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wherethecacheis.com (86 unread)

December 21, 2011
23:05
The TRFTHOI has moved. The new blog ...
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The TRFTHOI has moved. The new blog is [trfthoi.blogspot.com]
October 02, 2011
7:34
Out of Business Sale!! After a ...
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Out of Business Sale!!
After a lot of thought, we have decided to shut down our webstore. We will still be making coins and will have coins available for sale, but we will no longer be offering them through a webstore. Everything that is not a geocoin is now on sale. The asking prices on everything is at or below our cost. In addition, we will be offering sale prices on some of our coins every Wednesday from now until December 1st. Now is the time to stock up on your caching supplies at a great price.

Thank you everyone for all the support this past year - its been a lot of fun and we are glad to have had the experience.
[www.wherethecacheis.com] Happy Trails and Happy Caching.
Jim and Denise
August 16, 2011
13:19
Simple Treasures Geocoin
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Introducing the Mint artwork for our new coin, Simple Treasures.

I have always appreciated art from Asia and I wanted to incorporate some of it into a geocoin. Simple Treasures is a coin that has Plum blossoms and cherry blossoms on the front and bamboo on the back.

In many Asian cultures, the plum blossom is admired not just for its beauty but also for its special meaning. The blossoms sprout in the earliest part of spring, when snow remains on the ground. Poets, painters and artisans often placed plum blossoms in their works as a message to others to be brave and strong, like the courageous flowers that dare to bloom before the arrival of warm weather.

Bamboo is of notable economic and cultural significance; being used for building material, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product. Bamboo is a symbol for longevity because of the very long life it has.

The cherry blossom represents power, beauty, and prominence. For the Chinese the cherry blossom is a very significant symbol of power. Typically it represents a feminine beauty and sexuality and often holds an idea of power or feminine dominance. Within the language of herbs and herbal lore of the Chinese the cherry blossom is often the symbol of love.

The writing on the front of the coin is in ancient Chinese and it translates to Treasure hunting, which is the closest translation I could find to Geocaching.
August 05, 2011
14:50
Devil's Den
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Each time I hit a century cache, I try to make it a special one. Usually I choose one that has a lot of favorite’s points, but I also make sure that the cache poses a challenge for me. I have never been the most physically fit, but I did work out for several years and have rode the diet roller-coaster for most of my life.

Up until a year ago, the most walking I would do is when I was at the grocery store. Geocaching has helped me change all that and I now have something that motivates me to push myself into doing things that I never would have dreamed of.

The family and I were about the head out on our annual camping trip and chance had it I was on the run-up to my 400^th cache. Since there were several geocaches hidden in the area we would be camping, I researched the caches for several days and I found the one that I wanted to do for number 400.

The cache name is “Devil’s Den” and it has a 3.5/4.5 rating on Geocaching.com. This cache is hidden in the beautiful Pawtuckaway State Park, New Hampshire.

As usual, I ended up turning a 4.5 terrain cache into about a 15 terrain. :-P I always seem to find a way to make these hard caches a lot harder than I need to and this one wasn’t any different. I have never cached in this part of Pawtuckaway before, so I came out to cache the day before to “scope” out the area and determine my game plan for the day.

Before heading out I made sure to read over previous logs, so I knew that this one would take a while. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, so I made sure to get out there soon enough to ensure that I would be able to finish before the daylight left. My son and his friend decided to come with me today. Both of them are (were) muggles and I was happy that they decided to go. They had said they wanted an adventure and when I told them about this one they were excited to try it out.

I wanted to make this one my 400^th, so we had to stop on the way to the trailhead to grab a couple of caches, bringing me up to 400. Luck was on our side and we found the others quickly, so off we went to the trailhead that I had decided to start at.

We started heading in toward the cache and it appeared to me that the trail was veering away from GZ, so I made the decision to take the direct path to the cache. We were walking through a fairly open area and for a while were following a hiking trail (or maybe an animal trail – I was hoping it was a caching trail, but I think that I was hoping for a lot) J

The walk was pretty flat with only a minimal of an incline for at least a 10^th of a mile. This made me excited because I felt this meant that I was heading up the correct side of the mountain. It wasn’t long before the incline was directly in front of us and I thought, “OK, here we go” I have never done as much vertical climbing as I had to here! Wow!

Before geocaching, I really have never been much of an outdoors type, but I have learned that there are a lot of things that I can do that I would not have attempted in my muggle days. The climb wore me out. Of coarse, my son and his buddy had no problem jogging up the mountain, but I was huffing and puffing and taking a break several times along the way.

Finally reaching a rock formation, I was thrilled…this had to mean that I was on the last leg of the journey. The incline increased, my motivation decreased, but I pressed on. Ducking under fallen trees and over boulders I pressed on. About a half hour into the climb I paused and looked up…there were the boys, sitting about 30 feet above me on a boulder, laughing at me struggling up the hill.

I pressed on and found a way to hop from rock to rock to get to the spot where they had been sitting…it was here that I decided to stop and take a break for a while. The boys went out exploring while I caught my breath. I stood up and started heading toward GZ – we were only 560 feet away (not counting the elevation change), but we were in a “flat” area so I knew that it was easy going from here.

30 feet into the hike on this flatter area and BAM – we were on the edge of a cliff with a drop that there was no way I could navigate…it was then that I realized that I was on the other side of the mountain…grrr. To top that off, there was no way to get where I needed to go except down the way I came and then hooking around. Working hard not to roll down the hill, I amused the boys again by sliding down on my butt most of the way, but I made it down – made it around, and then arrived about 90 feet from the cache.

I thought that finding the trailhead would be the hardest part, but it was here that I realized that finding the right spot to enter the den would be the hardest. I was stuck between boulders and a super brambly area, looking high and higher for a way in. The boys climbed more rocks and searched a few spots before one of them hollered down “I think I found it”.

I was happy to hear that, but also had a sense of dread, for I knew that I had more climbing ahead of me. Battered and bruised, scraped and bleeding, I pressed on. My son helped me find the correct way up the hill and I huffed and puffed my way up. I took me a good 15 minutes to get there (took them about 3), but I made it. Once there, I realized that this was it (and there was a much easier trek to get there than from where we just came).

My son asked if I was going in – Of course I was – cant come this far and not check it out. I got into the den okay – had doubts about making it out, but I walked to the den – found the cache, and then paused to appreciate the den…Super cool!!! This was the physically hardest cache I have ever done, but oh so rewarding – I am happy that I chose it to be 400!!
~~Until next time, happy trails and happy caching!
July 01, 2011
23:35
Officials: Most Human-Bear Conflicts Happen In July - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR New Hampshire
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Officials: Most Human-Bear Conflicts Happen In July - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR New Hampshire
June 30, 2011
20:00
The TRFTHOI is moving!!
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I have created a new blog for the TRFTHOI. I figured it would be easier to track if it was a seperate entity. You can also sign up for a mailing list at the blog.

Click here to check it out!
June 25, 2011
5:28
...
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June 24, 2011
1:48
Isolated Beauty Geocoin
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Our Isolated Beauty Geocoin is now available:
Antique Bronze
Antique Copper
1.75" X 1.75"3DGlow effects on the frontTrackable with custom icon
If you would like to purchase one of these beautiful coins, send me an email.
June 21, 2011
6:02
The 2011 TRFTHOI June standings
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The current standings are now up on our race page:

[wherethecacheis.blogspot.com]

The top 3 racers are as follows (there is a 3-way tie for 3rd place)

1st - Sonic - 165 points
2nd - George Jr. - 140 points
3rd - Scout patch, Triplets Angel, Sweet Blue Bear - 115 points
June 14, 2011
5:55
The Online Geocacher - a free e-zine for geocachers by geocachers
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You may or may not be aware of this, but there is a website out there that has tons of great geocaching stories to share. I have had the pleasure of writing a few articles for them and I always enjoy reading the other stories that are published.
This week we got the opportunity to interview Joe Acamo (geocaching as catsnfish), the publisher of The Online Geocacher (TOG). We appreciate the time he took to give us some insight to what goes on in his world.
Wherethecacheis: How did the Online Geocacher e-zine get started?
Joe: Ed Manley, TheAlabamaRambler started the magazine in response to discussions in a long running forum thread about the need for a geocaching magazine and what should be in one. He felt the best option was for an online or e-zine format since previous attempts to establish a print magazine hadn’t worked.
I began writing for TOG in June of 2008 and decided the magazine was something I had been looking for and that I would support it by contributing articles. Later, after Ed had decided to hand off the magazine, I talked it over with my wife and agreed to take over the publishing. Both Ed, who remains involved, and I, considers the magazine to be our gift to the caching community.
Wherethecacheis: On average, how many stories are published each month?
Joe: Would that be a lunar month or calendar month? Almost all of our articles are submitted by our readers, so it can vary widely. Some months we may have as many as 5-6 and many other months we may not have any to publish.
Wherethecacheis: How many subscribers do you currently have?
Joe: Roughly 900 direct subscriptions to the magazine and 350 “likes” on the Facebook page give or take a few.
Q. How many likes does it take to get to The Online Geocacher Facebook page? A. One, but you have to really like it. Really like TOG!
It isn’t necessary to subscribe to read the magazine; all articles are available to everyone. Subscriptions are also free and allow commenting so you can encourage your favorite author or say how much you enjoyed a particular article. A little encouragement and appreciation from the readers go a long way to invite more submissions from the writers.
Wherethecacheis: Do you have an idea of how many guests visit each month?
Joe: No, but I can look… Here it is, guests per month, we have an average of 1,300-1,400 unique hits a month, of course that will vary with the number of submissions. What content do you accept for publication? Photographs, how to articles, videos, humorous accounts, personal experiences, major event announcements, blog posts (if they are submitted, I don’t scrape for them) In short, we’ll publish basically anything caching related.
Wherethecacheis: Is there anything that you wouldn’t accept?
Joe: Non caching related articles, trollish or inflammatory submissions, paid advertisements.
Wherethecacheis: Where is the best place to go for news and announcements as they relate to the Online Geocacher?
Joe: Whenever a new article or story is published I’ll post a note and link to the story both on the Facebook page and a thread in the Geocaching.com forums.
Wherethecacheis: What is your favorite part of being the publisher?
Joe: The imaginary six figure salary and prestige that comes with being a publishing powerhouse. Honestly, I get to read the submissions first. I have, with some authors, the freedom to poke a little pun with the photo captions and I try to have fun with the announcements on facebook and the forums as well. The absolute best part is being able to share in the adventures of other cachers by providing them a site for that purpose.
Wherethecacheis: Do you have a staff that helps?
Joe: I prefer a walking stick since a staff usually gets out of hand (I’m butter-fingered at times).They’re also generally lighter and you can use them in pairs. J Both Ed and I format and publish the articles that are submitted and I occasionally seek advice from my wife and a friend about my own submissions. Other than that, we reward consistent contributors with a column.
Wherethecacheis: Is there anything that you would like to add?
Joe: Sure, more articles, more shared experiences, more authors. ((articles>current)+(experiences>current)+(authors>current))/current = a lot of additional enjoyment! Did I get that right? It has been a long time since I’ve done a word problem in math. You didn’t tell me there would be a test!
My personal definition of geocaching is; sharing experiences through locations. A cache owner brings his finders to a location to share a great view, a tough hide, a creative container, a historic spot or many other reasons. The finders then have the opportunity to share their own experiences on the find, or dnf for that matter, with the CO and the caching community through logging online. The Online Geocacher is an extension of that sharing which allows a wider audience to see the view from the cache, to vicariously join in the hunt, the fun and the frustrations of other cachers all over the globe. I may never be able to physically visit a Greek monastery or a magical Middle-Earth multi in the Netherlands, but I can enjoy the stories about them, if they are submitted.
June 13, 2011
7:33
Geocoin Special this week
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On Sale Now!!
Home is Where the Cache isSeries 2

1.75” x 3mm coins
Trackable with Icon
Copper, Black Nickel, Antique Bronze, Satin Gold, or Antique Silver

$10.99 $6.99
One Week Only - Sale ends 6/19/11
Click here to order
June 07, 2011
11:41
Purgatory Falls
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In southern New Hampshire, between the towns of Lyndeborough and Mont Vernon, lies a gem of an area that not many people are aware of. The area is a rocky gorge that was formed when a fault lying about a mile to the west dropped, causing the granite bedrock to split. 200 million years of erosion wore on the crack, making it wider and deeper and eventually developing into a gorge.

Water from melting glaciers bore down through the gorge creating potholes along the way. Frost heaves caused large boulders to rise. Years of natures crafting and sculpting eventually creating one of the most beautiful areas that I have had the pleasure of geocaching in.

In the late 1880’s on into the early 1900’s, people from the towns would gather in this area to have community picnics and festivals. A dam was built and they would release the water during these events to allow a heavy flow of water through the area, which provided a beautiful sight for all of the attendees.

As technology advanced and civilizations continued to grow, the gatherings eventually ceased to exist. Eventually, logging operations moved into the area and many of the buildings and bridges that were there were removed.

In the 1970s, the Mont Vernon conservation commission received the land and they ensured that it was protected via easements. Today the land is enjoyed by hikers and families that are looking for a weekend outing.

There are 2 waterfalls in the area. The Upper falls, Middle falls, and the Lower falls. All have a unique feel to them and each has its own set of wonders to share with all. The most popular and most visited portion of this area is the lower falls. This is due to the mostly level terrain, as well as the ease of access provided by 3 different main trails that lead to it from the nearest parking area.

On the opposite end of the area is the Upper falls, which is steeper in terrain and is a longer walk from the closest parking, although you can reach each end of the area via a main trail that exists near the river that flows through there.

There are only a handful of geocaches in this area – most of them near the lower falls. There are a couple of geocaches near the upper falls, but at the time of this writing, only one of them has been located in recent months.

My family and I went out to discover the lower falls and the caches that reside near that area. With the exception of the mosquitoes (who didn’t seem to really care that we had bathed in bug spray before we headed out), this outing was a terrific outing and one of our favorite hikes so far this year.

The terrain leading to the lower falls is mostly flat, but as you draw near the falls there is a steep drop in terrain, leading to the base of the falls. Past that, there is a lot of climbing involved as you continue on the trail, but the whole time you are within sight of the river that flows through the gorge.

We passed a few other hikers and families while we were out there, but for the most part we had the majority of the area all to ourselves. We progressed up the trail as far as we could, until we met up with a field of mud that the kids were not prepared to attempt to navigate. This was okay, because it left one cache unfound and another reason to visit the lower falls again real soon.

We have not been to the upper falls yet, but I look forward to the time that we are able to get out there. The upper falls contains the “devils beanpot” and the “devils footprint”. The beanpot is a huge hole that is drilled into the rock. Legend has it; the devil used the hole to cook a big bowl of beans. Once cooked, he disguised himself and convinced many of the leaders of Mont Vernon to come and join him for a bean supper.

The townspeople agreed and joined the disguised devil at the falls area. While he was cooking the beans, the pot got too hot and the devils foot got stuck in the rock near the pot, thus creating the devils footprint, which is a 7-foot hole that resembles a footprint. When his foot got stuck, the devil got angry and cursed loudly – blowing his disguise and causing the townsfolk to realize that he was the devil and they ran back to town and away from his domain.

The area may be called purgatory falls, but don’t let the name fool you. It is one of the prettiest areas that I have ever cached in and I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in Southern NH.

Until next time, Happy Trails and Happy Caching!
June 03, 2011
22:09
Route 66 -800 Caches
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8:13
The godfather of Geocoinfest
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The first Geocoinfest was held in 2007 in Temecula, California and there has been a Geocoinfest every year since then. This year marks the first year that there will be an official International Geocoinfest, which will be in Cologne, Germany. Here is a list of all of the previous and current Geocoinfests, along with the URL to the Event page on geocaching.com:
Geocoinfest 2007 – Temecula, California: [coord.info] Geocoinfest 2008 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: [coord.info] Geocoinfest 2009 – Salt Lake City, Utah: [coord.info] Geocoinfest 2010 – Minneapolis \ St Paul: [coord.info] Geocoinfest 2011 – Cologne, Germany: [coord.info] Geocoinfest 2011 – Rock Hill, South Carolina: [coord.info]
Last week we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the organizers for this years US Geocoinfest. They were very helpful in providing information and insight on what one can expect from this years Geocoinfest in South Carolina. This interview sparked my curiosity about the history of geocoinfest, as well as what occurs behind the scenes that ensure this annual event continues. I reached out to the organizer of the very first Geocoinfest, Mark Clemens (Geocaching as "Avroair"), and he was kind enough to agree to do an interview with me. Following is the transcript of that interview.
wherethecacheis: How did Geocoinfest get started?
Mark: I posted in the (geocaching.com) forums: "Is there a National Geocoin Mega Event?"
A couple of people then ran with the idea and tried to put it in Las Vegas. Which didn't work due to cost and trying to make it a Geowoodstock.
wherethecacheis: Do you happen to know how many people have attended each Geocoinfest?
Mark: Temecula 425, Pittsburgh 591, Salt Lake City 611, Minnesota 539
wherethecacheis: How involved are you in the planning of each Geocoinfest?
Mark: I try to make myself available for questions, ideas and concerns. I have a lot of experience running events (having run 48 geocaching events myself), so I provide each new team with a cheat sheet so to speak about issues that they need to work on. I like each committee to be independent and creative, but not have to reinvent the wheel each time.
wherethecacheis: Who decides where each Geocoinfest will be held?
Mark: The process is quite involved. All previous GCF hosts are invited onto the GCF commitee. Each one gets a vote. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each bid and ask for more information (or find it ourselves) when we find an area of concern. One year a commitee member called a local airport and spoke with the superviser for 45 minutes trying to figure out if the airport would finish repairs by the time GCF rolled by! There are currently 9 active commitee members. Due to the lack of quality leadership teams and bids we have considered running the event in-house with previous committee members to keep the event rolling.
wherethecacheis: How does a group or location apply to be considered to host a Geocoinfest?
Mark: A general post is put out in the forums. Vendors are not allowed to be part of a bid due to a conflict of interest.
wherethecacheis: How much has geocoinfest changes over the years? What are the major changes that have occurred?
Mark: The first GCF was held in a church hall. It was the first event to offer a geocoin poker tournament. The event format has stayed fairly similar, but there are now 3-4 tie in events surrounding the main event.
wherethecacheis: When will the next one be announced?
Mark: The future GCF location is announced at the current GCF
wherethecacheis: What should a first timer do to prepare for a Geocoinfest?
Mark: Save money! I arrived at GCF Salt Lake City with $400 and spent it all in the first 20 minutes! Many vendors debut coins at GCF or produce a special edition for the event. The event is like a trade show with vendor booths. A first time geocoin collector should bring a box of traders, a fistfull of cash and do some research beforehand (read the forums) to figure out what coins they might like there.
wherethecacheis: This year, the first International Geocoinfest will be held in Cologne, Germany. How did this come about?
Mark: An international geocoin collector was lamenting the fact that they are a great distance and commitment to travel all the way to the US to meet other like minded geocoin collectors. GCF has attracted a number of international collectors, but the majority can't afford the trip. Having seen more and more successful events in Europe, I posed the question about running a GCF European event and recieved bids from both Germany and Portugal. There are currently over 1600 will attends and will probably reach 3,000 people!
wherethecacheis: How did you first become involved in Geocoins?
Mark: In February 2004 I was looking for a signature item to put into geocaches and came across moun10bikes challenge coin idea. Being in the design industry, I designed and minted my first Avroair personal coin in May of 2004. The vendor asked me what the diameter should be and I misread the question and thought he meant radius, so I told him 1" When I got the 1" diameter coins I thought they looked like subway tokens! (it's the first micro geocoin!), I learned quickly to like them since they fit in 35 mm canisters and other smaller caches. I enjoy trading them.
wherethecacheis: Do you have any advice about Geocoins that you can offer to someone that is thinking about collecting them?
Mark: I get asked this a lot and I have come up with three pieces of advice:
1) figure out what kind or type of coins you like and stick to collecting those
2) if you are not sure about buying a coin, go ahead and do it, because you will regret it later and they always hold their trade or selling value
3) buy extras of coins 2-3. It saves on shipping per coin and gives you traders to barter with when you miss out on a later coin sale. Trading is the best part of geocoins especially with other artists.
wherethecacheis: Are there any other Geocoin events that you host? If so, what can you tell us about them?
Mark: I organize the multi events that are sometimes seen in the forums. A multi event is a number of different locations and hosts that share the same geocoin design and theme. Each event coin location has exclusive colors and metals.
One of these multi events is the annual X X X date events, staring with 07-07-07, we are planning for November 11th, 2011. A Czech geocacher has all the multi event coins and displays them here:
[www.gc-plzen.net]
All my events have themes and geocoins since they are an excellent way to pay for the costs associated with the event.
wherethecacheis: Is there anything that you would like to add?
Mark: In any community, I strongly feel that to be a leader you have to serve, you have to be able to get outside your comfort zone and try and do new things, Geocoinfest is one way I try and give back to the community.
Geocoins are the most unique collectibles around. They are truly little pieces of art. They are so varied and so different. The hobby is a democratic community where anyone can make a geocoin. We are not limited by a monopoly dictating supply and demand. That's what make geocoins fun, interesting and great!

