Here we go again! The end of another year is almost upon us and we have, yet, another prediction of the end of the world. This isn’t the first time we have had such predictions and I am sure it won’t be the last (unless they finally get it right, which I doubt). Personally, I don’t believe in such nonsense but many people do. I am sure that some of those who believe in such propaganda will also count themselves as geocachers. So, what will that mean for them. It will be interesting to see exactly how many geocaches are found on the impending date of December 21, 2012.
The most famous “end-of-days” prophet – Nostradamus. (click to enlarge)
There have been many predictions over the years, too many to count or delve into. For years we have had all of the predictions from Nostradamus, perhaps the most famous “end of times” prophet. So far, none of his detrimental predictions have materialized. More recently, we had the Christian pastor, Harold Camping, claim that, from the Bible, he deduced a mathematical formula that predicted the end of the world on May 21, 2011. Camping uses a mathematical formula linked to prophecies in the Bible. He once predicted Sept. 6, 1994 as Judgment Day, but that math didn’t quite work out. Neither did his new prediction. Frankly, being a Christian myself, I was somewhat puzzled by a self-professed Christian making such a claim about Judgment Day. Christians rely on their Bible. Well, the Bible tells us that no one will know or predict when that day is upon us. How could he, then, figure it out?
The Mayan Calendar. (click to enlarge)
The latest prediction of December 21, 2012 comes from many sources. The most important source is the Mayan calendars. Plural, you say? That’s right! The Mayans, an advanced civilization that flourished from 200AD to 900AD, inhabited a region encompassing southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize & western Honduras. For some reason, by 1200AD, their civilization had collapsed. Nobody really knows why it happened. The latest explanation suggested that climate change in their area caused severe drought. They failed to adapt and were plunged into anarchy where they killed each other over resources. Anyway, they actually used three separate calendars to mark their dates. The first two calendars, called Haab and Tzolkin run for 365 and 260 days respectively. Then they restart. Every 52 years, the two calendars coincide. The third calendar is known as the Long Count. It denotes distinct Ages and runs for 5126 years before a new Age begins. Well, on December 21, 2012, the Long Count ends and a new Age begins. This is where we get the notion that the world will end. Truth be told, the Mayans never actually predicted the end of the world but the end of the world as we know it, meaning some major change will occur. While they may be right about the calendar math, I firmly believe that a new Age can occur without the destruction of the previous age, which is opposite to what the Mayans believed. Also, who is to say that a fundamental change has to happen abruptly. This new Age might bring about fundamental change but it may do it over a period of many years.
No matter what you believe about this subject, we have to respect each other’s beliefs on it. While I find it to be foolishness, I respect the fact that many others take this very seriously. So, I would stress that this post and my feelings on the subject is, in no way, meant to belittle anyone who does believe in these sort of things. With that said, what are your plans as this deadline approaches? Will you be caching on December 21 or will you err on the side of caution and spend it with family? For me, I have to work so I may not get any caching done. I will try to get one cache on that date, however.
Caching on 12-12-12 will earn you this souvenir. (click to enlarge)
How about December 12, 2012? Are you planning any caching then? You should be? Some people have mistakenly confused 12/12/12 as being doomsday. Not so. The significance of dates such as 12/12/12 is the fact that it will be 89 years until one occurs again. January 1, 2101 (1/1/1) will be the next occurance. Why cache on that day? The answer is simple. Geocaching.com has created a special souvenir for that date. If you log any cache or attend an event on that date, you will receive a special online souvenir. For more information on it, please visit Latitude 47.
One of these trackables will be given away at our event. (click to enlarge)
To make it easier to get this souvenir and to celebrate this date with friends, we are hosting an event on this day called Twelve Cubed (12|12|12) (GC41PAX). The event has been submitted for review but hasn’t been published yet. Keep your eyes peeled for it. Obviously, you already know the date. The event will be held at Don Cherry’s on Freshwater Road in St. John’s. Instead of using the special occasion room, which has separate booths, we have asked for one large table made. This allows for better fellowship. We are even giving one lucky cacher a special unactivated 12-12-12 trackable. We hope you can make it. When it is released, please RSVP as soon as you can. We have it booked for 30 people but may be able to extend that number. If you are in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay area, please check out their event, 12-12-12 (GC3XYA5).
