View Full Version : Geocaching in October
:boobies:
My internet geocaching friends just made me feel warm and fuzzy---
I was very hestitant to go to a geocaching event tomorrow since Rob works and I have to take all the kids.
They just talked me into coming.
I sure hope they are not all wierdos! I really would love to make some IRL friends that like to hike/geocache/camp ect.
So, I am off to this tomorrow.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b201f9c4-9daf-473c-8c62-4846e6e21233
scared.
That looks AWESOME Kate.
I would love to go.
I hope so.
They told me they that I could just use the kids to get all the muddy/steep/scarey ones so I was useful to bring them :)
:D
Well, lookie here.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1b35ff87-0f34-4753-92d6-4d0e9b104abf
/too afraid to actually go
Hmm.
There is a poker run of sorts tomorrow.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=9a929444-2bc2-4427-ae8c-5f5c533ae64b
I wonder if 1) B would be interested, since it isn't actual caches, and 2) if we could get Cliff to go. :rolleyes:
Sonny
10-06-2006, 01:56 PM
We are geocaching on Saturday afternoon, because it is going to be beautiful outside. I haven't decided which caches we will go after, maybe I'll see if there's an event like that. :D
It is supposed to be 68 and sunny.
I would like to go.
I just have to make sure none of them require a lot of tough hiking.
Is geocaching just for kids or would Bryan and I enjoy it? I'd like to do some walking/hiking something. With the weather here, I'm looking for outdoor activities.
It's fun. You don't have to have kids.
Brandon likes it because of the little trinkets you get to trade. It's kinda like a treasure hunt.
My sister and her husband do it.
I would say about 50% of people do it with kids.
It sort of gets you out of the house on a mission.
:D
Well, lookie here.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1b35ff87-0f34-4753-92d6-4d0e9b104abf
/too afraid to actually gotrust me -- I am VERY nervous about this.
But I have nothing in common with my "friends" around here, so I am stepping outside my comfort zone and going.
That one isn't a cache though, it is a meet and greet at Panara. No way dude.
mine has a bonfire and s'mores. would that help?
there are monthly coffee chats near me, I have never been
I'm proud of you for going, Kate. :)
Sonny
10-06-2006, 02:18 PM
Is geocaching just for kids or would Bryan and I enjoy it? I'd like to do some walking/hiking something. With the weather here, I'm looking for outdoor activities.
Pat and I are thinking about getting a sitter so we can go at least once without the kids...Anna tends to complain on the longer hikes. I think you guys would love it. It really gets you out to places you would probably not visit, or even know about.
:bang:
None of the mapquest maps are working for me.
How am I supposed to know where it is?
I think you guys would love it. It really gets you out to places you would probably not visit, or even know about.
:agree: It would be a great way to get to know your area.
Well, it was fun. I am not sure how many I would attend but it was ok.
We showed up at a park and I was met with open arms (litterally) by another poster from a local goecaching board.
They were ok. But I think I am looking for for hikes rather then cachers to hang with :dunno: They sort of seemed like they like urban micros and many didn't look like they could hike a mile.
They had 15 temp caches setup at the park, we walked around and did those-- the kids had fun doing-- they were close (often like 290 feet apart) since they weren't listed on gc.com.
Then we went back to the potluck, then followed a parade of cars to one of the cacher's parents farm.
They had 100 acres of woods with 15 more temp caches in the woods-- 3 were night caches that you had to follow reflectors in the trees. The kids had a blast.
But I left with a wierd taste in my mouth about some of the cachers and this is TOTALLY petty on my part.
We would walk from cache to cache in a small group--- I think there were 15 of us(?) and who ever found the cache (usually one of my kids or 2 of the adults that looked) everyone would just sign the log.
Some of these cachers have 5,000+ finds. But not only were they not even looking for the cache, but standing around chatting, they never even glanced at the log, someone else signed them in .
And these were temp caches, but they went on to gc.com and logged "attended" 20 times. :stars: to pad thier numbers.
It was sort of wierd.
But overall it was fun.
But there were a few really good things.
One local cacher is known for his GREAT hides. He has hidden all of our favorites. When he finds a cache he likes he leaves a little stuffed dog with a tracking tag (sort of like ahomemade travel bug). (he and his wife run a dog rescue)
Manda has been carrying one of his stuffed dogs to every cache since early March-- he saw her with it and thanked her for taking care of it and gave Dan one :love: and apolized to not have one for Mike too.
And one couple we knew from our gc forum made sure we always knew what to do and where to drive without getting lost ect.
So, overall it was a hit-- just some wierd things.
And I definatly want to find some local hikers--people that want to do 5-10 miles over tough terrain.
Phoebe
10-08-2006, 10:42 PM
:love: Sounds like a good time overall, Kate.