Until next time - Happy Trails and Happy Caching!
June 01, 2011
4:39
The Return of the ET Highway!
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You may have heard rumors that the ET highway series was making a comeback. Those rumors are now confirmed! We got the opportunity recently to interview Clay and Gus, the COs of the original and the new ET highway series. Here is that interview:

wherethecacheis:  What caused the NDOT to change their mind and decide to let the ET Highway series reopen?
Gus & Clay: First let me start off by saying that from what we were told, it seems that the archival of the original trail was a misunderstanding between NDOT and Groundspeak. But for the most part, NDOT's PIO (Public Info. Officer) stated that they never wanted the whole trail removed, just a short, dangerous stretch, which we did archive immediately, but not before they contacted Groundspeak as well. In our opinion, Groundspeak misunderstood NDOT's request for the shutdown of that stretch to mean the entire stretch of highway.
NDOT expressed their wishes for the trail's return due to pressure from the local businesses and mistreatment of their employees at those establishments. We are now working to build a new trail with NDOT's blessing. They have expressed to us where they would not want to see caches placed and have also worked with us in allowing us to place the caches within a reasonable distance to the road and not beyond the 200' easement mark.
wherethecacheis: I have read stories that many business saw a sharp drop in business when the original series was shut down. Have you spoken with any of these business owners? If so, how much business did the original series bring to them and what was the impact when it went away?
Gus & Clay:   We have mainly been in regular contact with the owners of the Little A'Le'Inn, Pat and Connie. We can not speculate on their profits but we do know that last winter was the first since they had opened in 1990 that they were able to keep a full staff employed due to the regular flow of cachers through the area. In the past they had laid off maids and kitchen help through the slower months.
wherethecacheis: What made you guys want to do the original series in the first place?
Gus & Clay:   We came up with the idea when we took a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah back in October of 2009 for GeocoinFest. We did a power trail that was near the event, which at the time, was about 140 caches located just west of Provo, Utah. We had so much fun with this PT, we started planning our own. It was all we talked about on the 8 hour drive back home. One Thousand was the goal... but where could we put 1000 caches and make it a true power trail?? E.T. Highway just happened to be 98 miles long and an interesting place to visit plus it was an area almost everyone has heard of and knows something about it giving us a good theme to base the trail on. Several months later, after countless trips to all our local film processing counters, and making countless log sheets, we started placing caches. We put the caches down in a series of trips, placing anywhere from 150 to 350 a trip, and putting down about 40 caches an hour. 8-9 trips later, we had the whole trail and the Alien Head caches on the ground. We spent countless hours inputting all the coords and getting the pages ready.
wherethecacheis: I have seen that you have announced an event to launch the new series. Does this mean the series will be available at that time?
Gus & Clay:    What premier would be complete without an event? :)    The Alien Search Party - The 2nd Invasion! Event WILL be the official release of the new trail. However, the caches will most likely be published days ahead of time so attendees can have their queries ran ahead of the weekend.
wherethecacheis:   What can you tell us about the new series? Are there any differences between it and the original one? What are the major differences?
Gus & Clay:   The most obvious difference will be the size of the trail. Yes, like the Geocoin in production, it will be BIGGER!
Other differences cachers will see are none of the caches will be on the highway markers as before, and there will be no caches hidden through the mountain passes.
wherethecacheis: Will the original caches be reactivated, or will these all be new caches?
Gus & Clay:   These will ALL be new hides for two reasons.
First: Because we have to abide by our agreement for placements with NDOT, it will be much easier for us to just mark new coordinates as we go. About one third of the trail was on the aforementioned highway markers or in the mountain passes.
Second: We are viewing this as a new beginning. We would rather leave the past behind and move forward!
wherethecacheis:   What are the most important things that Geocachers need to know about the new series? What must we do to make sure that it stays this time?
Gus & Clay:    The number one thing would be to drive safely.
Pull completely off the roadway (all four tires to the right of the white line).
Be careful when merging back onto the roadway. Use your mirrors and always look first. Use turn signals or even Hazard lights (Flashers).
Do not stop in active work zones (if any) to retrieve caches. You can come back for those when work is not active.
It is Open Range. That means cows on the roadway. BE CAREFUL! Cow strikes are an unfortunately common sight.
wherethecacheis: Are you guys going to be setting the new hides out on your own, or will you enlist others to help?
Gus & Clay:  Call us perfectionists or control freaks, but we want to make sure every cache is exactly where we want it to be.   So yes, we are hiding every one on our own!
wherethecacheis:   I saw you post a picture of the new Geocoin on facebook. Love the design. How does one obtain one of these? What can you share with us about the Geocoin and the pathtags that will accompany them?
Gus & Clay:    Right now they will not be available until the Alien Search Party event. Those attending will be given the first opportunity to own these. After that time we will start accepting orders. There is a link to an Additional Info Document on the event page and it will eventually be on every cache page as well. That document will have info on how to order coins or tags as well as any other information you could possibly need about the trail. The New Geocoin will be 33% larger than the original and thicker as well. As for the Pathtags, right now the plan is to have 4 to 6 different designs to choose from.
wherethecacheis: For the original series, you had an email that you shared that gave helpful tips and pointers for Geocachers to know when they traveled there to do the series. Is that list still accurate? If not, will there be another list available?
Gus & Clay:   As I just mentioned, there is a link to an Additional Info Document on the event page and it will eventually be on every cache page as well. Here is a direct link to it: Clay4 & whtwolfden’s ET Highway Info
wherethecacheis:   Where can we go to get the most up-to-date information about the progress of the new series?
Gus & Clay:   Just know it will be complete and ready to go by the event date. :)
wherethecacheis:   Is there anything you guys need from others to help get the new series set up? If so, who would we need to contact to help?
Gus & Clay: We have already been fortunate enough to have great people helping to gather all the needed containers. They have been coming in from all around the country. The rest is up to us.
wherethecacheis:    Is there anything more that you would like to add?
Gus & Clay:  We would like to close by saying that our reward for all this work is the enjoyment of the trail by everyone. We know there are those out there who do not care for them and we try to take their feelings into account by adding the Scuba Attribute to all the caches so they can easily be filtered out of searches by those cachers. All we ask in return from those cachers is they just accept that Power Trails are now part of the game and try to find a way to just coexist without constantly fighting the trails or bashing those who enjoy them in the forums.
Also, remember to keep it safe. It's not a race to complete the trail. Those who claim "Records" are most likely the reckless ones who are endangering their lives and the lives of others, as well as the future of the trail for everyone else.
Take it slow, pack lots of water and snacks. Extra fuel is recommended as well.
We have been given a special second chance and we should all be careful not to make the same mistakes twice.
May 27, 2011
22:19
Geocoinfest 2011! An interview with a planning committee member
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Geocoinfest is a mega event that brings together Geocoin fans, collectors, and vendors. At the event, there is coin trading, discovering, buying, and a few other activities that are sure to provide a lot of fun. This year, Geocoinfest will be held in Rock Hill, South Carolina on October 14^th – 16^th. We got the opportunity to interview Craig (C&S 143), one of the founding members of the York County Geocaching Organization and a member of the planning committee for Geocoinfest US 2011.
Geocoinfest 2011 – Rock Hill, South Carolina: [coord.info]
Wherethecacheis: How many attendees do you anticipate to see at the Geocoinfest this year?
Craig: It is hard to give an exact number on this. Last year, they had around 550 signatures on the logs. However, that doesn't take into account families who may have had just one person sign for the group. We are estimating that we will have between 600 and 900 individuals.
Wherethecacheis: How many vendors do you expect?
Craig: Right now we have 9 vendors. We are hoping to hit at least 12. But we would like more!!
Wherethecacheis: What should a 1st timer expect to see/do at a Geocoinfest? What exactly happens during the main event?
Craig: For 1st timers to a geocoin event, expect to see a LOT of geocoins! That is the main focus for this event. Everywhere you look, there will be coins. There will also be a lot of pathtags around as well.
We do not have a detailed schedule just yet but some of the happenings at the main event will include a seminar on how to design a coin, silent auctions, door prizes and a kids area with arts and crafts, balloon animals and face painting. We are looking at things like pathtag blind trading where each person puts in a pathtag and randomly gets a different one. We are also happy to have Geocoin Poker at our event. This is a poker tournament (Texas Hold'em) where the buy-in is 3 geocoins. The winner gets a LOT of geocoins. We have a few other things up our sleeve that I don't want to mention just yet...

Wherethecacheis: Is there anything special that attendees may need to know about the Geocoinfest or anything they need to bring with them?
Craig: The main event is inside so weather is not a factor. No need to plan for sun or rain. If you have ever had a question about geocoins from a collector, enthusiast, designer or any other viewpoint, bring them! I am sure they can be answered at the event. Bring some money to buy coins or other items (sales are only permitted by official vendors). Bring your coins and pathtags for trading with others. Just come and have a good time.
Wherethecacheis: Besides geocaching, what else might a visitor want to do while in Rock Hill?
Craig: Rock Hill was the home to artist Vernon Grant. Now you may not know the name but I bet you have seen his artwork. He is the creator/artist of the characters Snap, Crackle and Pop from Rice Crispies cereal fame. Visitors can check out the Rock hill Museum to learn more about our area and Vernon Grant. We also are located along Lake Wyle and the Catawba River so there are some kayaking opportunities. Just up the road about 10 miles is Carowinds theme park. In October, the park opens in the evenings as SCarowinds, a haunted theme park! We are also located near Charlotte, NC, which is home to the Carolina Panthers (Okay. So based on last season, that might not be a big draw), the U.S. National Whitewater Center and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And of course there is GEOCACHING!!!
Wherethecacheis: Are there any must-do Geocaches that we might want to go for while we are there?
Craig: There certainly are. We are putting together a list of best area caches. Some will be quick finds in interesting areas. Others may take a while to complete but the journey is an adventure. Stay tuned for this information on our website: www.geocoinfestus2011.com
Wherethecacheis: Can you explain how the poker tournament works?
Craig: The poker tournament is being held one hour after closing of the main event in the same location as the main event. The tournament is being put on by The Geocoin Club, LLC. The tournament will be made up of 40 partcipants. Each participant provides a "buy-in" of 3 unactivated geocoins that are no longer for sale. The tournament will go on until there is a winner. The top 3 places will split the buy-in. The 1st place finisher will walk away with at least 60 geocoins!! For more details on the tournament, check out [www.geocoinclub.com]

Wherethecacheis: Will credit card purchasing be available? What about personal checks?
Craig: That will be a question for each vendor. We will be providing internet access for the vendors so that option is open. But it depends on if each vendor is set up for that.
Wherethecacheis: Are pets allowed at the event?
Craig: Pets are not allowed inside the facility with the exception of service animals. However, if you want to bring your pet with you, we can provide information on local day-boarding facilities if needed.
Wherethecacheis: Can you give us a hint on what will be in the attendee packages?
Craig: We are finalizing that right now. We are going to be doing something a little different with registration this year.
Wherethecacheis: Will food and beverages be available at the main event?
Craig: Yes. We are planning to bring in two or three food vendors. At this point, we have not nailed down those yet so I can't say for sure what type of food but that is the plan.
Wherethecacheis: Can you explain what a Friend of the Geocoinfest is? How can we become one?
Craig: Friends of Geocoinfest are those people or groups who volunteer to help out with the events or donate money to help offset the costs. If you wish to be listed on the Friends of Geocoinfest site, just donate your time as a volunteer or click the Donate button at the bottom of the main page to help financially.
Wherethecacheis: What does someone need to do to be a vendor or a supporter? What’s the difference?
Craig: A vendor is someone who has secured a table at the main event. Vendors have signed an agreement to be able to set up a table(s) at the event to sell their products. Sponsors are those folks who are not able to attend in person but who would still like to be a part of the event by donating either money or products for door prizes and silent auctions. If anyone is interested, please check out our website at [www.geocoinfestus2011.com]
Wherethecacheis: Where is the best place online to get the most up to date information?
Craig: The best place is to visit our website at www.geocoinfestus2011.com. That is where we will provide details on what is going on. We are also on Facebook (search for Geocoinfest U.S. 2011), Twitter (@Geocoinfest2011) and of course don't forget to log your "will attend" on Geocaching.com [coord.info]
Wherethecacheis: Is there anything else that you would like to add that we have not covered here?
Craig: We have a few surprises that we will be talking about in the coming weeks. Some of our adventurers went in search of hidden treasures and have come up with something that we think will be a big draw. Keep checking back to our site in the coming weeks and see what we have come up with!
We appreciate Craig taking the time to do the interview with us. We wish him and everyone on the planning committee best wishes to a successful event. I am sure I speak for everyone in saying that we appreciate the effort each of you are putting in to launch this years Geocoinfest.
Until next time…Happy trails and happy caching!
May 25, 2011
22:28
An awesome memorial for an American serviceman.
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The Elmer G. Raymond Park in Pelham, NH is the largest publicly owned parcel of land in the town. With a land size of approximately 240 acres, the area provides trails ranging from flat to very steep. There is no hunting allowed on the property, but they welcome Walkers, Hikers, Bikers, and best of all; Geocachers!

Elmer G. Raymond was an American serviceman that was killed in a training accident during World War II. A large portion of the land was seized by the township for non-payment of taxes, and there have been several parcels of land donated to Pelham since then.

In addition to the trail system, the park has Soccer and Lacrosse fields. The park is open from dawn to dusk, although permission can be obtained for overnight use. The parking area for the park is maintained in the winter and winter trail activities (Snowshoeing, X-country skiing) are encouraged and allowed.

I had been to this park before. In January, I had dreams of coming here and knocking out a few caches. After the 1^st one, I realized that my family and I would really need snowshoes (at the very least) to go for many of these caches. The one cache we did find proved to be a real challenge. You can read about that find here.

Every year there is an event that is held in the main area of the park. It’s an annual event that is called the ‘Twixt Sprint and Summer Geo-Meet. I had hoped to make it this year, but due to parental responsibilities, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Even though I wasn’t able to make the event, the event did remind me of the many caches that are in this area. Because I had a day off and it wasn’t actually raining, I decided to set out to see if I could get most of the caches in the park.

I was able to find all of the caches that I looked for. There are 2 others that are out there, but one of them was down for maintenance, so I will have to return to get those. The main one that is on my list is a 4.5/5 rating multicache known as the NH Gauntlet.

The area looked so much different when there wasn’t 4 feet of snow on the ground. The hike was very enjoyable from cache to cache – and there was even a lot of steep, rocky terrain that I had to navigate to get to some of them. After doing these caches, I am wondering exactly what I will be up against when I go for the Gauntlet.

The journey took me to many beautiful areas of the park. The most memorable was a stream crossing that I had to take – there was a 2X4 plank that provided a bridge from one side to the other and I was really surprised that I was able to make it. Especially since my dog was in tow. She took the stream…I walked the plank, and we made it to the cache in no time.

This park is one of my favorite areas so far. There is a stream that runs through the park that provides a soothing sound of trickling water as you navigate the paths. Another great area that Geocaching had brought me and one that I would have never experienced otherwise.
Until next time….happy trails and happy caching!
5:01
Proceeds from the Series 2 Home is where the cache is Geocoin is going to charity.
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Did you know that the VA has estimated that, on any given night, there are over 100,000 homeless veterans out on our streets? This is a staggering fact and one that troubles me due to how much they have given to US.

We wanted to do something to help, so we have decided to donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of our Series 2 Home is where the cache is Geocoin to the New England Center for Homeless Veterans. For more information about the center and the plight of homeless veterans, visit [www.wherethecacheis.com]
May 22, 2011
2:32
Isolated Beauty
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The first look at a new coin we are working on. Here is the latest draft of the mint art.
2:27
Finishing up The Meaning of Life
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It was the last day of April and was a beautiful day out. Seemed like a good day to finish up the Meaning of life series, so my wife, our youngest daughter, our dog, and I set out to wrap it up.

I had plotted out our trail plans about a week before we headed out, so I had a good idea of where I wanted to go. Although the main parking area had been marked for us by the CO of this series, there were plenty of alternate trailheads that looked like they would make the task a bit quicker. We chose to do the final caches by hiking from the closest trailhead and it worked out well.

This was the quickest jaunt of the series. It started in an area where remnants of timber cutting remained and then took us on a educational path that was marked with signs that provided information about the different plants and trees that were there.

There was even an open field complete with habitats built for some of the birds that are natural to the area. I really enjoyed the series and the places that I discovered because of it. The COs did a great job in setting this up where we could see and appreciate a good portion of the Beaver Brook Association and its massive area.

The final cache was a welcome sight – high-fives were shared between us all. I was happy to complete the series and was sad at the same time. In a very short time we had grown close to this area and really felt motivation build as we strove to complete this.

I still don’t know that I will ever understand the humor behind the movie, but I will always remember this series and the feeling of accomplishment I felt as we worked on it.

I hear that the CO has another series that is based on Monty Pythons Holy Grail – Now, that is a movie I have seen and did (somewhat) understand! J

Until next time – happy trails and happy caching!
May 21, 2011
18:54
Wild Canyon Games 2011 Geocache Masters Boot Camp Video
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May 20, 2011

Permalink for 'Current standings for the 2011 TRFTHOI'

17:41

Current standings for the 2011 TRFTHOI

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May 19, 2011
23:14
New Coin - Now Available!
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Home is Where the Cache is, Series 2
Now Available in our Webstore

After we made the 1st version of the Home is where the cache is geocoin, we started thinking that home may mean a different thing to each of us. This version of the Home is where the cache is geocoin is geared to a more urban setting. Whether you live in a house in the country or an apartment in the city, home is what you make it. Geocaches are a lot like that. Some people like going out for a lamp post micro, while others prefer a long hike to an ammo can. Everyone has their own realities and what both a home is and what a preferred cache is may be different to each of us. The important thing is that we are all a community in geocaching, as well as in life. It’s what we make it.

The coin comes in 5 platings (Antique Bronze, Antique Silver, Black Nickel, Copper, Satin Gold). They are 1.75" in diameter, are trackable, and have a custom icon.

Antique Silver

Black Nickel

Copper

Satin Gold

Antique Bronze

And here is a picture of the coin in the dark:
May 10, 2011
18:49
"To Whom It May Concern" by The Travel Bugs
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The Travel Bugs CD is available in our online store

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May 04, 2011
22:39
Happy Birthday Geocaching!
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Geocaching is 11 years old! In Celebration, we are running a special.
Purchase at least $11.00 in merchandise at our webstore and receive a coupon good for 25% off your next purchase.
Offer good until 6/1/2011
April 29, 2011
7:19
Progressing with the Meaning of Life...
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Life has gotten busy, so I am behind on keeping up with the Blog. My wife and I went out a couple of weeks ago to continue our work on the Meaning of Life Series. The Meaning of Life is a series of caches that are based on the well known Monty Python movie. There are 14 caches in the series and the series is split into different areas of the Beaver Brook Association, located in Southern NH.

