DreamMachine74

For me, what I really understand to make me feel good about geocaching is making a cache create an experience, whether it be a multi, wherein you walk about a neighbourhood, learning this and that about it, or working on a puzzle which makes your mind melt....only to realize it's a bit of a nonchalant breeze into a morgue of less approachable perspectives. Then again, I also love those good ol treks in the woods wherein it's either a nice bushwhack and hill climb/ride to the cache, or just a walk through a field, overgrown with vines and what have you all around. I've created about 9 caches which all fit with one of these descriptions more or less...but what it really boils down to for me is creating an engaging experience for geocachers in the community to have fun. It's taken time to learn how to create caches like these, but it's a good process, and very helpful. I also just love the sense of achievement when it comes to thinking about where you went just from geocaching...it's interesting methinks.

My first multicache find was by accident. A letterbox was hidden nearby, and when I tried to find it, I ended up finding what turned out to be an old multi that's still active. I then found the letterbox about 5 feet away....that was a strange day haha.

I've only started night caching because of this pandemic...it's been great. As a way of keeping my mental and physical health maintained, the adventure in the journey to the cache is always more interesting than the cache. I'm saying this because I only walk or run to these caches from my home, and have gone 20 kilometres at one point to get a cache...and made a full marathon of that walk. (beating my old walking record consistently...I think it was 25 km two years ago) I really appreciate that aide of the game now, and despite living in an urban centre, I walk toward the suburbs of my city, where it's easier to night cache...albeit I usually never cache in a wooded area or thicket unless I decide to. Tonight I'm going for an easy walk, about 15-18 km to get some easier caches....one might be tougher due to a subdivision, although I've figured I might now start hiding more night friendly caches now....of course once we can actually get them published.

I'm finding it a bit exciting actually to think where new caches will be hidden.....though at the same time, any new hide I myself have is obviously at risk of being in someone's area if someone also placed a cache nearby during this time. I have a feeling my city will have a handful of caches in a ten mile radius of me....maybe 10 or more.

I find it kind of funny how the Blue Switch souvenir comes up in a bit randomly at times....albeit it makes sense this year as it's an anniversary...but forgive if I;m wrong, but I believe the last Blue Switch Day souvenir was three years ago to this day.....well at least its still the second for me. I get and appreciate that HQ doesn't put out a souvenir for this day every year...as that would get pretty boring, but I do have to wonder why they release this souvenir on some more....seemingly random dates, like three years ago. I'm just viewing this in the sense of a formality, like a wedding anniversary gift (being the souvenir)….a gift for the 17th anniversary seems a tad strange compared to celebrating something for the 20th. Oh, and with regards to extending the date of the souvenir so that one can technically find a cache in December and still earn a souvenir meant for months earlier...I understand why HQ is doing this, but it definitely makes the whole point of the souvenir seem a titch....absurd. I suppose it's like a mulligan souvenir for the 20th anniversary of caching....made much laxer for less serious cachers, but more so because of the current situation going around. (As a side note, I did get a few caches today.....including an old DNF...it was a good day to cache, although I realize now that bike gears are very good weapons when misused….)

I'm now tackling two types of caching mostly. Night walks, where I leave at say 10:00 pm or so and come home at 2-3:00 am with a find before and after midnight (for two days I will need a cache for my finds grid), or I'll occasionally go caching in daytime but in remote areas. I've tackled a good few caches near a river in the last month...High D/T caches that mean no muggles within my vicinity. On that note....I need to place a hide soon for this month.

Well.....seeing as we're in this situation, I'm definitely going to put some of these goals on the backburner....unless things somehow drastically change by November or December. I've hidden a few more unique caches (t5's and such)...and am hiding a new one and replacing another with something much funner...but I'm still taking things very slowly. I'm only caching on days I need a cache for my finds calendar.....mostly night walks, which are either 10+ km long, or nearing 30 km....which is also helping my 1,000 cache goal...at least slowly. I sit at 830 currently, might be at 850 by mid-May....just by getting caches in a general area from me. I have a CCE now, but I'm going to say I'm very happy I didn't pay for a permit from my city to host an event on any certain day...I was thinking of doing it, but didn't.