If you have any comments about this post or any of our posts, please leave us one using the form below. As always, we welcome your valuable input. Until my next post, Happy Caching!!!
This week’s post starts off with an important question. What is your favorite type of cache? Traditional? Earthcache? Multicache? The predominant answer would be traditional. If we were to do a real survey, traditional would be the answer of choice for most. But what about puzzle caches? I would be willing to bet that very few would cite puzzle caches as their favorite. In fact, a lot of cachers out there won’t ever do puzzle caches, and if they do, they are done as a last resort. Pardon the pun here, but this really puzzles me.
Our Anniversary banner. We are even featured on the $50 bill. (click to enlarge)
I realize that puzzle caches take a bit more effort to get, but they are still fun to do. And in the end, it still counts as a find. As I see it, there are two main purposes to using puzzle caches over the traditional cache. First, puzzle caches are great for conveying information about certain places and people. Take for instance, our new puzzle cache devoted to the Canadian Coast Guard. It is called Canadian Coast Guard: 50th Anniversary Cache (GC3WGV2) and was created for this purpose. I could have easily created a traditional cache but I wanted to bring attention to the Canadian Coast Guard which is celebrating their 50th Anniversary. So, some of the puzzle questions that I asked had to deal with the history of the Coast Guard. The second main purpose to using a puzzle cache is when there is no room to place a traditional cache. Such is the case with three of my Music Is Life Series caches. Music Is Life Series: International Dance (GC31V53), Music Is Life Series: The CITY Beat (GC2YHZV), and Music Is Life Series: O’BRIEN the Celtic Fiddler (GC2YJ0P) are all caches that had to be placed near the music stores but placing them there would have violated the 160 meter rule for the spacing of caches. The only way to get these caches published was to create a puzzle cache at each music store and place the real cache somewhere nearby.
Geocaching in Canada!
While it is true that puzzle caches take more time and effort to complete, a well thought out puzzle can be a fun endeavour. You could even make solving the puzzle a family affair. Properly designed puzzle caches often result in the cacher walking away with several tidbits of information that they probably never knew before. We have another puzzle cache, which is actually listed as a multicache, that serves to enlighten cachers about all the soldiers that died in WWI and WWII. It is called Happy Canada Day! (from Jewel&Gem) (GC2Z4Z9). To find the actual cache, cachers must read all of the plaques at the war memorial to find the clues needed to solve the puzzle. In the process, one learns valuable information about those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free. This aspect of puzzle caches is, indeed, a valuable benefit. By the way, the reason this cache was listed as a multicache was due to a new cache reviewer who insisted on it being a multicache instead of a puzzle cache. There is one drawback, however, to puzzle caches. What happens when the information changes? One of our previously listed caches, Music Is Life Series: International Dance (GC31V53), is a great example of this. Just a few days ago, we were alerted to the fact that a cacher was unable to solve the puzzle due to missing information. The puzzle clues involved retrieving information from surrounding businesses. Well, apparently, some of the businesses are no longer there. I will have to revisit the cache area and create some new clues to replace the missing ones.
Hunting for puzzle caches does, indeed, reuire a bit more work and effort to find. But this should not be considered a bad thing. Sure, it is always easier to get out and find those traditional caches. With puzzle caches, it takes longer to find caches which results in a longer time to increase your numbers. A cacher once said to me that caching shouldn’t be just about the numbers. If it is, you end up losing the fun aspect of geocaching. Well-designed puzzle caches create a different type of fun, but it is still fun, none the least. If you haven’t tried any puzzle caches yet, I would encourage you to try some. Take it from someone who hated puzzle caches, you won’t be disappointed.
Twenty caches form a musical note. (click to enlarge)
If you do enjoy puzzle caches and are interested in lots of them, check out the two puzzle cache series located off the coast of Bell Island. For more information on these puzzle cache series, check out Music Is Life: Mega Series! and Newfoundland Who’s Who!, two blogposts on the series’. Also, what is your view on puzzle caches? Do you love them, hate them, or are neutral. Let us know! Use the comment section below.
