper10, to the car. Had
the coords plugged into the GPS
and ready to go before he knew
what was going on.
···············································
Favorite Quote?
“This is in a residential area, man!”
···············································
You Know You Are
a Geocacher When...
······························
You spend hours dreaming
up innovative, diabolical or
convoluted geocache ideas:
“Could I hide some fresh meat
next to the cache and have
the finders’ dogs sniff it out?”
······························
You pride yourself on a
drawer full of junk – cheap
carabineers, cereal box prizes,
plastic dinosaurs – stuff you
wouldn’t have been caught
dead with before becoming
a geocacher.
······························
You have a revolving charge
account at the dollar store.
······························
Using snap n’ seal bags for
sandwiches, food storage or
jewelry seems like quite a
terrible waste.
······························
You consider logging a
missing persons report when
your Johnny Cache bobblehead travel bug isn’t logged
for two months.
······························
Your GPS receiver is the
first thing you pack for a
vacation or hike.
······························
The recent Groundspeak
changes to allow the entry
of puzzle and multicache
final coordinates on the
cache page have a far greater
impact on your life than any
new tax laws, presidential
elections or disease cure
breakthroughs.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Submitted by Mark Jones
(himilecyclist)
23
±Trail Tales
My Favorite Caching
Adventure
Last summer my husband, 10 year
old son, and I took an RV road trip
from Orange County, California to
Crater Lake, Oregon. Since it was
such a long drive, I looked for some
interesting places to camp along
the way. One of our stops was Castle
Crags State Park in California. I had
loaded a few caches that were in the
area into my GPS. One of the caches
was Castle Creek Cache (GC176PY).
Since we had the RV, we decided it
would be best to hike to this one.
It was several miles away, but we
figured it was possible for us to make
it in a reasonable amount of time.
We started hiking along a
beautiful trail in the woods. It wasn’t
too long before the mosquitoes
began making a quick lunch of us.
Unfazed, we continued on, only to
find that the trail was closed due to
hazardous conditions!
We back tracked our way out and
began walking along the access road.
By now it was afternoon. Without the
shade of the forest, the heat was close
to unbearable. We had been hiking
for quite awhile and it seemed like
by now that we should be close. One
look at the map told us that we still
had a few miles to
go. I could feel the
heat pressing on my
cheeks and my son’s
face was as red as
a beet. Finally, we
agreed that it would
be best to turn back.
My husband said, “I’ll
run back to the RV
and turn the air conditioning on.
That way it will be nice and cool
when you both get back.”
My son and I trudged back to
camp one slow step at a time.
Luckily we soon came across a
stream to splash some cold water
on our faces. This refreshed us just
enough to be able to continue on.
We were both so disappointed
that we weren’t able to get the
cache, but we knew it was for the
best. At last, the park entrance was
just up ahead. We barely stepped
Geocaching Word Cloud
································································································
A piece of geocaching artwork I created using Wordle.net – OrangeReverie
24
foot onto the park’s entrance road,
when a ranger pulled up next to
us. I’m sure she took one look at us
and figured we looked like we were
ready to collapse. “Where are you
headed?” she asked.
“Oh, back to our
campsite.” “Would
you like a ride?”
Now normally I
make it a habit of
not taking rides
from strangers,
but this was a
badge-wearing
park ranger after all. Besides, I was
desperate! We hopped into her jeep.
As she drove us back to camp she
asked what we had been doing. I told
her that we were trying to go look for
a geocache. Her interest immediately
peaked. “Really? Do you want me
to take you to look for it?” I certainly
couldn’t pass up that offer, so off we
went. She took us four-wheeling on
a few back roads. We were whooping
and hollering all the way.
Once we got close to GZ we all
got out of the jeep. She asked if she
could come and help us look for it.
So off the three of us went. I couldn’t
help but think my husband must be
worried sick that we hadn’t made it
back to camp by now, but the lure
of a cache find was too strong. My
GPS signal was bouncing all over the
place. Oh no, I thought! I can’t have
this ranger take all of this time to
help us to find this thing and DNF it!
We looked on one side of the river
and then the other, but still no luck.
