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Original poster

Geocaching : chatty thread

209 replies

bumpybecky · 23/03/2012 16:24

hello geocachers :)

there were lots of outdoorsy shite threads, but now we have our new great outdoors forum, I thought I'd start a new thread for us :)

I am (one of) Dave's Piglings and an in Bedfordshire. We've currently got about 140 finds and 9 caches placed :)

OP posts:
EndoplasmicReticulum · 02/08/2013 20:40

Mostly we go as a family, although I have done some on my own too. I haven't been into the middle of nowhere on my own though, mostly because I don't have time. Sons occasionally moan "oh no not geocaching again" but I point out they'd be going for a walk anyway so might as well make it a bit more interesting.

What I particularly like is it takes you to places you wouldn't otherwise go, yesterday I discovered a really good playground in a nearby village that I didn't know about before.

BroomsticksAreForFlying · 02/08/2013 22:47

Ooh, a caching thread! Failed miserably with the first 2 days of aug, but don't care having spent Wed doing a whereigo puzzle with an awesome final.

Planning an evening with the kids finishing just after dusk, I'm just hoping I won't get back to the car park to find a couple up to no good in their car!

We like the larger 'rural' caches, they're bigger and it doesn't matter that the kids are not very discrete

SoupDragon · 03/08/2013 09:10

I go either alone, as a family or with friends I made via Geocaching. In fact last night was spent romping round Richmond park in the dark with a strange man I met first on the internet and then in a wood :) Whilst we didn't find the cache we went for, we picked up a small one at 1am to fill today on the 31-days calendar.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 03/08/2013 21:58

I got one today at the motorway services on the way to our holiday. So 3 down, 28 to go.....

EddieVeddersfoxymop · 03/08/2013 23:09

Witt, it was truly dastardly to find!! It was tiny, disguised as something else and then stuck to the back of a phone exchange box. Evil!!!!!!!!!

Witt · 04/08/2013 08:15

Eddie that sounds like a very satisfying find!

Has anyone ever been to the Piratemania geocaching event in the Midlands? It's been going on for a few years now I think and it looks fab. I can't wait for DCs to be a bit older as I think it would be a really fun family thing to do. I've met the Cache Hoppers, who are joint organisers, a few times and they are really lovely people.

SoupDragon · 05/08/2013 10:11

Day 5 cache 5 and a very pleasant wander round a churchyard!

NicholasTeakozy · 05/08/2013 11:25

I'm so pleased this thread has popped up again. I'm doing the 31 Days thing, I actually got an FTF yesterday and received an email from the CO thanking me for the lengthy log I posted. I write a short essay for each cache I find, yes it's time consuming but I do it out of respect for the time and effort put in by COs, and having met a few they appreciate the effort. I even write a decent log on a DNF.

I'm going out later for a few C&Ds, it's too damp to traipse around fields, and there are no local urban caches I haven't logged already.

SoupDragon · 05/08/2013 12:05

I write the log that the cache demands - micro on the back of a road sign often ha no need of anything other than a thank you as there's nothing much to say. Other caches have long essays :) It all depends on what sort of "journey" I had in my cache hunt.

EddieVeddersfoxymop · 05/08/2013 16:13

We have been caching now for exactly 10 days, 18 now found. Not bad for a total newbie!! Will have to break my 31 days run today though as life gets in the way sometimes of sniffing out tupperware! Curse you, summer school, housework, and grass cutting! Oh, I forgot work in that list too, curse it while you're at it.

I'm never sure if I should write an essay on a log.....I don't want to bore people! I usually state who I was with, the weather, anything unusual that happened etc.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 05/08/2013 17:03

Day 5 cache 5 here too. Am doing a bit of cache-and-dashing because we are staying with in-laws and visiting family, so not much time for involved searches.

Have the next couple of days sorted out I think, as long as I can find them! Luckily we are staying on an island that has plenty of caches.

Makingchanges · 05/08/2013 22:41

Well I was unwell today so sent do and dd to find today's finds. Had a few dnf and ended up in the middle if nowhere in a dodgy area. Never the less today's find logged. May have to go further afield tomorrow though as have logged all the nearby ones.

Original poster
bumpybecky · 06/08/2013 13:00

we're back from the mega :) good to see some newbies posting

I've got loads of logs to do from our week away. Not sure if we'll manage the 31 days thing, we've done every day so far but it's easy when they're all events!

OP posts:
EndoplasmicReticulum · 06/08/2013 21:38

Day 6 done! Was a mini one behind a roadsign, so not particularly exciting but was all we could manage. Haven't planned tomorrow's yet.

signet · 06/08/2013 22:34

Can I join this thread? We are trying to get to 100 by the end of summer. Did a lovely 3 mile trail today with the kids and dog and picked up 11 geocaches along the way. Spent some time paddling in the stream alongside the route. I have to say that I am loving finding new walking places.

Most interesting cache of the day was inside a hippo!

Original poster
bumpybecky · 07/08/2013 00:26

of course you can join in :)

I've done all our cache logs from the last week now, just need to do all the travel bugs - there are hundreds!

Not sure where we'll go tomorrow, will see what the weather is like in the morning

OP posts:
BroomsticksAreForFlying · 07/08/2013 07:06

I have the same problem, I'm having to go further afield and that's trickier with kids, dogs and catching up on a social life. Off to Wallingford today so I'll either drag my friend out or grab a couple on the way there or back.

I'm not going to complete the August challenge as we're off to France and they're quite sparse in the area we'll be in. Must plan our route and download maps.

Had my first cache published, it's very exciting

BroomsticksAreForFlying · 07/08/2013 07:07

I love finding new places and walks. It's having quite an effect on my figure too Grin

SoupDragon · 07/08/2013 07:10

I deliberately left a whole load of my most local caches specifically for special caching days - I think I will have used them all up by the end of August though! Helpfully, some local cachers also put out a load of easy ones for this challenge.

signet · 07/08/2013 08:14

Not quite sure where we are going today. It'll probably have to be an evening walk so hopefully the rain will keep away. I need to find a romantic place to offload a travel bug DS picked up yesterday.

EauRouge · 07/08/2013 08:36

Hello, total idiot here. I quite fancy giving this a go with my DDs, I think they would like the idea of treasure hunting. Will a phone app do the job? I haven't got hundreds to spend on a fancy GPS thingy.

MoreThanWords · 07/08/2013 08:58

Was just about to ask the same question! Any recommendations for the best iPhone app please?

NicholasTeakozy · 07/08/2013 09:24

I met a fellow cacher who was using the official Groundspeak app on his iPhone, it cost £6.99 and looks really easy to use. It shows local caches and can zoom in on the map so you can pinpoint GZ. If I had an internet enabled phone it's what I'd get.

SoupDragon · 07/08/2013 10:38

I've been finding my August caches with the official iPhone App. Its expensive but it does the job very well.

However, for longer "proper" caching trips I use a Garmin GPS. The app drains the battery on a phone considerably and also there isn't always a signal out in the wilds which affects it.

Sometimes I find with the Garmin and log with the App.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 07/08/2013 13:39

Arrgh, it's getting trickier - the one we went to get this morning was a DNF, lots of others here need maintenance or when looking at the logs the last 6 people to try couldn't find them. I may struggle for the next 10 days until we get home and can go further afield.

Like SoupDragon I use a Garmin, husband has the Groundspeak app on his phone. The App is fine but his phone isn't very reliable, it's always out of signal or out of battery. So between us we usually get there.

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