We were able to complete the first 4 caches in about 2 hours. I have never been to this area, but had heard a lot about it. I must say that I was a tad disappointed with the first section due to all of the timber cutting that has occurred in the area. The scenery was not what I expected, but I do admit that further along the trail it did start looking better.

The second part of the series is located in a different area of the forest and I can now see why I have heard so many great things about this area. It was a complete turnaround in scenery and beauty from the first area. I was really happy to see that because, in my opinion, the scenery is one of the best parts about being a Geocacher.

I read through previous logs and I knew that we were in for one heck of a hike. Since each cache has a puzzle to solve for the coordinates of the next cache, I didn't know how much hiking would be involved, but I knew that we should plan on being there for a while.

Armed with the maps I had printed before leaving the house - (Darn! I forgot those at home! :-P ) Soooo....armed with nothing but my backpack, some water, and our GPSrs, my wife and I started off. I noticed that there was a traditional cache that was located near the trailhead for this cache, so that is where we started. We found that cache quickly, so I knew that we were off to a good start.

There were several paths to take at the beginning, but it looked like we were headed in the correct direction. The path took us by a small stream and it wound around the base of a mountain. We could not believe how beautiful it was back there. It had rained the night before, so the trail was a bit muddy in places (and under water in others) and there were a lot of newly formed streams of water heading down the mountain and running into the stream.

I watched the GPSr and it kept pointing straight ahead, so we continued following it. I was questioning why even though we kept walking we continued to remain .3 miles away from the next cache. We got a good mile down the path when suddenly the arrow on the GPSr started pointing us to the right and then a bit further along it started pointing behind us. It was at this point I realized that, once again, I had led my wife and I on the wrong path (now there were regrets on my part about not grabbing those darn maps I had printed).

We backtracked the mile + back to the trailhead intersection and I knew exactly which trail to take. Less than a half mile from the trailhead was the cache. There was a slight upward grade leading to GZ, but it wasn't too bad and I was happy to know that we were now on our way. Well, happy until I realized that the upward grade was getting steeper and the puddles in the trail a bit deeper.

On we went...it was such a pretty area - each turn brought us to an area that was nicer than the last. We met a few muggles along the way, stopped to chat to a few, and continued our journey. Once we were about a mile and a half from the beginning, we came across the next cache - had to bushwhack a bit to get to this one. Found it, solved the puzzle, and it was off to the next one.

The next one was a lot harder than I had thought. It was only about a half mile as the crow flies, but a good mile and a half if you followed the trail. Unfortunately, there were options along the way and we veered off the wrong direction a couple of times. At one point I took us through a field of mountain laurel, which was thick, tall, and no fun to navigate. We got through the mountain laurel and thought we were home free, only to find out that we were at the top of a bluff and there was a straight drop down from the top of the cliff where we stood...back through the mountain laurel we went.

The trail wound around the bluff and it wasn't too long before we were coming upon the next cache. I was happy to also note that we were finally heading down (which is a heck of a lot easier than going up). We got about 200 feet away from GZ and I about gave up - I cant give details because they would be too much of a spoiler, but I must tell you that this was going to be (and turned out it was) the most extreme cache I have ever tried to get to. It was hard - I didn't event think we would make it...and I am surprised that we did.

I was thankful that the next 2 caches were not as challenging. They were still a good distance from the main trail, but on level ground...which I needed because my legs hurt, my heels hurt, my everything hurt, and to top that off we had not eaten and were out of water now. Once got to the next to the last cache we signed the log but could not solve the puzzle - GREAT! I was tired...we had been out there more than 5 hours now and I would guess that we had put in at least 6 miles of walking - not to mention the climbing, jumping, tripping, etc. At this point I no longer was dodging the mud and the deep puddles in the trail...I was walking through them...and was proud that I did.

We decided to take a guess at the final and go for it....if we didn't find it, then we could come out again - after all, we still had the last leg of the series left to do and there was NO way I was doing the last leg today!

The coordinates we decided on were on the way to the parking area, so I was happy - hurting like I never have hurt before, but happy - because water, coffee, and food was less than an hour away.

We walked and walked and finally got to where we thought the last one was and it was there! BAM - We did it! We signed the log, took a picture of the puzzle, and headed home.

Just one year ago I would have never walked around the block, much less do a hike like this one...Geocaching has shown me things in my abilities that I was not even slightly tempted to discover otherwise....not to mention all of the beauty in the area that I never knew existed.
Now - its off to get the final few cache and put this series to rest! - to be continued!! :)
Until next time folks....happy trails and happy caching!
April 24, 2011
7:29
Wind! Rain! Sleet! Geocaching! [vlog]
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Someone posted this on the facebook fan page and I had to share it - what a great video!
April 21, 2011
12:27
Now accepting reservations for the Dharmachakra Geocoin
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I am happy to be able to share with you the Dharmachakra Geocoin. This coin will be available in 3 versions: Black Nickel, Antique Silver, and Antique Bronze. It is trackable and has a custom icon. The coin will be 1.5" in diameter.

Black Nickel:

Antique Silver:

Antique Bronze

The Dharmachakra (wheel of law) is one of the most important symbols used in Buddhism. It represents the teachings of the Buddha and also represents the cycle of rebirth that is constantly experienced by practicing Buddhists. Usually there are eight spokes within the wheel, as represented on our coin, and these represent the Noble Eightfold path that is followed by practitioners.

Represented as four of the eight spokes on this coin are the 3 jewels, which are another important symbol of Buddhism. These represent the Buddha (Buddhist nature), Dharma (the teachings of Buddhism), and the Sangha (the community of practicing Buddhists).

The Lotus flower in the center of the coin is another important symbol that represents the progress of the soul. The roots of the lotus flower are in the mud. The stem of the flower grows up through the water and the flower lies above the water, fragrant and basking in sunlight. Practitioners are constantly working to reach enlightenment and the progress of the soul rises from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and then into the brightness that comes with enlightenment.

On the back of the coin is an endless knot. The endless knot has many interpretations, but most often interpreted to mean the intertwining of wisdom and compassion or the timeless nature of our existence.

On the outer portion of the coin, on both sides, there is a Celtic knot. Also known as an endless knot its meaning is also often open to interpretation. Much like the endless knot in Buddhism, this symbol eludes to beginnings and endings. In viewing these beautiful knots, we cannot see a beginning or and end, and therefore we are reminded of the timeless nature of our spirit. A less spiritual representation is also related to the knots endless nature. Due to it's infinite path, the Celtic knot can represent an uninterrupted life cycle.

I am accepting reservations for this coin. The reservation price for this coin will be $9.00 + $2.00 shipping (US). Please add $1.00 for international orders. Shipping includes up to 2 coins. Please add .50 for each additional coin. If you would like to reserve a coin, you can do so through the reservation form that is available on my website.
April 19, 2011
19:09
Enduring Love Geocoin giveaway
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We are giving away 2 Enduring Love Geoocoins. Somewhere on our main website we have hidden a geocache. If you find the geocache, you click on it and it will take you to a list of tasks to complete - get those tasks done and you will be in the drawing.

Cointest ends on 4/26 at 23:59 eastern standard time. Click here now and go hunt for the cache!
April 18, 2011
4:27
Hunters angry with removal of geocaches on E.T. highway - News - ReviewJournal.com
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Hunters angry with removal of geocaches on E.T. highway - News - ReviewJournal.com
April 17, 2011
16:39
Dharmachakra Geocoin
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Reservations are now being accepted for our Dharmachakra Geocoin

This is our latest design and one we are very proud of. It is the DharmaChakra Geocoin and will be available in Antique Bronze, Antique Silver, Black Nickel, and Antique Copper. There will be a total of 25 of each version made. Samples will be available soon and final production will be determined at that time. These coins will retail for $9.99.

Click here to go to our main site to reserve yours.
April 15, 2011
14:31
The Meaning of Life
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Monty Python is a British troupe comedy team that created Monty Pythons flying circus, which was a British comedy sketch show that first ran in 1969. The popularity of the team grew into stage, recordings, books, movies, and even a musical.

After a few traditional motion pictures that told a single story, they produced and released The Meaning of Life, in where they returned to their roots of sketch comedy.

The meaning of life is a grouping of skits that walk the viewer through various scenarios and various stages of life. From the stage of birth through the stage of death, the movie is separated into parts that are sometimes confusing and even a bit disgusting. Banned in some countries upon its release it is not a movie that everyone would enjoy...but it does help to know a bit about the movie if you plan to work on a series of caches in New Hampshire that are named after the movie.

I went to the library to check out the movie in the hopes that I would be able to absorb enough information for this series. There are 14 caches total in the series. Each cache contains a log book and a clue to the location of the next cache.

To be honest, I wasn’t able to pay attention through the whole movie…a lot of it didn’t really interest me and there were some parts that I couldn’t really follow. I am not saying that it’s not a good movie…just not really my cup of tea.

Armed with what little bit of information I did gain from semi-watching the movie, my wife and I set off to get as many caches as we could before we had to be home…we had a couple of hours and it turned out that those two hours were enough for us to get through the first four caches of this area and complete one section of the beautiful area this series is located in.

The series is located in the Beaver Brook Association, which is nearly 2,000 acres of forest, fields, and wetlands in Hollis, Brookline, and Milford, New Hampshire.

There are over 35 miles of trails in this area, and prior to this there was only one traditional cache located in the area. The CO of this series got approval for the 14 meaning of life caches and I sure hope there are more approved in the future.

I have only done 4 caches and it took a few hours to do that – I look forward to completing the series and the many miles of hiking that we will put in (according to the description).

Happy trails and happy caching!!
April 10, 2011
15:45
Walk Like a Geocacher
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April 09, 2011
8:38
A teaser of an up and coming coin
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Not ready to announce this one quite yet, but would like to share a bit more of the art... :)
April 08, 2011
11:47
The Geocaching Triad
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April 05, 2011
23:09
Home is Where the Cache is, Series 1, Version 2
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[www.wherethecacheis.com] I have placed an order with the mint for the next run of the home is where the cache is geocoins. The black nickel plating will be the only version that I will do with the same colors as the back of the original coin. I am having gray added to the lettering so it would be easier to read. Here is the art for that version:

I tried different things with the back of the coin on the other platings and decided on white for the ground and a glitter blue on the sky portion. This was the design I tried on the antique bronze sample. Here is the art for that version:

Here is the back of the antique bronze sample:

The following are the versions that I am having run. There will be 20 of each version made. 10% of them will be EyeD10T proof.
Black Nickel - original backBlack Nickel - snow and glitter skyAntique Bronze - snow and glitter skyAntique Silver - snow and glitter sky Nickel - snow and glitter sky
I am not running any more samples, but will post pictures of the coins once they are received. These will be trackable and will use the original icon. I will accept reservations if anyone would like me to hold one for them.
If you are interested in reserving any coins, You can use the contact form on our main site to let us know. Make sure you include which versions you would like to reserve.
9:07
Geocaching.com Presents - EarthCaches
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March 31, 2011
20:39
A little glimpse of things to come.
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10:33
A funny thing happened on the way to the event...
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To be honest, nothing funny happened, but it made for a good title to this blog entry. ;) The TRFTHOI was months in the planning and it was over in just 20 minutes. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The days leading up to the event were warm and enough snow melted that it made for a nice day in the park for any cachers that chose to stick around after the event and grab a few of the caches in the park (and there are some really good ones there).

I spent a lot of time the week prior to the event tagging the racers and getting them ready to go. I made a couple of test runs to the park to check on the trails and to make sure that the park was going to be reasonably spring-time-ish. The morning of the event, my daughters and I went out to hide a few giveaways in various areas of the park that I had marked the week prior.

I gave us a couple of hours to get this done in and found we were pushing time to get done before the event was scheduled to start. I had a couple of caches published early that morning and it just so happened that there were to be prizes hidden in the area where one of the newly published caches would be.

I also felt that I had enough time to hide another one that I had been planning for a while. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get it published in time for the event. The snow had made it impossible to get to the area where this cache would be hidden, but this morning the snow was melted enough to get it there, so I went ahead and hid it.

About a half hour before the event
Sure enough there were a ton of cachers around the new cache so we had to skip hiding our prizes until right before the start of the event. With 5 minutes to spare, I dashed up the hill, dropped off the prizes, and then headed down to announce the start of the event.

Things went fairly smoothly. My daughters took charge of passing out trackables and logging in new ones, my wife took pictures and helped where needed, and my son jumped in to help where he could.

Before I knew it the event had come to a close and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most of the racers had been picked up. 98 in total and as of this writing, only 3 are unaccounted for - not a bad percentage. I am sure that they will be dropped off soon - if not within a month then I will contact the owners to work something out.

The only glitch in the whole event was that there were some people that were not able to find it (I forgot to post parking coordinates), and there were a group from Maine that had a car breakdown on the way to the event. Otherwise, I feel that it was a successful event and I look forward to watching the race.

If anyone is interested - my wife and I are already planning next years event - and it will be a doozy!!

By the way - that cache I hid was rejected it was too close to a multi that I forgot to account for - sigh! It was hidden in another excellent area nearby...but we can save that story for another time.
So, until next time - Happy Trails and Happy Caching!
March 30, 2011
1:16
Enduring love Geocoins - Only a limited number left
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There are only 5 silver versions of the Enduring Love Geocoin left and there are 10 left of the gold. When these are gone, the only version left will be Bronze. If you are interested in getting one before they are gone, you can pick them up at the webstore
March 28, 2011
7:10
AND THEY ARE OFF!!!!!
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There were 98 entries in this years TRFTHOI and the are on the move. A complete list of racers can be found on the race webpage. The list will be updated each month, showing the current status of the racers and listing the leaders, so make sure to check back often.
March 22, 2011
10:58
Geocaching - Unlösbar mit viel FTF (GC2QJFQ)
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My friend, Berufsgeocacher, has a geocaching podcast in Germany. This was a ?Unknown cache that was set up for him. They cachers that set this up had a nice FTF prize for him when he finished. Gecachers have big hearts!
March 20, 2011
2:41
Leading up to the 2011 TRFTHOI
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Tomorrow is the event. We went through all the trackables that we have been sent and have almost 70 in hand. The rest will be brought to the event tomorrow. I am looking forward to the event - it should be a lot of fun and its going to fly by. Today was nice out and tomorrow will be nicer, so its going to be a good day for the event and some post-event caching.

I got out and hid a couple today, but didnt get them done in time to be published for the event. Instead, we are hiding some prizes in the park for the attendees, so I scoped out the area today and found that most of the snow is gone! Thanks goodness. The snow prevented me from getting one of my caches done, but today I found the hide and should get it hidden soon.

My lovely wife will be taking pictures at the event tomorrow, so I will be doing a recap here within the next few days. With any luck, I hope to get some video too - but am not sure if I will have the time to get any....we will have to wait and see.

I hope everyone gets a chance to do some caching this weekend!

Happy Trails...Happy Caching!
March 17, 2011
8:47
Enduring Love Geocoin
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The Enduring Love Geocoins are in and they look great!

We are selling the coin for the reservation price until Sunday the 20th. After that, you will be able to purchase these at the regular price on our main webpage.

10% of the coins are EyeD10T proof. These will be chosen at random, so anyone that purchases one might get one that is EyeD10T Proof :)

If you would like to order one, just click here to send me an email
March 15, 2011
9:15
A Journey through the Swamp -or- what I did on the way to #200!
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It was a good day. The weatherman said that there might be a chance of snow, but it would only be a dusting and it wouldn’t last that long. It was cold that day, but not windy, so it didn’t feel as cold as it was. It was going to be a great day for caching.

It had only been a couple of weeks prior that I was wondering what I was going to do about my 200^th find. I don’t know if everyone does it, but when I first started geocaching I decided that every century cache that I did would be a unique one. When it was time for my 100^th cache, I had my eyes set on a particular cache but as the time came another cache opportunity was presented to me and I ended up changing my mind.

But I am getting ahead of myself and need to backtrack to the very first cache that I found. I say I, but it was actually a family effort. The cache wasn’t the first one that we looked for, but it was the first one that we found. The name of the cache was the NH number 1, Mines follies.

I didn’t understand it at the time, but it was a very significant cache as it was the first one that was hidden in NH. This may not mean a lot to some people, but it is something that, to this day, I really think is neat. My (our) first cache is the first one that was planted in the granite state.

Well, I was up to number 97 in caches and knew that an event was coming up…the event was a group meeting at the site of NH #1 to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the day it was created. I had planned for a while to be at this event, but it wasn’t until the day of the event that it dawned on me – I could make that one my #100. I dashed out before the event to grab 2 caches so I could make this one my legitimate 100^th find – and I did.

But this story isn’t about my 100^th find (heck, the pictures that I have posted so far were from the 200^th cache trip)…the story of 100 is just a convenient lead in to the real story – my number 200. OK – so 100 does have a bit of significance toward this story because it further explains that I want to make each triple digit rollover a unique cache. I did it for the first one and I did it for number 200 in seeking out and finding CAMP NASTY!
197
Like I had mentioned, I knew that number 200 was coming up. I also knew that we had a lot of snow this year, which made finding a lot of caches hard, if not impossible. I guess if I were better prepared it would be different, but I don’t have snow shoes, skis, and other gadgets that helps one to get around in the snow a bit easier. As a matter of fact, if my wife reads this – a snowmobile along with those other things would be a great birthday gift this year! J

Back to the story….I knew that number 200 was coming up and I was racking my brain on what I wanted to do. I even thought that I would put off caching until spring so I could plan a good one (even though I knew this wasn’t going to happen). I was sitting at my desk when the email from groundspeak came through. Actually there were two emails and both announced that someone had found Camp Nasty. Camp Nasty had been on my watch list for some time and it had completely slipped my mind. That would be the perfect one to go for.

198
Camp Nasty is a shack in the middle of a swamp. Some cachers have gone after it in the warmer months (and there are pictures on the webpage that show these cachers up to the chest in mud). My hat is off to those cachers. Me – I didn’t think that would make for a fun caching day…but the cache description states that it is better to go for this one in winter and since my wife and youngest daughter wanted to come celebrate my number 200 with me, I knew that this was the perfect time to go for it. I wrote a note to the cachers that had just logged the find to see if this could be done without snowshoes…they said it could, so off we went.

Camp Nasty is located in a swampy area off one of the many Rail Trails here in New Hampshire. The trailhead for the rail trail is about an hour drive from where I live. WE packed up our gear and headed out. It was a beautiful day and a great day for a drive. I have been this way many times – I always take the kids camping in this very same area each year. But once we broke off the main highway, we headed on a road that I had never been before. What a beautiful drive it was.

There is a parking area at the start of the trail, so we parked the car (or as they say in these parts – we Paakked the Kaaaa) J Grabbing my trusty walking stick and strapping on the cache pack, we set off.

It was a cold day but there was very little wind – the walk was a little over a mile and a half to the camp. Most of the way it was a snowmobile trail, which was well packed in the middle and was very soft on the sides – I know this because I sunk a few times while moving over for the snowmobiles to get by. Most of the snowmobile riders were friendly and slowed down as they approached….every so often one would zoom by a lot faster than I cared for, but there was enough room that we were able to stay out of the way.

Hmm...how many times do you think this happened on that trip? ;)
I was short a few caches when we headed out this day, but I had noticed that there were several hidden along this trail, many of which had been found recently. I lined up more than I needed to get, so to hopefully have enough to get me to 199 before we headed down the path to Camp Nasty.

199
I was surprised that there was a nicely packed path leading to almost every cache along the way – we found each of the ones we looked for and got up to 199…that just left the long walk to the Camp.

Prior to doing this cache, I did my homework, reading the several hundred logs that had been entered for this cache. I have to say, my researching abilities are getting much better than in caches past. Still far from being a perfect cacher, I am proud that I am learning the ins and outs of preparing for the tougher ones. I am glad I did do my homework on this one, because hidden in these logs are the coordinates one needs to cut off the main path and head through the swamp.

The walk was a long one. Thank goodness for the caches that we did on the way – helped break the trip up and made it seem like it was shorter than it really was. Each find was made quickly, thanks the three sets of eyes that we had. My wife took tons of pictures for me, while my daughter and I focused on getting the caches logged and checking out the SWAG goodies that she could swap.