Finally, the ranger shouts, “I found
it! I found it!” I couldn’t help but
wonder if she knew where it was all
along and was just playing along.
What a relief it was to sign the log!
This caching adventure will always
be my most memorable and favorite
of all caching experiences. – Sharon
Henyan (Hmnbrdlady)
±Trail Tales
Of Mice and Mom
The cache A little of Everything
(GC2ABH4) created lots of memories
and brought many laughs (and lots of
love). I encountered ticks, thorns, mud,
poison, fish, goop, glop and more on
my trek through the unknown.
At stage two, my mom encountered
a mouse nest while searching for the
cache. There is now a homeless and
deaf field mouse... my mom uncovered
the nest and gave a very loud “squeak.”
Raccoon holes... let’s not even go there.
CachersUp Close
cerebus48&drbuffy
Finds:
734 Hides: 54
How did you choose
your caching name?
Cerebus the Aardvark is our
favorite comic book character,
and our first house in Canada was
street number 48.
···············································
It gets us out of the house, and
takes us to interesting places we
would never discover otherwise.
We got introduced to geocaching
by our old friend Richbritty the
crazy kiwi and joint caching
runs with him and GeoPom
were always the highlight of the
caching year!
···············································
Canada’s First Geocache
(GCBBA). We went after this one
on a rainy day while on vacation
in Nova Scotia. We had been
out for a lunch with friends and
were all dressed up, but we
were determined to make the
find, despite the rain becoming
torrential, the fact that we had
At least it wasn’t MY arm reaching
way up in there. My mom may need
therapy after caching with me.
Now, for the water. The first time
we took the paddle boat we had a
rudder malfunction. We were out on
the lake going round and round and
round – you get the picture – we
didn’t have oars either! We made
some adjustments and attempted a
second trip out on the lake.
After reaching into lots of slime
and water (again, it wasn’t MY arm –
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
to cross a raging
torrent of water, and
the bearing taking us up a
sheer rock face with no obvious
trail. Cerebus48 wanted to turn
back, but Dr Buffy insisted on
pressing on. We continued with
the unnecessary bushwhacking
on our hands and feet and
eventually discovered the cache
within metres of a paved trail!
We returned to the car in the
pouring rain, Cerebus48 with
a flesh wound sustained in
the climb – passing cars were
stopping on the highway asking
if we needed help, two soaked
and bleeding pedestrians
limping along the road, DrBuffy
soaked to the skin and carrying
her handbag and Cerebus48 with
blood running down his face but we got the cache!
···············································
Favorite Quote?
“it’s just a little further now...”
···············································
I was feeling the
love from my
mom), we had
success.
We continued
on, then felt
like fish out of
water when
we couldn’t
find a stage.
Something
smelled fishy.
We made a phone call and woke
the cache owner, 4bms, from his
slumber – he deserved it after
everything we went through.
4bms met us at the dock and I
chartered him in my “yacht”. He even
got to “drive” it on our way to check
out the situation. Everything is now
in place again. I signed the log as
FTF. Finding this cache was a blast
and very memorable. A lot of hard
work was put into it. – mzairboy
Licensed to Cache
······················
TeamLareau’s
Geocaching Plates
25
±Trail Tales
Cacher&Milestones
1000 Finds
mom of many hats
A View to a Cache (GCV7NC)
I chose A View to a Cache
(GCV7NC) as my 1,000 find. This
cache requires two teams of
cachers and a bunch of special
equipment to get a smiley.
A few weeks ahead of time,
I posted on the Connecticut
Caching Community board
that I was looking for help for
this milestone. April 3rd finally
arrived and we were blessed
with a beautiful day. Thanks
go to joesdolphins, jenrn94,
SiNwYrm, ashtonFG, Poke’ 10,
bobclimber and miss geocache
who made up the great group
of cachers that worked together
to get this find..
····················
26
Walking after Midnight
both her boots in the mud. I then
After a long weekend of traveling, we
wallow around in the mud until I get
were relaxing in bed about to hit the
my leg free and retrieve her boots.
sack, when this puzzle cache popped
We are covered in mud in the first 5
up – FTFC #86 - Prolonged Mediocrity
minutes! This is when I first noticed
(GC2NZ6B) – and of course, all
that she had yoga pants on. “This is
priority shifted to
a terrain 4!” I said.
it. I worked on it a
“Those are gonna
bit and then asked
get torn up in the
Mrs. Geex what she
thickets!” She said
thought it could be.