Also, all Community Celebration Events are extended until December 31st, 2021.

That part is what I call a write off. A conumbrence of the mind where I was ending off my contribution to this thread with something that sounds more like heresy more than anything, unintentionally. I'm going to just check by other areas where my caches are in case of restrictions made by the municipal gov't....some of my caches aren't in parks, but green spaces.

I don't live far from the CO who disabled their 1800 hides, which was actually around 2,500 a few months ago. In my city, the park amenities have closed, like playgrounds, sports fields, parking lots and skate parks...due to the possibility of surfaces containing the virus due to their popular use in what's becoming a time with less to do. I've disabled two of my caches without visiting them, but I know they're both next to such park amenities....and although they could access and sign the log they may face fines or charges as well...all dependent on circumstance. Typically newer cachers visit these two caches, and although they can sign the log, I don't want them to risk their hide/monetary obligations.

I think I had one of the last events for geocaching in Ontario (3 days ago)….and it was just me and one other cacher. Went to a local restaurant and it was nice to come by...but I hate seeing the lack of business. (though I do understand why**) I have a feeling HQ may need to push CCE's a month or two forward....

It's great. Someone hid one near me, and it's still not found (1/1 cache right near one of my own), but I'm now saving it for a day when I need a find REALLY close to me. I hid a cache a few days ago and need to figure out how to do some internet wizardry before publishing it....taking me forever because I hate using the internet for a lot of things other than browsing and such. Also updated a cache needing maintenance yesterday with a tougher hiding spot (2D/4T rating to 2.5D/5T)...and a local cacher is actually heading out to find it today o get some alone time due to this whole situation. Might try and convince some high school friends to geocache....may as well in these strange times.

Well, as someone who works in a restaurant, I lost two of my three shifts this week...my restaurant has closed for Monday tomorrow and is only open in dinner service on Tuesday....I'm going to have maybe 5 hours this week. In the meantime, I'll be hiding a T5 large ammocan this coming week as a way to kill some time and finally get that out of the way....I've been planning this hide since July haha. Ammocans are a rarity in my city, and T5's are pretty well only water related caches in my city.

Too bad it seems it wont be happening this year.

I do the same thing, although I'm making plans to travel to cities outside of my own to cache this year....something I do occasionally, although part of the reason I do it is to explore a new area and be inspired. Possibly going to the Woodstock event this year will be the first cross country trip I ever made by myself....so it'll be interesting. When I geocache, I tend to stick to my city, which has a solid transit system...and plenty more geocaches to hunt for, so spending is minimal.

Most of my containers are smaller than that first container I found, so it's tough...or their designed to not work that way, partly because I live in an urban and busy environment. This year however, I'm hiding some larger containers, further in some suburban areas of my city...and some still close-ish, where I'll label my caches. I do need to return to at least 2-4 geocaches and label them however.

I first found out aboit geocaching when I discovered a plastic container in a hollowed log near my house in the nearest park. I looked up what geocaching was, and was surprised. I just wish I learned to make more meaningful online logs...and was more serious about it....though I was 13 haha. I stopped caching after my 4th find....I still dont really know when I found that first cache however. My first hide was five years later, just above 400 finds. I was VERY nervous around hiding caches, it sounded complicated with finding coordinates...but after that first one, I realized how easy it was....I published a few in the following weeks. I just wish I started hiding earlier, and pushed myself to publish one.

I was also confused by this, someone mentioned you only needed six finds in this three week period in an online group a few days ago....which confused me earlier today as I found a bit more than six since the 11th. Turns out I have found caches on 5 days now since the 11th, so tomorrow's adventure will be a my ticket to this souvenir (not that I really care about this souvenir....but it's nice to get in it's own way).

