tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69759023390190185442024-02-07T21:20:25.163-05:00The many Adventures of GeocacheGeekGeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-79806021986105771652009-11-15T22:51:00.006-05:002009-11-16T00:06:40.579-05:00Old School Navigating aka Orienteering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatT1V1GoWm4CAtdhJ2iTnVNZGX7wCKwyF-tYLaJGPWaDCIUSX3_wf79tn7RdOtsjuZzpZUqCjvh9xI69NelcKZ6-wnON1j44Yu-wnsHqjcB_o9lFmr_rFwbt2UjdspyXFo8Vaxhn3Zls/s1600/DSCF9785.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatT1V1GoWm4CAtdhJ2iTnVNZGX7wCKwyF-tYLaJGPWaDCIUSX3_wf79tn7RdOtsjuZzpZUqCjvh9xI69NelcKZ6-wnON1j44Yu-wnsHqjcB_o9lFmr_rFwbt2UjdspyXFo8Vaxhn3Zls/s200/DSCF9785.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404560393227469666" border="0" /></a>This past Saturday LittleTurtleMan and I attended the November meeting of the <a href="http://ggaonline.org/">Georgia Geocachers Association</a> at Oconee Veterans Memorial Park in Watkinsville, Georgia. The event was organized by Geomuse and Railroading and our guest presenter was Kevin Haywood, VP of the <a href="http://www.gaorienteering.org/">Georgia Orienteering Club</a>. Kevin set up a 9 stop Orienteering Course for us to run using old school Map & Compass skills. No Coords, No GPS, just good old map and compass.<br />The course consisted of 9 stops. Each had a marker bag with a custom hole punch that puts pinholes in a pattern unique to each marker. The goal was to be the fastest person/team to hit all 9 markers and punch their map in the designated punch section (seen down the right side of the map in the image). Two of the markers (138 and 139) were mystery markers that you had to figure out their location based on their map coords listed next to their name. <br />This event brought back many memories of my time in the scouts and camping with friends and family. Getting the ol compass out and showing LittleTurtleMan how to use it was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Before the event we hit some local caches at Butler's Crossing and also hit a few afterwards with some friends. <br />It never hurts to learn how to navigate and do things the old fashioned way because you never know when your GPS will die and leave you out in the middle of nowhere. <br /><br />Be Prepared.GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-12983147594879412642009-10-19T16:00:00.005-04:002009-10-19T16:10:55.147-04:00The Ultimate Geocache Container<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQR4_sn4xPKJ8Lv7pl-mPikXdEpUbiv7iI7bBwUtDxRXYV0zfLURFyCqeIrElCwWFn5CPqwx-BkZoLVxWvJboawkPdqKFhuSI7dFJJ_lCsajs02xqQmvc2NxvdNrP69kJyWjHnFwAA74/s1600-h/500x_Mikal_Hart_GPS_puzzle_box_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 141px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQR4_sn4xPKJ8Lv7pl-mPikXdEpUbiv7iI7bBwUtDxRXYV0zfLURFyCqeIrElCwWFn5CPqwx-BkZoLVxWvJboawkPdqKFhuSI7dFJJ_lCsajs02xqQmvc2NxvdNrP69kJyWjHnFwAA74/s200/500x_Mikal_Hart_GPS_puzzle_box_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394404145041234658" border="0" /></a><br />How's this for a container. A GPS enabled lock box that will only open when taken to the correct coordinates. Sound too good to be true? Well it exist.<br /><br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5384893/gps-puzzle-box-only-opens-in-one-specific-location">GPS Puzzle Box Only Opens In One Specific Location</a><br /><br />How cool would this be? To have a container that won't open unless its in the right place? Imagine the possiblities.<br /><br />From the Article:<br /><br />"The box has a button and an LCD display on the lid. When you press the button, the display will show you how far, in kilometers, you are from the goal location. It doesn't give you directions, so you need to triangulate where you're supposed to go via trial and error. Oh, and you can only press the button 50 times"<br /><br />That would be a serious kick ass cache hunt. Too bad the cost would be prohibitive and the technology would make the cache very tempting for muggles to steal. Even worse, some muggle could find it and just press the button 50 times to render the cache useless.<br /><br />Detailed blog post with pictures of the cache and its making can be found at here: <a href="http://arduiniana.org/projects/the-reverse-geo-cache-puzzle/">http://arduiniana.org/projects/the-reverse-geo-cache-puzzle/</a>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-41657284658580139332009-10-13T07:18:00.003-04:002009-10-17T10:34:28.523-04:00Geocaching in the Local NewsSome of my Geocaching buddies were featured in a Local CBS News Report (<a href="http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/19678971/index.html">Geocaching Is Fun, Free Game</a>) about Geocaching. I haven't hit "The Ruins" yet but after seeing it definitely plan on hitting it for the experience of exploring the area. Sure they exposed the hiding place on TV but its the adventure that drives us, not just the find. I'll embed the video once I figure out how to snag a copy but for now the link takes you to CBS Atlanta's video page for the story.GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-41746956902174193492009-09-13T22:24:00.000-04:002009-09-14T13:01:03.148-04:00Just in the nic of timeTook the family up to the Ga. Geocachers Association September 09' Meeting <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c3a1f364-b38a-4319-834b-1b2fc93bb85e">GC1WCGQ</a> this past Saturday. This meeting was a bit out of our normal caching territory so it was really cool to meet cachers outside of our normal circle. Many others from our area attended as well so it was great to hang with them too. The host had a cool idea for a Event Cache (no smiley credit but still fun). They hung a paper plate on the shelter that simply said, Find the Coords, Find the Ammo Can. That was it. It was up to the attendees to figure out where the coords were and then act on them. It turns out the coords were embroidered in the hats of the host and his associate. The cache was located a nice .22 mi hike away from the shelter around a small cove in the lake. Before we left to make the find I asked one of the guys with the coord hats if there was time to make the find before the door prize drawing. He said there was and we headed out. Apparently he was a bit off. ;) We went with a local friend, had a nice hike and got the find.