I didn’t tell her it
She didn’t hesitate
was a terrain 4,
to tell me what all
but that I said we
that mumbo jumbo
were just going
GeoGeex
was related to. Sure
to go after a little
enough, I made
cache. I suppose I
the final connections, checked and
didn’t mention that part.
rechecked my calculations, and voila!
We walk further down the bayou
I asked a few of my fellow ninjas
and find a much better place to
if they would like to go with me and
cross. About .8 miles from the cache,
grab the trophy. Fortunately, none
Attempt #1 ends at a bayou with way
of them were available. Fortunately?
too much water to cross. I figured this
Why yes, because Mrs. Geex said, “I’ll
was the end of the line for this run.
go with you if you stop and buy me
Nature Call #1 visits Mrs. Geex and
a large sonic drink.” After I picked
just when the “full moon” appeared,
my jaw up off the floor and did the
the coyotes cut loose across the
happy dance, we geared up to go.
bayou. It was kind of eerie!
I had briefly looked
We decided we
at a map and thought
would drive east a
My leg catches on
I had a good bearing
little further and try
something and down
on how to get to the
to find another way.
I’m going! I land flat
cache. For Attempt #1,
We ended up at a
on my back with my
we pulled up to a nice
construction site that
arms out to the side. I
parking spot and got
looked promising
heard a huge CRACK!
our gear ready. Oops,
so we geared up
I was just hoping that
we only have one
and headed out for
wasn’t my leg!
flashlight! Oh well, we’ll
Attempt #2. After
have to make do.
about a quarter mile
The first thing we encounter is
walk, we ended back up at the same
a small bayou. I knew we would
bayou that stalled us on Attempt #1!
have to cross it and it looked really
This was beginning to suck and I had
shallow. Mrs. Geex took one step,
come to the conclusion that it wasn’t
then two, and found herself up to
going to happen tonight.
the top of her boots in mud – more
On the way back to van I was
like quicksand! I grab her under
walking ahead of Mrs. Geex. She
the arms and try to pull her out but
had the flashlight but the moon
she is stuck! I end up stepping too
was pretty bright. My leg catches
close for leverage and my right leg
on something and down I’m going!
sinks to the knee. Great. Somehow
I land flat on my back with my arms
I manage to pull her free leaving
out to the side. I heard a huge CRACK!
±Trail Tales
I was just hoping that wasn’t my leg!
Finally the GPSr pointed directly
Mrs. Geex, through her laughter,
into the woods. We would have to
shined the light down to discover a
bushwhack .28 miles! Groan!
two foot high fence and my treasured
We had come too far so in we
Belizian walking stick broken into
went. By the time we reached the
two pieces! Oh man! This night was
cache, we were beat, sweating
turning into a nightmare!
profusely, and smelled of funk. Then
We made our way back to the
I see the reason the terrain is rated
van as my wife sang the 80’s song,
4! I lay my stuff down to begin the
“I’ll Tumble For You.” I told Mrs. Geex
attempt at the cache and realize
this run was done. She said, “I did
I forgot a pen! I cannot believe I
not drive all the way out
forgot a pen! I reach
here, get mud up to my
the cache and open
About a third of a mile
back, tromp around in
the lid to find that
away from the car, we
weeds taller than I am,
beautiful trophy! I get
turned around and
and shine my backside
the log out – no pen
spotted the light of
to the animal kingdom
– so I take some camo
a train coming down
to not get that trophy!”
tape and tear a couple
the tracks!