As I write this post, the familiar RDF (rain,drizzle, fog) continues for the third day in a row. It is a blunt reminder that our beautiful summer has come to an end. And with the end of summer comes the end of vacations for most of us. The peak season for hotel bookings has come and gone. Some hotels and motels even close after the summer. One type of hotel, however, never closes and is available 24/7. The hotel I am referring to is a travel bug hotel.
A well-decorated TB Hotel. (click to enlarge)
I realize that, most likely, everyone who reads this blog knows what a travel bug hotel is. Just in case I am wrong in my assumption, however, I will digress to explain it to you. A travel bug hotel is like a central place or repository for dropping off any kind of trackables. It provides a convenient place for someone, who is looking for a trackable to move, to drop by and pick up one. For Geocaching.com’s premium members, all we have to do is do a pocket query for caches that contain trackables and simply go to them. Travel bug hotels, however, remain a better option for finding, picking up, and dropping off trackables. Simply put a watch on a travel bug hotel cache, and you will receive an email every time there is activity on that cache. It’s that easy! Or is it?
Perhaps better trackable education is needed. (click to enlarge)
While travel bug hotels are a nice concept, I find that there is a huge downside to them. On the best of days, trackables go missing. New cachers pick them up and either forget to log them as taken or don’t know that they have to log them. Other times, cachers ignore any kind of code of ethics and simply take them. They are never heard from again. For more reading on missing trackables, read our previous blog post called Putting the "Un" in Trackables. Travel bug hotels have the potential to cause large numbers of trackables to go missing due to the fact that they usually contain large numbers of trackables. I recently had to report five trackables in my own travel bug lounge as missing. I am trying to track who could possibly have them but the task is really difficult. I have often considered archiving my travel bug lounge. Somehow, we have to better educate cachers on the importance of logging trackables.
We have a Travel Bug Departure Lounge near the airport. (click to enlarge)
Despite their status as travel bug repositories, a travel bug hotel is still just a cache and cachers still visit them looking for that find and, perhaps, an elusive bug or coin. There are several travel bug hotels and lounges on the island. We have our own travel bug departure lounge located near St. John’s airport. It is called YYT-TB St. John’s Travel Bug Departure Lounge (GC) . The purpose of the lounge is to enable cachers to drop off trackables that they wish to leave the island on a flight. It is also a spot to drop trackables that arrive on a flight. Here are a couple more travel bug hotels located around the province.
In principle, travel bug hotels are great places for moving trackables. If cachers were more educated or played by the rules, they would be great in practice as well. For now, I will leave my TB lounge as is and hope that no more trackables go missing from it. Time will tell, however, if it will survive in its present role.
How do you feel about travel bug hotels? Please take a moment and take our poll.
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Have you ever been to a real sporting event? I am not talking about your local softball game or your child’s soccer game. I mean an NHL game or a Blue Jays baseball game. If you answered yes, I consider you very lucky! If you said no, I share your sentiment. I haven’t been to the big leagues either. I do, however, remember growing up in Corner Brook and attending Corner Brook Royals hockey games with my Dad. One of the most vivid memories I have of those times, aside from spending quality time with my Dad, is a group of Royals fans that all sat in Section A of the old Humber Gardens. The group were called the A-team and were known to be extremists as fans went. They would paint their faces, do the ritual dances at every goal, and throw opposing players off their game by shouting insults. They were so tight as a group that they would travel together to opposing communities, such as Stephenville and Port aux Basques, and upset a lot of opposing fans and players with their crazy antics. You might say that they were die hard, down to the core, fans that truly loved the game. Over the last year, I have learned that Geocaching is no different than many sporting events. Geocaching has its own die-hard fanatics that truly love the game!
Now don’t get me wrong. Everyone who geocaches loves the sport. Yes, I do consider geocaching a sport. It involves physical activity, a bit of brain power and a bit of strategy. Sounds like a sport to me! So, like I just said, every geocacher loves the sport. There are, however, certain people who go that extra distance to show their undying love for such a great activity. I have heard many stories and even seen many actions that prove just how far people will go for the sport of geocaching. Even though my wife and I do not cache as feverishly as we used to, we still consider ourselves geocaching fanatics. While there are numerous examples of geocaching fanatics, this post will attempt to highlight just a fraction of those, starting with the mild and moving to the more extreme.