A little over a mile down the rail trail and we were at the trailhead for the camp. There was a narrow, well packed path ahead so we set off. The trail was about a foot wide and it wasn’t packed well outside of that range. Again, I proved that a few times by sinking to my knee when side stepping along in my usual clumsy fashion. Other than that, the trail was perfect and it made for a fairly simple trek to the Camp.

The brush in this area was thick and there were several spots where we had to duck, swerve, or limbo our way through. I have a lot of admiration for those that have taken this trek when the swamp wasn’t frozen because it was tough enough on the ice. The trail ran left and right as if a large serpent had passed through laying the trail. But I didn’t care – we were so close now.

Along the way we saw a seat in a tree for a hunter. In actuality this camp is a hunting camp…used mostly by winter hunters for rabbit and whatever winter game is available? I am not a hunter, so I am not sure what else is hunted by those that spend time in the cabin.
My GPSr showed me that we were less than 200 feet away when I started to smell a campfire…and then I saw it – CAMP NASTY! There is no better feeling than what I was feeling at that moment. There was smoke coming from the chimney, which told me that there was someone already here. It also told me that there was a fire burning and that meant a nice warm place to sit and spend a few moments before we had to head out.

We got to the cabin and as I suspected, there were a group of people already there. They too were cachers and after introductions were made and I took over the responsibilities of fire control, they left and the girls and I went into the cabin. What a neat place. In the cabin is a logbook for the cabin and many other things. I don’t want to list these as I don’t want to give away too much. Some of the fun is the mystery in what is really in that cabin. What I can tell you are there is a stove with wood, lots of booze left by passers by…a table and a couple of cots. There is also a small supply of food, although we didn’t really look to see what all was there.

200!!
My wife and I did a shot of tequila that had been left by the folks we just met. We took a few pictures and my daughter swapped some SWAG. We didn’t stay too long because we had a long hike back and needed to be home before dark. We put the fire out, cleaned up after ourselves and headed home.

The walk out was a lot longer than the walk in, but there was a lot to see and we felt fulfilled having accomplished this wonderful cache. If you ever get a change to do this one…I would recommend it – it’s a top ten for sure!
Until next time – happy trails and happy caching!
March 14, 2011
10:40
Camp Nasty Caching Adventure
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March 09, 2011
11:50
The Geocachers' Creed
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The Geocachers’ CreedSafe · Legal · Ethical [www.geocreed.info] When placing or seeking geocaches, I will: 1. Not endanger myself or others 2. Observe all laws and rules of the area 3. Respect property rights and seek permission where appropriate 4. Avoid causing disruptions or public alarm 5. Minimize my and others' impact on the environment 6. Be considerate of others 7. Protect the integrity of the game pieces The Geocachers' Creed is a voluntary set of guiding principles - it describes how geocachers in general act. It's designed to orient new players to the ethos of the geocaching community and to guide experienced players in questionable situations, so that everyone can enjoy geocaching.

Further ExplanationFollowing are examples of how to apply the Creed. These are only examples and not part of the Creed - not every contingency can be spelled out. If something is not specifically listed in the examples, consider the intent expressed in the main tenets in making a decision.
Not Endanger Myself or Others · Like any outdoor activity, geocaching involves some inherent risk and many geocachers enjoy manageable risks. Minimize inordinate risks. · When creating a cache, describe any hidden dangers and, if possible, arrange the hunt to minimize these dangers. · When seeking a cache, know your limitations and be aware of your surroundings. Don't attempt anything beyond your abilities. · A cache you own, or one you're trading out of, could be found by children or even a prisoner work crew - consider the location of the cache and those likely to find it when deciding what to leave as a trade item. Observe All Laws and Rules of the Area · Don’t break the law or rules of an area, or encourage others to do so, when placing or seeking a cache. · Don't leave illegal items in a cache. Respect Property Rights & Seek Permission Where Appropriate · Check if permission is required before placing a cache on private property, and respect the landowner's wishes. · Check if public land has a geocaching policy and respect existing policies. · Promptly remove your cache if the land manager or steward asks. · Do not damage, or interfere with the function of, buildings, structures, or signage. Avoid Causing Disruptions or Public Alarm · Don’t place a cache near schools or government buildings unless the administration and staff are fully aware of the placement. · Use caution where children play. Parents are understandably concerned when strangers are near their children. · Don’t place a cache near critical infrastructure that might be considered a terrorist target, or create a cache that could be mistaken for a terrorist device (e.g. a pipe bomb). Minimize My and Others' Impact on the Environment · Follow Leave No Trace (www.lnt.org) ethics whenever possible. · When seeking a cache, practice "Lift, Look, Replace" - put all stones or logs back where you found them. Leave the area as you found it or better (e.g. pick up litter). · Obtain the best possible coordinates for your cache to reduce unwarranted wear on the area. Recheck and correct your coordinates if finders report significant errors. · Do not abandon a cache. o If you stop maintaining a cache, remove the container, archive its listing and explain the disposition of the cache in your archive note, or put it up for adoption or rescue. o If you de-list a cache on one host, but keep it on another, make sure you mention this in the archive note to prevent rescues of active caches. Be Considerate of Others · Treat other geocachers civilly - in the field, in the forums, or wherever your paths may cross. · Don't spoil the hunt for others - allow them to experience the cache as its owner intended. o Avoid leaving tracks to the cache. Do not disrupt the cache area or mark the hiding spot. o Minimize giving unsolicited clues that reveal the cache (i.e. "spoilers"). o Don't provide any hints if the cache description asks you not to. In all other cases, be cryptic or encrypt any hints or spoilers you enter in online logs. o Edit your log if the cache owner requests that you remove spoilers. · Promptly alert the owner of any issues with their cache. Make minor repairs if you can, it will save the owner a trip. · Cache owners appreciate feedback - write an online log, send an email, or otherwise let the owner know about your experience with their cache. Only place caches you can maintain and respond promptly to problem reports. · If you exchange trade items, trade kindly: Consider what future finders would like and leave something equal to or better than what you take. · If you place a traveling item into the game, attach a tag that describes its goal, so that others can help it along. If you pick up a traveling item with a tag describing its goal, move the item toward its goal if possible. Contact the owner if you hold a traveling item for more than a couple of weeks or so. · Obtain permission from the originator before copying unique themes and techniques, adding to an existing series of caches, or placing a cache close to another. Protect the Integrity of the Game Pieces · The owner entrusts you to not damage or jeopardize the cache. Try to ensure the cache is ready for the next finder and is as good as or better than you found it. · Make sure the container is properly closed to prevent the contents from getting wet or destroyed. · Be inconspicuous in retrieving, signing in, and replacing a cache to avoid vandalism. · Put the cache back where you found it and hide it well. Don’t move a cache - if you suspect the cache is not in the intended spot, hide it the best you can and alert the owner as soon as possible. · Don’t collect traveling items meant to stay in the game. This is tantamount to stealing. · Don’t tamper with or involve a game piece in "alternate" games without the owner’s permission. ã 2004 Some rights reserved. You may freely copy, distribute or display the Creed provided that you credit www.geocreed.info.For more information, visit the website or contact: geocachers.creed@gmail.com
March 05, 2011
10:13
Geocaching has Kept Me Safer -The story of one Army Bomb Squad Sgt.
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March 01, 2011
21:40
The rise and fall of the ET series :(
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I just heard that the ET highway was shut down! As cachers, we all need to use some common sense out there! We dont want this to start happening to our other caches too.

Here is some info posted just a little while ago by one of the COs on facebook:

I'm afraid I have some news that will be disappointing to you. The Nevada DOT has demanded that the ET Hwy series be immediately archived and the Nevada Attorney General is involved. We will have a group of admins working on this project since it is so big, and request ...that you help by archiving some of them yourself. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding."

Even after we had this issue resolved, the continued careless negligence of so many cachers has finally done this trail in. The ET caches are all being archived as we speak. If cachers continue this type of unsafe and uncaring behavior, I'm sure other trails will be in jeopardy as well. A few bad apples sure did spoil the bunch!

~~~~

I want to thank Clay and Gus for putting forth so much effort in this series and for going to bat to try to save it...its too bad that a few couldnt practice safe caching - I wanted to do this one some day....I guess I will never get a chance. :(
10:19
Power Trail of the Viking gods!
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Much like the Greek and Roman cultures, early Vikings worshiped many gods, each of which had charge of a specific task. Odin was the leader of the gods and was the father of many of them. Thor, was the god of thunder; Loki was a wizard of lies; Frey of fertility. The list goes on. Like other early religions, the Vikings relied on their gods for support, strength, inspiration, and justification for just being.

Geocacher Viking43 honored these Viking gods and mythological characters by creating a power trail series in New Brunswick, Canada. Each cache in the series is named after a Viking god or a character from Norse mythology and is known as:
The Power Trail of the Viking Gods!
Currently there are 136 caches in this series, starting with #1 Power Trail of the Viking Gods-- AEGIR, and running consecutively in alphabetical order to #135 Power Trail of the Viking Gods—PAULA. The last cache is #136 Power Trail of the Viking Gods—VALHALLA and it is the only one that isn’t in place with the others. The cache description indicates that the original cache was vandalized, so it was moved to another location. There is a hint on the description page that gives a little insight to where it is located.

This power trail is different than the others that I have blogged previously. Instead of being off of a major highway, they are located off of a rail trail. Also, the caches range in size from micro to regular, instead of all being micro in size. The description notes indicate that all of the caches are within 10 meters of the trail, and are not overly difficult to find. Even though this is a power trail, it wasn’t placed for the purpose of just getting numbers; there is a lot of scenery to enjoy.

The nearest city is Fredericton, New Brunswick and it has a lot to see and to do. There are several villages as well along the trail, so there appears to be lots to see and to do while working on this series. You can find information about the city, including things to do and places to stay on their main webpage, [www.fredericton.ca]
This power trail series follows the Nashwaak River and ends along Cross Creek. It is a rail trail. Bicycles are allowed on the trail and it can be hiked as well, but it is approx. 35 kilometers one way. In some areas, the trail may be rough and you might have to walk instead of bicycling, but the majority of the trail can be navigated by bike.

The CO was kind enough to share the following information about this trail and gave me permission to share it in this blog. If you are ever in the area and are up to a great hike, I think this would be one that would fit the bill.
Happy trails and Happy caching!

From the COs, Viking43 crew:
1. The trail was developed to give cachers an other alternative in caching; many cachers have no use for power trails while others love the challenge. This one is a challenge due to the length and trail bed. Remember we choose what we what to do in this game and that makes alternatives attractive only to some.
2. This trail can be done on an ATV, fair game but not the intended manner. Biking and hiking were the intended mode but again it is your choice. To this point no cacher has completed the trail in one day as a hiker, but has been done in 3 parts. There are easy access points along the trail to help divide it into easy pieces. Lots of parking spots.
3. Fredericton is the best place to make home base but there is a camp ground along the trail which accommodates trailers and tents.

4. Most of the trail has an old railroad base thus making it an easy go but some of the base is large, loose stones which slows you down. In winter the trail is packed by snowmobiles and thus makes it an easier go.
5. Total trip from one end to the other is nearly 35 kms, one way! Smart cachers pair up and put cachemobiles at different points to save on the return trips.
6. In putting the series out I figure we biked over 200 kms over the time we scouted out the area and then actually placing the caches.
Viking43
February 27, 2011
6:03
Smooching in Brookline - The NH Kissing Bridge
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I had read about this cache a long time ago and have even driven past it a few times on my way to other caches. I wanted to wait until my wife and I could get away without the kids and spend a quiet moment on the bridge. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a dad. I can’t think of anything in my life that has given me more joy than my kids. However, with 5 kids and a broad span between ages, my wife and I seldom have quiet time.

It was a Saturday night and the kids were all scheduled to be with their friends the next day, so I checked the weather on the weather website and it said that we were due a break in the snow. It had been snowing for a kajillion day’s straight and I was seriously jonesing for a chance to go geocaching. The weather site said that the next day would be cold, sunny, and highs in the upper 20s. To top all this off, there wasn’t going to be any wind. Yahoo! Finally, a Balmy day! I told my wife that we were going caching! J

I spent the night lining up a series of caches that we would try to do. Most of the time when I plan my caches, they are in New Hampshire, but this time I decided to start our day out in Pepperell, Massachusetts. I have never been to Pepperell, even though it is only about 10 miles from our city. I have been meaning to get down there to check out the town and to get a few caches, so this trip sounded like it would be a great one to do this in. I even decided that if we started in Pepperell and headed Northwest, we could hit a few caches along the way to the Kissing Bridge.

I loaded up my GPSr, realizing that there would be a few caches that we would not be able to get because of a recent snow, and packed my backpack…I was all set. The next day, after the kids were all stationed at their friend’s houses, we were off. It’s a really beautiful drive on the backroads between NH and MA. As much as I hate winter, I have to admit that the snow covering that bellowed over the houses and the fields was very pretty. The speed limit kept us to under 35 MPH the whole way, so we had plenty of opportunity to enjoy the scenery. WE made it to the 1^st GZ in about 20 minutes, and I knew where the cache was as soon as I stepped out of the Jeep. Find number 1 was done – it was already a great day.

We ended up in knee deep snow looking for the next cache and I ended up giving up after a long search. Number 3 and number 4 were not accessible due to the snow, so we went to the next one, which was also not available. We grabbed a coffee and some gas and decided to just head on to the kissing bridge, which I assumed would be accessible.
One thing about New England is that you very seldom are on a road where there isn’t someone behind you in a bigger hurry than you are. I don’t know if we were just on the right road, or if everyone else was home, but there were very few cars on the road. It wasn’t long before we pulled into the ice covered parking lot and slid into a place.

I didn’t know it at that time, but I found out that there are actually 2 Nissitissit Bridges at this area. The larger one is the kissing bridge and the smaller one is called the Baby Nissitissit bridge. All of the times that I drove past this spot, I thought that the Baby bridge was the only bridge and now I discovered that I was wrong. The larger bridge actually spans a beautiful stream, while the baby bridge provides crossing over a small ditch.

Once we realized that the bridge we wanted was on the other side of the street, we crossed on over and headed toward it. As we approached, I could see that there was a large pile of snow right in front of the bridge. The pile was created by the plows that have come into the area to clear the roads and, I assume, the parking area we were standing in. Assuming that it would be well packed, I made my way to the top of the pile without sinking in. My lovely wife followed me, but was less lucky – about a foot from the top, her right leg sunk all the way down into the pile.

She was able to get out and after putting up with me laughing, she made her way over to the bridge side of the snow pile. Crossing into the bridge, you immediately forget where you are. The sound of the stream below coupled with the stream of sun that fed through the slats on the wall create a relaxing ambiance. I felt a calm that I hadn’t felt in a long time and it was great to steal a moment away from the day to day hustle and bustle. We spend about a half hour on the bridge, but it felt like a lifetime – it was great. We found the cache, which was cleverly hidden and snuck in a few smooches – it is the kissing bridge, you know. We also took the time to take some pictures of the area. This, by far is one of my favorite areas that geocaching has brought me to.
It turns out that the bridge was actually moved here in 2001. Originally, the bridge was a pedestrian walkway that connected a parking lot with a craft store in Nashua, NH. When the craft store owner sold their business, the town of Brookline, NH asked if they would donate the bridge and they did.

The original bridge was only 46 feet long. Once the town of Brookline received the bridge, they added to the bridge, extending its length to 110 feet. Once the extension was in place, they used a crane to place the bridge over the Nissitssit River. The bridge was joined to 3 concrete abutments that were already in place and were originally were part of the old Boston and Maine Railroad.

The bridge was dubbed the Kissing bridge and in 2006, Cosmopolitan Magazine listed it as one of the sexiest spots in the country and labeled it New Hampshires “loveliest kissing bridge”. After visiting, I can see why.

Oh the places that geocaching had brought me. If you ever are in Brookline, I highly recommend that you visit!
Happy trails and happy caching!

New Hampshire's Kissing Bridge
February 26, 2011
0:08
Creative Geocaches
» ‎ wherethecacheis.com

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February 24, 2011
7:30
(Get your Kicks) on Route 66
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US Route 66 was established in November of 1926 and covered 2,448 miles stretching from Chicago, IL. to Los Angeles, CA. Route 66 was one of the original highways that made up the U.S. system of highways, and was made popular by a hit song that was written by Bobby Troup. The song was originally performed by Nat King Cole, but had been performed by other artists throughout the years. The lyrics of the song outline the major areas that the highway passed through.

If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.

It winds from chicago to la,
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.

Now you go through saint looey
Joplin, missouri,
And oklahoma city is mighty pretty.
You see amarillo,
Gallup, new mexico,
Flagstaff, arizona.
Don't forget winona,
Kingman, barstow, san bernandino.

Won't you get hip to this timely tip:
When you make that california trip
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.

In 1985, Route 66 was removed from the US highway system because it had been replaced by the more modern Interstate Highway system. Many portions of the highway are no longer relevant, but are still used at times and is referred to as "Historic Route 66".
The Route 66 power trail is a series of 800 caches that runs for 95 miles in California. It runs from outside of Barstow, Califonia and end prior to reaching Needles, California. Much like the ET highway, this is a "road less traveled", containing film canister caches spaced closely together.
I contacted Team SteveCat, who like the ET power trail, has a letter with tips and pointers for those that want to attempt the Route66 power trail. They gave me permission to paste the details here.
Happy trails and happy caching!!

Thank you for your interest in our Route 66 series. We have had a lot of positive response to the Route 66 PT (power trail) as well as a lot of questions. It seemed that many of the same questions were getting asked, so we thought it would be more beneficial to everyone to write a blanket response to all the questions we have been asked.
You may only need info for one or two questions but this FAQ sheet should have all the info you need and maybe something you didn’t think of. We want everyone’s quest to do the series to be a positive one and have little to no DNF’s.
How the Route 66 series came about: We have driven all through California with a quest to cache in all the 58 California counties. In some counties the Caches were so sparse and we thought, more than once, how nice it would be to find a string of caches over a just few miles.

In August 2010 we created the Century series in Hemet California. 100 caches in about 50 miles commemorating memorable dates over the last century. We had so much fun planning and placing it, and had such positive responses from folks caching it, that we knew we needed to do more. Not long after that Ginny was on the computer looking for our next Geocaching adventure when she called me over “Look at this,” she said, “There is over 90 miles of road with only about 12 caches on it…. Someone should place more caches there!”
We wondered if we could place a large cache run. We talked about it, and finally decided if we were able to gather a good amount of film canisters together, we’d try. Well, within 5 days, and about a dozen film processing stores later, we had over 1,000 containers. We scoped out the area, and in about 4 long weekends, we placed all 800 caches.
Then came the arduous task of inputting all the cords and getting the pages ready. In the end, we felt it was all worth it.

How to get to the Power Trail: The Route 66 cache series runs along, what else, Route 66, or
National Trails Highway and is 95 miles long. To get to the start of the route, Take I-15 to I-40 at Barstow then about 17 miles East to the Hector Road exit. You will need to back track just a couple of miles – the route starts there. If you are flying in, Barstow is about 2 hours south of Las Vegas - McCarran airport, and also about 2 hours north of Ontario California – Ontario Airport.
A little bit about the caches: The Route 66 caches are all in film canisters; the logs are about 1 inch wide by 11 inches long and are usually 4-5 pages deep. The caches are from 2-30 feet from a paved road and can be accessed by any car with NO problem. All were placed to try to keep the caches out of the potential flood areas.
All the Route 66 caches have a ‘Scuba’ attribute to help associate them with the power trail, since there is no ‘Power Trail’ attribute, and we felt it was pretty unlikely that someone would want to search for Scuba caches in the desert.
They are named 001-Route 66 all the way to 800-Route 66. The naming conventions was chosen to better display on your GPS. Some units can only display so many characters and this seemed the best way for consideration of many cachers.

People are telling us it’s taking them from 14.5 to 18 hours to do this run – although it may be more comfortable to do it over two days, and cache in the daylight.
These are all placed near the side of the road, there is no need to cross fences or go into any private property for these caches. Please be respectful of the land and the environment.
You will, unfortunately, see a lot of broken glass in the desert along the sides of the highway. We tried, when we could, to clean up, but it just was not possible, therefore, be careful as you walk, and especially if you have children with you.
Cell phone coverage is pretty good throughout the trail. We have AT&T and it drops off / spotty for about 10 or 15 mile east of Amboy. We are told that some folks had good coverage for most of the route. Make sure someone knows where you’re going and check in with them when you can.

Stamps are HIGHLY recommend (please don’t use stickers, and especially don’t make little cut out names to drop in caches….these end up falling out and littering the area, stickers gum up the logs). Stamps cost about $15 give or take a few bucks, can be custom ordered, delivered in a few days, and WELL worth it…trust us on this one. Most stationary stores can make these for you (i.e. Staples, Office Depot, etc.)
Logging caches: We don’t mind cut and paste logs, we expect them. We each have, along with everyone else, 001-Route 66 and 800-Route 66 on our watch list, so if you’re going to write something you want us to see or anyone else, please use those caches. We also don’t mind using those caches for writing notes, saying when you will be coming or are looking for other cachers to team up with. We do get all DNF’s and all NOTES on each and every cache; and will monitor those and repair as needed.
DNF’s and Log/container replacement: We get some DNF's from time to time. The caches usually don't stay gone for too long because other cachers replace them as needed. These are not evil hides, most are intended to be fairly easy finds We don’t mind cachers replacing logs or containers It is a huge undertaking to maintain 800 caches not to mention the gas it takes to drive 100 to 200 miles from our house depending on which one needs maintenance. We ask cachers to please help us maintain this trail. This helps everyone out, and hopefully makes your cache run a 100% success. We recommend picking up 5 - 20 film canisters or more (you can get them for free at your local Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s, Wal-Greens, CVS or other places that develop film). Use the links below to make some logs for them. We also recommend making an extra 5 - 20 logs. That way you can replace any caches or logs that might have been lost or destroyed in some way (or just plain full) This helps everyone and you are guaranteed no DNFs.

Log Sheets: (cover plus 4 to 5 blank sheets stapled at top)
[www.techblazer.com]
[www.techblazer.com]
Feel free to add your name to the top of the replacement logs so you don’t have to sign them out on the trail, save some time, we don’t mind…Thanks
Critters: Although we didn’t see any wildlife, i.e. snakes, as we were placing this series (and note, we did place in the cool of winter) this is the desert, and you need to be cautions. The desert is home to Snakes (the Mojave side-winder and rattlers) lizards, the occasionally coyote, as well as rabbits and other small animals. Please use caution.

Safety: The series is designed to start with 001 on the Barstow side of the run (West side), and work your way through the city of Amboy, finishing back at the I-40 near Needles, Ca (East side). They are all on the south side of the road (except for a few caches placed by other cachers.) So there is no need to cross the highway to make the grab.
You will cross over the railroad tracks a few times, and NO caches are placed near the tracks. We also avoided areas that were steep drop offs – we want everyone to have fun and be safe.
The highway is not highly traveled, however between Amboy and Kelbaker road you will see that traffic picks up a bit, but then slows down east of Kelbaker.
However, don’t get complacent and pull out on the road without looking. A couple of cachers have told us that a highway patrolman stopped while they were along the road caching. They were fine with what they were doing but warned them that all 4 tires needed to be on the right side of the white line when stopping…not to be on the highway, you have been warned.

Gas – Food – etc.This is the desert so please bring plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated and have snacks with you. There are a couple of stores along the route. A Dairy Queen in Ludlow (about cache number 210) and when you reach Amboy, they have limited snacks, drinks and restroom (about cache 450.)
There is gas in Ludlow and Amboy – and at the end of the route on Goff’s road and the I-40.
Pull over and sleep if you get tired… Jet lag, time changes and caching 14+ hours a day can take its toll. Don’t overdo it.
Places to stay: The closest lodging is in Ludlow. We have not stayed there, and it looks like a “quant” place. All we know is that you need to check in at the gas station across the street.
There is also an RV Park about 5 miles before the start of the route. It is Newberry Mountain RV park (760) 257-0066 …. They have full hooks ups, 50 amp service, and wireless internet. A pretty nice place, but space is limited.

Other than that there are hotels and motels in both Barstow, Ca. and in Needles, Ca.
Barstow is about 20 miles before the start of the route. In Barstow there is: Best western, Motel 6, Days inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday inn, to name a few.
Needles is about 25 miles after the end of the route. In Needles you have: Motel 6, Best Western, Days Inn, and Americas Best plus a few others.
Coins: If you are interested in commemorative coins, we have created a Route 66 coin, currently in production. Please email us at Route66Coin@Gmail.com. We will send you the prices and order info, if we don’t have them we will let you know, and we will put you on our waiting list and you will be contacted when we receive the next order. We will keep ordering them as long as people want them, so please be patient and we will make sure you have as many as you want.
BONUS CACHES: There are 6 caches at the end of the route starting with GC2K64D There are a couple of other cache runs you may be interested in:The Mo Series starting with GC2KRVZ And the Power series GC249DD Searchlight trail (off road dirt road trail) GC26FQ2
Another great Mega series is the E.T. Highway by Clay4 & whtwolfden. This series is located in Nevada GC2551A , North West of Las Vegas. There are over 1000 caches in this series.
If you want to pick up other states, note that from the end of the Route (at Route 66 and Interstate 40) you are 28 miles from Arizona, and 38 miles from Nevada

Other places worth visiting for sightseeing and maybe a little caching:
Amboy Crater – One of California’s Cinder-cone volcanoes.Mitchell Caverns – Beautiful underground caverns.Calico Ghost town – An authentic silver mining town.
Quick links:
Weather for the areas you’ll visit:Barstow [weather.weatherbug.com] Needles [weather.weatherbug.com]

That should do it, if you find any discrepancies or if you find something we need to add or take out, please let us know. We want this to be a good experience for all cachers. Be safe and have fun.
Steve & GinnyTeam SteveCat
February 22, 2011
18:17
Snowshoe Geocaching
» ‎ wherethecacheis.com

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February 18, 2011
7:03
Extraterrestrial Highway (Hwy 375)
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Since writing this blog, the ET highway has been archived. We are sorry to see it go. I am leaving this blog here for archival purposes, but be away that this series is in the process of being removed and/or has been removed.

Here is some info posted just a little while ago by one of the COs on facebook:

I'm afraid I have some news that will be disappointing to you. The Nevada DOT has demanded that the ET Hwy series be immediately archived and the Nevada Attorney General is involved. We will have a group of admins working on this project since it is so big, and request ...that you help by archiving some of them yourself. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding."

Even after we had this issue resolved, the continued careless negligence of so many cachers has finally done this trail in. The ET caches are all being archived as we speak. If cachers continue this type of unsafe and uncaring behavior, I'm sure other trails will be in jeopardy as well. A few bad apples sure did spoil the bunch!