I was amazed at her
of tiny strips to form
tenacity! Nature Call #2
an “X” as my name. I
for Mrs Geex, no coyote catcalling
was not about to hike back to the
was heard. So we decided to head
van for a pen!
back east again and check out some
With the trophy in hand, some
other options.
of the adrenaline was gone and the
We cross a railroad track
weariness set in. The bushwhack
and the GPSr looked like it was
back to the tracks seemed easier
pointing straight down the tracks.
than going in as I worked with the
We continued on and saw lots of
forest instead of brute forcing my
pipelines but no good entry point so
way through. After finding the tracks,
we turned around and headed back
Nature Call #4 for Mrs. Geex. Those
to the tracks to make a go of it. The
sonic drinks sure do hydrate you.
tracks basically run right through
We walked down the tracks with
a swamp. There was water on both
the bright moon shining our way,
sides so we were hoping that a train
happy that we had persevered. But
would not show up. The cache was
our adventure was not over! About
about a mile away and the rocks
a third of a mile away from the car,
were large and hard to navigate with
we turned around and spotted the
rubber boots. My wife was certain
light of a train coming down the
that I would fall and crack my head
tracks! With water on both sides, we
on the rail (I had already bitten the
couldn’t get more than 10 feet away
dust caching twice this weekend).
in either direction. We stayed on the
Nature Call #3 for Mrs. Geex,
tracks but picked up our pace. Mrs.
again no coyotes but a short while
Geex was afraid of getting sucked
later we found a deceased coyote in
up in the train when it went by so
the middle of the tracks. Mrs. Geex
she told me when it reached us she
wanted a picture but I said we could
was going to sit down! No amount of
get it on the way back. We walked
logic was going to change her mind,
for an eternity across the cross
so I kept her moving as fast as we
ties and rocks checking frequently
could with the loose rocks. When we
behind us for train lights.
were about a tenth a mile away from
the road, we could hear the train
barreling down, no whistle, just the
vibration of the tracks and the hum
of the engine. At this point, we were
sprinting trying to get out before it
reached us. About the time our feet
hit the pavement, the train went
roaring by! I couldn’t believe we had
actually made it out before it got
to us! We stripped off muddy boots
and waited out the train.
We tried stopping at a couple
of places to get a drink on the way
home, but nothing was open at 3:00
a.m. in the morning. Despite all the
little mishaps, we had a really good
time and laughed all the way home.
We left home at 10:30 p.m. and got
back at 3:30 a.m. – 5 hours of fun! You
can’t get much more entertainment
for the price of a coke. – GeoGeex
Geo"Snippet
···················
I took my three children out for a
night cache on 10/10/10 thinking
it would be a quick find since I
was there earlier in the day. We
made it to the cache and the kids
all signed the log. They were really
surprised because it was a large
bucket. The only problem was
that I forgot to mark a waypoint
as to where I had parked. We
got so lost and turned around in
the swampy area that I thought
I would have to call 911 for help.
But then I found the right trail
and we made it out. Whew! That’s
a cache adventure we’ll never
forget. – Bigal437
27
±Trail Tales
Two Crazy
I have had two crazy caching
incidents in my six years of
geocaching across the United States.
The first was in Wyoming when
I was a newbie to caching. My wife
and I were doing some caches on
the outskirts of Cheyenne and got
to a small “Preserve” for lack of a
better word - Home on the Range
(GCRZ73). It was basically a section
of pasture fenced off from the open
range with some hills. We were
driving in my wife’s 1997 Toyota
Camry. It had just started to snow,
the really fine, grainy, powder snow
that doesn’t make snowballs. My
wife paused at the entrance and
said she wasn’t sure about this, but
I convinced her the snow was very
thin and it wouldn’t be a problem.
The bad part was that the road was
very gently declining in elevation on
the whole way in, about a quarter
of a mile. We got to a small stream
CachersUp Close
npyskater
Finds:
124 Hides: 1
Meaning of your
cacher name?
npyskater was a screenname
I made up in high school. NPY
stands for “notproyet” and of
course “skater.”
···············································
It’s a great way to go on adventures
with friends. I feel like a kid again
every time I go out. At first I only did
a few but this year I have returned
and I’m more hooked than ever!