And don’t you forget it! (click to enlarge)
A fair number of geocachers are, what I would call, mildly passionate about the sport. Cachers in this class are the ones who dress the part. You will find them wearing shirts, hats and coats that bear the geocaching logo or have some catchy phrase about geocaching written on them. I own a t-shirt (given to me by my good friend Diego) that has the phrase I use multi-million dollar satellites to find tupperware in the woods. I have been tempted to buy the shirt shown in the photo but, with a couple of run-ins with the police while geocaching (don’t worry, I am getting to that), I am not sure it is such a great idea. Other cachers, including us, have turned their vehicles into a trackable. It makes events more fun as you are always looking at all the vehicles for trackable codes.
Check out Nails by Megan. (click to enlarge)
While dressing the part is considered just a mild form being a geocaching fanatic, some people have taken it to the next level and have either had the geocaching logo carved into their hair or have had the the logo put on their fingernails. The latter is the case for a local cacher who goes by the username Adempsey. At this years flash mob event, I got the chance to meet her and her nails were quickly brought to my attention. Each one of her nails were done in true geocaching style. In a later communication with her, I suggested that she get a trackable number and make her hands trackable. I haven’t had the chance to see if she actually did this, yet! If anyone else is interested in getting something like this done, her nails were done by Nails by Megan in Portugal Cove.
While I am not a fan of tattoos, this one is cool! (click to enlarge)
I realize that getting your nails or hair done to display your love of geocaching may not be such a big deal. Afterall, these measures are merely temporary. If you give up geocaching (don’t talk those words), you can grow your hair back or paint over your nails. There is no more evidence that you hunted innocent plastic containers in the woods, for fun! What do you think about geocaching tattoos? Is that fanatical enough? I mean, for the most part, tattoos are permanent. You can’t just rub it off like the stick-on tattoos we all used in our childhood. You are mostly stuck with whatever geocaching related emblem you had inked. While I haven’t run into any cachers bearing geocaching tattoos, I did browse the Internet for some examples of this skin artwork. I found several pictures of artwork depicting geocaching in many forms. I even found tattoos that were done with tracking codes. While I am not a huge fan of tattoos, if I chose to get one, I would want a trackable number on mine. If I ever decide to get one (not very likely), I will be sure to let you know.
I have seen these guys twice since I started caching! (click to enlarge)
So far, I have covered the fanatical aesthetics of geocaching. What about the actual activity of finding geocaches? What about first to finds (FTFs)? How fanatical are you about that? I was told a story about a geocacher I know who wanted an FTF so bad that he forgot to put his car in park and jumped out of the car while it was still moving slightly. Is that fanatical enough for you? My wife and I consider ourselves FTF fanatics. We no longer rush to get FTFs at events as it is impossible to get many unless you are first to get to a series of caches located on a trail. Most big events have the caches scattered all over which makes it tough to get many first to finds. We do, however, rush out to get new caches that are nearby in order to get that FTF. We have gone out as late as 2AM, even on dark woods roads. Since coyotes have been spotted in our area, we don’t do the late night, dark woods road caching anymore. We will still go out to get a new, late night urban cache. Our late night escapades have had us run into the law on two occasions, which leads me to this story. A while ago, we were sitting at home getting ready for bed when an alert went off on both our smart phones. An alert on both our phones meant only one thing – a new cache. I looked it up on Geocaching.com to see where it was. It was near my son’s school. It was 12:10AM but we loved getting late night FTFs so we took off in the car for the cache. Upon arrival, I parked the car on the road and walked down an embankment to the wooded area that contained ground zero. As we were standing there, a police car drove past my car and a female officer shined a flashlight in the window. My wife and I stood still and waited for her to see us. She didn’t. She turned around and drove away. As she was driving away, we ran up in the woods to find the cache. While we were looking, I heard the squeak of vehicle brakes and a car door open and close. Then I heard the car door open and close again. I decided to look and, as I came out of the woods, I seen the cop driving away. I told my wife that if she came back, we would have to let her know what we were doing. Well, she came back. We came out and walked towards the police car and attempted to tell the female officer what we were doing. I even showed her my GPS which showed the cache, its description, hint and how far it was away. She appeared to be upset and didn’t want to hear our explanation. She accused us of drinking in the woods. I actually laughed. I couldn’t help it! Why would two forty-something non-drinkers have to drink in the woods when, if we did, we could do it in the comfort of our home. All of a sudden, more police vehicles showed up. In all, there were three police cruisers and the K9 dog unit at our location. A little bit extreme, wouldn’t you say? Now I know why she was upset. I would be too, if I had called that much backup. A male officer showed up and knew what geocaching was. He looked at his fellow officer and told her to let us get the cache and we would go home. She refused and started arguing with him. Finally, I intervened and told them to not worry. We left and went home empty-handed. I, however, returned that morning before work and still got the FTF! How intense was that? Is that fanatical enough for you?
