Watery caches and Rats

This is part two of our return trip from Vancouver to Calgary and when we left off we were in Merritt for the night.
After a quick complimentary breakfast at the motel, we checked the GPS and determined that there were two nearby caches that we wanted to try to find before leaving Merritt. The second one hinted that water would be required to obtain the log book so we made sure to fill a bottle for that purpose before setting out.

But first a simple drive up cache that proved to be literally a drive-up for us! The name of the cache was Refuel and the GPS was taking us to the parking lot of a grocery chain store so I drove my truck in and parked without watching the GPS. It was quite surprising then when the littlest goat turned on the GPS and discovered we had parked directly beside the cache. She hopped out of the truck, lifted up the object she thought was covering the cache and pulled out a RAT! Thank goodness it was a rubber rat container for the cache!

We always enjoy caches that are a little out of the ordinary, ones that the cache owner has taken some time to plan either a cool container or an interesting place to visit. The next cache we looked for was just that sort of cache. The container itself was fairly easy to find. But to get the log book out you needed to pour around 500 mL of water into the outer container to make the log container float to the top so you could grab it. Nice work! And a physics lesson built in!

After two successful cache discoveries, it was time to start driving again, heading North toward Kamloops. Allen kept checking the GPS for caches near the highway and eventually we came across a cluster of three that were off a small side logging road and located near a lake.

Aptly named Helmer Lake cache, Helmer Lake 2 and Helmer Lake 3, the first one took us to the remains of an old log cabin. And when we got out of the truck we saw the lake. A beautiful calm lake surrounded by trees with a handful of people camping around this hidden gem.   

 The other two caches were not far from the first and were quick pick-ups for us. We sat here and ate some sandwiches and enjoyed the view before getting back on the highway.


More cache stories tomorrow. Some rock scrambling, a coffin, and a rare bird sighting. Stay tuned!!

Just Do It!

Lately I have been trying to get my family out for more caching together. Although we always enjoy our caching adventures, it is still hard to motivate them to just get out the door. So a couple weeks ago I asked my daughter if we could try to do one cache a day for a week. And it worked. As long as she knew there was no pressure to get a long list of caches checked off, she was willing to jump up and go. And I made sure to choose cache locations that included a park with swings, or an easy drive-up find, or one we could bring a friend to. So we completed the week with eight caches found and a new outlook on caching. If you are trying to motivate others to go along with you or you are trying to motivate yourself off the couch or away from the computer, just set small goals and have fun on the way. As they say, its not the destination that is important but the journey.

Today the skies were dark grey with thunder and rain about to spill down any minute. But knowing that in Calgary, the clouds could just as easily blow away altogether, I rallied the family out of the basement and into the car for a quick drive to Nosehill Park. There were three caches fairly close to a parking lot (within 600m) and I thought we would start with the easiest one and if it went well try another. I gave my daughter our Oregon 200 GPS and I used the iPhone app from Geocaching.com to navigate our way to Bushdee (GC21RWH). Our chocolate lab Scooby Doo was thrilled to be along on this adventure and she bounced along the trail chasing the ball we were throwing for her. The trees and the gully we were walking in gave the iPhone a bit of satellite trouble but the Garmin had no problem and the cache was soon in hand. The littlest cacher was still happy so we continued up the hill to find Beating Around the Bush (GC1B5GZ). We had looked for this one before but were unable to find it due to the snow cover on the ground. So we were very happy when the oldest goat came up with the goods and we checked off another find. The littlest goat got her hair tangled in a tree and ended up with a sappy knot but it didn't dampen her spirits so off we went for a third search. I didn't really think we would be able to find this one, DUCKY TAPE ROCKS!!! (GC3NZ8G) as it was listed as a 5 for difficulty (on a  scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being easiest) and a 3.5 for terrain. We had to do a bit of bushwhacking off the trails and a bit of back-tracking while we looked for a good way down into a gully. The hint indicated that the cache container was going to be a fake rock so we checked a few rocks without success. And then the oldest goat found a rock that rattled and that made three happy faces for the day! And not a drop of rain.

