Had a great time geocaching last weekend. We got a late start (as usual), but still managed to find 10 caches, 1 DNF, 1 muggled cache, picked up 2 TB’s and dropped off 2 TB’s of our own. My biggest gripe with myself is poor planning. I had a general idea where I wanted to go, but I didn’t stick to any kind of plan or specific geographic location. We drove from one side of this county to the other, back and forth. Totally stupid and a waste of time – and I only have myself to blame. Overall, we drove about 115 miles from the time we left until we pulled back in our driveway. While it is a very rural area, sadly, that averages out to 1 cache per every 10 miles of driving – terrible time management. This will change drastically next time out.
Feeling the need to rant about a few things, so here goes…
Cemetery Vandals
One thing that bothers me when I am geocaching, and that is seeing gravestones that have been pushed over by some ignorant coward who must feel a sense of power by ruining a grave site. I was furious at one of the cemeteries we stopped at … seeing stone after stone knocked over. I would love to wait in a cemetery some night and be there when these pathetic losers decide to topple the stones. I know the right thing to do would be to call the police. But in my heart, I know they would receive a slap on the wrist from the law and it would not convince them never to do it again. I would rather take care of them myself with a baseball bat across their knees. Pretty extreme measures I know, but still a great deterrent. How someone can desecrate the grave and take away the final remembrance of a loved one is beyond me. I think rearranging a few kneecaps would do wonders.
I’m wondering if geocachers might band together in their respective areas to donate the cost of having the markers corrected? As many of us have taken the time to visit their final resting place, I think it’s the least we could do for allowing us to utilize their grounds to hide a cache.
Geocaching Hints
I’ve talked with others about this topic, and I still have no clear understanding why some who hide a cache will use the “hint” portion of their description to literally provide the exact location of the cache. This past weekend was no exception, as 3 of the 10 we found provided the location of the cache. I believe the word “hint” is not interchangeable with “exact location.”
You may think, “don’t look at the hint if it bothers you that much.” And to you, I say “thuuuuppp” (insert raspberry sound here). Sometimes when I am pressed for time or might be stumped by a difficult find, I will look at the hint. But I don’t expect to be given the actual answer.
SWAG
One of the fun parts of finding a cache is seeing what’s inside. Normally, I never take anything from the cache. I enjoy placing items in the cache, especially if the cache indicates that it’s kid friendly in the attributes. Last October, we found Junk in the Trunk (GC14JHF) and was blown away at the sheer size of the cache container (approx. a 30 gallon container) and the amount of swag enclosed. I can only imagine how many children have literally been swayed by seeing the lid pulled off that plastic tub … you’d think that Santa had arrived.
We have been stocking up on nice swag to put in caches – new items that are affordable and fun. My wife found little electronic games at the local Dollar General that were … wait for it … only a dollar! For $5.00, you’ve made 5 kids happy! This past weekend while caching, I found items like a bottle cap, a dirty used comb, rocks, string, and a hair scrunchie with hair all through it. Seriously, who are these people? If you don’t have anything to put inside, that’s quite ok – but don’t put gross (read ‘hairy’) objects in the cache!
Photo Section
I have yet to complete my photo section on this blog. I don’t know if I am all that happy with the theme that I have chosen for the blog and may end up changing the entire look with a new theme. I thought about just providing a link on the photos section to a Flickr account, but it’s not what I envisioned for the blog. I’ll have to work on this section this week and ultimately find a solution. I hate having dead menu tabs that say “coming soon” all the time.
Well, I feel a little better getting this off my chest. Maybe I can sleep better tonight, who knows. I’m really looking forward to warmer weather and getting some serious caching done this season. Longer daylight and warmer temperatures are always a blessing. I hope you’re getting out to cache and enjoying the activity as much as I do. My finds may not be numerous, but the time I spend with my family in this activity is truly priceless. Happy Caching!
The vendors had some nice gear and I bought a couple geocoins and geocaching containers. I wanted a GeoWoodstock IX ball cap, but they were sold out. I was told they can be ordered online, so I’ll be doing that soon. I also sat in on a couple of the podcasts going on and it was pretty cool seeing the shows that I watch online occur live in front of me. Gave me a little perspective on how things work for those who report on geocaching.