Well, if all the previous examples were not fanatical enough for you, what do you think about a geocaching marriage proposal? This example was actually featured on Geocaching.com and involved a real, published cache. Wow! An FTF is imperative here, would you say? A guy had a cache published and set out with his girlfriend to get an FTF. When asked about the camera, he said he wanted to document a real FTF hunt. Well, she found the cache and was first to find. The cache contained a love note to her asking for her hand in marriage. When she turned around, he was on one knee with the ring. Whew! I was relieved to see that he never placed the ring in a live cache. Could you imagine what a great FTF prize a wedding ring would be? The person who posted the video said that a real FTF hound showed up five minutes after the video finished, looking for an FTF. Wow! True fanatics? No? Well, watch the video anyway!
Team Yo Mama’s Wedding (click to enlarge)
Well, if a proposal done geocaching style wasn’t extreme enough for you, how about a geocaching wedding, so to speak? Two local geocachers, Gilligan and Maryjane, got married almost a year ago. While their actual wedding didn’t take place at a geocaching event, friends of theirs did host an event called Gilligan and Mary Jane Get Hitched (GC31VHH). Many local geocachers showed up and the Bride and Groom, dressed in their formal wear, made an appearance long enough to mingle awhile and get some photos done. It turned out to be a fun time and it was great to be able to share a little bit of their happy day with them! If you research on the Internet, there have even been cases of a full-fledged geocaching wedding. Now that is both fantastic and fanatical.
Now, please don’t be upset at my use of the word fanatic. Please know that I use it only as a compliment and testimony to your extreme love of geocaching. I would love to have a geocaching wedding! However, I have already been married for 21 years. At my age, there aren’t too many great events left that I could use to show I am a geocaching fanatic. Maybe, I could be a real fanatic and have a geocaching funeral when I pass on. What do you think?
Seriously, what do you think? What is the most fanatical geocaching thing that you have done? Please tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also leave us a message letting us know how we are doing! We would love to read your feedback.
I would like to start this week’s blogpost off with a question. What are your favorite types of caches? Are they regulars, nanos, micros, or that dreaded other. Or perhaps you love it when they are not listed. Well, if you are a part of the majority, you would have said that regular caches are your favorite. They are my favorite cache type, as well. But why are they the favorite of most cachers. For me, I love regulars because there is something in them besides just a log sheet. It is exciting to open a regular cache and see what kinds of toys and trinkets are there to trade. To use the geocaching term for these trinkets, we love regular caches because of the swag that they contain. Am I correct in making that assumption?
Normal swag! The business card and QR code are geocaching related.
I have always been asked by some muggle friends of mine why geocachers use the term swag. To be honest, I don’t know why they decided to use that name. Why not call it trinkets or the goods or the treasure (arrrh me mateys)? The dictionary meaning of the word is “a suspended wreath, garland, drapery, or the like, fastened up at or near each end and hanging down in the middle; festoon.” Doesn’t sound like any cache I have ever seen since I have been caching. If, however, you check the slang definition of the word, you will find that swag is “plunder; booty; money; valuables.” Now that sounds more like what is contained in our regular caches!
None of this stuff belongs in a cache.
Lately, however, I have become quite alarmed and, sometimes, disgusted at what I am finding in caches. On a recent quick trip to Grand Falls-Windsor to pick up my niece, I was astonished to find a half-eaten pack of gum in one cache and a pack of Kool Aid water flavoring in another. On a trip around the Baccalieu Trail a few weeks ago, we were disgusted to discover cigarettes and condoms in some caches. What were these cachers thinking? Geocaching is a family activity. There are children finding these caches and don’t need to find any of these disgusting items in a cache. I have even found tampons (unused), tampon applicators, and garbage including a half-licked lollipop that was stuck to the bottom. It is enough to make you gag!