~~~~

I want to thank Clay and Gus for putting forth so much effort in this series and for going to bat to try to save it...its too bad that a few couldnt practice safe caching - I wanted to do this one some day....I guess I will never get a chance. :(

The other night I was listening to the Geocaching Podcast and they interviewed Clay4&whtwolfden, who are the COs of the E.T. power trail. The E.T. power trail ("Power trail of power trails!") is a series of caches that stretches along Highway 375 in Nevada. Highway 375 is a 98 mile highway that runs from US-93 to US-6. The cache series actually continues for a short while along US-6, ending at cache number 1021.
I have heard a lot of geocachers say that they don't like the power trails, but I have heard a lot that do. I personally wouldn't mind giving one a shot...one of the reasons that I got into geocaching was to see places that I hadn't seen before and I imagine that over the course of 98 miles, there has bound to be something that I have never seen and would appreciate.

Some cachers try to see how quickly they can get this power trail done. Some have even claimed to get it done in around 24 hours. I am not going to speculate if they did or didnt, but it has been said that it can be done.
Some interesting statistics that I found when reading about this power trail are:
There are 371 people currently watching E.T. 001 There are 116 favorite points given to E.T. 001There have been 727 logged visits for E.T. 001
Also, it has been claimed that the owner of the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada (the only town along this stretch of road) has reported that for the first time in years, they have had no layoffs since this series was place and this winter is the first time ever that they have stayed open for the winter season. They credit this to the geocachers that have stopped there while doing this trail.

Recently there have been reports that officials in Nye County were going to shut down the E.T. geocaches that run through that county. During the podcast, the COS confirmed that they have spoken with the Nye County officials about this. They found out that the problem was tractor-trailers were reporting that cars were stopping on the highway in the travel lane. The officials found out that geocachers were staying in their car and stopping on the roadway to grab caches that were close to the road. Also, cachers were stopping in construction zones to get caches even when they were told not to. Nye county commissioner asked that caches be moved away from the highway then they didn't mind having the caches placed in that county. This issue is in the process of being rectified. This cache series is giving attention to the ET highway and the officials are happy that it is bringing tourism out from Vegas to visit the highway and some of the businesses along the way. So like it or not, it looks like this power trail will be around for a long time.
I sent an email to the COs and they have prepared a written e-mail with hints, tips, ideas, and pointers for those that are preparing to do this series. With their permission, I have pasted it below.
Happy trails and happy caching!!
E.T. INFO
Thank you for your interest in our
ET Highwayseries. We have had a lot of positive response to the ET Highway PT(power trail) as well as a lot of questions. It seemed that we were getting the same questions over and over, so we thought it would be more beneficial to everyone to write a blanket response to all the questions we have been asked. You may only need info for one or two questions but this should have all the info you need and maybe something you didn’t think of. We want everyone’s quest to do the series to be a positive one and have little to no DNF’s. We each have our own Geocaching accounts (Clay4 and whtwolfden) but created an ET account (Clay4&whtwoflden) and email (ETHighway1000@gmail.com) to help combat the thousands and thousands of emails the trail generates each week. We each monitor the caches and the emails, so if you email us, one of us will respond, hopefully sooner than later. So with that, here is everything you need to know about Clay4 & whtwolfden’s ET Highway Series.How the ET Highway came about: Gus (whtwolfden) and I came up with the idea when we took a trip to Salt Lake City back in October of 2009 for Geocoin Fest ( [coord.info] ). We did a power trail that was near the event, which at the time, was about 140 caches located just west of Provo Utah ( my book mark list to this PT [www.geocaching.com] ). We had so much fun with this PT, we started planning our own. It was all we talked about on the 8 hour drive back home. One Thousand was the goal, but where could we put 1000 caches and make it a true power trail??

E.T. Highwayjust happened to 98 miles long and an interesting place to visit plus it was an area almost everyone has heard of and knows something about it. Several months later, after countless trips to all our local film processing counters, and making countless log sheets, we started placing caches. We put the caches down in a series of trips, placing anywhere from 150 to 350 a trip, and putting down about 40 caches an hour. 8-9 trips later, we had the whole trail and the Alien Head caches on the ground. We spend countless hours inputting all the cords and getting the pages ready. All the work was all worth it in the end.

How to get to the Power Trail: The ET cache series runs along Highway 375 and is 98 miles long. To get to 375 from Las Vegas, Take I-15 North to I-93 about 15 miles North of Las Vegas city limits. There is a big Love’s Truck Stop there on the left; they have pretty cheap gas (much cheaper than any other gas you will find out there). This would be a good place to top off the tank, get some snacks and such. I think they sell gas cans and ice chest there too. Take that North (only way you can go) for about 75 miles to Alamo or about 80 miles to Ash Springs. ET Highway 375 is just a few miles further up the road on the left.
Alamo and Ash Springs both have a gas station and a little convenient store (Alamo’s is bigger almost a grocery store). They both serve breakfast and lunch type items and have booths to sit and eat if you want. Gas prices out there are about .20 per gallon higher out here than in Las Vegas (which is kind of high if you are from back east). This is where you will want to fill up and keep filling up while you’re out on the 375, the next closest gas stations you will find will be in Tonopah (about 148 miles from Ash Springs). Alamo, Ash Springs and Tonopah, all have 24 hour gas pumps that take debit cards.
A little bit about the caches: The ET caches are all in film canisters; the logs are about 1 inch wide by 11 inches long and are usually 4-5 pages deep.   The caches are from 2-20 feet from a paved road and can be accessed by any rental car with NO problem. Why 1021? We wanted to make sure we had at least 1000 caches (plus one or two for good measures), and we wanted to give ourselves some room for error, which we did mess up on a handful of caches but later fixed.   All the ET caches have a scuba attribute to help associate them with the power trail.

The Alien Head caches are in pre-form containers which are resting in PVC pipes, the pipes have reflective tape on them to make them visible at night (however you can do them in the day time with no problems) Alien Head caches are 51 caches that are met to be WALKED, you CAN NOT DRIVE TO THEM. There is a huge dirt road that is wider than the highway, called Gunderson Road, there are no concerns about this road, and any rental car will work. This is where you will start the Head. To complete the Head, you will have to walk about 7 miles give or take. I would recommend starting at #18 and walking towards the top of the head. If you get tired or want to stop, you can take the trail of the top or bottom of the eyes back to where you started, or you can continue on. You can do the eyes in a figure-8 style and then drive down a little farther and walk to the mouth. We are getting reports that people have driven this series. This is not our land, if people can’t cache responsibly, we will be forced to take them down and possible the whole ET series if the local ranchers start complaining. Please don’t ruin it for everyone else.
Cell phone signals are very limited. AT&T drops off about 15 miles after you get on I-93 and is pretty much gone except for about a 5 mile stretch about half way to Alamo. Verizon fairs much better but it is far from great. Make sure someone knows where you’re going and check in with them when you can

Stamps are HIGHLY recommend (please don’t use stickers, and especially don’t make little cut out names to drop in caches….these end up falling out and littering the area, stickers gum up the logs). Stamps cost about $15 give or take a few bucks, can be custom ordered, delivered in a few days, and WELL worth it…trust us on this one. Stamps can be ordered from Office Depot, Staples, Office Max or be ordered from web sites. A couple of web sites we have used and were happy with
RubberStamps.net ( [www.rubberstamps.net] ) I-Stamp-30, I-Stamp-32 or I-Stamp-34. Just use the center line with a 8-12 sized font
A+ Discount Stamps ( [www.aplusdiscountstamps.com] ) MaxLight 75 Pre-Inked Stamp with a 8-12 sized font

Logging caches: We don’t mind cut and paste logs, we expect them. We each have, along with everyone else, ET 001, Alien Head #01 on our watch list (some people are watching ET 1021 too). So if you’re going to write something you want us to see or anyone else, please use those caches. We also don’t mind using those caches for writing notes, saying when you will be coming or are looking for other cachers to team up with. We do get all DNF’s and all NOTES on each and every cache; however, we have a filter set up so we don’t logs on every cache…otherwise we would be getting 6000+ emails every week :)
Places to stay: These places are “quant”, don’t expect too much. But they have a bed and a shower. They go for around $45 a night in Rachel and Alamo when we used them. Alamo has its advantages because it is close to the gas stations; Rachel’s advantage is it is at about the half way point. You will probably end up in Tonopah when you’re done. I have added all the places I could find in Tonopah, I haven’t checked them all nor do I know what they are like, and they are in no certain order. Tonopah is a nice town to visit, very quaint and quite a few caches there. WATCH FOR COPS, TONOPAH is a speed trap town, also watch your speed in Alamo, and Ash Springs, they have a vigilant speed enforcement there too.
Rachel: Little Ale’Inn ( [www.littlealeinn.com] ) (775) 729-2515
Alamo: Alamo Meadow Lane Motel (888)740-8009 or (702)725-3371300 N Us Hwy 93Alamo, NV 89001
Windmill Circle ( [wind-mill-ridge.com] ) (775) 725-3686 / Fax: (775) 725-3691
US Highway93,Windmill CircleAlamo, NV 89001
Tonopah:Radmada Inn [www.ramada.com] N Main St, Tonopah, NV775-482-9777 | Fax 775-482-9782
Best Western Hi-Desert Inn ( [bestwesternnevada.com] )320 Main Street, Tonopah, Nevada 89049775/482-3511 | Fax 775/482-3300
Clown Hotel (I know…it sounds a little creepy...but $36 a night, if you stay there let us know how it was)521 North Main Street, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-5920 ‎
Silver queen Hotel319 Cross Street, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-6291
Jim Butler Inn & SuitesPO Box 1352,
100 S Main St, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-3577 | (800) 635-9455 | Fax (775) 482-5240 ‎
National 9 Inn720 N Main, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-8202
Economy Inn826 Main Street, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-6238 ‎
Golden Hills Motel930 S Main, Tonopah, NV 89049(775) 482-6238 ‎

DNF’s and Log/container replacement policy: We get some DNF's from time to time. The caches usually don't stay gone for too long because other cachers replace them as needed. We don’t mind cachers replacing logs or containers. It is a huge undertaking to maintain 1000+ caches not to mention the gas it takes to drive 115 to 250 miles from our house depending on which one needs maintenance. We ask cachers to please help us maintain this trail. This helps everyone out, and hopefully makes your cache run a 100% success. We recommend picking up 5- 20 film canisters or more (you can get them for free at your local Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s, Wal-Greens, CVS or other places that develop film). Use the links below to make some logs for them. We also recommend making an extra 5- 20 logs. That way you can replace any caches or logs that might have been abducted or mutilated. This helps everyone and you are guaranteed no DNFs.
Log Sheets: (cover plus 4 to 5 blank sheets stapled at top)
[www.techblazer.com]
[www.techblazer.com] free to add your name to the top of the replacement logs so you don’t have to sign them out on the trail, save some time, we don’t mind…Thanks
Criters: We saw about 5 rattle snakes when we were putting the caches down, they were all in one area, however; we did see them two or three different times but they ended up leaving on their own. We also saw 3-5 regular non poisonous snakes on our travels. Cachers have mentioned seeing scorpions while doing the Alien Head at night. A cacher saw a badger somewhere around the 800-900’s. This highway is Open Range…this means there are cows roaming around freely without any fences. They are not dangerous to be around, however, they do cause a lot of car accidents. They are hard to see at night and there are many accidents from the cows darting in front of cars at the last minute or drivers just not seeing them. They should cause no problems while you’re caching but if you are driving at speed, slow down if you see them by the road, and be very careful at night. Also the baby cows don’t like to be far from mamma, if they become separated, the baby cow will panic and make a dash for momma.
Safety: The series is designed to start in Alamo and work your way towards Rachel, from the lowest numbered caches to the highest…they are all on the North side of the road, with the exceptions of a few caches previously placed by other cachers….you should not need to cross the highway but a few times. 375 is not traveled much, you could go a couple of hours and not see anyone pass by at all. Don’t get complacent and pull out on the road without looking. Many cachers have told us that a highway patrolman stopped them while they were along the road caching. He knew what they were doing but warned them that all 4 tires needed to be on the right side of the white line when stopping…not to be on the highway, you have been warned. Make sure you watch the water temp on the car so you don’t over heat, I haven’t heard of anyone overheating yet…but it could happen. The area is at high elevation so in the winter, freak snow storms can and do happen. Also keep a good eye on the gas gauge; you don’t want to run out of gas there…might want to get a 2-5 gallon container for just in case. Keep yourself hydrated and have snacks with you. Pull over and sleep if you get tired… Jet lag, time changes and caching 12+ hours a day can take its toll. Don’t overdo it.

Coins: If anyone wants a commemorative coin/coins, we have been doing reorders. Please email us at ETHighway1000@Gmail.com . If we have them, we will send you the prices and order info, if we don’t have them…we will put you on our waiting list and you will be contacted when we receive the next order. We will keep ordering them as long as people want them, so please be patient and we will make sure you have as many as you want.
BONUS CACHE: There is an old archived virtual just out side the Little Alien restaurant called ID4 (GC1403) Make sure you take a picture of it and submit it. I love getting old virtuals! Have fun!
Nevada’s Oldest Cache: XKD-380 [coord.info] This one is not far from E.T.1022, just north about 15 miles up a very good dirt road
Gas Can TB: Team kizb has donated a Gas Can/Travel Bug to the E.T. Trail… Please reference TB2TARA [www.geocaching.com] ) (E.T. Series Gas Can/kizb Geo-Truck). There Email is teamkizb@gmail.com so you can check the status and or reserve it.

