Geocaching with milesmac

This has nothing to do with directly with geocaching, but it may influence where I search and hide caches from this point on.

We had an offer accepted on a property in Rosser, Manitoba! So mid August we'll be moving to just over 2 acres of gorgeous park-like land and a nice little bungalow that we'll pick away at and enlarge over the next couple of mortgage terms.

Geographically, we'll be north of the 50th parallel. Can't wait!

In the last couple of weeks I have accumulated three FTF's, largely because there is an active placer in my neighbourhood so they're quick to get to. While I was eager to post the finds online, I wondered how an early posting of an FTF would affect cachers in the immediate future. I suspect that more cachers would be willing to pop out and grab the cache if there was a chance of being first. Once the FTF post is made, there is less urgency to get it, and it is just put on the 'yet to find' list.
So, as eager as I am to post my FTF logs, I think I will practice waiting 24 hours before posting to encourage other visits.

My most productive times caching, and the most enjoyable, and eco-friendly, were caching the Power Trails in Montreal. Along hiking trails in the parks caches are spaced between 160-200 metres apart. Makes for a nice diversion along the hiking trail. I particularly appreciated not having to get in the car every 10 minutes to get to the next cache.

I'm thinking that the cachers in Winnipeg could cooperate with the hiking association to cache along city trails.

I've always liked the look of the Chrysler 300. While I was in Montreal Enterprise offered me a double upgrade from the economy I booked to the 300 for just $5 a day. Sure, why not...

Now, I know this isn't a caching article, but I used the car for caching, so... close enough.

The car is quite comfortable, drives nicely, has lots of guts, and the features inside are nice.

But:

The windows all around are too narrow. When pulled up to the stop line at intersections I had to lean forward to see the traffic lights. With the front windscreen sloping forward as much as it does, I couldn't attach my gps mount to the front and still be able to reach it.

The slope of the window also means that the frame supporting the window on the left and the right slopes, thus imposing a huge barrier to vision - watch out pedestrians... you're in a big blind spot just prior to emerging directly infront of the vehicle!

Performing shoulder checks was ineffectual. The right side offered a partial view while on the left, fron the driver's side, the view is impeded by the headrest, the wide frames between the front and back windows, the narrowness of the windows, and the slope of the frame at the back.

As nice as the interior looks, having a shiny chrome trim around the gearshift on a bright sunny day has predictable effects. *AHH! I'm BLIND!"

Part of the cool look of the car is the elevated appearance. This is accomplished by increasing the height of the doors. The top of the door is almost level with your shoulder, the consequence of which is an angle of vision that doesn't allow you to see even the next lane. Makes it very awkward to drive into narrrow spaces, like parkades.

Anyway, I still managed to get 40 caches with it. The sound system streamed my radio dramas just fine. (I listened to the BBC production of The Day of the Triffids - I think the movie Signs took their alien sound from this radio drama). So, it was interesting to drive, but I no longer want to buy one.

Had a blast in Montreal - cached each morning before the conference started and the first night got together with another Manitoba cacher that was there at the same time. Over the 4 days I managed to log 40 finds. There were a couple of puzzle caches that I had solved but didn't find. That was a little disappointing. The weather for the last couple of days was miserable too, but overall, I was quite happy.

What I learned about caching on this time out was the importance of a map when in unfamiliar areas. I had looked up a collection of caches that were in a park and within a reasonable distance of each other. All was going well until I came to a point where there was a large lake/swamp. No bridge in sight, and the cache is on the other side. Or is it...

With an actual paper map, or a printout from a mapping program, I could have plotted out a route around it, and a more logical sequence of finds than simply moving from East to West, or North to South. As a result, I spent a bunch of time working my way around this swamp; another time I had to backtrack to find a bridge, then determined I was on the wrong side so backtracked again, then realizing I was right the first time, had to get across to the other side. I walked across a log jam. Fairly successfully, I thought... only slipped once nd dunked my right boot into the water.

Lesson learned: map it out!