···············································
The Great Sinkhole Of 1981
28
GPS and this place didn’t have an
crossing and I saw the cache was
address that I knew of so I gave the
only 150 ft away so I got out and
best description that I could. He
walked over to the cache and
told us to stand by the highway (the
signed in. No problem. We then very
highway that was three quarters of a
carefully did a three point turn and
mile from our car).
started to head out. That was exactly
So we trudged through deepening
when the wheels started spinning
snow, and as we crested a hill we
in place. We tried using some
came face to face with
cardboard and flotsam
a wolf. We apparently
for grip but it was no
To save breath, I
won the staring
go. The car began to
told him I go to the
contest because it
move more sideways
University and I
turned and ran off. I
than forward, downhill
was studying wolf
still think it was a BIG
towards a barbed wire
migration patterns.
coyote, but my wife
fence. Out of ideas I
It seemed easier
swears it was a wolf.
decided to call a tow
to explain than
We wait for 30
truck out of Cheyenne,
geocaching.
minutes with no
but the only cell
shelter until we see the
reception was on top of
tow truck. He let us ride back to the
a hill about half a mile from the car.
car in his cab thank goodness. But
The snow was getting harder and
he begins to ask questions about why
it was getting COLD – freeze your
we are here in a Camry in this weather.
snot cold. We called 411 and finally
To save breath, I told him I go to the
found a tow service open on Sunday
University and I was studying wolf
in Cheyenne but he didn’t have a
migration patterns. It seemed easier to
explain than geocaching.
When we got to the car he had to
go around it on the narrow road to
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
hook up to it, so he passes up hill and
begins to drift down into the side of
Fav:
GPS:
the car, eventually missing it by about
a sheet of notebook paper. The rest
is uneventful, and in the end he was
Cache – I decided to go
a really nice guy and only charged
out at night. The cache
us $90 for fuel. No extra weekend or
was in the water and very
hazard fees. I think he might have felt
hard to get to. I thought I was
bad about almost taking out our car.
going to fall in!
The second story is in Baton
···············································
Rouge. I had left a night caching
Other Comments?
event early in the morning with the
So glad I came across Geocaching.
intent of finding some nearby hiking
It has taken me to places I would
caches I had been wanting to get. We
have never thought of or found.
arrived at Blackwater Conservation
···············································
Area and I had just stepped out
Favorite Quote?
of the car when it began to rain. I
“Wealth is of the heart and mind,
jumped back in and waited it out
not the pocket.” - Pharrell Williams
for about 15 minutes. It was about
···············································
80º F and very muggy as it tends to
be in south Louisiana. Eventually it
±Trail Tales
quit raining so I got out and walked
down a nice slag gravel trail to a huge
mess of blackberry vines where my
GPS was pointing. I began the trek
through the brambles, shedding
quite a lot of blood I am sure. Need I
mention all the vegetation was slick
with fresh rain, and I was sweating
like a stuck pig. About 100 yards of
briers and I entered the woods. Every
tree I touched gave me a shower.
I arrived at GZ to find an old fallen
tree with an enormous root ball of
clay and roots. The cache was called
King of the Hill (GCWXEF) so I used
the roots to climb to the top. There
sat an ammo can, as pretty as you
like. I took some pictures, and put my
GPS in one pocket and my camera in
the other pocket. I lifted the ammo
can up and directly underneath was
a rat burrow. The resident was not
happy I had removed his shelter,
and I swear to you he lunged at me.
I dropped the can and jerked back
in reflex, leaning me backwards over
the top of the root ball. Time went
very slowly then as my arms flailed
for anything to grab onto (there
was nothing). I proceeded to fall ten
feet or more backwards off the ball
landing squarely on my back. No
injuries thank goodness. I brushed
myself off, climbed back up signed in
and replaced the can.
Then began my hike out through
wet trees and brambles. When I got
back to the gravel pathway I patted
my self down in anticipation of an
Earthcache nearby. Backpack, water
bottle, GPS, ca... Where was my
camera? You guessed it – it fell out
of my pocket when I fell off the hill.
Back through the brambles, back
through trees, grab camera, back
through trees, back through brambles.
I still did the Earthcache even after all
of that, and the fishermen in the park
stared at me as I did a soggy-muddy
walk of shame back to the car. My wife
didn’t even want to let me inside. She
said I looked like fresh death.
There are pictures and the full
story in the logs for those caches.
