Makers and shakers

Groundspeak is celebrating Makers Madness this month. The idea is to highlight what it takes to make geocaches. After all, without people making geocaches, then there would be nothing to find. I've been geocaching for 3 years now, and I can say that I enjoy making geocaches almost as much as finding them. It's quite natural as you go out and find caches to think about how you'd hide a cache in such-and-such area, or where you think a really great cache location could be. But for me, it is much more common to simply start with an idea. A certain puzzle concept, or a desire to create a series which really shows off the Organ Mountains, such as my Organ Saint Series. and once you get started, the creativity follows. Most of the caches I've created I am quite proud of. They are fun experiences, and I've received a lot of good feedback. But part of good cache ownership is keeping tabs on your caches, and with our impending move to Tennessee, I am trying to figure out what I want to do with all these hides.

My gut reaction is to simply leave them alone. Most are not found frequently, and are not likely to have issues. I could adopt some out, and some locals have already expressed interest. That's probably the responsible thing to do, but as I mentioned, I am proud of these hides and kind of like to keep them in my name. I've been trying to visit as many of them as I can before we leave, to make sure they are in good shape. Friday, the kids had off school so we took a trip up to the Sacramento mountains to enjoy some woodlands and check on my cache, Bear Necessities. The mountains were cooler than I had thought they would be, but we had coats and the kids were game to for some exploring. We stopped along Westside rd for a few kid friendly caches, short hikes with big pay-offs. My cache out here is one I have fond memories of making. The whole family was out camping and I had brought along some heavy-duty fishing line (spider line) and a pill bottle to make this hide. I located a decent ponderosa pine near the camp site and climbed up a good ways, and then screwed in a series of small eyelets on my decent. By running the spider-line through the eyelets I could hand the pill bottle way up high. We then scavenged some bark from a fallen pine nearby and thoroughly camouflaged the container. A rusty can nearby served as a perfect reel to be left at the base of the tree. It took a few hours to get everything just right, but the whole family pitched in and had a good time making it. I remember thinking that it probably wouldn't survive the winter, but figured it would be fun while it lasted. Now, 2-1/2 years later it is in almost perfect shape, with only the tiniest bit of fraying of the spider-line near the top eyelet. And just about every cacher that visits it loves it. Just goes to show that a little careful thought in putting together a cache can go a long ways.

The next day was a Maker's Madness event in Alamogordo, and since we needed to get the kids and dog out of the house anyways, we made it our destination. I brought along a box full of old cache containers, logbooks and swag to give away. I was glad to see all of it get picked up by folks interested in hiding their own caches. I got to talk at length to some of the Alamogordo cacher's, but making goecahces didn't seem to be on many peoples minds. Mainly, it was the typical geocacher chatter, what caches have you found here, or there, which ones would you recommend. I can talk for hours about that sort of thing, and am not alone at one of these events. After the event broke up, the dog and I got to do some caching while the family visited the small Alameda Park Zoo. The cache I most wanted to find in Alamogordo was C3-C4, by Mycn18. It is the last of his cache's that I hadn't found, and all of his caches I've really enjoyed. He has to be one of the most meticulous cachers; his caches all have sturdy print-outs for each stage, complex instructions and warnings, difficult terrain and obstacles, and fortress-like hides constructed so that no animal will ever make off with a stage. They are involved, and require effort, and thus do not get found very often. But I find them even more rewarding for this. C3-C4 explores some canyons underneath Ortega Peak. I flew up the canyon, knowing the family would complete all the zoo attractions quickly. Canyons like this are common here, but I know I'll miss them once we move. I tried to soak as much in as I could, given a hasty ascent and descent. Finding this last Mycn18 cache was a good way to end the Maker's Madness weekend. I couldn't have asked for more.

Navigating without a GPS device

With all the geocaching I've been doing with the family, we have become quite good at using our GPS device to navigate. I love using it on long hikes in rugged terrain, since it has built in maps and never fails to tell me where I am. But even though GPS enables an easier more user-friendly navigation, it is still good to know the basics. Good old fashioned compass and map navigation. Compass navigation was the theme for an event I took the kids to this morning at the MVBSP, part of their Navigation Series.

My compass is not in the best shape, with a huge bubble obscuring the needle, but it still functioned well enough. The course I took the kids on was geared towards beginners, with orange flagging at each way-point to let you know you were on the right track. I showed the kids how to set the compass bearing and to count out paces and we were off. Levin was especially helpful in counting out the paces, as we struck off at different bearings throughout the park. Along the course were a few cans of candy canes, which the kids eagerly raided. My compass skills were not too shabby, it's nice to put away the GPSr and re-familiarize with older technology. It was a beautiful day in the park, no winds and warm temps. We passed a group of excited birders going to sight a Pippit on the Rio. All in all, good fun!

Trail running and creative caches

A new geocaching trail was published recently along mtn bike trails that are only recently constructed. The area, between Dripping Springs Rd, and Soledad Canyon Rd, is one I've visited a number of times before, but I these trails were all new to me. The caches are all placed by my friend Updraft58, and while I'm not a huge fan of power trails, this one is right up my alley. Some of the other caching trails I have done (like the Cache Stats Challenge or the Medal of Honor series west of Las Cruces were pretty much all the same container and hide. I guess some people like this consistency because it allows you to plow through the series without having to think much at each hide, and you can really get into a traveling/caching rhythm. This trail had varying cache containers, types of hides, difficulties etc... This variety made it really fun. I especially liked the hides using fake plants and animals. I made up for not having a steady jogging rhythm by sprinting between the caches. Good fun, and once again the dog couldn't keep up with me.

My track, 21 finds 2 DNFs and 4 miles in 2 hrs

Yucca flower just starting out. It'll be a beautiful spring!

Crazy mtn bikers out here

Me talking..

So I got shanghaied into hosting the annual event at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, and the theme we settled on was a Geocaching 101. I definitely spent more time worrying and preparing for the event than necessary. I downloaded the official Begining Geocaching powerpoint from groundspeak.com, and also put together my own presentation called the DOs and DONTs of geocaching. I had copies of other people's geocaching 101 presentations as back-up and spent time fretting over whether the tone of the presentations was more suitable to beginners or people who already knew a thing or two about geocaching. In the end, it didn't matter much. People showed up, the regular local geocachers and newbies alike. Everyone chatted, sat through a brief introduction and then little groups formed of people going out to find geocaches. That's really the best way to learn, have someone experienced go with you and hunt for some caches. I never ended up presenting most of the stuff I brought, or using many of the ideas I had for the event... they weren't necessary at all.

And I guess I'd do it again, it was fun. I enjoy geocaching and am willing to talk about to others who show even a slight interest. I guess that's pretty natural.