I have created a few caches and just love it. The most interesting part of the process is coming up with a puzzle that reveals the final coordinates. The harder part is finding and placing the actual cache. I have a few ideas for some Multi's but I need to find the place to put them. Have a couple of ideas but haven't had the time to scope them out yet.
So my caches so far are:

Educator-Cache (GC11Q6Q): traditional basic hide - blah, boring. Did it mostly just to try placing one.

Nights of Pythagoras -or- Death by Triangulation (GC11R0C): This one I like - the puzzle is good, had been thinking about it for some time and builds on some geographical features that are neat to see in Google Earth. This is a Math based puzzle.

It's not entirely platonic, Mr. Johnson (GC1214J): The original title for this one was, "Platonic? Hardly! This'll get your Johnson Solid" If you look at the cache puzzle and you are familiar with the shapes, you'll get the title. The cache reviewer felt that the title may be offesnive to the general caching population, so I changed it. This one is a textless puzzle - no words to reveal the final coordinates and is based on Geometry.

MiniMac's Splashy Toddler Toybox (GC1251G): Made this one with Carlen. It's a child-friendly puzzle with printable worksheets for little cachers to complete and solve the final coordinates. I really like this puzzle, not because it is difficult, but because it makes it is accessible for young cachers.

Sound Splash (GC12F3F): This is another textless cache based on sound. Musical clues reveal the final coordiinates. I like this one because even those with little musical background will be able to recognize at least one of the pieces and from there determine the rest of the clues.

A Splash of Marjoram TCDNMB (GC12HW5) This cache is a traditional hide. Nothing fancy. It was placed too quickly and I was not as prepared as I should have been. I do want to move it a touch from where it is to somewhere more accessible and into a place that will have less impact on the setting. THis one is in Portage la Prairie, my home town. I'd like to place more caches there because it has become such a beautiful little spot - would be nice to see more people travelling through.

Last week I went out caching with a few other people. Four of us hopping in and out of the car from 11pm until 3am (on a school day!) playing hide and seek with plastic containers! All of us had previously found at least one of the caches that the others were looking for so it was fun to watch, and tease a bit, while the others were searching.
CachePooling also partially addresses the environmental concern I had about consuming more fossil fuels in pursuit of my new hobby. One cacher in Manitoba has purchased a hybrid vehicle to reduce the amount of gas required, and thus the cost of getting from one find to another. Something I'd like to do at some point too, just because I hate vehicles and the cost of them, so the less I have to pay, the better
Anyway, was a ton of fun, lots of laughs, and I can't wait to get out again with a group.

I achieved my goal of finding 100 caches before the end of the school year. Easy! I've revised the goal now to 200 before the end of June. I suspect that will be easy too. Summer should be interesting. I'm thinking that finding 300 in the summer should be achievable, so to have 500 caches before September is the longer term goal.
I'm excited about caching in Montreal when I'm there in May for a conference. I found a little motel that is in close proximity to a few dozen caches. After arriving and picking up the rental car, I plan to check in then start a caching marathon. I'll have Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, and Monday morning to cache, then the conference starts. Is it unrealistic to think I might be able to get 100 caches in that time? hehehe. We'll see.

First to Did Not Find - there's no certificate for that, but I was the first to post a DNF on a cache that, today, I was convinced I would be the FTF. The e-mail came in just after lunch and I had a lunch break followed by a prep period. Now, normally I stick around and get some stuff done, but the timing was just too perfect for this.

I'm not going to be all dramatic about it, because there was no drama. I arrived. I searched. Looked up, down, around, over, under, in, below, beside, above... nothing; at least there was nothing that I could see. I'm sure the cache is there, it just eluded me today, and I only had about 30 minutes good searching time before I had to zip back to school to do a lesson on erosion, groundwater, and just generally how water interacts with the world.

At least I was successful in THAT Students seemed to enjoy the simulation and we have a video of it for further analysis.

Oh well... in the summer I'll have more flexibility to chase after those FTF's. Would be nice to have at least one.

Friday night Carlen asked about treasure hunting and started gathering up some of his toys to place in a cache. We spent some time picking out some good items, then went for a walk to find a good place to hide it. Alicia came with us and it became our first family hide. When we got home I put together the cache page and made it "MiniMac's Toddler Toybox" with a little puzzle worksheet for kids to do to solve for the final coordinates.