I guess I have relaxed in my elder
geocaching years. – ZSandmann
Cacher&Milestones
1000 Finds
Rocky Mountain Trails
When we arrived home from our
summer vacation we found the
May-June issue of FTF GEocacher
waiting in our stack of mail and
were surprised to see our 100th
find published inside. What made it
funny was our very next geocaching
weekend we had our sights set on
a truck trail through the Angeles
Forest to pick up our 500th find! So
off we went. If we planned it right
our 500th find would be a 4-4 cache
called the Rocky Mountain Trail
Cache. This would be our first 4-4
find so we were excited to be out
on some real dirt roads and find our
500th geocache, too!
The whole road turned out to be
a very interesting drive. We found a
huge iron square built over a wash.
We have no idea why it was built
but the geocache hunt there was
fun. We also found a cache guarded
by a hollow tree full of pet rocks! All
in all it was a great geocaching day
and we did find our 4-4 #500 cache
at Rocky Mountain Trail Cache. We
took pictures all day but we don’t
need a picture to remind us of the
fun times we had. – TSPI and Rysten
steelersrull
State Game Lands #109
(GC184)
August 13, 2011, AKA as the
day that I get my 1000th find
and boy was I glad the day had
finally gotten here. As far back
as June, I can remember making
plans with a friend of mine,
SoupSizzle, on where we were
going to go and what type of
cache I would get on that date.
I chose the oldest cache in PA,
State Game Lands #109 (GC184).
Along with SoupSizzle I got
to sign my 1000th log at 9:13
a.m. on 8/13/11. I also logged
21,832.1 miles for the 1000 finds.
A big “Thank You” goes out to
all involved in my adventure;
SoupSizzle, Braaschburgh,
DMDegilio, mufossa, and
TeamLegoTJL. I look forward
to the adventures of the next
1000’s with all of you.
····················
29
You Know You Are
a Geocacher When...
······························
Every object you see (soda
bottles, TV remotes, plastic
fruit, garbage cans) morphs
into a geocache container
in your mind.
······························
You hear the term “muggle”
used in a popular movie
series and feel gratified that
geocaching is entering the
mainstream.
······························
You make more new friends
in a year than in the 10
years before you started
geocaching.
······························
You would rather spend a
cold winter evening crawling
through snow and bushes
than in front of a warm
fireplace with a cup of hot
apple cider.
······························
You find yourself searching
for the PC Proctology Cache
on a frigid January day in
Park City, Utah. You are
down on your hands and
knees on the icy ground
behind a large bronze
sculpture of a moose and
performing the activity
suggested by the cache title,
while dozens of muggles
walk in and out of the busy
medical office a few feet
away. And, incredibly, you
are not even embarrassed.
(Yes, I did that.)
······························
F-T-F means more to you
than N-F-L, N-A-S-C-A-R,
B-B-Q or S-E- …
(well, maybe not quite!)
······························
You would trade whole years
of TV Guide, Sports Illustrated
or Time for just one issue of
FTF Geocacher.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Submitted by Mark Jones
(himilecyclist)
30
J
Just for Laughs
The Lois and Clark Expedition
Y
ou know how it is.
cords right. Of course, my
You’ve been cooped
head was dipping into
up most of the
the water the whole
winter. Caching is
time, which added to
almost nonexistent
my enjoyment.
because deep snow
Wife: “Sometimes,
has made it almost
you can be so testy.”
impossible to find
Me: “Just give me
anything. Then you get
some more of your
one of those deceivingly
tissues so I can dry my head.”
nice days. The sun comes out,
Wife: “Don’t use them all, I
the snow recedes to a few inches
might need some of them. Its very
and right away you get antsy to go
chilly and my nose is running.”
try your luck. That’s exactly what we
The second stage was uneventful
foolishly did.
so off we went to the third. The
Me: “There’s a five stage multi
third stage was a fairly quick find for
with a bonus cache off Cascade road
the wife. The fourth stage was very
we could do.”
difficult. We were about to give up
Wife: “I like multis, let’s do it.”
when the wife made the find.