Quick links:
Weather for the areas you’ll visit:Rachel [aws.com] http://aws.com/wx.asp?id=almnvTonopah = [aws.com] ( [www.weather.com] )Near Speedway leaving Vegas = [aws.com]
Blog on NGA (Nevada Geocaching Association) ( [www.nevadageocaching.com] )
The events we had for the ET Highway [coord.info] http://coord.info/GC284ZD [coord.info]

Extra Stuff
We get asked by many cachers what caches we would recommend to do in the Las Vegas area. I have added some other info for cachers coming to town that maybe have some extra time and want to hit some other caches…here are some of my recommendations… (All caches listed can be done in a normal rental car, even though some of them may be on dirt roads)
Pinky: A fun series of well made caches that will challenge cachers of all levels A fun series that are all pretty much located SW of Las Vegas in the more rural areas   [www.geocaching.com]
Some Quality Caches: This is a list I put together for people that kept asking me what caches I would recommend or that have been popular in one way or another. [www.geocaching.com]
A series of “Well Road” caches, a cluster of caches that are popular for people coming from California, also to the NW there is a “Spikes Road” caches series that is a straight string of easy caches. These are South of Las Vegas about 20 miles near the California Boarder just off the I-15. Pull up cache [coord.info] for a center point
Phobia Series: This is a small power trail that use to be about 60-75 caches, now probably 40-50? These are on a dirt road near Jean NV, close to the caches above. They are popular for Cachers coming from California. Center on [coord.info]
If you want more numbers, you might want to hit this area…some caches are drive up, others you might have to walk 300-500 into the desert. VERY beautiful area with LOTS of Joshua Trees, you could spend a day out here and probably pick up another 200-250, Not the as easy or fast as the ET series but PT all the same Center on [coord.info] and look south, you can’t miss it. These are located between on a couple of dirt roads just off of Nipton Road, North of the California Border between I-15 & I-95, closest town/Gas/Food is Search Light NV.
Some of my Caches:One I am proud of, not because of the hide but of what it represented: [coord.info]
If you have a smart phone that can read QR codes, you might want to give my Smart Phone Caches a try…only 5 of them right now. They are very easy and straight forward, just kind of neat. [www.geocaching.com]
If you up in my part of Las Vegas, you might want to hit 60+ of my easy park and grab Tin-For Caches. [www.geocaching.com]
18 Caches that make up a big smiley face…This was my first Geo Art Cache Series…(Of course the Alien Head Caches are 2.5 times as big with 51 caches)   [www.geocaching.com]

If you want to pick up 3 extra states on your trip, California is only about 40 miles South of the Airport on I-15. If you want to pick up Utah and Arizona, you can take I-15 North about 115 miles to St. George, you drive through the corner of AZ to get there. I highly recommend this trip; the drive through the Virgin Gorge (it is in the corner of AZ) is BEAUTIFUL. St. George is a very beautiful town that sets in a Red Rock Valley, plus you pick up two new states! Only about 80-90 miles from your turn off to the
E.T Highway (hwy 93)
Speaking of California, if you haven't heard, there is another power trail about about 2.5 hours west if Las Vegas. Route 66 ( 001-Route 66) is another park and grab power trail set up much like ours. Gus, his wife and I were able to grab the 805, plus a few extras in about 12 hours! There is a lot more civilization near this trail like gas, food and lodging. Feel free to email Team Steve Cats at the email provided on [coord.info] an they will send you all the info you need. The cool thing is all your extra log sheets and film containers will work for both our trail and this one.
Other places worth visiting for sightseeing and maybe a little caching:
Red Rock: Just 5 miles west of Las Vegas City Limits, A beautiful drive. $5 car, several cache too. [www.desertusa.com]
Valley of Fire: Just 20-30 miles North of Las Vegas, on the way to Utah. A very beautiful drive, I think it is $5 a car, a few caches there to keep you busy. [parks.nv.gov]
Rhyolite: A cool Ghost Town with an outdoor Art Exhibit nearby…very interesting, If you come home from the ET highway from Tonopah via I95 it is not far off the beaten path (just outside Beaty NV). WELL worth a visit if your coming home that way, and a few caches to do there as well, its free! [www.desertusa.com]
Hoover Dam: It is worth a see if you haven’t ever seen it. PLUS they have the new Bypass Bridge which just opened. It too is worth seeing. Dam and bridge are Free but they do have Dam tours that will take you down into the dam, I think they are around $30? [www.usatoday.com]
That should do it, if you find any discrepancies or if you find something we need to add or take out, please let us know. We want this to be a good experience for all cachers. Be safe and have fun.
Clay
February 16, 2011
6:02
Geocaching in the Olden Days
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February 12, 2011
8:17
If a tree falls...
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If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This is a philosophical question that has been debated often over the years. Scientifically, sound is a vibration that is transmitted, acknowledged via our senses, captured and passed through our ear, and is recognized by nerve centers that acknowledge the sound. Therefore, if there is no ear to capture the vibrations, then sound does not exist. But, if a tree falls in the forest and you are there to hear it, does it make a sound. I say it does and here is why.

I was geocaching on the Mason rail trail outside of Mason, NH. there are several caches along the rail trail, and they are known as the Mason Rail Trail North (or South) Progressive Challenge. If you are interested, you can look up GC1G0B8 for more information.

This particular rail trail runs from Greenville, NH to Ayer, Massachusetts. I didn't complete the trail, but I did get a few of the caches there and it is a great place to go geocaching.

So I searched for a good 45 minutes looking for one of the caches that is along this trail. I decided to go look for some of the other caches and then come back to this elusive one. I found a couple of more caches and then decided that I wanted to give the elusive one another go, so I headed back to the spot where the cache was supposed to be.

I had recently gotten a smart phone and had not really used it for caching before. I decided to use it to check my coordinates to make sure that I had the correct ones loaded in my GPSr. I logged onto geocaching.com (I love technology) and looked at the cache information and sure enough - the coordinates had recently been changed because the cache had to be moved from its original spot. So, I cursed myself for not updating my GPSr before heading out and went to the new spot.

I found the cache in its new location. I was elated. I knew that there was another cache about 500 feet due east and it looked like a bushwhack the whole way. I figured - I am here now, so what the heck. I loaded my gear and proceeded to head in the direction of the next cache when I hear a thud...thud....creak. ??? What in the heck?

Thud...THUD...CREEEAAAAKKKKK! There was some noise and it was about 150 feet in front of me. I paused and could hear rustling in that same direction. The thuds and the creaks continued and for some reason I decided to look up. There was a tree top swaying back and forth. With each thus the treetop shook....with each creak, it swayed back and forth. Then all of the sudden there was a SNAP! and then a bunch of rustling as the tree top disappeared and the tree fell to the ground. The impact was loud and it the ground shook when the tree hit. I don't know what it was that caused that tree to fall....a bear? A Moose? Whatever it was, it was big enough to push over that tree. I was not interested in any way to find out what it was! It didn't take me long to high tail it back to the rail trail, and I did a 1/2 mile faster than I have since high school! :)

Can you hear a tree fall in the forest? I say yes! Would that tree have made a sound if I were not there? Well...think about this - with all of the bugs and animals out there - come on! Something has to hear it, right? If nothing else - that big "whatever it was" that pushed over the tree would have heard it!

Geocaching - its a blast, but sometimes I have to wonder what the heck I got myself in to! LOL!
Happy trails and happy caching to you all!
February 10, 2011
10:46
Some Miscellaneous Hides
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Its been a few days since I have updated the b log. Since I didn't have a lot of time (and motivation) to write about any particular place that geocaching has taken me, I decided to share some of the geocaches that I have found. Don't feel let down, though. Since I try not to post pictures of the caches when I write about the hunt, I have several pictures of caches that will have to be posted here eventually, so this was going to happen at some point. :) - plus reading the article is often overrated...everyone knows that looking at the pictures is the best part!

I got lucky on the first cache. The description said that it would be either easy or hard. My geosense pointed me right to it - the bar looked like it belonged, but something told me that the cache was there...and it was.

This is the top of a concrete parking curb. The cache was attached to the rebar that is sticking out.
The cache.
I wasn't so lucky on the next one. It took a while going up and down the guardrail before I finally found the cache...you might have to look close, but it is there.
The cache is a magnetic keyholder.
This one was a pretty easy find. I covered it a bit more when I left.
A Medium sized lock and lock
This one was covered fairly well, but I still spotted the hide before I got there.
This cache ended up being a Tupperware.
The next one was pushed well into the trunk of this fallen tree. It was actually harder than some of the others because it was hidden in there pretty good.

This cache was a medium lock and lock
The last one was a cache in a tree stump. Not hidden well when I got there, but I covered it a bit better.
Another lock and lock
February 05, 2011
9:06
Pond Parish Town Forest
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The later part of 2010, I decided that I wanted to go out and let my dog take me for a walk. Yes, you read that right - she took me for a walk. Her name is Emma and she is a Rottie/Sheppard mix.

She is a great dog, but when she gets her mind on something, she does it...including dragging me all around the forest.

I don't always do my research well before heading out Geocaching...sometimes this method works for me, but often I regret not reading up on a cache because a an important note that was posted that I would have seen if I had read it (ie "The last 500 feet is a heavy bushwhack to the cache!"). This time I had read up and had a good idea of what I wanted to do. I had decided that I wanted to go to Pond Parish Town Forest in Amherst, NH. I knew that there were 6 caches in this conservation area and that all 6 were still active.
So off we went. Emma got in the back of the jeep. I put the seats down for her, so she was able to stretch out and relax..yeah! Right! She paced back and forth and kept sticking her snout in my right ear, trying her darnedest to see what was going on in the front of the jeep. I grabbed a coffee and a treat, thinking she would sit in the back and chew on the treat while we drove to the forest. No dice! She kept pacing and panting and blowing in my ear...I was really happy to get to the forest.

The forest has several stone walls where residents from years ago had used them to mark the property lines. In the 1990s, a lot of logging was going on in the area and that was still evident by the massive ruts in the ground that had been left by the logging vehicles. There is still cut timber left laying around...its as if the logging was abruptly halted and then the men and machines disappeared. That may be what happened, I am not sure.

When you first go into the part, there is a bridge that goes across a brook that feeds into the bog and ultimately the pond. Its a neat bridge and newer in looks than it actually is. Once you get across the bog, there is forest.

The forest land was carve by glaciers 10,000 years ago. The south side of the area is sandy soil while the forest area and the northern portion has boulders and some glacial erratic throughout.

One of the caches in this area is by an observation deck that overlooks the bog. It was too late in the year to see any activity, but I imagine there is a lot of wildlife to observe during the warmer months.
There is a footpath that takes you to various sections of the forest. along the way, the ruts from the machinery eat into the footpath and in portions makes the climb to a couple of the caches a bit challenging. But not for Emma - she navigated those ruts like a pro, dragging me along with her.

All in all we spent less than 2 hours finding all of the caches. I might add that every one of them was fun and there was a least one of every size in the area. The biggest cache I have ever seen is in the area, and there are a couple that are really clever and are likely one of a kind. It was difficult signing all of the logs because Emma kept wanting to go. I am sure she was picking up scents of all kinds of wildlife, although we didn't see any while we were there (thank goodness....she would have given chase and I would have been dragged behind her)!

Emma and I were the only ones there and had a blast. We were both tired at the end of the trip, but its one I would do again. A great place to go if you want some quality caches and only have a couple of hours to spend.

If you are interested, here is a link to the website that had more information about this forest:
[www.amherstnh.gov] .
Here are the GC numbers for the caches that are here.
GC25NQ4GC1ZCT8GC20AX2GC1Y25WGC1XWWZGC1Z5N9
February 02, 2011
11:25
Enduring Love Geocoin
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Reservations are now being accepted for the Enduring Love Geocoin.
Click here to reserve yours today.

There will be 3 versions of this coin.

1. Soft gold with Green on the front
2. Antique Silver with Green on the front
3. Antique Bronze with Green on the front (Shown Below)
Here are the coin details:

1.5” x 3mm coins
3D front and back
Imitation hard enamel on front
Trackable with Icon

Click here to reserve yours today.
February 01, 2011
12:11
Missing the fairer weather
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I am tired of winter. I mean seriously - hasn't Mother Nature dumped enough on the North East this year? Granted we had a pretty mild winter up until January, but since the new year rolled around its been storm after storm after storm. We just dug ourselves out of the last storm only to find out that starting this morning sometime we are looking at back to back storms. The newscasters are saying the 2nd of the storms is going to be a "Monster Storm". Forecasts say we might be in for 24+ inches of snow! Yep - I am tired of winter this year.

I went geocaching the other day - and I was digging in snow just to get to a few park and grabs. I was thankful that all the coordinates that I searched for were dead on because it would have been difficult to travel up and down the guardrails digging for the cache.

I sat down this morning to write this Blog, I was going to post some more pictures of the trip that I had made out geocaching on Sunday. As I was looking over folders to decide which pictures to use, I came across some pictures I had taken in early December while out caching in a local forest. Its a great bunch of pictures, but the best thing about them was....NO SNOW! So I decided to change gears a bit and post a few of those photos and write a bit about the trip.

Does this picture look familiar? It is the one that I use on the top of the Blog.
I don't want to post the GC number for the caches that were in this area, nor do I want to identify the forest. This is because I am planning a multicache that I will be putting out in the springtime. I don't want to give too much away right now. I suppose that there may be some cachers that have been to this area and may recognise the photos, but I think I am safe for now.

When I first started caching, I didn't take a lot of pictures. I was more concerned with getting the cache and then moving on to the next one. While this is an okay method, I began to realize that there was a lot that I was missing in taking that approach. I have changed gears a bit and I try to take the time out to get some pictures each time that I get out caching. There is so much beauty out there to appreciate and its nice to go back and think about the places I have been.

The leaves had already fallen in this forest when I was out there. On this particular day, I went out myself. It was a chilly day, but the sun was out and the walk to the cache was close to a mile, so I didn't really notice the cold. The leaves on the ground make it hard to find the cache at times and it is easy to loose sight of the trail, so you have to stay focused where you are walking. The bridges in the area of the forest I was in helped me keep my bearing.

I had gone out to this forest a different day with my wife and youngest daughter. I don't know why, but it seems like every time I take them with me I end up taking them down a wrong way. That day was no different - I took them through a swampy area and we ended up going about 1/2mile out of our way before I realized it. Maybe once I get a few hundred caches under my belt, then I will get us lost less often :-P
There are a few caches in this forest, but there is a lot of room for many more. It is a hidden gem, that I would never have known about had it not been for geocaching! Only one of many beautiful natural areas for us to enjoy....and geocaching has taught me to take the time to enjoy them.

I am looking forward to seeing where geocaching will take me this year. I have a few caches already in mind and I plan to get out there...

...AS SOON AS WE GET RID OF SOME OF THIS DARN SNOW!!! :)
January 30, 2011
10:57
The Race Is On!!!!
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We are going to have a race. The Trackable Race For The Heck Of It (TRFTHOI) will start on 3-20-2011. Details are available on the race web page. Click the banner for more information and to sign up for the race!
January 29, 2011
12:00
The Old Runnells Bridge
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The Old Runnells Bridge once crossed the Nashua River and was located between Hollis, NH and Nashua, NH. The bridge itself is no longer there – it used to be a covered bridge that was built in the mid 1700s, but all that remains of the old bridge is the granite foundations that still stand opposite each side of the river from each other.

GZ is located near the current bridge, which was built in the 1950s. Across the river is a modern golf course – I bet those golfing Muggles were wondering what we were up to! J

The area is a beautiful area and the hunt for the cache takes you very close to the water. One year the cache disappeared and it is suspected that the water was so high that it washed it away.

The cache is fairly elusive and tricky to find. My wife and I had to log a DNF the first time out, but found it quickly the second go around.
We were out there in the fall, right when the leaves started changing. The water in the river was clearer than most of the rivers in New England, which were long ago contaminated by factories that dumped their wastes into the waters.

Although there are other caches in the area, we chose to drive into Hollis, which is a postcard New England city. There is an older church steeple that you see as you near the town and the town center has a nice park with a lot of memorials to soldiers that lost their lives during the revolutionary days.

This is a great cache and a wonderful place to visit. Other photos of the area and a bit more information can be found on the cache webpage - Old Runnells Bridge
January 27, 2011
21:03
The 2011 TRFTHOI
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This is the announcement for the possibility of having:

The 2011 Trackable Race For the Heck Of It!

It is a race of trackable tags that will begin in New Hampshire. The race is sponsored by wherethecacheis.com and prizes will be awarded.
Sounds like fun? Then head over to the event page and see if you want to sign up!
8:24
Rail to Trail - a cachers hidden treasure
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New Hampshire has several trails that were developed from old abandoned railroad grades. At one time many of these trails provided transportation to and from nearby states. Most of the trains that ran carried granite, timber, and other natural resources, although there was some passenger trains in use in some areas of the state.

Each trail has its own story to tell. Many have been converted to paved bike paths, while others are used mostly for horseback riding, snowmobiling, and hiking.

I have found some really nicely planned and nicely hidden caches along some of these trails. One of my favorites was a night cache (along the B & M rail trail) that I didn’t get many pictures of, but sure enjoyed the hike. It took us 3 times before we found the final, but I enjoyed going out there each time. The picture below isn’t the best quality, but it is of us at the final.

Third time was the charm
This cache was located on a railroad grade that was abandoned long ago. The impressive thins it that the dirt that the grade was made from was brought in and developed…both sides of the trail are swampland. I can’t even imagine what a feat this must have been back before motorized vehicles and electric machinery. It is just amazing if you think about it.

Most of these rail-trails (or rail to trail) had to be built by hand. Clearing the forestry, grading the path, laying the rails…what a task it must have been.
A Little Blurry, but this is a stack of old railroad ties
This is why I enjoy caching on these trails….I think of our forefathers that worked so hard and the effort that they put forth – its lead to the growth that we have experienced in this country.
Another picture of the railroad ties
Some people may look at these trails and see a power trail or a numbers trail – a way to get a few more caches added to the total. Sure, I appreciate these for that, but I also appreciate what was – and what lead to today. The great thing about the rail-trail caches I have seen is that they are not all micros every 528 feet…often they are traditional large caches that have been hidden well (with a micro every now and then).

Often there are buildings, foundations of old buildings, mile markers, and other things that tell a story of the trail that you are on. If you ever get an opportunity to do some of these rail-trails, I would recommend it. The area is usually nice and the trails are not too difficult to navigate.

If you come across an old rail-trail and there are no caches there - then why not start your own series of rail-trail caches? Another good night cache might be perfect for that trail!
January 25, 2011
9:26
The places that geocaching takes me.
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One of my favorite types of geocache hides are the ones that bring me to a place of historical significance. Since I live in New England, there are a lot of really interesting places that I have been to. My favorites are cemeteries. There is a lot of history in the cemeteries in New England.
For example, here is a memorial headstone that I came across in the Pleasant view cemetery in Mason NH. The headstone is a memorial for 2 brothers that left for battle at the Battle of Bunker Hill and didn't return.

The Geocache that is hidden near this cemetery is the NH Spirit Quest - Pleasant view Cemetery.

Another interesting headstone that I saw at this cemetery was one of a young child that had passed away. The following picture is the top of the headstone, and it had the carving of a child resting

This is the base of the headstone:

HERE LIES THE REMAINS OF
THE BELOVED CHILD OF
J.&.E. HARTNOLL
JOHNNIE A. BORN IN
DEVONSHIRE ENGLAND
MAY 11 1868
DIED IN MASON N.H.
JULY 14 1878
AT REST
The next couple of picture was from a family plot. The front side of the marker had the name of the father, who was in his 40's when he passed away and the wife, who was in her 80's. Sorry about the photo - the engraving is hard to make out.