CCARS12 puzzle caches

If you are taking part in the CCARS event this weekend in Calgary now is the time to try to solve as many of the puzzles related to the puzzle caches as you can. The puzzle cache descriptions and puzzles were posted earlier this week to give everyone a chance to solve them ahead of finding the actual cache.

I have only solved and found a few puzzle caches in my history of geo-caching as I am not sure how to approach some of the more complex puzzles. I think we need to ask for a class in puzzle solving for the next how-to class in geocaching. I'm sure I would not be the only one learning something there.

For a look at some of the puzzle caches ready to solve go here. Good luck!! And see you on Saturday!!

Geocaching 201 this weekend

There will be a special workshop this Sunday afternoon in Calgary where you can learn everything from how to choose a good container to where is the best place to hide that container. The workshop will be held at the CNIB building in the Northeast from 2pm until 4pm and there will be an indoor presentation and then an outdoor demonstration. Everyone is welcome including children. For more information or to confirm your attendance please click here.
I am hoping to look for a few caches tomorrow so I can post about them on my blog. Please keep checking back! And if you decide to go to the workshop please say hello if you see me there!

Quick cache find

Yesterday my daughter and I went out to find a geocache in our own neighbourhood. I had seen the listing on geocaching.com but, knowing it wasn't a difficult one, I wanted to wait for a day when we could do it together. Alana took the lead with the GPS receiver with a reminder to let it orient itself after she was out of the truck. Then she led us to the right tree and I spotted the container. It was a winter friendly hide (not buried under snow) and a good size container holding lots of swag for trading. We signed the log book, replaced the treasure with swag of our own and replaced the container where we found it. Then I remembered I had planned to photograph the container for my blog so we took it back out, moved to a spot that would not offer spoilers and took the photographs. You must remember when caching, that you don't want to give away the location of the cache to the next cacher or anyone checking the logs on-line, so don't put the actual hiding place in your photographs and be careful what you say when you enter your comments on-line. These unwanted hints are called 'spoilers' for a reason! If you want to make a comment that may give away hints there is a feature on the website that will encript your log so that only someone who wants hints can read it.

Where do I start geocaching?

I am always surprised to talk to someone who has never heard of geocaching, yet I wonder if I would have heard about it if I wasn't involved in a field that uses GPS receivers. Even though I had heard of geocaching, I didn't actually start until a good friend took my daughter and me caching with her family. Then I realized this could be a great family activity not just a hobby to pursue on my own. If you are just hearing about geocaching, check out geocaching.com which is filled with information and how-to videos like the one above.
If you don't want the expense of purchasing a GPS until you know if you enjoy geocaching, check your local library to see if they lend out GPS receivers and instruments, just like checking out a book. There are 30 GPS receivers available across Calgary libraries along with coordinates for the Calgary Parks 100 year anniversary geocache challenge. As a celebration of their 100th anniversary Calgary Parks hid 100 caches in city parks to encourage residents to visit our beautiful city parks. This is a great way to get a taste of what geocaching is about without leaving the city.

With over 3000 caches in Calgary and more than 1.6 million caches worldwide, you are not limited to your own city for geocaching, but it is a great place to get started.

Welcome to geocaching

Welcome to my geocaching blog. My goal is to introduce more people to geocaching as a fun activity for families, a good date activity, a way to stay active when you retire or an excuse to get out and see the world!

Geocaching is the term for treasure hunting using handheld GPS (global positioning system) receivers. This game started in 2000 and has caught on around the world. There are even apps for cell phones so you don't need to buy a separate GPS.

I am a relatively new cacher as I have been searching for caches for three years but have only found just over 200 caches in three provinces. I started caching with my daughter and husband when we moved to Calgary and wanted to get a feel for the city. 

We started by checking out the world wide geocache website which is free to join. This site publishes the coordinates of all caches hidden in the world. You can locate caches nearest your home or caches in a destination to which you will be traveling.

Last summer we traveled to Waterton Lakes National Park geocaching along the way through Alberta and into the park. We made more stops and went down roads we may not have ventured if we hadn't had a mission! I hope I can help turn you onto this adventurous new sport.