Jump to content

Gas Prices Impacting Your Geocaching?


Recommended Posts

Posted

With prices in south Jersey upwards of $2.20 :anibad: a gallon for regular, and seeing as how my 2005 Jeep Liberty comes in at 16 miles/gal. average, I have come to think twice about going on cache raids or spending a day driving from cache to cache. It's getting rediculously expensive to keep my SUV full (about $40 a tank) :lol::rolleyes: .

 

Have gas prices effected anyone else on thier cache runs?

Posted

The gas price doesn't affect me at all. My bike runs on my energy, but my knees are killing me. I'm riding all over town, at least 5 miles a day. Yesterday I was out for 4 hours and rode 11 miles, plus climbing up hills to get to caches.

 

Gas here (San Diego, CA) is somewhere around $2.35 I think.

Posted

It might have had an impact on my caching activities, but my wife has just jumped on board and like most newbies is really excited about caching. As a result the first thing out of her mouth when I get home is where are we going caching. It's really a nice change.

 

:rolleyes:

Posted

Gas prices and the uncomfortable heat in Sacramento has me out of caching for a bit. I went out the other day, but I was sweating buckets before I even got to the designated coords.

Posted

Caching going just fine - spending less elsewhere. For one thing we've gone back to our hippy dippy days menu-wise, lots of rice, beans and vegies healthy & cheap. Wouldn't want to give up a cache run for a hunk of beef.

Posted (edited)

National prices in August last year were $1.88. National prices are now $2.20, that is only $6.40 more then last year. I think I will pack a lunch and skip Mickie Ds. and keep on Caching.

 

There was something about seeing the cost of filling a tank going over $40.00 that has some psychological effect on us.

 

Cheers

 

Muddler

Edited by Muddler
Posted

$2.20 a gallon? Wow, you're lucky! My car takes premium which puts me out roughly $2.80 a gallon out here. :rolleyes:

 

There, now I'm done complaining before all the Europeans chime in and tell us how much more it costs them. :anibad:

Posted

Lots of great replies! There really is something about that magical $40.00 mark on the fuel pump that just strikes a cord I guess. :lol:

 

Thats a really good point about checking caches while doing other errands!

 

Funny thing is, my 97' Camaro SS, on premium fuel, gets better milage than my Jeep :lol: I wonder how that will do while hitting the trails in Wharton State Forest :anibad::rolleyes::lol:

Posted

We have been doing more group caching. Going with friends and taking turns driving. Doing kinda a mini cache machine. That helps feed the habit and shares the cost a little.

Posted
Nope, I drive a Honda.

The higher gas prices could potentially impact caching. Soon the 200+ horsepower crowd won't be able to afford to get out and place more sweet micro caches. Eventually, it will be up to us lowly fuel misers to sustain all of geocaching. As you already know, its lucky we can even get up a hill with our tiny little engines. We will be forced to drive to 2Wd accessible trailheads where we will have to hike all the way up to beautiful locations just to find boring old traditional caches :rolleyes:

 

excuse me while I zip away from the flames in my geoHonda

Posted

I can still fill my cache/work mobile a 93 toyota tercel for about $20.00.

now the f250 and the motor home thats a horse of a different color.

Nope it hasn't slowed me down. :lol::rolleyes::anibad::lol:

Posted

I just started so it doesn't matter to me right now what it costs to play :unsure:

 

Might make a diff in the future but I have to do something with that money I earn slaving away all week, right? My Liberty doesn't get great mileage but I love it just the same.

Posted

When I have a day off, I'll check the maps and drive into an area with several caches, park somewhere, hike from cache to cache, and head back to the car at the end of the day.

 

I'm in it for the exercise, too!

 

:unsure:

Posted (edited)
Now we'll see if the SUV nation ever learns...

"Learns"? WTF does that mean? Has it ever occured to you that SUV drivers probably don't care much about gas prices or they too would probably be driving a cheap beater?

 

Guess what? I drove mine 500 miles on Saturday - just to go to a zoo and back, no particular reason. Musta burned through 30 gallons of gas and $65.00 or more.

 

Bet that really pisses off hybrid-nation, eh?