The backside was of the children, who all passed away at a young age. (4 months, 4 years, (if I remember the last was only 1 day))

Right next to the cemetery is the boyhood home of Samuel Wilson, who supplied meat to the Army in 1812. The barrels that the meat was in was marked US, and eventually he became known as Uncle Sam, the well known American symbol.

During another geocaching trip I was taken to Pelham NH and I searched for a cache called Pulpit Rock. The area is off the side of the highway and it is easy to miss when you are driving by at 55 mph+.

This location is the site when settlers stopped in 1719 to hold church service on the way to discover the town of Pelham.

Oh the places that I have seen when geocaching. Its a great hobby!
January 24, 2011
6:24
FTF, TFTC, GPSr and other things
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Following is a condensed version of the more commonly used terms and acronyms that are used in Geocaching.
Common Terms:
Geocaching is the game that all of these terms center around. Some call it a sport, some a hobby, and some even other things. It’s a great family activity that gets you outdoors to see things that you never thought you would see.
A geocacher is a person that uses a GPS receiver (GPSr) to locate a hidden container. These containers can vary in size and contains a logbook (and sometimes other goodies) for you to sign.
A geocache (aka cache) is the hidden container the geocacher is looking for. At a minimum, the geocache has a logbook for geocachers to sign. The larger geocaches often have trading items, known as SWAG. The rule is if you take an item, then you need to leave an item of equal or greater value.
Global Positioning System Receiver (GPSr) is the device that receives a satellite signal from a Satellite that provides navigational assistance to locate a cache.
Coordinates are intersecting points of longitude and latitude that specify a unique location. Coordinates are sent to the GPSr by the satellite.
Waypoints are coordinates that mark a location. For instance, they can be a point along a multiple point cache or a parking. It basically is an area that denotes some significance to the geocacher.
Trackables are items that are placed in a geocache with a mission that is assigned by the geocacher that placed it. They can be a tag or a coin – as long as it has a tracking number assigned by geocaching.com.
Travel Bug – A type of travel tag
Geocoin – the name for the trackable coin
A muggle is a person that is not a geocacher. The name came from the Harry Potter series.
Common Acronyms:
BYOP – Bring Your Own Pencil: An acronym used to let the geocacher know that there is not a pencil or a pen in the cache.
CITO – Cache In Trash Out: An acronym that references the common practice of many geocachers to remove trash from the area while they are out caching.
CO – Cache Owner: The person that hides a cache.
DNF – Did Not Find: used often to log the fact that you did not find the cache that you were looking for.
FTF – First To Find: the person that is the first to find a newly hidden cache.
GZ – Ground Zero: the area around a cache.
SWAG – Stuff We All Get: the trading items that are in a cache.
TNLNSL – Took Nothing Left Nothing Signed Log
TFTC – Thanks For The Cache: used in logs as a way to give props to the CO.
More Information:
Following are a list of websites that you can use to play the game of geocaching. You would need to go to one of these websites to locate the information needed to find a geocache.
Geocaching.com - as of this writing, this is the major geocaching website out there.Opencaching.com – the newest website available – seems to be gaining momentum.
Navicache.com
Terracaching.com
GPSgames.org
There are also several country specific websites available, not all are listed here, but you can enter the country domain code for any country you are interested in:
Opencaching.us (United States)Opencaching.de (Germany)Opencaching.org.uk (United Kingdom)Etc.
January 21, 2011
11:44
Free shipping on everything this weekend at
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Free shipping on everything this weekend at http://shop.wherethecacheis.com
2:15
Neat geocache hide
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Geocachers can be crafty sometimes - Another example of a cool geocache hide.
January 20, 2011
10:36
geocaching/opencaching ratings
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As a follow up to yesterdays post, here is are a couple of pictures that help explain the ratings systems on the caching websites.

Opencaching has the bullseye. There are 5 lines within each section of the bullseye. The are numbered starting from the inside 1 - 5.

Following is an example of how the cache rating would look for a cache with an awsomeness rateing of a 3, Difficulty of a 1.5, terrain rating of a 2 and a size rating of a 4.

Here is an example of a cache rating on geocaching.com. The difficulty on this on is a 1.5, Terrain is a 1.5, Size is Lare (4) and the favorite rating is a 39.
January 19, 2011
8:11
Geocaching.com Vs Opencaching.com – Cache Ratings
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Both geocaching.com and opencaching.com provide for a way to rate caches. How difficult a cache is, the terrain involved, etc. Although the ratings are very subjective, they provide a good guideline for those of us that are about to head out to hunt for a cache. We want to get an idea of what we are in for.
I will start with the opencaching rating scale. Opencaching divides cache ratings into four categories; size, ruggedness of terrain, difficulty to find, and awesomeness of the cache.

The categories are represented by a bull’s-eye, that is divided into 4 sections (1 for each category) and each section is divided into 5 ratings. From what I can tell, each time a cache is logged, the person logging the find can rate the cache. When first hiding a cache, it appears that the only rating that you cannot set is awesomeness, which defaults to 3.

The upper quarter of the bulls-eye is for awesomeness. The ratings here are:
1. Okay2. Pretty Cool3. Sweet4. Fierce5. Totally Awesome

Terrain is represented in the right quarter of the bulls-eye and the ratings here are:
1 – Handicapped Accessible2 – A walk in the park3 – Off the beaten path4 – Outdoorsmen only5 – Bring a Sherpa

Size is the category that is represented in the bottom quarter of the bulls-eye. The ratings under size are:
1 – Nano2 – Micro3 – Small4 – Regular5 – Large

The left quarter is for difficulty. The ratings are:
1. In plain sight2. Camouflaged3. Cleverly Concealed4. Real Head Scratcher5. Mind Melter
Geocaching.com divides cache ratings a little differently. First, are difficulty and terrain ratings. It is a scale of 1 to 5 for both categories, with 1 being easiest and 5 being the hardest.

Difficulty ratings are:
1. Easy2. Average3. Challenging4. Difficult5. Extreme
Terrain ratings are:
1. Handicapped accessible2. Suitable for small children3. Not suitable for small children4. Experiences outdoor enthusiasts only5. Requires specialized equipment and knowledge or experience

The next rating scale is for the size of the cache, which is represented by a block scale containing 5 ratings.
1. Micro2. Small3. Regular4. Large5. Unknown
The last category of rating is the favorites rating, which was recently introduced by geocaching.com. All geocachers accumulate rating points (based on number of finds) that they can assign to a cache they have found when they want to. Not all caches have to be rated, but all can be. The favorite points are up to the seekers and not the hiders of the cache.
In my opinion, the opencaching rating scale is cooler – I really like the sliding scale and it is a nice tool to use when searching for caches (something that I will discuss in a future blog entry). I have to give it to geocaching for having a checklist that you can use when listing a cache that helps you decide what the rating should be…something that I wasn’t able to find with opencaching.
On a scale of 1 to 5 for rating scale coolness, I give opencaching.com a 5 and geocaching.com a 4.8.
If you are interested in finding out more, here are the links that I used to get this information:
Opencaching.com rating information
Geocaching.com rating information
January 18, 2011
10:00
Caribou Antler Cache
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I am from Texas originally...I moved to New England about 12 years ago. One of the best things about New England is that there are 4 distinct seasons. In Southern Texas, we usually would have 8 months of summer and then 4 cooler months. OK, I am stretching it a bit, but I can safely say that our winters in Texas are no where near what I have seen since I have been in New England. I am like a bear in the winter…or at least as close to a bear as I can be. I want to stay indoors as much as I can and I only go out when I have to. Right or wrong, that is what I try to do – especially after the snow flies. That was up until this winter because this winter is my first winter as an official Geocacher!

Winter this year has been fairly calm and mild. There have been a lot of warmer than normal days and that provided opportunities for some regular weather geocaching. It’s been a dream, especially for me. A couple of weeks ago, however, we got snow – MAN did we get snow! I don’t know what the official reading was, but I would guess that we got at least 20 inches in just a few hours. So much for the laid back winter! :-P

Since I have been geocaching, I have done things that I never would have thought of doing before. I have climbed hills that I wouldn’t have attempted before. I have walked several miles for a single day cache hike. I am sure that you all know what I am talking about. So after the snow hit, I was actually excited because I wanted to go caching in the snow. Seriously – I was excited to give it a go. So that is what I did…I planned a day out geocaching and had 4 caches in my sight.

My wife and youngest daughter went out for the cache run. I fully intended on getting all four caches and even more if time allowed. I was motivated!!! BOOYAHH!! My cache excursion brought us to Elmer G. Raymond Park in Pelham, NH. There are several large caches in the area and it was exactly what I felt that I needed. We reached the parking area, I grabbed the trusty Magellan GC and I looked for the nearest cache…I announced to the girls that we would be trying for the Caribou Antler Cache first.

I took a look at them and them at me – the pictures we took show that I was the only one really motivated for this trip! ;) The trail was somewhat cleared, or so it appeared. So we set off. The cache was supposed to be only around 500 feet away from parking – piece of cake!
The Trail!
OK – I started walking up the “trail” and I realized that even though some type of machine had made the path, the snow wasn’t packed very well…we sunk. I tried to be Mr. Glass half full and kept saying how great it was that we were getting some good exercise right now. The girls were troopers – I am so fortunate to have so much support, because I knew that they were really doing it for me more than anything else.

We got about 250 feet away from GZ and the trail went left and right. We headed to the left and I noticed that my GPSr was telling us to head into the woods. We headed back the other way and sure enough….it was into the woods again. I took another look at the description and that is when I realized it said that there was 200 foot bushwhack to the cache. Oh My! I asked my wife and daughter what they wanted to do – they said that we should go for it! WOOHOO! So we did.
Thats Ground Zero!

The snow was to our knees (to my daughters waist in places), but we headed in and it really didn’t take too long before we were at the cache zone…what did I get us in to? All I could see was boulders and trees…buried under all that darn snow! We searched and searched…zigged and zagged…but we kept on the hunt. The girls headed one way, I the other and the geosense kicked in (as well as a good reading on the posted coordinates). I found a place that felt right and decided to start digging. The first place I dug turned up nothing….the second was nothing…but when I dug in the third place, I pulled out some limbs and bark and then heard the clank of a ammo can!!!
“I found it,” I called to the girls.
“We will wait over here,” they called back.

I signed the log – placed the cache back carefully, and even buried it back in the snow. I looked around…we zigged and zagged enough that there was not an easy way of determining where the cache is by looking for footprints – they were all over. Feeling very satisfied, I headed around the mound of snow to where my ladies were waiting. I rounded the corner and there they were – acting as if they had passed out while waiting!

I must have twisted when I should have turned because my back was sore when we finished this one. I was content with the one find and decided to save the rest for another day. We headed on out of the park, went to get something warm to drink, and then I took them to find a park and grab that I had found a couple of weeks ago.
I am starting my letter to Santa for next year. Item #1on the list – snowshoes!
5:30
Neat cache container
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There are sometimes when you come across a cache that may have you stumped...as frustrating as these may be at times, I really appreciate the cache once I do find them.

The cache pictured below was a log only cache that I found - it was stuck inside of a wooden fence and the bolthead was the exact color of other bolts in the fence. Cant give away any details on this one, but I wanted to share one of the unique caches that I have found.
0:31
Great Geocache!
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January 17, 2011
9:05
Surprise Geocache
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The Best Find ever!
January 16, 2011
6:51
How many do I want? How many do I need?
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The other day I decided that I would take a good look at the opencaching.com vs. geocaching.com websites and then write what I thought. I figured it was time that I looked at opencaching.com a bit more seriously and see what all the hubbub was about. I also figured that it would be an easy and quick Blog post! :) I was wrong.

The research I have done is turning out to be a rather lengthy post, so I am going to break it down in sections. Otherwise it would be too long and probably boring - and none of us want that! :D So here we go with part 1 of my thoughts and comparison of geocaching.com vs. opencaching.com.

When I first heard of opencaching.com, I immediately thought of the other geocaching websites that were out there with the same name, just a different top level domain name (opencaching.us, opencaching.de, etc.). Now, to be honest I didn’t really look at these sites when I was starting out. I found geocaching.com and I stuck with it. I did browse terracaching.com for a bit but they didn’t seem to offer everything that geocaching.com did. I am not even sure if they are still operating or not.
I need to let you readers know that I have dabbled a bit in letterboxing and have always hated the fact that there are 2 major sites to use. It is very confusing and was a problem for me to keep up with. I don’t really bother with either one now. If I get the urge to letterbox, I pull information from one site or the other and go letterboxing. Both sites cross post hides and in order to log correctly, I feel that I should go to both sites to log my find – becoming much more cumbersome than what I want for a hobby.
This fact may make me a little biased, but I dont see any shame in that - Grounspeaks geocaching.com has been good to me. Sure, it took me a while to learn how to navigate around, but I have yet to see any reason to go running to another site.
Since I first heard of opencaching.com, I have looked briefly at the site a few times, but have never really taken the time to go through it. Thus far, I am on the fence about how I feel about it.
Well, in order to make a good decision about what I really think of the site, I signed up as a member to get a better feel of what the site is all about. I try to make it a habit of not knocking something until I try it, but to be honest at this point I really have not understood what the benefit is for me to join. As much as I am willing to give something a chance, and am all for change when it makes sense I also have an attitude that if it isn’t broke then don’t fix it.

Signal the Frog, Groundspeaks geocaching mascot.
I have heard that the major selling point for opencaching.com is that they are a free service. Thats nice and all, but geocaching.com is only costing me $30 a year ($2.50 a month) – I spend more than that in gas every day. But I get it – a lot of people don’t like paying for the premium service. For myself, though – I am not leaving geocaching and groundspeak – so what do I gain for going to opencaching.com? Therefore the free service really isn’t saving me anything, and as we will discuss, I am not gaining anything for having them around....yet.
Opie the Squirrel, Opencaching geocaching mascot.
I also have a concern about the free service attracting hordes of smartphone users that don’t take the time, nor really care about geocaching the way most of us feel about it. I have seen videos on the Internet of people hearing about geocaching, looking up a cache, and then going out and grabbing it. Not bothering to put it back. No worrying about stomping all over anything that stands between them and the cache. I feel that eventually this can put a black mark on this hobby/sport that many of us love. This is just a feeling and only time will tell if this is a real concern or not. I realize that these types of users can do this now (and probably are doing it now), but at least with the premium features that come with membership at geocaching.com, it’s not a 100% open free for all.

Now, I am not talking about the smartphone users that invest in the applications that are out there and use the applications to geocache. The smartphone is a legitimate device and make great GPSr's. I am talking about people that enter coordinates into a GPS application and then go find the cache. Again, this is a legitimate method....but at least with the premium services that are available with geocaching.com, there are some caches out there that are not muggle easy to hunt for.
OK - I am going to stop right there. In a few days I will start blogging about my comparisons of the two sites and what I have discovered. Until then, I hope to get some geocaching in and I would like to post more about caching - its more fun and interesting LOL.
January 15, 2011
10:28
The Getting to Know you Cointest
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In case you haven't heard, wherethecacheis.com is giving away a couple of geocoins in our Getting to know you cointest. The rules are simple and it doesn't cost a thing to join - and you could win one of these:

Home is Where the Cache is Geocoin!

Click here to find out more!
January 14, 2011
9:28
Salmon Park
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A few days ago, I went after a cache that is located in a little known wildlife sanctuary in the middle of Nashua, NH. I had seen this cache on my map for a while, but because the area that it is located isn’t really an area that I go to that often, I had not put this one on my to-do just because it was not one that was calling my name. I was saving it for a “rainy” day. That rainy day ended up being a “last day before a snowstorm” day.

I don’t do it all the time, but there are times when I take the time to look through logs before I go out on a cache. I had read through the logs for this cache and everyone was saying to be careful on the stairs that lead to the sanctuary area. I am glad I did – it made me take heed when I reached the stairs (which were buried under leaves and might not have been noticeable had I not known they were there.

The area itself was nice, but it sure could use some TLC. There was junk tossed around behind the houses that bordered the area. There was also a mine field of dog “leavings” on the trail. I was glad there wasn’t that much snow on the ground when I went. Had there of been, I would have ended up with a lot of the leavings on my boots.

I didn’t see any animals while I was there. Previous logs indicated that there were animals around, but mostly birds, which I assume had long headed south. The walk to the trail was nice…it was a quiet day and it was cool, but not really cold.

I got to GZ and looked around. There was a really neat rustic looking chair/swing that was hanging in a tree nearby. The rusty table next to it told me that someone must spend time hanging out down here. Its no wonder either….with the exception of the dog bombs and the junk, it really is a nice area to be in. Very serene and quiet, unlike the city that surrounds the area.

A tree was standing near the water, but I wondered for how much longer? A beaver has been gnawing away at it and I would assume that it will be down before long. I spotted a good hiding place and I reached for the hide – payday! Found the cache in the first place I looked.

It signed the log….didn’t take or leave anything…and put the cache back in place. It’s really amazing the places that I have found out about in the short time I have been caching. I have seen some really beautiful places and have come across some really unusual things. I often am thankful for this…for if it were not for caching, I would have forgotten how nice it is in the great outdoors!
January 12, 2011
11:44
Taylor's Falls
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Built in the 1800s, the Taylor's Fall bridge was a covered bridge that went over the Merrimack river, connecting Hudson, NH and Nashua, NH. Eventually, motorized cars came into being that the covered bridge was replaced by a arched bridge. The arched bridge could not support the trolleys that many were using to travel between the cities, so that bridge was replaced with a concrete bridge. Years went by and in the 1970s, that bridge was replaced by a more modern bridge, which still is in use today.

The Taylor's Falls portion of the Merrimack river is heavily traveled, although most people are not aware of a gem of a park that is just below and to the right of today's bridge. In the hustle and the bustle of the day to day grind, people zip back and forth over this bridge, far exceeding the speed limit to a place only they know where.

It is this hustle and Bustle that had kept me from trying to go after this cache for so long. In Hudson, there are one way streets that connect to two way streets. These often become one way streets or they intersect with up to 5 more roads. Its easy to get ran over, or cursed out if you are not moving fast enough. An everyone hates it when you are lost - a bunch of crabby patties in this area of the country at times.

I tried once going for this cache, but I never was able to find the trail head. One part took me to a residential neighborhood, while the opposite end of the park ended up in a area full of warehouses and what appears to be older business establishments. I only had time for a few caches on Sunday, so I made it a point to make another run at Taylor's Falls (GC2D284). I had read the previous logs thinking that someone would have pointed me to the right parking area. I was wrong. All I learned is that a lot of cachers before me had a hard time figuring out the trail head for this one. I went back over the present day bridge and I was happy to find out that there were not that many cars out today. I guess the Pats must have been playing, because there were hardly any cars out and the ones that were out there didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

One of the old bridge abutments
I drove through the neighborhood and discovered a trail between a couple of houses. Great - my entrance...but when I looked closer I realized that there was a mountain of snow blocking the trail. My only option at that point was to go to the business area. Once I got there it dawned on me that the businesses were closed because it was Sunday (or maybe because of the Pats game?). Either way, I was able to drive within 3 feet of the beginning of the very overgrown trail.

Whats left of the old bridge
About 50 feet into the park, the trail opened up and before me was the hidden Gem, formerly known as Merrill Park. The area needs a little bit of TLC. but it is a very nice area. The wind was cold, blowing across the Merrimack, but I didn't mind. I was finally here and I could not believe that with all of that hustle and bustle only 5000 feet away was a very peaceful, serene area.

Today's current bridge
I got to GZ and found the cache quickly. I stood a moment to look at the area and to think of all the history that had been there. In the river still stands 2 abutments from the old concrete bridge. I had forgotten to bring my camera with, but made it a point to go get it and come back. What a nice area. I Love Geocaching!!
January 10, 2011
8:07
A quick trip through Hudson
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I love geocaching, but I have not had a chance to really get out and do much geocaching so far this year. For one thing, with all of the kids and the holidays there just has not been a whole lot of time to do anything more than family responsibilities. The other thing is that it gets dark shortly after 4:00PM in New Hampshire in the winter and I work nights…that only leaves me with an hour or 2 of daylight to get any caching done. Last weekend, the family and I made it out to do some caching, but we didn’t get finished with the multi we were doing (see our blog from last week), but we did find a micro and got to eat some really good pizza while we were there.
Well, today I had the opportunity to get out and was able to find 3 of the 4 that I had set out for. Everyone else was busy doing other things, so I had to go solo. It felt good to find a few caches, grab a coin to move along, and drop off a coin as well. It was cold and there was ice on the ground in some places, but it was a great day of caching.