Off we went. We arrived at the
Wife: “There it is. How could I
park and started on our quest. The
have missed that?”
first stage was a metal plate attached
Me: “Maybe because you had us
under the wood of a boardwalk in
looking in the wrong area. You had
a swampy area. The wife carries the
the GPS and we were looking sixty
cache bag which holds
feet way over there.”
various things we might
Wife: “Its not my
We were using an
need to help us find and
fault you’re too cheap
E-Trex we had gotten
retrieve stages or caches.
to get a better one.”
from Marlboro
Me: “Okay, give me
We were using an
when we used to
the mirror.”
E-Trex we had gotten
smoke. It had sat
Wife: “Mirror? Oh,
from Marlboro when
in the drawer for a
did you need it? I used
we used to smoke.
few years because I
it while I was primping
It had sat in the
couldn’t figure out
on the way here and
drawer for a few years
how to use it.
left it in the car. If you
because I couldn’t
want, I can try to lay on
figure out how to use
the boardwalk and lean over to see
it. Those instruction manuals can be
the cords. Of course my back isn’t
very confusing. Finally, someone at
as good as yours seeing I had the
work introduced me to geocaching
operation and...”
and showed me how to use the GPS.
Me: “All right, all right, I’ll do it.”
It has worked well, though it can be
There was still plenty of snow on the
temperamental at times.
boardwalk so my clothes were getting
Me: “This one works fine. By the
soaked. I’m not sure if the wife was
way there’s another cache by this
listening – she says I don’t speak clearly
stage. It should be a quick grab.”
– but after repeating the numbers to
We put in the cords and looked
her many times, she finally had the
for about an hour.
J
Just for Laughs
Me: “I don’t know who found this
Wife: “Its pointing out there.”
last but I don’t think they wanted
Me: “You surely don’t expect me
anyone else to find it. I think they
to walk out on that snow covered
took a shovel and buried it.”
log over the swamp, do you?”
Wife: “Here it is. That was sure
Wife:“Sometimes you’re such a
hidden well.”
baby. What are you afraid of? If it
Me: “Good, now let’s go to the
wasn’t for the fact that I walk with a
final of the multi.”
cane, I’d do it myself. That log is wide
At the final there was a slippery hill.
enough to ride a bike across. We’re
Wife: “The GPS is pointing right
here now, and I know the cache is
down there. You go that way and
right over there on the end in the
I’ll go this way. That way we’ll cover
stump. Quit your crying and go get it.”
more ground.”
Me: “Alright, but I just
Me: “Good idea.”
know this is a bad idea.”
After I slid my way to
I worked my
Even though this
the bottom of the hill,
way across without
was the nicest day
the wife found the cache.
incident and found
we have had all
Wife: “Here it is. Let’s
the cache right away.
this winter, I found
get the cords to the
Contrary to what
it difficult to enjoy
bonus. That will give us
the wife tells people,
the weather soaked
three finds.”
when I’m wrong, I am
from head to toe
I’m not saying she
not afraid to admit it.
with muddy, icy
deliberately sent me in
Me: “You were
swamp water.
the wrong direction but
right. Here it is.”
she did make the find
I signed the log and
awfully quickly. With the five stage
started my way back. Have you ever
multi completed, all we needed to
noticed how you can have just walked
do was the bonus cache. When we
on a log without incident? It seems
arrived at the location of the bonus
sturdy and safe with no hint of danger.
it didn’t make any sense. There didn’t
I believe it is luring you to become
appear to be anywhere to hide a
careless. On the way to the cache
cache. Finally, we uncovered a micro
with coordinates for the next stage.
I was a little perturbed because the
wife hadn’t mentioned it too was
a multi. She was supposed to read
seabee89
about the cache while we drove to
Finds:
Hides:
the park.
Me: “Didn’t you read the cache page
on the Palm? This must be a multi.”
Meaning of your
Wife: “You told me it was a
caching name: I‘m a
quick bonus grab so I didn’t bother
Navy Seabee and I joined
because I thought you knew what
the Navy in 1989.
you were talking about. I’ll know
···············································
better in the future.”
Signature item: Seabee
We loaded the coordinates to
carpenter pencils; wooden nickels.
the final. The GPS led us to a path
···············································
on high ground which meandered
I enjoy geocaching because:
between two swampy areas. When
I’m outside! I get to spend time
we arrived at the final I didn‘t like
outdoors with those I love.
where the GPS was leading us.