<br />As we returned and were walking up the path back to the shelter, I hear them calling out ticket numbers. 183........183...(CRAP! I start digging in my pocket for my ticket to check the number while picking up the pace)......Last call for 183...(frantically digging for the ticket now and walking faster)...going once......going twice.......(found the ticket and it was indeed 183)... HERE!!! We got back just in the nic of time. There were only 3 prizes left to choose from so I chose the small packet from DragonFly Dreams and it had 3 path tags in it. Quite a nice addition to my growing geocaching treasure collection.<br />We finished up the meeting by chatting with some local cachers and just sharing stories and cache experiences. All in all it was a great afternoon spent with friends and family.GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-66696024314542791092009-08-28T15:26:00.005-04:002009-08-28T16:04:03.263-04:00Geocaching Under Attack<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuAFJLSnyHyb1bF9kG-12Y1P6G23lwEgTvTazfvPwhj6R6jdeT8NDMzGzYuFQz0xWMv-fsqGOtPfsUMpBuBQmonzXhgegRbP9WPL3rdJPZL7xrChzATwg99gi1K8n9ZSFQTTJO-Uhjyo/s1600-h/thestupiditburns.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuAFJLSnyHyb1bF9kG-12Y1P6G23lwEgTvTazfvPwhj6R6jdeT8NDMzGzYuFQz0xWMv-fsqGOtPfsUMpBuBQmonzXhgegRbP9WPL3rdJPZL7xrChzATwg99gi1K8n9ZSFQTTJO-Uhjyo/s200/thestupiditburns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375106160309857970" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.myscsg.com/2009/08/28/new-geocaching-legislation-for-south-carolina/"></a><a href="http://www.myscsg.com/2009/08/28/new-geocaching-legislation-for-south-carolina/">New Geocaching Legislation for South Carolina<br /></a><br />Effective June 2, 2009, South Carolina has joined the ranks of the over reacting stupid. In a knee-jerk reactionary measure, they have followed neighboring State Georgia in banning geocaching on all wildlife management areas, heritage preserves, and all other lands owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. H3794 was signed by the governor (please vote him out for this stupidity) and a person violating the new law is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than twenty five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both.<br /><br />One of my former bosses and one of the best I have yet to work for had a saying:<br /><br />"YOU DON'T SPANK <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ALL</span> THE PUPPIES WHEN <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ONE</span> OF THEM SHITS THE BED!!"<br /><br />Based on the article members of the SC DNR staff have found geocaches placed in sensitive areas on at least three Heritage Preserves. So based on a few geocaches in the wrong places, the SC DNR decides to have a knee-jerk reaction and ban geocaching in all state parks and land. <span style="font-style: italic;">BRILLIANT</span> Idea Idiots! You already bitch and whine about funding and services and now you take an entire group of people who love to be in parks and the outdoors, and pay parking fees to do so, and tell them that they (and their money) aren't welcome anymore. Next year when State Park revenues are down and you're scratching your collective asses trying to figure out where the money went, just remember you brought this upon yourselves.<br /><br />Its not like people that place geocaches are anonymous. Contact information for EVERY cache owner is documented on <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/">geocaching.com</a> and easily accessible. Creating an account is FREE, easy, and just in case figuring out how to compose and send an email is beyond your technical abilities, there is a neat "<span style="font-style: italic;">Send Message</span>" feature built right into the site on every users Profile page. Its that easy. Hell, all a state official has to do is contact Groundspeak and request that the caches be removed and no more allowed in certain areas and that request would be honored. Approvers would be informed of the No Caching zones and no further cache approvals would be granted. Its that fracking simple. No law required. No time wasted legislating what could be EASILY controlled without wasting tax payers money and representatives time crafting an unnecessary law. <br /><br />Don't you have better things to be doing with your time and tax money? <br /><br />How about fixing your damn roads! Every time I pass through your state its like driving on 1800's cobblestone streets. Sheez, how hard is it to pour smooth roads???GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-618309799731885482009-08-10T20:30:00.003-04:002009-08-12T11:24:10.950-04:00What's in your pack?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UK68LGySaYyPVDh7Hh5v3nuDXS6UG5kHAzoiE45PVhMo-E0d61KxctDXG01h2hXAyDxK1jmomsBGs-xSeLoc8ey_2dLIhnr1D3B2smlCCvQLhd86jln4Gl5vkY5KaOQx4fmXRrl9a6I/s1600-h/Venturi+30.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UK68LGySaYyPVDh7Hh5v3nuDXS6UG5kHAzoiE45PVhMo-E0d61KxctDXG01h2hXAyDxK1jmomsBGs-xSeLoc8ey_2dLIhnr1D3B2smlCCvQLhd86jln4Gl5vkY5KaOQx4fmXRrl9a6I/s200/Venturi+30.