Have you tried any hiking forums?
there are 2 local hiking groups.
And now that I decided it was ok to be social with strangers, I will probably attend one of their hikes.
Phoebe
10-08-2006, 10:49 PM
Good to hear!!
:love:
Kate made friends!
I am glad you guys had a good time. It sounded so cool, I am glad the kids weren 't let down.
we made the paper :D
Geocaching invades Lorain
SCOT ALLYN, Morning Journal Writer
10/09/2006
http://www.morningjournal.com/images/email_this_article.gif (http://javascript<b></b>: openEmailWindow();)Email to a friend (http://javascript<b></b>: openEmailWindow();)http://www.morningjournal.com/images/voice_opinion.gif (http://www.morningjournal.com/site/?brd=1699&pag=795&newsid=17302011&action=submit)Post a Comment (http://www.morningjournal.com/site/?brd=1699&pag=795&newsid=17302011&action=submit)http://www.morningjournal.com/images/printversion.gif (http://www.morningjournal.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46371&newsid=17302011)Printer-friendly (http://www.morningjournal.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1699&dept_id=46371&newsid=17302011)
http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire1699/zwire/images/MJgeo_W751.jpghttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gifSandy and Rich Godlaski, of Brunswick, plug in their next coordinates on their Global Positioning System devices during a geocaching event Saturday on the property of Al and Dee ThIery in Vermilion, which followed an event in Lakeview Park. http://images.zwire.com/images/spacer.gif
LORAIN -- Visitors to Lakeview Park on Saturday could be forgiven for thinking it had been taken over by treasure hunters, scrambling over rocks, around trees and under the boardwalk in search of hidden plunder.
But it was only the fourth annual Geocaching Fall Fling, drawing about 85 enthusiasts from as far as Toledo, Ashtabula, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York to enjoy a mild autumn day in the fresh air. Organized by NeoGeo, the Northeast Ohio Geocachers, and LoCo, the Lorain County Geocachers, the event was blessed by near-perfect weather. It continued at the nine-acre Vermilion home of Al and Dee Thiery, ending with mugs of hot chocolate around a campfire.
Preschoolers to grandparents enjoyed the hunt. The treasure they found was the companionship of old and new friends as they sought out the hiding places of tiny scrolls of paper for recording the day's finds.
Geocaching (pronounced ''geo-cashing'') is a worldwide amusement using latitude and longitude coordinates to find hiding places, or caches, created by individuals. The eureka moment is followed by opening the hidden container, which can be Tupperware, a 35-mm film can, an Army-surplus ammunition can or even a hollowed-out bolt on a park bench, to see who concealed it and what they left for the finder.
About 60 caches were hidden in Lakeview Park for Saturday's hunting. Participants were given a list of the latitudes and longitudes of each location, which they programmed into hand-held Global Positioning System devices about the size of a cell phone. The devices run from about $80 to several hundreds of dollars.
Erik Thiery, 37, a craneman at Lorain Tubular, said the devices try to find as many of the Earth's 24 global positioning satellites as possible to a maximum of 12. Saturday's crystal-clear sky allowed 11 satellites to light up his device from more than 11,000 miles out in space. Through triangulation, the device gave Thiery his location on the planet's surface, the speed he was walking and his elevation.
''The more satellites you can find, the greater your accuracy,'' said Thiery, one of Al and Dee Thiery's sons. Erik Thiery said he has found about 1,000 caches since he started in June 2002.
The screen on his device created a digital compass with an arrow pointing in the direction he needed to follow in order find his destination. As he walked along the beach at about 2.4 miles per hour, his device counted down the feet remaining to his goal.
''I bet it's in those rocks up ahead,'' he said, pointing to a barrier of jumbled boulders jutting out from Lakeview Park beach into Lake Erie. The number of feet on his screen dwindled as he neared the rocks, until he was within about 16 feet of the goal.
Then he called for his secret weapons, his 8-year-old daughter, Kaitlynn, and his 4-year-old son, Joshua, who had been playing on the beach. Along with the latitude and longitude of this location, Thiery was given a clue to finding the cache: ''I'm a drifter.''
''Kids, it's around here somewhere and it might be driftwood,'' he said. In about three minutes of agile climbing and poking, the sharp-eyed Kaitlynn found a piece of sun-bleached driftwood with a bored-out hole containing a plastic film can. She squealed in triumph as she handed it to her father, who pried open the lid to find a tightly wound scroll of white paper.
Thiery signed his caching name, ETDiver, and Saturday's date, before returning the paper to the can and the can to the driftwood. Then he concealed the driftwood among the rocks to await its next finder.
Robert Grieve, 68, who joined the hunt from Wheeling, W.Va., explained the real attraction of geocaching.
