DNFs at Three Bucks a Gallon

So, here's the problem with DNFs. They're expensive.

When I first started geocaching, I told myself not to spend a lot of money that I didn't have or couldn't justify on this new hobby of mine. I was pretty good about that for a couple of years. Both of my Garmin units were gifts, as was my Palm Tungsten E2. I shelled out the money to be a premium member, but other than that, the only money I spent was on gas. Even then, I usually only stopped to grab caches along a route I was taking for work, anyway. I didn't go out of my way more than a half mile or so to grab a cache, so I wasn't using up a lot of excess gas driving around. So, when I had to log a DNF, there was a good chance I'd be back to try again without making a special trip.

After four years, I've pretty much found all the caches along the routes I routinely travel for my work. I've also learned to be picky about which caches I even want to bother with. I really, really, REALLY hate looking for caches in smelly bushes, especially when combined with a large amount of trash or in a "shady" part of town. Also, I've gotten so much better at hiking, and in most parks don't mind hiking alone, that my drive by caching was starting to become limited to solved puzzles and their nearby traditionals.

As always happens after the holiday season, a whole bunch of new cachers have emerged lately, and many of them have already gotten started at hiding caches of their own. This has increased the amount of urban caches in the area, some of them good quality hides, some not so much. For me, the one thing they all have in common is that I have to go out of my way to get them, and that means making a plan to go to a specific area and find several in that area in order to justify spending the gas to get there, and I do not always know what type of cache I may find or not find when I get there. I may regret going out of my way for one cache that I find if I waste too much time on a cache that I can't find, and run out of time to look for any more. To me, that's a waste of gas and a waste of my precious little cash!

So, for all the newer cachers out there who want to hide clever caches in a tough location, do me a favor. Post a hint. Your cache is too far from my home to get to on foot.

TFTC

Happy Trails!

A Million Geocaches and Only One of Me

Geocaching.com, the World's #1 Location-Based Recreation Portal, Publishes One-Millionth Active Hidden Treasure

Uh, anyone busy this month?

Are You "Smart" Enough for FTF?

With the release of geocaching applications for the iPhone and Droid, the race for First to Find has changed since I began caching. I'm not "smart" enough, anymore. I still have to be home, near my computer, with the DSL actually working in order to receive notification of new caches.

Just a couple of years ago, there was a more level playing field. Everyone needed to be near a computer with internet access if they wanted to have a chance at an FTF. Being "FIRST!" has always carried its own special importance, and it was not unusual to find yourself in an impromptu flash mob of geocachers at the location of the newest cache. I remember sitting quietly at my computer, in my jammies, drinking my coffee, getting a notification and having to make that decision of whether or not to actually put on my jeans and shoes before flying out the door. Getting there before Winini was a big deal, although there was some status in being "First to Find After Winini."

Then came the iPhone and since a noted geocacher just happens to write applications for the thing, soon afterward came the geocaching application for the iPhone. That changed the game. Now, a cacher could be out running errands, receive a notification from the iPhone, pull it up on the website, select it and without even consulting his trusty Garmin handheld, be off to the location within a minute or two of publication. It hasn't taken long for other "smartphones" to join the rush for FTF. But I am not a member of the smartphone crowd. My $20 phone does phone calls and texting of a slow and painful type. Since I'm not "smart" enough, I've changed my email notifications to include only puzzle caches. There's another element to them that create more parity among FTF hunters. Of course, that's a different kind of "smart," and I usually fall short there, too! But once in a while, I get the answer quickly and get the FTF.

Oh, that feels good!

So, How'd You Do This Weekend?

One of my favorite threads on the GBA forum is the "How'd you do this weekend?" thread. I enjoy reading about all the hikes, wildflower sightings, off-roading adventures, out of the country trips, caching vacations, etc., that the local geocachers report about, often with many excellent photographs to document the experience.

I live vicariously through this thread, because I work every weekend, as weather allows, and when the weather doesn't allow, not a lot of people do much geocaching.

So, about a year and a half ago, I announced to the group that I would be going hiking every Monday morning and was looking for fellow hikers to accompany me. I wanted these hikes to include geocaching as much as possible. Also, I intended to make the hikes fairly short, three miles or less, not only to encourage people to come out who don't do a lot of hiking, but because I was sure I was too out of shape to do any better. I called them, "Monday Morning Wimp Hikes," as a way to differentiate them from the ever popular, hard-core hikers' "Death Marches."

The Monday morning hikes caught on rapidly and it wasn't long before the "wimp" element got left behind. I had no idea I could hike seven miles! On hills! Don't get me wrong, those hikes weren't easy. But I believe it was only the support and encouragement of the people who shared them with me that made it possible for me to do them. Because of them, I actually got some confidence to attempt a few two to four mile solo hikes. But hiking solo just isn't as much fun for me, and when the popularity of the hikes waned as people got new jobs or too busy or the weather got too extreme, I began to lose the incentive to get up early on a Monday morning after spending the weekend working.

Then, last fall, I got my Fitbit. There were two things I didn't realize until the day I got it. The first thing I realized was just how much weight I'd gained during the previous year. The second thing I realized was that a gadget could have just as much incentive as a human companion, even though it's still sadly lacking in fun conversation and help in spotting tough hides. The Fitbit got me back to walking and hiking more. Without doing anything different in my life other than making sure I fulfill my 10,000 steps per day, I've now lost nearly ten pounds since adding that gadget to my life. Now, when I think about how I did this weekend, I think about how many steps I walked, not how many other adventures I missed out on, or how many caches I did not get a chance to log. Better still, I'm beginning to look forward to getting up early on Monday mornings again.