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368854010293829378" border="0" /></a><br />The question always comes up on podcast and at gatherings, What do you carry in your caching pack? My pack is a <a href="http://www.rei.com/product/762506">Venturi 30</a> day pack (pictured left). It has an external frame arced away from the back to keep a nice opening between me and the pack. This prevents the typical sweat soaking that usually comes with wearing a pack all day. It is Hydration System ready so I put a <a href="http://www.rei.com/product/767110">Platypus 2.0L</a> bladder in it. I wanted a 3.0L (only $3 more) but they didnt' have any at the time :(<br /><br />I like this pack because, in addition to the hydration system and other storage pockets, it has 2 front side pouches that I keep the small, commonly needed items in. (sharpies, knife, flashlight)<br /><br />In the pack (or in my pockets) I carry an assortment of items:<br /><ul><li>GPSr (Garmin Oregon 400t)<br /></li><li>iPhone (for posting Field Notes immediately as well as PAF/Emergency needs)<br /></li><li>Swiss Army Knife (the tweezers come in handy for Nano Cache Log extractions)</li><li>Notebook (Multi-Cache Note taking)</li><li>Digital Camera (I document all my finds and steps of multi caches)<br /></li><li>LED Flashlight</li><li>Spyder-Co Knife</li><li>Mini Fine Tip Sharpies (yes more than one)<br /></li><li><a href="http://www.rei.com/product/736308">First Aid Kit</a></li><li>Extra Logs for most Cache Sizes<br /></li><li>Extra Ziplock Bags (sandwich and large) for cache maintenance of ripped/torn bags<br /></li><li>35mm Canister with some <a href="http://shop.groundspeak.com/productDetail.cfm?CategoryID=13&ProductID=114">Evil Nano Caches</a> (just in case a good spot presents itself)<br /></li><li>Some extra 35mm canisters and 2L pre-forms ready for placing (just in case)</li><li>3-4 Ponchos</li><li>Extra Shirt (Red to double as signal flag if necessary)</li><li>Leatherman Multi-Tool</li><li>Sunscreen</li><li>Deep Woods Off Bug Spray</li><li>Tylenol/Advil</li><li>Packs of Salt (I get headaches if I don't eat salt every so often when hiking)</li><li>Misc Snacks and Bars (in case we don't want to stop for lunch)<br /></li></ul>On long hike days I take my walking staff for poking around and knocking down spiderwebs, and of course I always have my caching hat on :)GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-72457388229479316112009-08-10T11:53:00.000-04:002009-08-10T13:21:15.119-04:00OMG! I almost DNF but got the FTF! SL TFTC!...huh?Acronyms. <br /><br />A friend recently into geocaching asked me about the Geocaching Acronyms today and it hit me I had not yet compiled a list. I'll list them here for those that are new to the hobby/sport and I'll make a side note for them as a permanent fixture on the blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CITO</span> - Cache In Trash Out<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PAF</span> - Phone A Friend<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TFTC</span> - Thanks For The Cache<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TFTQF</span> - Thanks For The Quick Find<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TFTH</span> - Thanks For The Hide<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TNLN</span> - Took Nothing Left Nothing<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SL</span> - Signed Log<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">YAPIDNKA</span> - Yet Another Park I Did Not Know About<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FTF</span> - First To Find<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DNF</span> - Did Not Find<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">GZ</span> - Ground Zero<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BYOP</span> - Bring Your Own Pen<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PQ</span> - Pocket Query<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LPC</span> - Lamp Post Cache<br /><br />This, of course, is not all the acronyms you will come across. These are just the most predominate ones that you will likely encounter every day. There are variations and additions plus more information over at <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eprime.suspect/geolex/">Prime Suspect's GeoLex (The Lexicon of Geocaching)</a>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-27481164727460324212009-08-09T22:19:00.002-04:002009-08-10T12:47:47.092-04:00GGA August 2009 Meeting - GC1VZHF<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m-YNnIKKxJNuptYo-cfJQZ3VUy401yw5d_udOHgjAKxJV93x4eCeWrxFstPDWQhDJs9rPyjA_X96LPDOak_w493jmutj-VElM8bGK-D-8kLICtlkr6pr2YjWogrbRkclk-rhi1Kqhyphenhyphens/s1600-h/DSCF8916.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4m-YNnIKKxJNuptYo-cfJQZ3VUy401yw5d_udOHgjAKxJV93x4eCeWrxFstPDWQhDJs9rPyjA_X96LPDOak_w493jmutj-VElM8bGK-D-8kLICtlkr6pr2YjWogrbRkclk-rhi1Kqhyphenhyphens/s320/DSCF8916.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368376050163888146" border="0" /></a><br />We had a great time at the Georgia Geocachers Association August 2009 meeting this weekend. This was the annual Sssssnakes event presented by Dr. Mark Patterson Phd. We learned about all the typical Snakes that will be seen in this part of Georgia as well as their habits and attitude. Plus, we learned that its actually ILLEGAL in Georgia to kill a non-venomous Snake. Its punishable by a $1000 fine and jail time if caught and prosecuted. This was news to me and good information to have. The meeting gave me a great opportunity to meet all the local (and some not so local) geocachers whose caches we've been hunting for the past 3 months. We even met a few new friends that I've not cached with before or hunted their caches. After the very informative Snake Presentation we grouped together the roaming band of misfits and hit up the 4 caches that were in the park. 4 caches might not sound like alot but 2 of them involved over 2 miles of hiking trails to gather all the info (multi's) and then find the cache. All in all it was an awesome day with good people and lots of stories to swap. We can't wait until the next meeting to do it all again.