''The people you meet and the places you go are the best part of it,'' he said. With about 1,100 finds, Grieve is the highest-ranked cacher in West Virginia. He said one of his hunts brought him to the grave of Johnny Appleseed, in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Dave Meyers, 50, came from Olean, N.Y., for the Lakeview Park gathering. He has found 6,450 caches in 28 states and Ontario, Canada.
''I love discovering new places,'' said Meyers, who said he has enjoyed hiking since his boyhood. On Saturday, he discovered a tiny metal can, about 1Ú8-inch around, concealed in the coarse bark of a tree near the Lorain Rotary Club Gazebo.
Meyers' girlfriend, Aurelia Taylor, 34, said she has found almost 4,000 caches. Her caching name, Meriadoc2003, is borrowed from a character in ''The Lord of the Rings'' books and films. She said one of her favorite hunts was in Presque Isle State Park in Pennsylvania.
''It had seven stages, with multiple-choice tests giving clues to the next location,'' she said. ''The clues were based on ÔThe Lord of the Rings.' You had to choose correctly to find the next location. It takes most people several trips to find the final spot, but I did all seven in 41Ú2 hours.''
About 450 caches have been concealed around Lorain. To find them, visit www.geocaching.com (http://www.geocaching.com) and enter the 44052 zip code in the search engine. For an easy start, do a keyword search for ''visitors welcome'' to learn the location of a cache at the Lorain County Visitors Bureau, 8025 Leavitt Road, Amherst. You must create an account with a username and password to see the coordinates.
sallyn@morningjournal.com
Angie
10-09-2006, 09:09 AM
Awesome!
She said one of her favorite hunts was in Presque Isle State Park in Pennsylvania.
This is in Erie!
you should go on your next trip home!
Kate, I'm glad you're branching out and meeting people with similar interests! (Even if some of them are weirdos.) :D
I'm definitely interested in doing some geocaching. I want to get outdoors and be more active. Bryan sounds somewhat interested, but he loves hiking and such, so I think once we do it, he'll really be into it.
I just have to convince him to spend the money on a GPS. :rolleyes: He doesn't think we can afford it right now.
I have the $99 base model. But I had to pretend it was a christmas gift for the kids :D
stacyspace
10-10-2006, 11:07 AM
Kate I went to Cleveland last weekend and did two caches with Bree (cutelilsunflower from LCF)
I couldn't believe how many micros there were out there! I had to pass up about 15-20 before I got a traditional cache. I wanted Bree to see a real one :)
I had a huge list to do in Amish country and totally forgot to go geocaching :rolleyes: It was so beautiful out there!
I live in Amish county!
there are sooo many micros in Cleveland. I am getting to the point where I just put micros on ignore if they sound like another one hidden in a tree next to sam's club.
They just aren't that fun :dunno:
I love the long hikes and a good Ammo can inthe woods.
Next time send me a PM-- I would love to cache with you!
Oh Amy--
Have you or Russ taken the boys to these?
This is quoted from my Ohio geocaching board-- We all listed our favorites and his were both in Washington State, they look incredible!!!
Most Awe-Inspiring: Ebey Bluffs (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=6955fea1-2c64-44a8-966d-acb28b75b30a) on Whidbey Island in Washington. You hike up the bluffs and are treated to a fantastic view of a lagoon down below, and a sweeping vista across Puget Sound. It may be 2100 miles from home, but I've done this cache TWICE. Oh, and it helps that I was given a Version 1 Moun10Bike coin by its owner when I found the cache -- awe-inspiring among Geocoin fans!
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/2064706_500.jpg
Most Satisfying: Melakwa's Heaven (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=89954fb4-cd5b-49a1-9d89-ace85559a1ee) in the Cascade Range, Washington State. You hike uphill for six miles, the last mile or so being a sheer rock scramble, and then you get to the top and are treated to this view:
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/dd47ebfa-3b56-41a6-89c5-5b4148e5d672.jpg
Wow.
:swoon:
All we have here is corn fields.
:agree: here too.
I want those mountains. That is geocaching to me. Not finding a film can in a tree next to burger king.
stacyspace
10-11-2006, 11:46 AM
I live in Amish county!
there are sooo many micros in Cleveland. I am getting to the point where I just put micros on ignore if they sound like another one hidden in a tree next to sam's club.
They just aren't that fun :dunno:
I love the long hikes and a good Ammo can inthe woods.
Next time send me a PM-- I would love to cache with you!
Will do :) I'll be going back to visit again!
I don't blame you about the micros. I couldn't believe how many there were!
:indiff: I don't do "sheer rock scramble"
The first one looks great, though. Whidbey Island is pretty far from here though, like three hours.
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