 

edit: sp

Edited by ParrotRob
Posted

I just filled my pickup this afternoon...$84.00. Regardless of the fuel price, my caching will not be affected...other things may suffer, but not the caching.

Posted

Yeah, my LandRover still costs over $40 to fill, even here in Wyoming where I'm only paying $2.06 for mid-grade. It get's me all sorts of neat places that would scrape the underbelly off of a passenger car.

 

Never seen a micro up there, either. :unsure:

Posted (edited)

At $2.30 a gallon, it's changed my habits. I've been teaming up during the weekends with other cachers. During the week, I've been taking my motorcycle out, it gets 45+ to a gallon and takes $8 to fill.

Edited by Rich the Bushwhacker
Posted

Not so much the gas prices but my wife is going to school 60+ miles away so I get the crap car that I am afraid to drive farther away from home than I walk. 1981 Datsun (yes, Datsun) Maxima with 224,000+ on the original motor. One of my state trooper buddies got it at auction, let his kids abuse it, then sold it to me for $50.00 when my 84 Trooper II cracked a head. She gets the family bus, nice Windstar van. I also live in the middle of nowhere cache wise (99169), not may to walk to from here. I have asked for stock options at the local station for dropping $80+ per week in gas for my wife's commute. I got the "That's original" look when I asked.

Posted
Now we'll see if the SUV nation ever learns...

"Learns"? WTF does that mean? Has it ever occured to you that SUV drivers probably don't care much about gas prices or they too would probably be driving a cheap beater?

 

Guess what? I drive mine 500 miles on Saturday - just to go to a zoo and back, no particular reason. Musta burned through 30 gallons of gas and $65.00 or more.

 

Bet that really pisses off hybrid-nation, eh?

LOL you go Rob! My Jeep and house are paid for, I don't have credit cards, I work 40+ hours a week and I'll spend my money any d@mn way I please!

Posted
Now we'll see if the SUV nation ever learns...

"Learns"? WTF does that mean? Has it ever occured to you that SUV drivers probably don't care much about gas prices or they too would probably be driving a cheap beater?

Most of them can only afford to drive SUVs because gas has been cheap. Just look back on history: during the oil crisis in the 1970s, lots of people abandoned their pickup trucks in favor of more fuel-efficient, small cars. Then when the oil crisis ended and gas prices came down they switched back to the pickups and started to buy SUVs. Had it not been for the low gas prices, the SUV would never have become popular in the first place, and I bet that as gas prices continue to increase, more and more people will eventually get rid of their humongous gas guzzlers and buy more fuel efficient cars again.

Posted
Not really. I do a lot of caching between work appointments. Boss gets to pay the $150ish/week gas tab. :D

IV Warrior, Please stop by my office. We need to discuss your expense reports.

 

:D

Posted

Too bad this is turning into a slow burning SUV vs. hybrid/honda,VW,mazda POS war. I bought the SUV, because I can't cram a family of 6 into a toyota whatever. And a minivan can only take you so far down the back roads. Then there is the whole snow factor. Not to mention the fact that my SUV saved my life when I tangled with a drunk driver. I got into caching because it didn't require additional stuff or fees. Very few sports can say that. I am willing to pay a few extra dollars each time at the pump. It's not like your fee went up $100 each week.

Posted

Im paying $2.78/gal here in Arcata Ca for reg. (Not a typo, it was 2.98/gal a few months back.) It still does not cost that much to fill up my Honda but it has got me thinking of ways to get the most caches/gal.

Posted
I'm still all confused about this. Gas is a commodity.

 

If ground beef suddenly jumped from $2.99 a pound to, say, $349 a pound, would you look for alternative food?

Mmmmm, this parrot tastes just like chicken!

Posted
I'm still all confused about this.  Gas is a commodity.

 

If ground beef suddenly jumped from $2.99 a pound to, say, $349 a pound, would you look for alternative food?

Mmmmm, this parrot tastes just like chicken!

Heh, have you actually tried to BUY a parrot lately? Parrots cost even more than gas does. Unless of course you're in some places in Australia, where they're like robins are here.

Posted
I'm still all confused about this.  Gas is a commodity.