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geocachegeek/sets/72157621868561337/"> GGA August 2009 Meeting Photo Gallery</a>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-89627536092643439912009-08-07T08:19:00.001-04:002009-08-07T13:50:58.896-04:00The Scars of Trailblazing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHxNQJSEUguM49172oavpEJZV94JwXJBXRPhEirZNus4b5ZbF3gFWZWR15064kWdd5FfmcBBMjETp0JIGd7nD0_O-E1YAfbt_wVquIhiFnQX0_VlLQd6G-HnCtSyxl9oLNAleUJSDH8o/s1600-h/DSCF8864.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHxNQJSEUguM49172oavpEJZV94JwXJBXRPhEirZNus4b5ZbF3gFWZWR15064kWdd5FfmcBBMjETp0JIGd7nD0_O-E1YAfbt_wVquIhiFnQX0_VlLQd6G-HnCtSyxl9oLNAleUJSDH8o/s320/DSCF8864.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367279459213148626" border="0" /></a><br />I'm a Trailblazer. I see the arrow on the GPS and if it says go straight through that heavily weeded, vine encrusted, thorny area then come hell or high water, much to the dismay of my following family, I'm going to head that way. :) I am also not one for wearing jeans in the hot spring/summer months. In Georgia that pretty much means most of the year since Winter is something that we get for a few weeks, maybe a month or two, or just see on the News from other areas of the country. You guys out there get something they call "Snow?" Not sure what that is as we never see it down here. :) Due to the weather being so warm/stinking hot I'm always in shorts so I've gathered all sorts of new scrapes, scratches, and scars in the past few months of Geocaching. I've probably lost a pint or two of blood along the way but I got those Smileys :D<br />Yes, sometimes I trailblaze to a cache, fighting my way through Mother Nature's minions, arrive at the cache, stop and take a moment to sign the log only to stand up and notice the nice neat return trail leading back out from the cache in another direction. Hind sight is 20/20, Oh Well! can't win em all.GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-62933805230393344302009-08-06T20:49:00.000-04:002009-08-07T11:18:11.541-04:00Geocaching without a GPSrYes, I said <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">without</span> a GPSr. Believe it or not, it can be done. I've met (online) a local person who does it every day. With today's access to online information and satellite imagery you can get started in Geocaching without the up front expense of a $300-$600 GPSr hand held device. Simply by using the Maps and Satellite Images on <a href="http://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> or <a href="http://maps.bing.com/">Bing Maps</a> you can zoom in on the location of most Urban caches with no problem. Rural caches are a bit trickier but can be done if you have a good sense of direction or at least a compass. You end up doing a bit more searching without a GPS to help you zone in on Ground Zero but its the thrill of the hunt that draws us to Geocaching anyway so it all works out in the end. :)GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-75331117371752100202009-08-05T22:52:00.003-04:002009-08-05T23:03:14.860-04:00Stay on target....Stay on target....Logan and I hit a quick 11 caches this afternoon bringing the total up to 192. Just need to find 7 more to hit before Saturday's <a href="http://www.ggaonline.org/index.html">Georgia Geocachers Association</a> Meeting <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c1b235f9-0248-4321-b405-528e71939a3e">GC1VZHF</a><br /><br />My goal is to make the GGA Meeting my 200th Cache Milestone.<br /><br />On another note, so far only one person has found my <span style="font-weight: bold;">Destination Evil</span> cache <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=7e88d113-a95a-4e8d-aef1-c980b8d22ecc">GC1WQMK</a><br />I guess I did a good hide for my first Evil Nano :)<br /><br />See you Saturday 2-4pm at <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=34.039983&lng=-83.877417&zm=15&mt=m">N 34° 02.399 W 083° 52.645</a>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-7762938493951079492009-08-04T21:58:00.003-04:002009-08-04T22:05:08.232-04:00Time to get EvilSo I got some nice Evil Nano caches the other day and decided to place one in a nearby park. I chose a hide method that mimics the first ever geocache that we found. Mainly because it was such a pain in the ass but also because I wanted to have one that wasn't a simple walk up and grab. My first 6 caches are either simple LPCs or other fairly easy walkup style caches so it was time to raise the difficulty level.