The first cache that I went for was one that I have wanted to do for a while. The cache was the Photo Album of Geocachers, where one of the requirements is that you take a photograph of yourself and put it in a photo book that is in the cache. The requirement of a photograph was one of the things that prevented me from getting the cache until now. Since digital cameras came out, I have very few photos of myself in print and I never think about looking one up to print out. Today, I went prepared.

This cache might be considered a historical cache, at least the cache is near a historical building, The Alvirne Memorial Chapel. This chapel was built in 1908 by Doctor Alfred Hills in memory of his late wife, Virginia. The name of the Chapel, Alvirne, is his and her name combined. For those interested, here is a website that I came across that has more information and some really good photos of the interior and exterior of the chapel, as well as information about other buildings the good doctor built.

I drove to the back of the chapel and found an area to park as I headed into GZ. I did a bit of bushwhacking at first, but my GPSr was cooperating nicely today and it didn’t take me too long before I was in the “Zone”. The cache was a fairly easy find. I have a habit of looking at the hints, so the hint was a big help and it wasn’t long before I was popping open that bad boy to log my find.

I love ammo can caches. I mean – there is nothing more fulfilling to me than the extra “Ummpppphhh” that I have to give to pop open the can and then the clanking sound it makes when you lift the lid just thrills me every time.

I put my photo in the book, looked at the many other photos that were there, signed the log and then headed out…oh, did I mention that I realized that I had taken the long way in and the road was within site of GZ?? I tend to do that a lot. It was fine, though – I need exercise and I got some, but more importantly – I got to cache today!!!
January 08, 2011
8:29
Enduring Love
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Wherethecacheis.com is happy to present the mint artwork for our new Geocoin design*:
Enduring Love

The front of the coin is an artist rendition of a tattoo that I have. I actually got the idea for the tattoo from a friend of mine that had a similar tattoo that I always liked. The tattoo that I have is encircled by vines very similar to the ones that are shown on the front of the coin. In the tattoo, the couple in the middle of the vines represents my wife and me. The symbolism of the vines and the couple represent the fact that no matter what we have to deal with in life our love will help us through it. In my tattoo, there are 5 oak leaves that hang from the bottom of the heart. Each of the oak leaves has the name of 1 of my children. As time goes on, from each of the oak leave will hang oak leaves for my grandchildren. All of this forming a family tree that also will symbolize the fact that families formed with love can forever remain together...no matter what - an enduring love.
For the back of the coin, I chose a compass rose design. During the age of exploration, a common standard of horizontal lines being drawn to represent compass headings came into being. The four main points of these drawings displayed the orientation of cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West). The next four points represented NE, SE, SW, and NW, and so on. The name for these drawings became compass rose because the points on the drawings were similar to the points of the flower.
The traditional compass rose had 32 points, but in the middle ages, this changed to 16 points because it was widely believed that many sailors did not understand how to read the previous design of 32 points. Compass roses can have as little as 4 points, representing the cardinal directions, but the more points in the compass rose the more accurate the reading is.
The front of the coin is meant as inspiration to us all to remember the importance of loving your fellow man and the fact that enduring love lasts forever – no matter what!
The compass rose was chosen for the back of the coin to pay homage to the history of navigation, to remember how far it has come, and to dream about the possibilities of the future.
*This coin is under development and is not yet available. Once the samples have been approved, reservations will be announced on our main page.
January 07, 2011
11:29
We let HeadHardHat explain exactly "What is geocaching?"
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So, what is Geocaching? Rather than type it all out (that's been done a few times out there), I thought that I would let HeadHardHat of Geosnippits explain it for us. Its a 3 part series, but his videos are always entertaining and informative. If you like the videos, make sure to drop by the geosnippits website to see some more, or look him up on Youtube!
January 06, 2011
11:04
The Urban Geocacher
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In the blog from yesterday I made a mention of an urban geocacher. It reminded me of this corny picture I had found on the Internet a while back. I dont remember where I got it, but it made me snicker. Figured I would share it here...Enjoy! :)
January 05, 2011
10:22
Whats in your cachepack?
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When I started geocaching, I started searching the Internet for all of the information about geocaching that I could find. I searched the various geocaching forums that are out there, trying to absorb as much information that I could (Keep in mind – I tend to go overboard too fast when I become interested in something) :-P. In each of these forums, there was one topic that I was constantly seeing and that was:
“What should I take with me when I go geocaching?”
And like most Internet forums there was a variety of responses to this question.
One response would be:
Left pocket: Two pens, a little cash, AA Batteries
Right pocket: Small flashlight, pocket knife, BlackBerryIn hand: a GPSr
Another responder came back with:
“Why take anything? I just need my smartphone!”
To which someone came back with:
“What a looser – I can find them without anything at all.”
(Why is there always a Mr. Smartypants in the group?)
So, in this blog I want to share my opinion on what you should have at the ready when you go geocaching. I can tell you by the little bit of experience that I have, only the top response on the above list was even a little bit on track. Well, I suppose that if you are an urban cacher (one who sticks to the hides in an urban setting), then you could probably get by with any of the above suggestions – even the last one from “Mr. Smartypants”
Geocaching is a fun sport/hobby/obsession, but it should not be taken lightly. There are some real considerations that you should think about before setting out on a hunt. I thought about things that I wanted to bring with me many times before I set out on any serious caches. I had a small backpack with me (with very few items…a plan I don’t recommend) when I first left the house and have added to it since.
One of my first DNFs (and there were many) was a traditional cache in a large park in an urban setting. After I had logged my DNF, the Cache Owner sent me an email with a really good list of things that he recommended that I take with me. His suggestion came about the same time that I was thinking that my backpack was in dire need of additional “stuff”…er…eh…essentials that might be useful while geocaching. Here is a summary of that email:

"If this (geocaching) is something that you think you'll be spending some serious time doing, I'd like to suggest setting up a cache bag. A small daypack that is smaller in both height and width than your back is what you're looking for. Quite often, you'll be bushwhacking to some degree. Let's face it, if you want to hide a cache, you won't be placing it 5-ft. off of the trail, you will be heading into the nearby woods by 50 or 100 ft. if not more. Going through this type of brush with a smaller pack is easier to navigate that a full-sized one (which I used for the first year before figuring this out).”
In your bag, I'd suggest making sure you have spare batteries, a headlight (as opposed to a flashlight as it leaves your hands free if you're walking through the woods at dusk. Also, having a backup flashlight is good too. A decent digital camera is worth its weight in gold for a few reasons. One of course is to take pictures of your adventures and some caches like earth caches and virtuals require you to post a picture of yourself to prove that you were there. Another good reason to have a camera is when you are doing a multi stage cache and are at a waypoint and can't find it, going back to your camera and reviewing the picture you took of the coordinates that were posted at the last waypoint will save you from having to walk back to the previous waypoint to verify the coordinates. Finally, its nice to use the cameras zoom feature to see hints that are harder to see from the ground, thus saving a climb up or down to get a better view of the hint.

Bring zip log backs and a couple of notebooks to replace old logs or torn baggies so that everyone behind you can enjoy the game as well. Stock up on trade items at a couple of local dollar store. Bring a manual compass, because if your GPS goes down for some reason and you're deep in the woods a regular compass could suddenly become a godsend.

Finally, the best tip I can give you that you might not have thought up on your own is to get a telescopic hand held mirror. The mirror will allow you to see inside guard rails where bees often make nests without sticking your hand itself in. Also, there are times when checking high nooks and crannies is just so much easier with the 2 ft. extension this tool provides.

So, let’s sum that up:
1. Backpack2. Spare Batteries3. Headlamp4. Backup flashlight5. Digital Camera6. Baggies and notebooks – help a fellow cacher out7. SWAG (the trinkets us cachers trade)8. A manual compass9. A mirror
I have had a need to use all of the things above, so this is a really good starter list. In addition, here are other things that I bring:
10. Water – more than what I think I will need11. Pencils/Pens (to sign the log)12. Small First Aid kit.13. Bug Spray14. Gloves (For grabbing things that may bit back) :-P15. Cell Phone
I am sure there are other things that some people bring along. Here are a few other suggestions that I have seen out there:
Snake bite kit
Flare
Flint
Matches
Fueled wood bits
Tin foil
Foil blanket
Whistle
Pepper spray
Mirror
Bells
Chap stick
BlackBerry
Can opener
Rope
Tarp
Tea Candles
Calomine lotion
Swiss army knifeTrash Bags
My pack comes with me no matter if I am out in the field or doing park and grab caches. It’s nice to have just in case I need it. The last thing that you need is something that you don’t want to bring with you and that is a list of caches you are going to go or where you will be – leave this with a loved one in case something happens to you…that way they can find you.
January 04, 2011
7:35
General John Stark
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Recently my family and I set out to find a Multicache. A multicache is a geocache type that has multiple steps and sometimes tasks that have to be performed before you are given the coordinates to where the final cache (and the container with the logbook and goodies) is located. For you geocachers out there, the GC number for this one is GCVGR6.
It had rained that morning, melting a lot of the snow, so the ground was very wet and slushy. It wasn’t long before the kids shoes were soaked through so we had to call of the search before we had gotten too far into the journey. The day was not a loss, however, because we were given the opportunity to spend some really great family time and learn a bit of New Hampshire history. Our geocaching adventure took us to Stark Park in Manchester, NH

Stark Park is named in honor of General John Stark, a New Hampshire hero. General Stark was born in Derry, NH, in 1728. When he was 7 years old, his family relocated to modern day Manchester, NH. When he was 24 years old, he was kidnapped by the local Abenaki Indians and was forced to run a gauntlet. While running the gauntlet, he grabbed a stick from one of the Indians and started to attack the members that formed the gauntlet, thus earning the respect of his captors. After several years, he was ransomed for $103 and returned to New Hampshire.

General Stark eventually emerged as a distinguished soldier and indispensable leader in the American continental army and in the Revolutionary War. In 1777 General Stark was given independent command of New Hampshire’s forces at the Battle of Bennington with orders to raise forces for the “annoyance of the enemy.” Under his leadership, the troops stopped British supplies and troops from connecting with the main army at Saratoga, New York, which led to an American victory later that year. Known as the hero of Bennington, General Stark proved a key figure in America’s fight for independence. Stark lived the remainder of his life in modern day Manchester until his death in 1822 at age 93. General Stark’s fighting spirit gave words to the New Hampshire state motto, “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.”

Stark Park is built around the original Stark family burial plot, on land that was once part of the Stark family farm. Within the park are many items or interest, including the Headstones of General Stark and some of his family members, an elm tree colonnade, bandstand, statues, cannons, and more. If you ever get a chance to visit the park, I would highly recommend it.
January 03, 2011
8:30
The Woronoco Dragon
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I learned about Geocaching by reading a post made by a friend of mine on facebook. I spent a couple of weeks researching the hobby/sport/obsession and set out with my wife and 2 youngest daughters to log our first find on 8/12/2010.

One thing that you should know about me is when I get interested in something, I have a tendancy to jump in full force and take a "learn as I go" approach. To me, this is the best way for me to learn. I feel I am way too ADD to try to take my time (plus patience is something that took me a long time in life to learn and is something that I dont have a lot of when I get my sights set on something).

Needless to say, this approach to learning geocaching was probably not the best approach, because on 9/4/2010 I learned a hard lesson in preparedness. Looking back, it was kinda comical (and seems to be the norm on the rare occassions I can convince the girls to tag along with me when I want to do a unique cache). This is the story of:

Return to Tradition, The Woronoco Dragon
(its a premium member cache on [www.geocaching.com] #GCTP6M)

My wife, our 2 youngest daughters (12 and 8), and myself headed out on the Pawtuckaway trails to seek out a few geocaches. This one looked like it would be a fun one, so I had it as one of the tops of my list. As we got closer to the area, I was a little puzzled that my GPS said the cache was over 300 feet from where I stood on the trail, so we passed this up and went for the next one on the list, thinking we would pick up an alternate route to this cache. Heading back from the other cache we still didn’t find another trail, so we decided that when the GPS pointed us to the woods we would head on in hopes we would come across it (or I was getting a bad reading). The going was a little rough, but I was happy to see that we were closing in on the area where the cache was. We were way past the point of no return, so I was more determined than ever to find it. (Although they were good sports about it, I could tell that my wife and daughters were simply humoring me at this point). Well, once we got within 20 feet of the cache, it was a fairly simple find. We logged our name, swapped our swag, and that is when my wife called me over and whispered, "There is a big animal over there!"

Sure enough, I looked in the direction she was pointing and I did see a large, four legged beast of some sort trouncing around about 100 feet away from where we were (and it was closing in). Not wanting to alarm the girls, who were checking out their new swag finds, I started toward the area where the beast was in the hopes that I would get a better look at what it was. When there was about 50 feet between myself and the beast, I realized it was a dog....a really BIG dog. I turned back to where my wife was and mouthed the words, "Don’t worry, its just a dog...". I then turned back around and started running through my head the rules of engagement between dog and man in the woods. Realizing I didn’t know what I was going to do, I migrated around the side of the tree hoping the dog wouldn’t see me. It stopped dead in its tracks, pricked up its ears, and stared right at me. So much for the "stealth technique". I was relieved to see that the girls had not seen it and the dog didn’t seem too interested in them or my wife. I wasn’t too thrilled to see that it looked very interested in me! :-P

Although it seemed like we stared at one another for hours, it couldn’t have been more than 10 seconds before I heard more trouncing from behind my new nemeses. "Oh great," I thought, "what now?" My heart started beating a little harder and I was about to dive on top of the family in order to save them from this pack of dogs that I knew were about to head my direction when suddenly, from behind the dog, I hear, "Come on boy!", and a whistle, and around the corner comes a young lady jogging down the trail that we now realized that we should have been on to begin with. Both the jogger and the dog passed by with a friendly hello and they continued down the trail along their merry way. Whew! Bad situation avoided - all danger was over!! Or so I thought.

Now, keep in mind that I have already hauled the family out through the woods, over fallen trees and stones, past tons of various foliage types in a wrong-way trek to this wonderful cache. I also didn’t come as prepared as I now know I should have been (in other words, I didn’t bring the map, extra water, magnetic compass, etc). All we had was a small amount of water left, my GPS (which I am learning still how to use), and a cell phone with a battery that was now dead. Our choice was to either trek back the way we came or try out the new trail. We opted for the trail and started out. The going went well for a while (and I do mean A WHILE)...we walked and walked and walked, knowing that we would eventually get somewhere, but not knowing where or how long it would take to get there.

The trail twisted and turned, but was marked well so we continued on. Keeping our eyes out and following the trail markers. That was, until the trail markers ended and so did the trail. I turned to the family, and realized that 2 of them were now in tears and the oldest daughter was on the verge. Here we are in the middle of the woods with no map, no water, and very little humor for dad anymore. After spending a few moments collecting ourselves, I decided to set the GPS to fix on a cache that we had already been to. It zeroed in on the spot and I could see that we were about a mile away (as the crow flies). All I could think of was walking that mile through the same overgrowth that we had followed a mere 300 feet to get to the cache to begin with. This is the point that I started thinking that there may someday be an "I can’t believe I survived" story made out of this adventure.

We headed off toward the direction of the cache I was now fixed in on. In my mind I knew that we might have a few roadblocks (or would that be forest blocks?) along the way. I noticed that my GPS was showing that we were in a area where there were a ton of caches showing up, so in an attempt to make the best out of this situation I asked, "Is anyone interested in finding some of these caches along the way?" In which 3 voices (that I no longer recognized) replied, "NO!!!"

It was at this point I realized that if I knew what was good for me I would get everyone out and quick! We were about 1/10th of a mile into the trek to the cache destination when I looked up and saw the white trail marker and a trail under my feet. Thank goodness - we were back on the trail. This was a relief for us all and we started back on the trail. The voices of my sweet angels slowly started to return and I knew that there might be hope for me yet. About 15 minutes along this path and we came across a main trail. Not the one we came in on, but it was a main trail (one that had now taken 2 hours to find). I looked at the GPS and got my bearings and we started down the trail. We came upon a paved road and I knew at this point we were going to be okay. It took me a moment to realize where we were, but once I figured it out I knew that we were on the same road we had parked, but were a little over a mile away from the car. The girls started walking and I started jogging up the road (something I have not done in years).

This, by far, is the toughest cache I have done so far. Not the fault of the cache, just my lack of preparedness. In all, we probably put in over 5 miles on this little hike.

I have learned a lot of lessons from this adventure and will not be repeating any mistakes <yeah - right!>. ;-P

I also think it will be a long, long time before anyone in the family will want to "Grab a quick geocache" with me. ;) (hmmmm....maybe a couple of easy urban finds will help).

My advice to anyone that wants to set out for this one is to pay attention to the description - the correct trail was clearly stated in the description

← Trackfiles Fermentum's GeoBlog →

Racer	Total
Sonic	125
PF Flyer Pig	100
Scout Patch	100
George Jr.	95
Dodge Ram Emblem	90
Triplets Angel	85
Trackable Tag "C"	85
Making Tracks Trackable	80
Mario Racer	80
Peach Racer	80
Rockin Bug	80
Juliette	75
Ranger Mobile	70
Dukes of Caching	70
Lenny	70
Sweet Blue Bear	70
Trackable Tag "A"	70
scout racer B	70
GeoPeace	70
Rileys Incredible Journey	65
Dolphin Travel tag	60
Skeleton Keys	60
Winner By A Nose	60
Special Forces	60
Aoife's Racer	60
The Fly	60
Discovery	55
Airblazers Racer #1	55
Moms Travel Bug	55
Sk8r Girl	50
Run Little GrassHopper!	50
Kens Kazoo	50
Raegans Lovie Ducky	50
HamBone HawgRider	50
Trackable Tag "S"	50
Airblazers Racer #2	50
ST TNG: Data	50
Signal Racer Tag B	50
ChickyPooLoveDiva	50
Cachin Zombie	50
1st Bug & Race	45
PSY Travel Bug Dog Tag	45
Lovely Lady	45
Traveling Poo	45
Kenedi's Lovie Ducky	45
One Cool Bug	45
CW88's 2011 TRFTHOI	45
Airblazers Racer #3	45
Repairman_Jacks Racer	45
Wsax Flying High TB	45
Scout racer A	45
Redneck Rider	40
Maine Chickadee Plate	40
Detachment 18	40
That was easy	40
KISS Army Dog Tag	40
Mr zip	40
Robot Racer	35
Destination Unknown	35
2nd Bug & Race	35
Dragon...Fly	35
The Intimidator	35
Gunners Incredible Journey	35
Squeakers	35
Hot Wheels Batmobile	35
Sally Carrera	35
Lightning McQueen	35
GeoPride	35
Clutch It!!	30
Turtle Myth	30
Get Your Heart Racing	30
Omar	30
3rd Bug & Race	30
Three Legged Dinosaur	30
Team bullis 2011 TRFTHOI Compass Rose Micro Geocoin	30
itty bitty	30
Play all Day	30
Moving on	30
Photo Discovery	30
Chico Bug	30
ST TNG: Geordi La Forge	30
ST TNG: William T. Riker	30
Hot Wheels Ford Mustang	30
Signal Racer Tag A	30
Golf Trip	30
Zandra Laney	25
G8R	25
Light Up Raegans Life	25
GeoTrackin	25
scout racer C v2	25
Signal Racer Tag C v2	25
Ghost Horse	20
Buzz Buzz...Buzz Me Along	20
CW88's 2011 TRFTHOI Racer 2	20
Splatter	20
George	15
Rockford Racer	0
Skyelance	0

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