VfAk48LJJrNcB1QnPEmU1bJ7a18 Geocache on: April 2012

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Saturday 28 April 2012

Spring into geocaching

We have been having some nicer weather in Calgary this week and I have managed to get out twice to grab a few caches. Adding some smiley faces to our 'found' list felt great after a slow winter with not much geocaching going on.

On Friday I just had time for one hunt and combined it with a walk for our chocolate lab. I had tried to find this multi-cache before and had found the first stage but did not know how to attempt the second stage. After reading a little tutorial on projecting a waypoint with your Garmin GPS I managed to complete the second stage of the cache hunt and found the final container. And Scooby got a great walk when I went a kilometer in the wrong direction before realizing what I'd done!
There are many of these rocks walls (pictured behind Scooby) in Calgary and frequently the cache you are looking for will be hidden in one of the spaces between rocks. The only problem is being brave enough to stick your hand in and retrieve the cache or move the smaller rocks to see if the cache is behind them. I am quite certain one day something will bite me when I reach in so I am very careful!
The final cache for this multi-cache was in a recess between some rocks (not shown above) but I had a view of the cache container before reaching in. I had to be quite stealthy because there were several muggles (non-geocachers) nearby but I managed to sign and replace the cache quickly.

Today while my daughter was at a birthday party, I talked the old goat into doing a few caches in a nearby neighbourhood. We found two small caches and a micro cache before heading back to pick up our daughter. The micro cache was down in a ravine near a footbridge and we were surprised to see that there was still lots of ice and snow in the creek there. Luckily the cache was not under the bridge and we did not have to test the ice or get wet. We did have to disturb a spider from the cache and I was grateful the littlest cacher was not with us as she would have screamed and ran!

I am looking forward to doing more caching as the weather continues to improve. Even if I have to sneak them in one search at a time!

Wednesday 18 April 2012

How to Hide a Cache

Just a reminder that if you want to learn how to hide a cache that is a bit different (non-traditional) there is a class this Saturday afternoon at the CNIB building in Calgary. This will help you learn how to make puzzle caches, multi-caches, and hides that are not your everyday lock'n'lock under a tree! And these skills will help with the upcoming CCARS event in May.
For more information on the Saturday class click here.

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Location, Location, Location

The amazing, relaxing time we had in Cuba was diminished slightly for me because of a poorly placed cache. When we planned our trip to Cayo Coco, Cuba for Spring Break, I was very excited to find out that there was a cache hidden just beyond our resort and would be within walking distance for the three of us. This would be our very first time geocaching outside of Canada! I eagerly printed descriptions and photographs of the area (no GPS allowed in Cuba) and checked to make sure the latest logs confirmed the cache was found recently. I took along a travel bug to leave in the cache and made sure I had a pencil and extra notepaper just in case.

On our second day in Cuba I convinced my daughter and husband to accompany me on my quest for the cache. We had a beautiful walk along the warm beach, put our sandals back on and started searching the area where the cache had been placed. There were plenty of muggles (non-geocachers) and a couple of tourists taking photographs, but no cache. We searched and searched and turned over rocks, and crawled around in the sand, but nothing was found. The area really looked like there had been recent demolition.

In a fit of desperation, I e-mailed the cache owner and asked him to check the cache and let me know if it was still there but he e-mailed back and said he could not get there until the next week. He also said that because of the busyness of the area and the fact that Cubans are keen to pick up anything outsiders leave behind, this cache was often missing and that I should just leave another container and some paper where the cache should have been. I am afraid the owner of that cache has missed the purpose of the game. Or at least the rules. If you cannot find a cache you do not just make another to leave in it's place. There is a chance we were looking in the wrong place or that the cache was really well camouflaged and we just could not see it. But if the cache is in a place where it keeps getting destroyed or taken, then a new hiding place should be found so those looking for the cache are not disappointed and the owner does not need to keep replacing it.

So we returned to Canada with colour in our faces, relaxed and renewed spirits but no out-of-country finds. Maybe this summer we'll go caching in the states.