<br /><br />I've been following and finding the caches of a local 'Cache Master' I guess you could call him. He's rather ingenious and has taught me TONS about Geocaching simple through his hides. I know when I go for one of his that I better be bringing my 'A' Game of it'll be a DNF for sure. I'm sure he'd appreciate this one and he even posted a note that he was refraining from the FTF hunt because he knows which cache I'm copying and would have an unfair advantage. How sporting of him :) (Thank you sir if you're reading this)<br /><br />Local cachers should beware though. This is just 1 of the 8 Evil Nanos that I ordered so more Evil hides will be showing up in the coming weeks. <br /><br />Mwahahahahahahahhaha :-DGeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-35679534502288216962009-08-02T23:45:00.003-04:002009-08-07T11:33:25.034-04:00Ow Ow Ow OwWent to a local cache today to give it a try now that it has been replaced after being Muggled. While I was making my initial pass I didn't see it right off so I began my more detailed inspection of the area. In my first 'detailed' pass back over the area my left middle finger got introduced to a very angry Wasp nest. Luckily it was just one that found me and he only hit my finger twice but holy crap it was like fire and lightning hitting me. I did the back-away-what-the-heck-just-hit-me dance and yelled to my son to RUN! He darted away and I followed. So did the Wasp. He was a persistent lil bugger but gave up after a few feet. I was then able to yank off the caching pack and break out the first aid kit. Anti-Sting wipes may sound silly but boy did it help. The pain was quite annoying but the swelling and tightening of the finger movement was even more annoying.<br /><br />I got to thinking back and realized this is my first Wasp sting in over 20 years. Hopefully I can go another 20 without repeating this experience. I definitely DO NOT recommend it.<br /><br />And no, I didn't find the cache. To add insult to injury, Mr Murphy of Murphy's Law decided to start raining on us so we headed for the car and went for some lunch. I'll revisit the cache another day this coming week but this time I'll have Wasp Spray! Vengeance will be MINE!!<br /><br />MWAHAhhahahahahhaahGeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-74474010477947539802009-07-27T22:03:00.001-04:002009-07-29T23:07:54.121-04:00Closing in on 200Did a big run of 18 caches this past Sunday and 5 today in Monroe. Just 21 to go until my next milestone of 200. Gonna have to hit the site and come up with a good run of caches to do in the next day or so before the weekend gets here. <br /><br />Lyme Disease treatment is going rather well. Still on the Antibiotics awaiting my appointment at the Infectious Disease Specialist in a week or so. Hopefully he can give me whatever super meds are required to knock this out for good. So far its not impacting my ability to cache or work. Just waves of random tiredness and some itching is all I can report to date. Catching it in Phase 1 is critical for successful treatment and from what they say we caught it in time. /Whew ;-)GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-17972525170759856212009-07-11T23:08:00.000-04:002009-07-17T13:10:01.147-04:00Documentation beyond the LogPart of my Geocaching Fun is documenting my Adventures. I don't just SL TFTC all the time and move on. I do a few extra steps at each cache.<div>I try to photograph (with geotagging) each of my Finds in addition to signing the log and trading swag. I then file them with the Name of the Cache and the cache code for later reference. I also document every stage of a multi and write up and screen grab the solutions to all the Puzzle Caches I've encountered. </div><div>Some people may think this is a bit excessive or exposes too much of the sport but I disagree. Geocaching is not just about the Find, its about the Journey and the Hunt. All parts of that are what makes up the Geocaching Adventure.It is the Adventure that I wish to preserve in documentation. It'll be something that I can leave for others to learn from and see what fun Geocaching has become for me and my family. <div><div><br /></div><div>I recently set up a Flickr Feed of my Adventures:</div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geocachegeek/sets">http://www.flickr.com/photos/geocachegeek/sets</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC0000;">****SPOILER ALERT****<br /><br />DO NOT VIEW THIS GALLERY IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS FOR CACHES YOU MAY NOT HAVE FOUND YET<br /><br />****SPOILER ALERT****</span></b><br /><br /><ul><li>The specific location of every geocache we have found will be shown in these pictures.</li><li><br /></li><li>Solutions to Puzzle Caches will be displayed</li><li><br /></li><li>Individual Steps of Multi Caches will be shown and identified</li><li><br /></li><li>Some very Unique and Creative Caches will be unmasked within</li><li><br /></li><li>Consider yourself WARNED and enjoy the pics</li></ul></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></div><div>Its set to Friends and Family only for the moment but once I get things sorted out and organized the way I want it I'll open it up to Public Viewing. In the mean time just add me as a contact on Flickr and I'll Friend you if you want to take a peek. </div><div><br /></div><div>Good Hunting</div></div></div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-79756659793132454662009-07-10T00:58:00.000-04:002009-07-10T12:08:30.434-04:00Puzzle CachesEver since I started caching back in May I have avoided Puzzle Caches. I don't know why, I guess I was just more focused on the Traditional caches instead. Today I decided to take a look at the slew of Puzzle Caches that are around my immediate area. I must say I now regret avoiding them for this long. They are excellent mental puzzles and learning experiences to break up the monotony of daily conference calls and work. I took some mental breaks today and worked up the solution to 7 of the closet Puzzle Caches. They had me translating Navajo, doing word finds with no word list, deciphering garbled keyboard output, and doing some funky math where 11+2=1 was the only clue. Every one of them was a new and unique challenge and I now have all the solutions ready to head out after work tomorrow and locate. <div><br /></div><div>Went to get new glasses tonight and was just itching to get at least one cache in before heading home. Luckily for me there was one right at Chic-Fil-A where my wife wanted to have dinner. I'm driving slowly thru the parking lot looking at the iPhone (forgot the Garmin) and picking my parking place based on proximity to the cache location. As I got further away from the door passing many empty parking places I hear "SIGH! You're looking for a cache aren't you! LOL!" I could only grin and pull into the parking place near the cache. It only took a few minutes to locate, the iPhone 3G is not the best when it comes to caching. Once I got in the general area I just let geo-sense kick in and BAM! got the Smiley. It did help that I have just ordered the same type of stealth cache that this one was a duplicate of so I zeroed in on it rather quickly once I got close. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow, all the Puzzles will fall to my mad caching skillz :D LOL!</div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-36170938652694972582009-07-08T18:45:00.000-04:002009-07-09T22:36:39.016-04:00The Perils of Geocaching<div>Leave it to me to discover one of the more serious perils of Geocaching despite all my preparation and prevention. Lyme's Disease. I have 2 tick bites at the belt line that have developed the rash and itch that just won't go away and has spread. After 2 weeks of self medication with Hydrocortisone Cream with no results I finally went to the Doctor. He looked at it and listened to my tail, drew some blood and Yup, I have tested positive for Lyme's Disease. </div><div><br /></div><div>What sucks is that I have literally had hundreds of tick bites in my life. I grew up on a farm, was in Boy Scouts, hiked and camped my whole life, and now geocaching. A myriad of ticks have died at my hands so statistically I guess it was just my time to win the "tick lottery". Man what a bunch of crap! ;) LOL</div><div><br /></div><div>So now I'm on 21 days of Antibiotics, Steroids, and anti-itch meds and then its back to the Doctor to see how things are progressing. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm still caching. No stupid tick is going to keep me down! I do have the satisfaction of knowing that I killed the lil bugger that did this to me. :D</div><div><br /></div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-68084485457745196392009-07-04T22:50:00.000-04:002009-07-10T11:55:08.710-04:00Whoops!<div>***SPOILER WARNING*** </div><div>details for a cache will be exposed in this post, do not read if you cache in Stone Mountain Park, GA and do not want to have a HUGE hint for one of the multi-caches</div><div>***SPOILER WARNING***</div><div><br /></div>Went out caching today and had just 1 on our radar, a multi at Stone Mountain Park with an unlisted number of stages. Description said to plan on 3-4 hours to complete it. The wife and I headed out with plans to get it out of the way then move on with our day as the heat got worse. Little did we know that our 3-4 hour adventure was about to take a rather interesting turn. We got to the coords of Stage 1, a Covered Bridge, and began our search. Its a single lane bridge with a pedestrian path and rail on one side. I had remembered the cache description saying that the first Stage was on the Island end of the bridge and the GPSr took us there. My wife was searching below and I was searching inside the Covered Bridge on the walkway when she came up with the find. Keep in mind this was 4th of July weekend at Stone Mountain Park. Muggles were crawling all over that island and surrounding area but it was still early. She made the find without drawing attention and then we got the info and replaced the cache. We then took off to the coords listed and began our search. At GZ for the coords we found I noticed a large tackle box hidden in a pile of fallen trees and limbs. I thought to myself "Wha? This cant' be it, we're just on Stage 2, WTF?" Sure enough, I opened the box and discovered the log and some items that were listed on the cache page. We signed the log and left scratching our heads wondering if the joke was on us. I emailed the cache adopter, the original owner has since abandoned this one and moved, and asked him what the joke was. We traded a few emails back and forth while I was walking back to the car, I love my iPhone, and eventually we figured out that my wife found Stage 8 and not Stage 1. I had overlooked four simple words in the description. Stage 1 is on the <i>inside of the bridge</i> on the island side. Apparently the original owner made a very elaborate 9 Stage Multi that takes the cacher back to Stage 1 for Stage 8 but the hide is outside of the bridge for Stage 8. My wife had found the wrong cache but we didn't realize it. <div><br /></div><div>So the Whoops! here is 2 fold. First the original owner placed a Stage too close to another Stage. To me this is a problem waiting to happen but apparently from my review of the logs, we are the first to make this mistake. So maybe I'm wrong but still it seems problematic. Second Whoops! is my missing the <i>inside of the bridge</i> part of the Stage 1 description thus robbing us of a fun Multi cache and hike. </div><div><br /></div><div>With the ever increasing Muggle population due to the Holiday we decided to just get outside the park and hit some Urban Caches in the nearby shopping areas. We are planning on going back and doing this cache from Start to Finish properly but for now we'll take our Whoops! Smiley and wait for the day we go back to find the other 7 Stages. :)</div><div><br /></div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-40953045243903839742009-06-28T20:03:00.000-04:002009-06-28T22:22:39.454-04:00I finally figured it outI finally figured out why I am so interested in Geocaching. It