Alright, year end update, even though this isn't quite a year technically. I found over 370 caches this year.....and much more than one a month. I can't blame myself too much for this goal...I didn't know how this year would shape up. I did end up finding more caches in different counties. I think I racked up 4 or 5 counties....not bad at all. This final goal was one that felt very daunting to me....hiding caches seemed SUPER difficult to me, and that's why I kept myself from hiding any until May. After that, I began releasing a bunch....and now I sit at 37....of which 32 are traditionals. The rest are events, mysteries and multi's.....and another multi is awaiting approval. Overall, I did pretty well this year, I'm happy.

Going from last year, I'll try and set some real goals that don't sound so wimpy. #1. Hide more unique caches. I want to try for more mystery, multi and other types of caches....not so many traditionals….although I do have one or two ideas for some wacky traditionals. Not setting a formal amount for hides, though increasing my presence in my hometown is a goal I like working on. #2 Host an event somewhere interesting. I started doing events late into the year, when I became busier and the weather became too bothersome to be outside for long....I have some ideas for new kinds of events....the special one for next year sounds great, but I don't see myself getting it. I choose to believe my luck will be terrible. #3 Find my 1000th cache. As of typing this, I sit at 699 hides.....by January 1st, I'll be at least 710. And find more multi's....even though they can e frustrating. #4 Fill out more of my grids. I have 50 D/T combinations found...I'll have one or two more found by 2020, but push up that number. Same for my found dates....and Jasmer and yadayadayada. #5 Find my first webcam cache. I know of one now in Canada....and it's a ways away, but at least it's two train rides away....and a few hundred miles. #6 Find more counties. A goal from last year, I just want to push my map a bit...maybe even find another state.

Huh, I never heard of a hectometer before, interesting.

Streaks are just not my thing...I pulled off an 8 day one when I was in High School, but these days with work, caching is limited to 2 or 3 days. Going for a streak would come and feel much like a chore at that point anyway, I don't lie the idea of just making up an incentive on the whim.

One caching couple left a $25 gift card once for the FTF of a new container, and I did manage to find it, not that it was hard to get to or anything. Other than that, I've seen coins in a few caches. Sometime I'll leave a bit of cash in a cache, but nothing crazy, maybe $5 if the challenge is substantial enough.

I'm going ahead as well with a half year check up...I genuinely wish I could say I was inebriated by some degree when I typed this....the first goal makes no sense because I was trying to find a certain amount of caches per month. The first goal is a write off....completely. I'm working on the second one, and the third one is already good to go, with my tenth cache having been planted yesterday, of which four are yet to be published.

I've had two confrontations, though one was less concerning than the other. First story; Me and my friend were looking for a geocache in a park. Just after making the find (having searched for fifteen or so minutes), a cruiser went to the parking spot right near the GZ, and questioned what we were doing. I think we told the truth....but my memory is bad in some cases...this is my log, can't believe I found it last year, it feels like a while ago. https://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=2a958c9f-fc1d-4e5f-92f5-583cf2a489fc Second Story; I was going for a few caches in a small town where some family live, my relative having dropped me off somewhat nearby. I made out with two DNFs (mostly because the few inches of snow we had made geocaching troublesome). I was in a park, which was barren due to the weather, and I was being a goof. Breaking ice, trying to find a cache in a pine....and I decided to finally look for this cache hidden in a wooden lot near the railway bridge, and not far from someones house. Well….as I searched the GZ, an officer came by, and directed me to come out of the woodlot....telling me where to exit because their were brambles and such. Once I was out in the open, he approached me and asked me if I was okay and what I was doing. I told him the truth, and they carded me. I had no idea if they were charging me for anything (I didn't exactly figure out if the woodlot, which is quite small, is restricted for the public)….but after going to the local police station, they explained that I wasn't being charged, and hat someone called the police because I looked distressed or lost in the park. My log is here; https://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=2d62ed74-701a-4375-8871-cf20edcf8bf3 I will return for this geocache, when I see those family members again, and it'll be MUCH easier to find since I'm pretty sure the cache was covered in snow.