I took Carlen out caching yesterday. I was quite impressed at how quickly he spotted good hide locations. He would zone right in on trees with hollows and would divide up the work, "I'll check these ones and you check those ones, Daddy." He was always quite excited, and he found a couple by himself without direction (well, I stood in the general area until he noticed them

I figured that he'll be out with me more and more as the weather gets nicer, so he has his own caching ID now. Fun fun fun.

The embosser arrived today wheeeee! It's a little smaller than I expected, which is good - won't take up as much room in the geocache bag. Tonight is the MBGA Pub Night. Will have to "pick" a couple of caches (leave a pick and emboss the log) along the way. I should mention that I brightened the embossed area of the stamp in the picture so it is easier to see.

Cache In, Trash Out - neat idea. If every cacher picked up some trash while they cache, the world would be cleaner. It seems the whole sport has a kind of respect for nature and the environment.

Here's the irony...

I've burned probably 4 tanks of gas, 200 litres of fossil fuels to find my caches so far.

Would be good, I think, to try to encourage concentrations of caches in certain areas to increase the ability of cachers to walk or cycle amongst their finds.

I set a goal to find 100 by the end of the school year, and that will be easily achievable. Might even be reasonable to find 200! Now, I'm really enjoying getting out; I've spent more time outdoors in the last few months than I have in a very long time. It's been fun to see tucked-away hidden parts of the city; there are so many little parks and recreational spaces that I didn't know about.
I'm also really enjoying creating caches - particularly the puzzles. There's a real art to crafting a good cache. Considering the puzzle and the location, not to mention the exact hiding spot, and the container. Then there's the initial contents. I really don't have an interest in having a hundred of my own little film canisters to maintain, but a handfull of quality, well thought-out hides would be just fine. Especially if they're in places I enjoy visiting
There are a handful of people in Winnipeg who have found every cache in within the perimeter. How depressing! Even myself, I've cleared out a good chunk of the northwest corner of the city, so I'm having to travel farther and farther to cache. But it seems the sport has some continued built-in appeal - I suppose you get more into hiding, or competing for the First-To-Find certificates, or trading / collecting coins.
Yep, pretty neat.

My custom printed guitar picks arrived yesterday! I'm pleased with them. The detail is quite good, but my name is hard to see; the "i" looks like an "l". That's completely my fault though. When I was creating the image, the background was a lighter shade of black than my name so it looked ok on the screen. On the pick, it's all the same shade. Should have noticed that, but didn't. Live and learn. For the next order I'll clean that up and use a lighter/thinner font for the text.

So, at what point will these be considered a "signature item"? Don't signature items by their nature have an established conneciton with the person it represents? For now, I'll just call them "my guitar picks".

I think I'm in trouble. I've been caching a lot during spring break; it was my first uninterrupted period of time with no other obligations since I started caching. Wednesday morning I spent the day looking all through the house for potential cache containers and thinking, "well, I could just dump that last bit of turmeric", or, "What else can I put the rest of this peanutbutter in?", and, "I'm sure I could cut down a foot or so of the PVC for the washing machine drain", and "I could get a log book in to that container, but could anyone get it out?"

Yes, I'm in trouble.

Grocery shopping this week was no better. I abandoned the produce and tinned food for the "container" aisles. "Oh that would be good... but expensive. Theres something I could use... yes, would fit, looks watertight." Into the cart.

Then, the light of the caching angels shon down upon a display of large-sized completely black containers with a solid watertight lid. Gorgeous! Perfect! $19 for 2 kg of Kalamata olives. sigh I like olives, but 2 kilos? As much as I wanted the container, I didn't want to have to answer the domestic goddess as to WHY I bought so many olives.

On I go, down the last aisle I realize that I've completely ignored my shopping list. zip zip zip, grab what I need and out to the counter. At home I'm unpacking and wonder why the hell I bought Gefeltefish?! Oh yeah, the container.

Now I know when my wife comes home she's going to ask if I know where her good tupperware container with the green lid is.

Yes, honey, I know exactly where it is. Do you want the coordinates?