Geocaching.com has three cardinal rules about geocaching. They are:
If you take something from the geocache (or “cache”), leave something of equal or greater value.
Apparently, some geocachers out there never took the time to read these rules as the first one pertains to this growing problem. You must leave something of equal or greater value. Therefore, taking a key chain and leaving a beer bottle cap does not cut it. It also says that you must leave something of equal or greater value only if you decide to take something. That’s right! You don’t always have to take or leave something. If you don’t have something good to trade, then record TNLNSL (took nothing, left nothing, signed log) in your log. Now, while the rules don’t specify the types of swag to leave and a condom could be considered more valuable than a marble, you must use a bit of common sense when trading swag. There are kid’s trinkets in the caches for a reason. I have yet to discover an adult-only regular cache and I sincerely hope I didn’t just give someone the idea to create one. What’s next? I supposed we will start finding drugs left in the caches as well. I certainly hope not.
After thinking quite hard on this topic for quite awhile, I have developed a list of things that do not belong in caches. Not all of them are necessarily bad and I may have missed some. Some of them, you might not even agree with. Remember, it is only my opinion. The following items should never be in a cache:
Food – no food of any kind, including gum, bars, and candy. It attracts insects and animals to the caches. One Canada Day, I placed Ring Pops in my cache for Canada Day only. After Canada Day was over, I removed them and replaced them with regular Canada Day swag.
Garbage – it is pretty disgusting and will also attract unwanted animals to the cache.
Cigarettes and cigars – pretty obvious!
Drugs and drug paraphanalia – another one that is pretty obvious!
Condoms, tampons, etc. – that’s just plain gross. Luckily, I haven’t found any of these in a used state.
Business cards – except where they are geocaching related. A cache is not a place to be advertising lawn care or financial services.
Beer bottle caps/pop caps – this stuff is still considered garbage.
Rocks – unless it is a proper muggle stone. Come on! You had nothing to leave so you picked up a rock and threw it in there. That’s pretty cheap!
Batteries – they start leaking acid after awhile.
Coins – unless the cache specifies coins or it is a first to find prize, it is best to leave it out..
There are probably many more that can be added to this list. Feel free to leave a comment if there are any you wish to add.
The most important issue here is that I am finding this problem starting to become more and more prevalent, just like the disappearing trackable problem. There are things that can be done, however, to help stop this ugly practice. The first is through education. Hopefully, this blogpost will help in that area. You can also help! Educate all of your geocaching friends about this issue. Secondly, if you are guilty of leaving questionable items in caches, go to the Dollar store and pick up a bit of swag. It is fairly cheap and it won’t break you. Lastly, if you have nothing good to trade, simply take nothing and leave nothing.
On a closing note, this problem need not have to escalate if we would only ask one question to ourselves. Is this something I would like to find in a geocache? If the answer is no, then simply don’t leave it. If the answer is yes but it is still a questionable item, don’t leave it either. Let’s all do our part to keep these caches suitable for our children!
I started this post off with a question so I am also going to end it with a question. What is the weirdest or most disgusting item you have found in a cache?
Do you have anything to say about this post or any of our posts? How are we doing? Is there anything you would like us to cover? If so, please drop us some comments. We thank you for being a part of our readership!
Would have stayed warmer if I were caching! (click to enlarge)
Last weekend, a combination of household chores, bad weather, and my nephew’s soccer tournament prevented us from doing much caching. We managed to take in the Cache The River #6 event as well as a few quick finds. That was pretty much the extent of our geocaching adventures. As I sat in the chilly temperatures at my nephew’s soccer game, my mind turned to caching and I began to find a correlation between the two. Are you puzzled right now? Surely you are wondering what soccer and geocaching could possibly have in common. Aside from the physical exertion, the running (only if you are trying to race other cachers to an FTF), and being outdoors, soccer and geocaching appear to have nothing in common.