hit me the other day as I was driving home from a successful round of caching. <div><br /></div><div>Geocaching is like a real world version of World of Warcraft. Sure there are no monsters or demons to slay or dungeons to clear or bosses to take down but the questing is very similar. Content and Questing are my favorite parts of World of Warcraft. I'm more of a content player anyway. Geocaching is a real world version of World of Warcraft Questing. You have a destination, a treasure to seek and then a find to log. The quest is the hunt, the treasure is the cache itself (and any trinkets you trade), and the Experience gain is your Smiley and incrementing of your total Finds. I have spend the past 5 years playing World of Warcraft pretty much weekly if not daily and ever since I took up Geocaching I haven't played much at all. Sure I still log in every once in awhile and see what's going on and goof off a bit but the real world pull of Geocaching has drawn my attention away from the game and replaced virtual questing with real world questing. Plus it gets me off my arse and gets me moving.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to more finds and leveling up my Geocaching :) </div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-25663377951745432552009-06-27T21:55:00.000-04:002009-06-28T22:03:08.256-04:00Holy Crap! I'm surrounded....That's what I keep saying to myself. Every day when I look around my general area for geocaches to go seek I am finding yet <i>another</i> park that I had no clue existed. There are parks crammed in some of the most obvious places. Places that I've driven past a hundred times. Places that I never would have thought a park existed. Sometimes its behind a shopping center. Sometimes its behind a curve in a road that I have seen but never ventured down from the main road. I'm discovering all sorts of interesting and wonderful parks now that I'm geocaching. They're all around me. Its really odd that I've never noticed them before but they are in just the right spot to be out of sight (and noise) of the main roads yet still be easy to get to. <div><br /></div><div>Geocaching has definitely opened my eyes up to a whole new world of Parks to take my family to for fun and play even when we're not 'on the hunt'. :)</div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-91381057358682448532009-06-26T22:04:00.000-04:002009-06-26T22:34:21.377-04:00Incredible Customer Service - CoinsAndPins.comFor Father's Day my wife and son got me a few Geocoins. They both had been paying attention while I was browsing around the internet the other day for some neat and interesting Geocoins. The week before, I found <a href="http://www.coinsandpins.com">CoinsAndPins.com</a> and ordered myself a <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/nocturnal.php">Nocturnal Geocoin</a>. Through geocaching I have become interested in how they did all this navigating before we had the ol GPSr to guide us. The Nocturnal looked like the most interesting of the bunch that they have and I commented on how I'd like to have the other ancient navigation "tools" as well one day. So for Father's Day I received my unexpected presents. A <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/quadrant.php">Quadrant Geocoin</a>, an <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/marinerastrolabe.php">Mariners Astrolabe Geocoin</a>, and a <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/planisphere.php">Planisphere Geocoin</a> along with what is now my favorite caching shirt - <a href="http://shop.groundspeak.com/productDetail.cfm?CategoryID=7&ProductID=96#">Focus</a>. <div><br /></div><div>As I was sitting with my son looking at the new toys I took out the Planisphere Geocoin and was trying to show him how it worked. I said "you see, you spin this ring and Polaris is always in the... Where's Polaris???...." Then it hit me. I looked at the front of the Silver casing and noticed the words "Southern Hemisphere" Like me, my wife had just gone for the Silver case over the gold/bronze looking one because we both prefer silver over gold/bronze. I hadn't noticed, when showing it to her online, that there was one for each Hemisphere. Oh Crap was our first thought then it was off to the computer to check CoinsAndPins return policy. After reviewing their policy I found we had 20 days to deal with the mistake if they would indeed exchange it. It was definitely our fault and not a mistake on their part. My fault for failing to realize the 2 coin differences and my wife's for ordering what I had shown her. Then again I guess that makes it my fault over all but who's counting :) </div><div><br /></div><div>I called their Customer Service line and left a VoiceMail with a brief description of the problem and my call back number. After not hearing back that day I decided to just fill out their online form and see if that worked better. If they were like me they work better from email rather than phone so I sent in my request. I got an email back from them the next day and was told to just send back the Southern Hemisphere Geocoin and they'd replace it with the Northern Hemisphere no problem. Excellent! I thought. So I put "mail back planisphere geocoin" on my "To Do" list for the week and kept getting busy and being unable to make it to the Post Office in time before closing. Then today the most interesting thing happened. A package showed up from CoinsAndPins.com containing my replacement Northern Hemisphere Planisphere Geocoin! I still haven't had time to send back the goof order and they still went ahead and shipped me the replacement! Most companies are rather stingy and demand the return of the original order before they'll even process the replacement. CoinsAndPins.com went above and beyond in helping me fix an order that was messed up through no fault of their own. It was a mistake on our part and they were under no obligation to do anything until I returned the original planisphere but they did it anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>That right there is EXCEPTIONAL Customer Service and that is the type of company that gets its customers and that I will gladly continue to do business with in the future. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm really looking forward to their <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/ringdial.php">Ring Dial Geocoin</a> and <a href="http://www.compassrosegeocoin.com/sextantnavcoin.php">Sextant Navigation Geocoin</a> and hope to add them to my collection later this year when they become available.</div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-77623537575254794792009-06-26T01:48:00.000-04:002009-06-26T22:04:06.667-04:00Poison Ivy - itchy lil bugger isn't heAt work the other day my boss sent out an email letting everyone know that she was off to the Doctor for a steroid shot as she had gotten Poison Ivy again. Poor Traci can just look at the stuff and it heads straight to her eyes :( I had previously advised her about <a href="http://www.zanfel.com/help/">Zanfel</a> but that is only for after exposure and breakout and would do little to help her around the eyes. A fellow cacher, who is seriously allergic, told me about <a href="http://www.ivyblock.com/ivyblock.php">Ivy Block</a> and my wife had just discovered <a href="http://www.teclabsinc.com/products.cfm?id=1F5604C8-9D05-4675-56129F6D83DF2417&section=1">tecnu</a> so I came up with a simple list to share with her, and you, for future prevention, removal, and treatment.<div><br /></div><div><ol><li>Before you go out, if you're going to be trailblazing or hitting the woods, cover your exposed leg skin and arms with <a href="http://www.ivyblock.com/ivyblock.php">Ivy Block</a>.</li><li>If you forget Step 1, after you've been out and exposed, use <a href="http://www.teclabsinc.com/products.cfm?id=1F5604C8-9D05-4675-56129F6D83DF2417&section=1">tecnu</a> before you shower and clean up to remove any residual poison ivy/oak oils</li><li>If you forgot both Step 1 and 2 and begin to break out its time for the <a href="http://www.zanfel.com/help/">Zanfel</a></li><li><a href="http://www.zanfel.com/help/"></a>If all of the above doesn't help or you break out around your eyes then seek immediate medical attention. </li></ol></div><div>Of course if you are careful and avoid any and all 3-leaf vines you'll safe yourself a world of itchy hurt :)</div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-15990961919834178602009-06-25T01:23:00.000-04:002009-06-25T10:04:54.948-04:00A Lesson LearnedGot a call today from my friend Bripod regarding a recently published cache - <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9637b5bb-fcf0-4865-8673-ac5a1361cab6">Burning Thing GC1TFQ</a>. Like me, he saw the publication alert and figured it was late when it came out so he'd leave it to one of the Monroe area cachers to FTF. After a few cachers gave it many hours of searching, a few reached out to him and he to me for a meet up and assist. We met at the cache and began our search. Burning Thing (a title that actually has nothing to do with the cache as far as we could tell) was quite a challenge. We spent probably an hour going over every square inch of Ground Zero. The cache is rated a 1.5 Terrain and 2.5 Difficulty. This information is not entirely accurate so it threw us off. I won't go into the finer details of why its not entirely accurate as to not spoil it for those that haven't had the pleasure of this hunt. Suffice it to say that the tools mentioned in the Description are REQUIRED and not optional, that alone should increase the difficulty to a 3 or 3.5 :) <div><br /></div><div>My lesson learned on this cache was to never just trust "running your hand" over something to mean that you searched a place. I practically stared right at this one and ran my hand over it at least 3 times. I was so close and on top of it that had it been a snake I would have been bitten many many times over. Bripod made the find after doing a bit more investigation above and beyond what I had done. </div>GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6975902339019018544.post-8958601087725955882009-06-23T12:49:00.000-04:002009-06-23T13:10:43.362-04:00100 caches and countingGeocaching has officially become a full fledged hobby for us now. My son and I are the obsessed ones while my wife says she'd prefer fall/winter caching so there isn't as many weeds and undergrowth to trudge through. ;) I'm a trailblazer/bushwacker. If the GPS says go thatta way and there are weeds in the way I just trudge right on through them. :-D Her? Not so much. <br/><br/>For Father's Day we hit Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve to do some caching. We had an awesome time but called it a day around 2:30 due to the heat. It was 100deg according to the thermometer in my walking staff, the Prius reported 97deg so suffice it to say it was damn hot. We were drenched and only hit the 5 caches around the North end but had a great time. We'll go back on a cooler or overcast day to finish up the remaining 8 caches. I think it's really cool that these caches are available and supported by the Preserve. Kudos to them for supporting Geocaching. <div class="iblogger-footer"><br clear="all"/><p style="text-align:right;font-size:10px;">[Posted with <a href="http://illuminex.com/iBlogger/index.html">iBlogger</a> from my iPhone]</p><br/></div><br />GeocacheGeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288908691811110136noreply@blogger.com0