CachersUp Close
738
14
I hadn’t noticed that the bark was
about to fall off at the slightest touch,
but sure enough that’s exactly what it
did on the way back. When the bark
flew off under my feet, I did a belly
flop into the swamp. Even though this
was the nicest day we have had all this
winter, I found it difficult to enjoy the
weather soaked from head to toe with
muddy, icy swamp water. Scrapping
mud from my face, I looked up to see
the wife howling.
Me: “I told you this was a bad idea.
What’s so funny? This is not humorous.”
Wife:“It is from over here.”
Even walking with a cane the wife
can move pretty fast. She was moving
so fast the cane looked like an airplane
propeller. With me in hot pursuit,
she easily beat me back to the car. Of
course, I was hampered with half the
swamp stuck to my clothes. It took a
while to convince her to unlock the
doors but after a while, when she saw I
was no longer red hot, but more deep
blue from the cold, she relented. In
the car on the way home between
snickers she said...
Wife: “You’re taking those
clothes off in the garage. Now,
wasn’t that fun?” l
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Fav:
GPS:
Memorable cache:
Running through a night
cache in a driving rain in the
middle of dense woods, briars,
creeks, and drop-offs – with a
dead flashlight.
···············································
Favorite Quote: Go ahead,
there’s no possum in there...
···············································
31
M Custom Cache Conundrums
Cacher&Milestones
Blue Blaze Irregulars
ALPHA ALERT
1000 Finds
Visiting Vet Tech
Hill Street Blues (GC13JPY)
1000th Cache! This was so much
fun. The cache came highly
recommended by a friend,
Landondena. We met at GZ at the
appointed time and I was happy
to make a couple of new friends.
FixItFindItdave, osubrownsfan,
and estilo cachorrino were there
waiting for me, Magnet Man,
and Thurston House (who rode
with me). The cache was fun
and easy to find. We did make it
interesting by all wearing “goofy
hats.” After grabbing the smiley,
we logged another 10 fun hides
including a couple that got us
very wet (in December no less). I
don’t think I’ve had so much fun
as a cacher or grabbed so many
smileys that I gave favorite points
to in a long time. This cache
day was great and made even
better by getting to share the
experience with friends!
····················
32
I
have always been a
fan of science fiction.
One of my favorite cult sci-fi
movies is 1984’s The Adventures
of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th
Dimension. Despite its all-star cast,
including Peter Weller, John Lithgow,
Christoper Lloyd, Ellen Barkin, and
Jeff Goldbum, the movie was not
a success at the box office. Even
so, the movie appealed to many,
including myself, who appreciated
its offbeat style and quirky dialog.
Corpus Christi’s newest (and
only) night cache had recently been
muggled, so I set out to create a
Buckaroo-themed night cache of
my own – Blue Blaze Irregulars
ALPHA ALERT (GC2PZCF). The
term Blue Blaze Irregulars refers to
Buckaroo’s all-ages team of citizen
first responders – sort of like the Boy
Scouts with guns.
Having found bigdaddyfire’s
UV (ultraviolet) night cache up in
Kerrville, Texas, I decided UV was
definitely the way to go for a sci-fi
themed cache. I purchased a few
fluorescent fabric markers at a
local hobby shop and went to work
marking the trail along a shell beach
near Portland, Texas.
With the cache in
place and the trail marked
– and some glow-in-the-dark alien
blood thrown in for good measure – I
submitted the listing.
A small clerical error delayed
publication till the following day
so I decided to check on the cache
and found the tide now made it
completely inaccessible without
wading through ankle-deep water.
In addition, an outbreak of “red tide”
had caused quite a few dead mullet
to wash up on the shore. I posted a
warning note to the cache page but
it didn’t stop three hard-core local
cachers from teaming up to claim
the FTF on day one! – ckpetrus
I should have known – the FTF
crew daneill, mojowrkn, and
dhcc turned out to be aliens too!
33
HiBearNation (GC131BD) by erma, Roswell, New Mexico
34

FTF Geocacher Magazine

Transcription

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