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Rose_Thorn

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Posts posted by Rose_Thorn

  1. Quite right, Philip! However it cannot be classed as commercial as I suspect that few people would pay to use the toll road just to log one cache - but you never know!! (And no I haven't got shares in Costa Coffee :sad: )

     

    It now has an offer of adoption from a local chap who uses the toll road from time to time, so its future is safe!

  2. Due to a change in family circumstances I will not be passing this way as often as I used to and so I am looking for someone to adopt GCWQF1 Motorway Mayhem M6 Toll Services.

     

    It is in need of a new container as the lid is cracked apparently. Also, the person adopting it would need to be someone regularly using the M6 Toll Road as of course you have to pay to get to the M6 Toll Services!

     

    Please contact me if you can adopt the cache - I would be most grateful as it's quite a popular cache and it would be a shame to have to archive it. :sad:

  3. Thanks to all who came to the event, especially to Wicker for reserving more tables when he realised more folks were turning up, and to my fellow hikers, pklong, Dizzley, Gruffty and Bob, not forgetting Daisy the cache dog for sticking with the programme despite the weather turning utterly foul!

     

    Please log out of the event any remaining trackables that you took home with you - a few are left.

     

    If you took a wordsearch competition entry, don't forget to email me the list of caches you found in it - deadline to receive entries is Sunday 16 March! Then I can check them and find who will win this nice shiny little coin I have here - of course if I don't get any entries then I can keep it for myself :anicute: so don't worry if you don't have time!

     

    I have put up some pics of the hike and there are also pics from the pub - thanks to all those who have uploaded them.

  4. Despite my recent misfortune of taking a downhill nose dive onto the tarmac from my bike, I still intend to hobble/crawl around Wicker's Hike next Saturday to warm-up for the meet at Owd Betts. If you want to join me:

    Meet 9.30 am in the layby by the burger van (on other side of road from Owd Betts) on Saturday 8th March for start of Wicker's Hike and hunt for 32 caches! (I have already found a few of them but have forgotten where there are!)

     

    I've booked our table/s in the pub - still time to put your name down on the event page or email me and I can add a few more - I need to let them know at Owd Betts by midweek really. Be there or Owd Bett'll come after ya!

  5. Yep, I agree that finding the park-keeper in the park and showing him/her your container is the easiest way to go about it - I have done this a couple of times, and although they look at you a bit funny first, they soon become amenable to the idea once you explain what is involved!

     

    If you can't "grab a parkie" then look in your phone book under your local council name and find the number for parks and gardens - sometimes it may be listed under leisure services. Or ring the council's customer services number and ask to speak to someone who knows about park maintenance. Even if you get refused at first, you can often "twist their arm" so to speak by explaining that other councils allow geocaches in their parks and in fact many encourage geocaching because it encourages people to use the parks for harmless recreation - add that geocachers are responsible people who don't drop litter etc!

     

    Good luck!

  6. Yep, the cache that brought this to mind (one of mine) is on the edge of a large park that has several other caches in it (owned by other people) and is regularly used for runs, mountain biking, orienteering and outdoor activities with schools. I will notify the park authorities as they may be unaware that the problem exists in this corner of the park.

     

    Thanks for all the advice folks.

  7. Having read in a log on one of my caches recently that a cacher found a needle near the location, and it was the third he had round that week, I have wondered just how significant the risk of needlestick injury is when caching. Like most cachers, I guess, I've been scratched and cut by thorns, wire, glass and metal in my time when cache hunting but I haven't previously given much thought to discarded needles, and to be honest, I wouldn't even know how to assess the risk if I did sustain an injury from one.

     

    Any comments/advice?

  8. Welcome! Geocaching is great - like a cross between hunt the thimble and hide and seek for grown-ups I reckon. It gives you the excuse to play and do daft things under the guise of a respectable hobby - a very healthy addiction! Have fun!

  9. :D If I might add a word...!

     

    I did originally have the time and place for meeting for the hike in the description of the event and I had "Wicker's HIke" in the event title but obviously it seemed too prominent to be accepted as being within event listing guidelines, so I took the details out and stuck them here and on the NW Caching forum events board.

     

    I have now added a note to the event cache page directing people to the forums for further details re caching prior to the pub meet.