 

If ground beef suddenly jumped from $2.99 a pound to, say, $349 a pound, would you look for alternative food?

Uh . . . I don't know how much money you earn, but some people have limited or fixed incomes. Gas is $2.45 a gallon here. Two years ago when I got my Toyota Matrix (30 miles to the gallon), gas was $1.59.

 

How many people's incomes have increased by that percentage in that time?

 

Something has to give.

 

I don't usually eat ground beef, but if it went from $2.99 a pound to $349 a pound, of course I'd be eating something else . . . :D

Posted

In Washington State you pretty much need an SUV to take the logging trails to geocaches. Granted you can hike in too.

 

My suggestion? Get into carpool geocaching. Many group excursions here have been well received. Everyone meets at a park and ride and takes a larger single vehicle to the trail. In some cases we park one vehicle on the far end of the trail so we can do a long 1-way hike. Split the gast costs.

 

Just drive smart. Plan several errands around your cache hunts to save on gas, and so forth. You can both have a big vehicle and be fuel efficient if you use your noggin'

Posted
I'm still all confused about this.  Gas is a commodity.

 

If ground beef suddenly jumped from $2.99 a pound to, say, $349 a pound, would you look for alternative food?

If people can't look for the alternatives, then I say they are victims of addiction, gouging, brainwashing, or combinations of various negative factors like these. :D

 

In areas with good public transporation infrastructure, I've ditched my car and cached by bus and train. Having a bicycle helps, too. Whenever I travel by air, I try to rent a subcompact or compact car.

 

For people living in areas with very little transportation choices, the high gas prices are tough since there are no other viable choices yet (LPG, LNG, Biodiesel, etc). If you are curious, do a web search for "National City Lines" and find out whether suppliers have really met your demand. :D

Posted
The gas price doesn't affect me at all. My bike runs on my energy, but my knees are killing me. I'm riding all over town, at least 5 miles a day. Yesterday I was out for 4 hours and rode 11 miles, plus climbing up hills to get to caches.

 

Gas here (San Diego, CA) is somewhere around $2.35 I think.

Most of my getting around during the summer is by bicycle, even before the price of gas went stupid! I drive maybe 30 miles a week, if that so it shouldn't affect me much, but I'm still pretty upset that the gas keeps going up with no end in sight. It just went up to $2.45 here today in Indiana for regular unleaded.

 

I do most of my caching combined with biking trips, or I'll hunt one only if I'm going to be in the area. Last weekend I biked 38 miles round trip to find just one cache. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed both the ride and the find. :D

Posted

I also use my bicycle, once I drive the 15 or more miles into town. In fact, I found a Virtual cache at the San Diego airport last week by riding my bicycle there.

 

You should have seen the looks we got . . . not too many people ride a bicycle by the airport terminals. :laughing:

Posted
When I have a day off, I'll check the maps and drive into an area with several caches, park somewhere, hike from cache to cache, and head back to the car at the end of the day.

That's my preferred way to go after urban micros. :laughing:

Posted
... Not to mention the fact that my SUV saved my life when I tangled with a drunk driver. ... I am willing to pay a few extra dollars each time at the pump. ...

You hit on the exact reason that we have two SUVs. In fact, I've been seriously considering trading my WJ in for something larger.

 

It stinks that gas has gone up, but its not that huge of a deal.

Posted

Everytime I fill up my 1995 K1500, I think "man I need a smaller car" :anibad: as $50.00 departs my wallet. B) Then, as I drive away I think, man I love this truck, and so does my dog! B)

 

The gas price does keep me from doing cache runs across town, to some extent B) . I plan caches if I know I'll be in a certain area. otherwise, they stay on my "to-do" list. The truck gets 12-13MPG so gas disappears quickly in the city. :laughing:

Posted
...  Not to mention the fact that my SUV saved my life when I tangled with a drunk driver.  ...  I am willing to pay a few extra dollars each time at the pump.  ...

You hit on the exact reason that we have two SUVs. In fact, I've been seriously considering trading my WJ in for something larger.

Just so you know: The occupant death rate in crashes per million SUVs on the road is 6 percent higher than the death rate per million cars.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...