Sure, on the surface, a lack of commonality rings true. However, the one thing that should be common (and I need to stress SHOULD) is teamwork. Some of you are thinking about that right now and most are probably puzzled by that statement. Nowhere in the Geocaching rules or Geocaching 101 does it state that we need to geocache in teams. Sometimes it does help to do the hunt in teams. I was amazed and skeptical when I found a geocacher that has over 80,000 finds. How could one person do that much? I later found out his user account encompasses a team, which makes his numbers make more sense. However, that is not the teamwork I am referring to in this post. The teamwork I am referring to is helping one another maintain caches.
All packed up to head to the Weddingcache! (click to enlarge)
During the Canada Day long weekend, Gem and I decided to go down to Topsail Beach to enjoy some of the sun. I realized that there was a cache or two that we didn’t have, so I went online to retrieve fresh logs for my GPSr. As I read the logs for the Weddingcache (GC82EE), I noticed that the cache was in bad shape. It was a beef bucket but was missing its cover. That meant that everything inside was probably ruined as well. Therefore, I went to the cupboard and grabbed a spare bucket cover. I went to my geocaching tote (yeah, I keep one of those) and grabbed a fresh log, plastic baggie, and some swag. I also took some paper towel, in case the bucket needed to be cleaned out. Upon arrival at the beach, we hiked the 500 meters to the location and found the cache hanging on a tree. It was in really bad shape. We dried out the container, added a new log, salvaged what we could from it, and added some new swag. We sealed it with the new cover and re-hid it the way it was supposed to be. We even placed a trackable inside to entice more cachers to hunt for it.
Become a cache samaritan. (click to enlarge)
The idea of helping another cacher look after their cache could make for a long and heated debate. Some cachers would say it is the right thing to do. Others would argue that it is the responsibility of the cache owner and that they shouldn’t place a cache they can’t take care of. The latter group would be correct in their assertion. However, sometimes certain conditions arise that prevent a cache owner from maintaining their cache. Perhaps they are on a long vacation or gone to a summer home. Perhaps they have moved and forgot to take out the cache. In my case, I have a cache on Random Island called That’s So Random (GC30XG7). The latest logs say it is wet. Due to busy work commitments, I have not been able to get out there to fix it up. I would love it if a cache Samaritan, of sorts, would rescue the cache by drying it out and replacing the log. Now I, in no way, think that it is anyone else’s duty but mine to perform the task. It would, however, be a nice and much appreciated gesture.
I realize that this sentiment is just my own opinion, which is not shared by everyone, but I have been on the receiving end of caching Samaritans several times. I have had cachers show up to find my cache only to find it has been muggled. What did they do? They used one of their own to replace it and logged it as a find. While this gesture wasn’t at all necessary, it is very much appreciated. In fact, once, I had a cache that went missing. I was waiting for some replacements to show up in the mail and disabled the cache until they arrived. It took a few weeks to recieve them and one cacher wasn’t patient enough to wait. They replaced it themselves and signed the log. Regardless of their motives, I thank them for being a cache Samaritan. It is my hope, someday, to be able to return the favor; to work together as a team, so to speak.
Just some of the items I try to take caching. I do forget sometimes. (click to enlarge)
Now, if you are going to adopt this policy of lending a hand when needed, there are some basic supplies you must have with you every time you go caching. You will need something to carry it in such as a backpack. The following is a list of essential items:
Spare cache containers – it is best to carry a selection of nanos, pill bottles, and lock and locks, if you can fit them in your pack. The little gold nanos can be purchased (6 for $4.50) at Lee Valley Tools.
Paper towel – For drying out the container; one roll will suffice.
New log sheets – can be printed by visiting TechBlazer.
Zip-loc bags – for keeping the log dry.
Couple of bungie cords.
Some spare swag.
Most of this stuff can fit in a packsack. If you read the logs on a cache you are hunting for, you can get an idea of what supplies you need. One important thing to remember is to not change the nature of the cache. In other words, don’t replace a regular with a nano. Also, if you fix a cache, don’t forget to write a note on it telling future hunters that it is fixed. You might also email the owner who will be grateful to you.
I suppose if we were to debate this for awhile, someone would come up with many reasons to adopt this practice while others would have plenty of reasons for countering the practice. Some might even say that it is only fitting to help the cacher as a means of payback for taking the time to initially place the cache. However, I have a different take on it. I would look at it as more of a pay it forward kind of deal. You are paying it forward to future cachers who will reap enjoyment in finding the cache intact with a signable log. That is something we all wish for when we go caching – a dry signable log.