     

    As to rules/guidelines etc...I'm only a dugong so I just do what I'm told. ;)

     

    Personally I'm not a numbers person and am not doing the hike for "numbers" but rather to have some jolly japes caching in company :D:D or something like that, since most of my caching is done on my lonesome! And I thought other folksies might enjoy that too, plus having a drink at the pub to wind down afterwards. It's what we used to do in the old days when hubby and I went rock climbing with our mates and chilled out in pub afterwards, re-living the scariest moments in the safety of the boozer! Plus I'm rubbish at actually finding caches half the time, and want some help - I mean if I'm going to tramp round the moors for 7 hours I'm not going to return with 20 dnf's! So come on, 9.30 am at the layby - put it on your calendar!

  10. See here - I couldn't make mention of meeting up beforehand for Wicker's Hike on the event cache page, so IF you want to do the hike:

     

    Meet 9.30 am in the layby by the burger van (on other side of road from Owd Betts) on Satuardy 8th March for start of Wicker's Hike and hunt for 32 caches! We'll be going whatever the weather, except for snow which would hinder the searching and walking and make the route too much of a serious undertaking. As it is, do come equipped for a tough hike - walking boots, waterproofs, spare clothing, and of course, butties for a lunch break! Remember, it's 12 1/2 miles over rough moorland!

     

    Of course if you can't manage the hike/have already done it then it would be great to see you at Owd Betts for refreshments and cache-chat :)

  11. I've already done part of it and found four of the caches, I think, but since then Wicker has added a few more caches to this moorland epic! I fancy doing the whole route and bagging the remaining caches but thought it would be more fun with a few companions.

     

    Anyone interested in meeting up on a Saturday to do this? Bogs a-plenty guaranteed!

  12. I have got the old blue legend. The base mapping isn't great but I am an OS map addict anyway and usually have an OS map with me too, so I use it in conjunction with that.

     

    I like the way it remembers the track you take, and the "trackback" facility - handy if you are exploring in mist etc and you just want to get back where you came from! It gives me loads of info like elevation, average speed, sunset time, etc.

     

    I am not a techno buff at all, so it probably does stuff I don't understand but it does what I want and I have been very happy with it :laughing:

  13. Thanks for the replies! The other day was so cold I think I could have done with my Buffalo motorbike jacket on - tough as old boots, warm and waterproof. Plus it has body armour panels inside so if I fell over through slipping on the mud or being drunk (never happens...well hardly ever!) I wouldn't hurt myself. Actually could have done with that on my bike when cycling to work the other morning and someone knocked me off, but I guess it might get a bit hot going up the hill!

     

    I like the look of the Barbours but they're a bit dear. I think I may keep my Gore-tex for mountain walking and cycling and buy a cheapy Regatta or similar for caching in prickly situation.

     

    What do you folks with Gore-tex recommend for washing it by the way?

  14. I don't know about the bookmarks, but I'm sure most people have favourite caches/series that they would recommend.

     

    A couple of my personal favourites have been the Quest for the Ring of Power series in the Lake District, though I did the first few before it changed format, so I have got to do them again to log the finds - no hardship! Especially liked going underground!

     

    Also I enjoyed St Herbert's Island because it meant rowing across Derwentwater to the island - took me back to childhood games of playing the Famous Five or Swallows and Amazons. Finding treasure on a secret island whilst trying to hide from dangerous spies - well, all right, sea scouts, but you know what I mean. Fab fun!

  15. As I was scrabbling about in the bushes today, trying to detangle myself from the thorns and hearing ominous ripping sounds from my £100 Gore-tex jacket, it occurred to me that maybe I should wear an old coat for caching.

     

    It's swings and roundabouts really. Just any old coat would not keep me as dry as my Gore-tex, nor would it be as breathable. But the latter is not usually a problem when I'm caching as I take so long to find the darn caches that I'm not exactly steaming. On the other hand, my cheap old navy coat from Aldi might be less conspicuous that my pink Sprayway jacket, and getting it muddy/trampled on/torn on wire fences etc would not be as calamitous. I do hate getting wet though, the the Gore-tex has never let me down - yet!

     

    So what's your caching coat of choice - expensive high-tech designer outdoor clothing or something cheap and dispensable?

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