What are your thoughts on this post? Do you agree or disagree? Please leave a comment. There is no right or wrong answer here so please weigh in. Since pennies are soon to be no more, give us your ten cents (two nickels) worth.
Before I even begin this week’s blog post, today is my 21st wedding anniversary. I want to wish my wife a very Happy Anniversary! I love you, dear (or should I say Gem)!
Now, this week’s blog post.
The travel bug symbol. (click to enlarge)
Whether you are a new or veteran geocacher, you can relate when I say that there is a certain excitement experienced when you find a cache. It doesn’t matter what type of cache, the excitement lies in the fact that you found it. What more excitement could there be aside from that and the fact that the location might be spectacular or somewhere you have never been or seen? How about when you discover a trackable inside? Does that add just that much more excitement? It does for us! We love to find trackables in caches and look up where they have been and where they want to go. We even try to find a way to get them there. It doesn’t matter what type of trackable it is. It could be a geocoin or a travel bug. They are all the same to us. We love finding them! We have even sent some of our own on their way to travel the world. They make geocaching much more fun that it already is.
A travel bug. (click to enlarge)
While trackables may add a bit more fun to geocaching, “un”trackables work to detract from geocaching. What are untrackables, you might ask? They are those trackables that are suppose to be in a cache but seem to have fallen into the great abyss. Nobody knows where they are. They were there in one log entry and gone in the next log entry. They are comparable to socks in the washing machine that seem to go in the washer but never come out. How often have you looked at a cache that says there is a trackable inside only to find it missing when you get there? The result is extreme disappointment and sometimes even anger. Often you wait for it to be logged as perhaps someone got there just before you and retrieved it. You wait weeks and sometimes months and still no sign of it. It is gone.
The travel bug was left in plain site onboard the ISS. (click to enlarge)
It is extremely hard not to get upset over this. People spend money on buying trackables and set them in motion for the sole purpose of tracking their whereabouts and reading about where they have been. Some cachers want it to travel as far as possible and rack up the miles, especially if they are part of a travel bug race. Just recently, I read about the trackable that travelled on the International Space Station (GC1BE91). It traveled over 350 million miles and made it safely back to earth. Nobody decided to take it or throw it out the airlock, even though it was left out in plain site. Ethics won out! Why can’t the same work for all of the earthly caches out there?
A geocoin.
In the case of trackables gone missing, obviously, some cacher took the trackable and decided to keep it or forgot to log taking it. A small percentage disappear due to being in a cache that has been muggled and destroyed. The majority are simply taken by cachers or never logged. This is, both, an unethical and unacceptable practice. Geocachers need to be more respectful of other people’s property. Trackables belong to someone other than yourself and should be treated that way. I have compiled a list of guidelines, per se, that should be followed when removing trackables from caches.
Do not remove a trackable unless you have the intention of moving it. Simply write down the number and leave it for the next person.
If you do take a trackable, log it as taken as soon as possible. With today’s smartphones, you can now do that in the field.
Never hang on to trackables for long periods of time. Personally, I wouldn’t hang on to them for longer than two weeks.
If you must hang on to them for extended periods of time (to bring to an upcoming event perhaps), write a note on the trackable’s page that indicates this.
If a trackable’s goal is to travel the world, never place it in a remote cache that hardly gets visited. Instead, log it as visited. Dropping trackables in remote places causes them to lie dormant for long periods of time.
Never place trackables in caches that are in high muggle areas. These caches have a high risk of being muggled and the trackable being lost forever.
If you have a trackable that needs to go by air or you are flying somewhere, try placing or retrieving trackables from a cache located near an airport. In St. John’s, you could use our cache called YYT-TB St. John’s Travel Bug Departure Lounge (GC2X6C9). It is meant as an Arrival/Departure area for caches that need to fly.
With over 5 million geocachers worldwide enjoying this great treasure hunt, the number of trackables that are traversing the globe must be astonishing. With a bit of ethics and common sense, we can all enjoy discovering trackables and sending our own on their way, worry-free. Through being a geocacher in the truest sense of the word, we can keep the “un” out of trackables.
How about you? Have you lost any of your trackables? If so, how many so far? Let us know!
Caching Heaven 